By Andrew Wood
Judging from the reaction of kids and adults, the International Conference on Missions is connecting with a new generation to take the gospel to all nations!
BOUNCING BACK FROM THE PANDEMIC
This year’s ICOM took place late last week in Columbus, Ohio (Nov. 3-5). It marked the longstanding event’s nearly complete bounce back from the lean years of COVID-19. Attendance was at about 6,500, said ICOM executive director David Empson, up from 3,952 last year. Online attendance was 2,092.
Empson offered this assessment: “The response to this year’s conference has been very positive. More churches and colleges have registered this year than probably the last nine years.” Local partner hotels reported “very strong” bookings.
Empson noted that many attendees felt it was important to be at this year’s conference. Some attendees told him, “I don’t really know why I am here, but I just feel drawn to be here.”
REACHING THE YOUNG
Enthusiastic youth participation was one of several hopeful signs at this year’s ICOM. Longtime conference attendees Bryan and Pam Eubanks of Deaf Streetlight remarked on the professionalism, clear messaging, and advanced technology evident in presentations this year. They saw this as evidence of a younger generation moving into leadership and knowing how to reach contemporary youth.
“Awesome,” “cool,” and “lots of free stuff” were the first impressions of a group of teens from Gallipolis, Ohio. Pens, stickers, T-shirts, and even “virtual reality” experiences may have drawn them to ministry displays in the exhibit hall, but after talking to compelling mission representatives, several said they would consider mission work, especially after learning how it can make a difference in the lives of people their own age.
At SICOM, the convention’s student program, students attended inspiring youth-oriented worship and teaching sessions, and workshops, and had the chance to apply their energy to service projects—packing meals and building walls for houses for families in need.
Will Horton worked with his sons Harvey and Fletcher cutting and sorting two-by-fours for the project. The boys said helping others has caused them to begin thinking about their future. Harvey, 11, said he might like to become a medical missionary and help kids in Zimbabwe. And he offered this advice to other kids: “God is powerful! Come for him, not just free stuff!”
Denise Tolbert, a former missionary to Ireland, put her young ones in the ICOM Kids program. She was impressed that they came back in the evening wanting to pray for the Philippines. She described ICOM’s work with children as “intentional and effective”; she said she could see the positive impact right away.
‘PERFECT UNITY’ AMONG MAIN SPEAKERS
ICOM’s theme this year was “Perfect Unity,” inspired by Jesus’ prayer in John 17:23. A packed house attended Thursday night’s opening session to kick off the theme. Speaker David Young of the 2,500-member North Boulevard Church of Christ in Murfreesboro, Tenn., reminded the audience of the heritage of the Cane Ridge Revival; he said that Spirit-led movement helped ignite the Restoration Movement, as well as helping many denominations to grow.
“If your vision doesn’t include the whole world, it is too small,” Young said. “If your vision does not include the Holy Spirit, it is absolutely going to fail.”
2022 ICOM president Tony Twist of TCM International Institute drove home the theme of unity resulting from God’s activity in Friday and Saturday’s main sessions.
“All around the world, people are praying for revival,” Twist said, responding to a question about his vision for the conference. “If there is any hope, it will come through a movement of the Holy Spirit. Every revival in history has come about after a prolonged period of prayer and fasting. I hope more and more of us will join our brothers and sisters all over the world in fasting and praying.”
Shodankeh Johnson, leader of an explosive Disciple Making Movement of more than a million people in Sierra Leone, spoke on “The Power of Prayerfast” in a climactic session on Saturday afternoon (the final day of the conference).
Shodankeh said he organized a prayer network of more than 10,000 people in his country specifically to pray for ICOM. The positive results were evident.
PRACTICAL THEME: PRAYER
“Perfect Unity” was the official theme of ICOM, but throughout the conference the more prominent emphasis was on prayer—certainly a necessary precursor to unity.
At registration, each attendee was gifted with a book entitled Prayer and Fasting by David Roadcup and Michael Eagle (available for purchase here for those who could not attend). A large, dedicated prayer space called the “Boiler Room” provided displays about the revival-inducing power of prayer. A second large prayer space, situated in the center of the main exhibit hall, offered a welcome respite to sit down, reflect, and reconnect with God amid a bustling bazaar of ministry displays.
To facilitate prayer during and after the convention, attendees were encouraged to visit Prayerfast.org, an online resource where visitors from around the world can sign up to fast and pray at specific times. The goal: a continuous global prayer chain “for a Holy Spirit Movement to fulfill the Great Commission based on the Great Commandment impacting churches, cultures, and countries for Christ.”
At the site, a world map displays in real time the number of people participating around the globe, giving participants a sense of unity with the international church.
THE FUTURE IS IN GOOD HANDS
The future appears to be in good hands, based on the available evidence of the 2022 ICOM. God is raising up new generations in our country and around the world—Christians who are eager to pray, send, and go, and to serve right where they are . . . in “Perfect Unity.” But more importantly, the future is in the good hands of our Savior, in whose name we do all those things.
Andrew Wood, a former missionary to Ukraine and professor at Nebraska Christian College, is a freelance writer.
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