NACC Convention Experience Brings Fellowship, Service, and Spiritual Renewal
The NACC convention experience brought attendees together through worship, workshops, service, renewed friendships, and greater awareness of global missions. First-time visitors and longtime participants alike described the gathering as spiritually uplifting and meaningful.
- First-time and returning attendees described the convention as spiritually uplifting.
- Volunteers prepared almost 51,000 meals in a single afternoon for Operation InAsMuch.
- Convention experiences encouraged renewed friendships and greater awareness of unreached people groups.
By Darrel Rowland
James and Deborah Dixon had no plans to attend the North American Christian Convention.
In fact, they hadn’t even heard of it.
They traveled from their home in Indianapolis to Cincinnati just to get away for a few days after July 4th. But when they saw the people crowded around the convention center, they decided to check it out.
“It was very spiritually uplifting,” James Dixon said.
The couple attends New Life Worship Center in Indianapolis.
A Spiritually Uplifting Convention Experience
It wasn’t just the newbies giving two thumbs up to this year’s NACC.
“I thought it was fantastic,” said Rich Bowie of Kouts, Indiana, who has attended about 10 of the annual events. “This was a really great, great convention.”
Bowie especially liked the workshops and blend of music.
“The feeling of the Holy Spirit being with us this week was very strong.”
Teresa Cervik, who attends the same church as Bowie and his wife, found fulfillment by helping 250 other volunteers pack almost 51,000 meals in a single afternoon as a service project for Operation InAsMuch.
“To me, it is a family reunion,” she said.
Friendships, Service, and a Global Perspective
For L.V. and Susan Spencer of Houston, Texas, this year was more relaxing than past conventions when they were rooted to an exhibit-area booth as missionary forwarding agents.
“It was a good time for us to renew friendships and make new ones,” he said.
Alana McKinney of Lake in the Hills, Illinois, said she didn’t realize the number of unreached people groups until she saw the long list displayed outside the main convention hall. She filled out cards committing to pray for two of the groups, Muslims in the Sudan and Pakistan.
“That was a real eye-opener,” McKinney said. “The rest of our problems may not seem as big now as they did when we came to the convention.”
Darrel Rowland is an adult Bible fellowship teacher at Worthington (Ohio) Christian Church and public affairs editor of The Columbus Dispatch.
