American Leadership Conference and NECC Merge Together for “One Nation Under God”

On the weekend of October 6-9, approximately 3,000 disciples gathered in Boston for a historic time of teaching, fellowship, singing and inspiration. The first two days were specifically for church leaders from around the U.S. These disciples were then joined by New England Christians for a Saturday to remember and a Sunday for the ages spent in worship to God. See video of Sam Powell

The Thursday night kick-off started with praise and worship. Douglas Arthur, Boston’s lead evangelist, then began this first-ever North American conference with an overview of John 17 entitled, “May They Be One.” His humor, straight-forwardness and sincerity all culminated in his challenging question, “Are We Those Who He Prayed For?”

Friday’s workshops were broken down by church sizes. There were also tracks for administrators, campus ministers, worship leaders and others. All kinds of amazing lessons were taught emphasizing varied themes from faith and prayer to leadership and vision. Some of the classes were for mixed audiences but several also split out men and women for specific life application.

The Friday night keynote address also welcomed in hundreds of New England disciples to begin the NECC. A.T. Arneson, lead evangelist in Chicago, preached with great fervor on the topic of “One People Speaking One Language.” His use of “kingdom handshakes,” national statistics and his mother’s passing as a disciple (where she said, “I didn’t know dying would be this fun”) touched hearts in a powerful way.

The Saturday program began again with worship music. Led by Christians from across America. The men and women then split up. The sisters heard about how to be “Encouraged in Heart, United in Love” and the fellas were challenged to be “Prophets To the Nations” and “Be Strong.”

Saturday afternoon found another creative division for classes. This time disciples went to the classroom of their choice where they learned as elders, empty nesters, teachers, singles, young marrieds, teens and many other possible categories. Teachers were selected from all races, ages and stages in life to inspire us throughout the extended weekend.

Alex Whitaker from Seattle closed out our busy Saturday with his speech on “Render Unto Caesar.” His background as a graduate from the West Point Academy made him a fantastic choice to show love and loyalty for our nation, but he also called us to give Jesus the priority and seek primarily to be God’s nation.

And then came Sunday. Just as Jesus resurrected on this first day of the week, disciples from all around New England began to stream in for the 10:30 AM service and a miraculous time togerther. There was a standing room only crowd (and beyond). For this slice of heaven, three-hour extravaganza – there were baptisms, special songs, announcements (Disciples Today, HOPE worldwide, thank you from Abijan, etc.), communion (led by Javier Amaya, new leader of the Boston Spanish Ministry), and a close-out sermon no one will soon forget.

Sam Powell, lead evangelist for the New York City congregation, zealously concluded our time with the theme “Holy Nation.” His booming voice and moving illustrations clearly proclaimed three main points from I Peter: Be a righteous nation. Be a submissive nation. Be a loving nation.

Many things touch us at conferences. Perhaps nothing spurs us on more than the fellowship in meals together, after speeches late at night and just hanging out with others we don’t get to see often enough.

From beginning to end – God brought Americans together, who thanked God for our nation. However, beyond that, we were mostly grateful to be a part of Christ’s holy nation entrusted with the joy of sharing Him with every person in the U.S. and the world.

After four days which flew by, we departed. But we left as “one,” a people reconnected and united in purpose, life, doctrine and heart.