Ontario Christian Conference
Thank you everyone for joining us in our previous years.
April 13, 2013
In 2013 the Christian Churches of the restoration movement worked together to bring back the Ontario Christian Conference and REIGNITED it out of hibernation. It was a wonderful success with churches from all over Ontario joining together in unity and fellowship.
We were thrilled to have Bob Russell attend the conference as our keynote speaker. Bob was able to share a lifetime of ministry insight and being continually "reignited" by God in order to stay the course. Bob presented one workshop which was aptly titled "Lessons I've Learned from Mistakes I've Made".
At just 22 years old Bob became the pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. That small congregation of 120 members became one of the largest churches in the US, with 18,000 people attending the four worship services every weekend in 2006 when Bob retired. Now, through Bob Russell Ministries, Bob continues to preach at churches and conferences, provide guidance for church leadership, mentor other ministries and author Bible study videos for use in small groups. An accomplished author, Bob has written over one dozen books. Bob and his wife of 46 years, Judy, have two married sons, Rusty and Phil.
The conference also included a workshop session by Kevin Stone. Kevin has been Christ's Church of the Valley's (CCV) Executive Pastor since April of 2004 - located near Philadelphia. Kevin's workshop session was titled "Simple Church: Embracing Healthy Systems" . An important part of any church growth strategy is the identification and development of formal systems, processes, and methods that help staff to lead well through building a strong, effective infrastructure. But first, church governance and leadership structure must be set up such that ministry professionals have the needed authority to make ministry decisions. From exploring the inter workings of a "staff led, elder protected" leadership structure to the specifics of a structured approach to organization and execution, this workshop challenged traditional thinking and helped the participant to view his or her leadership responsibility in a new, more effective way.
May 3, 2014
2014 was another amazing year for our Ontario Christian Conference. The conference is a gathering of unity for all Christian Churches across Ontario. We shared a fantastic event with 300 fellow brothers and sisters in Christ learning together, worshiping, and as growing together in Christ.
This year the theme was engage, as we were challenged to learn what it is to be “engaged” for Christ in our communities; to leave the church and go into the community fully engaged in service, honouring our Father. The conference provided training and education to our church families on bringing the enthusiasm back into being a Christian with a drive for serving the community.
Our main speaker for 2014 OCC Engage was Rick Rusaw, Pastor of LifeBridge Christian Church and author of “The Externally Focussed Church”. Rick brought his passion for answering the questions he focuses on in his book “If Your Church Vanished, Would Your Community Weep? Would Anyone Notice? Would Anyone Care?”
We welcomed Dean Trune from Intentional Impact Ministries as he provided a breakout workshop on “The Spiritual Root System”. Dean also mentors young men in discipleship. His reasoning behind this coaching is simple “I hope that you are making a spiritual investment in others who are making a spiritual investment in others. There is no greater blessing.”
During the event we acknowledged a group of Impact Ministry Group church planters brought on stage for recognition and prayer. These hard working individuals and their families were able to recharge together at the conference and share insight with each other.
The Ontario Christian Conference team work hard each year to cover all expenses through registrations, church donations and sponsors. This allows the OCC to bless a ministry with a special offering. This year the offering was provided to the Ontario Christian Assembly – a camp located just an hour north of Toronto. The conference donated $5200.00 for this camp which is in the midst of renovations.
The OCA mission is to develop Christian character in Children and youth through exciting spiritual camp programs. We were thrilled to bless a ministry that will build up leaders from our youth and children; leaders that will continue to love people and serve God together as the church.
April 25, 2015
CAM HUXFORD
Saturday, April 25th marked yet another amazing Ontario Christian Conference (OCC) welcoming 300 people from various Ontario Christian Churches. The conference is an annual teaching event with incredible worship and fellowship time. This year included a wonderful catered lunch and dinner on site to allow for even more fellowship time.
The theme for 2015 was “Transformed”. The keynote speaker was Cam Huxford, the Senior Pastor at Savannah Christian Church in Savannah, Georgia. Cam spoke on The Transforming Strategy of God, Transforming Alignment and Transformed Followers during his three sessions.
He engaged the participants to focus on what it means for God to transform us, and how we can honour God by living that “transformed” life for Him fully. Cam, and his wife, Sarah, had great testimonies and experiences to share with fellow pastors and followers alike.
The OCC was blessed to have Cam’s wife, Sarah Huxford, provide a workshop session where she encouraged others with “What’s Your Story.” She was able to share insight from her experience as she and Cam have stayed true to God during their 30 years at Savannah Christian Church.
The OCC also includes an amazing Friday youth event night each year. This year was truly exceptional with attendance of over 100 youth ages 12 - 19. The Youth Night speaker, Ben Foreman, Dean of Admissions of Maritime Christian College in Prince Edward Island, challenged the youth to move away from the tomb of Christ and start living a “transformed” life for Christ.
The Buffalo Dream Team once again provided ministry to the children from ages 4-12 during the conference sessions. They prepared an exciting and engaging day of activities of dance, drama, testimonies and multi-media.
In another example of Can-Am ministry cooperation, Jim Tune, President of Impact Ministry Group and Larry Carter, President of Great Lakes Christian College, were excited to announce, that they are partnering to train workers for Kingdom expansion in Ontario, Canada. The program will include course work and training in both Lansing Michigan and at Impact church plants.
Each year, the OCC team work hard to cover all expenses through registrations, church donations and sponsors. This allows OCC to bless a ministry with a special offering. This year, an offering donation of $4,000, was provided to Impact Ministry Group to bless their upcoming Toronto church plant which will be planted in 2016 and continue to expand God’s Kingdom in the Ontario area.
