Source: Gregg Detwiler, Intercultural Ministries Update, Aug 2009, Emmanuel Gospel Center

The 10th annual Ethnic Ministries Summit will be held in Boston on April 15-17, 2010. The Summit is sponsored by the Ethnic America Network, a catalytic coalition of Christian ministries and churches across the USA and Canada, in partnership with local Christian leaders, churches, and ministries. The Boston Summit will be co-hosted at Jubilee Christian Church and Morning Star Baptist Church, both on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston, with key partnership from Grace Chapel in Lexington, MA. This partnership is unique in and of itself as it represents the largest Pentecostal, Baptist, & non-denominational congregations in Greater Boston.  While these large churches have signed on to serve the Summit, all were quick to say, "Let's not forget the smaller congregations; we want them to feel welcome and included."     

The theme of the 2010 Summit is A City Without Walls, taken from Zechariah 2:4-5. This text unveils a prophetic picture to which we aspire, describing...
 
A New Kind of Reality - a Kingdom vision that calls us to move from our present reality to a new kind of reality that we have not yet experienced.   

A New Kind Space - a limitless space, a city without walls, welcoming to all, a place that will include great numbers from all nations and a space that will require us all to break out of our "little space" worlds. 

A New Kind of Security - a security that is found in the LORD Himself, who will be a wall of fire around the city; hence, a call to break down all walls that we have built as means for self-preservation and to trust God for our security.

A New Kind of Glory - a glory that will be greater than the glory we have known in the past, a glory that will bring greater honor to God.

The Pre-Summit Journey and the Long-Term Hopes
God seems to be granting us unusual favor in the planning of the Summit. The collaboration of the three partner churches is unique in and of itself.  We have a great team of leaders--diverse in every way--that have been meeting together over the past two years who comprise our Local "Listening/Steering Team". The pre-summit journey has been a catalyst to developing deeper and wider intercultural relationships in the Body of Christ. Our long-term hope extends beyond the Summit to see a greater realization of Boston becoming A City Without Walls.  All Summit stakeholders are being urged to consider what new horizons the Summit journey can be a catalyst toward and what new innovations for expressing and advancing the Gospel might arise through and beyond the Summit. In addition to these hopes, we believe that great mutual benefit will be realized in the cross-pollination that will occur between the leaders from New England and leaders from across the USA and Canada.

Meet Our Regional Listening/Steering Team

Back Row, Left to Right: Rev. Larry Ward,
Rev. Dr. Craig McMullen, Rev. Roland Cooper,
Mr. Bil Mooney-McCoy, Rev. Dr. Gregg Detwiler, Mr. Rudy Mitchell,
Dr. Thomas Idiculla  Front Row: Ms. Lisa Smith, Mrs. Dana Baker, Ms. Marjorie Belizaire

Missing from Photo: Rev. Khaled Ghobrial,  Rev. Dr. Roberto Souza, Mrs. Miwon Oh

The co-chairs of the Boston Summit are: Rev. Roland Cooper, Sr. Associate, Jubilee Christian Church; Rev. Dr. Gregg Detwiler, Intercultural Ministries Director, Emmanuel Gospel Center; and Rev. Khaled Ghobrial, Sr. Pastor, Arabic Baptist Evangelical Church 

Summit Planning - Testimonies from the Journey

Dana Baker, Multicultural Ministries Director, Grace Chapel, Lexington, MA, Summit Promo and Publicity Task Force Liaison

Four years ago when my church, Grace Chapel, was becoming intentional about how to more fully embrace becoming a multicultural church, I attended my first EAN summit in Atlanta. The things I learned from the plenary speakers and seminars and the connections I made among the people attending, have been invaluable to me in the years since. I have attended each summit since - Seattle, St. Louis and Phoenix - and while I am now in a position to begin to be able to share some of my own understanding and expertise at these summits, I still, each year, always take away some very significant nuggets of wisdom that deepen my understanding of this multicultural journey on which God has placed me. I would recommend this summit to anyone whose heart God is tugging at regarding the unity that Jesus prays for in John 17 - whether you are just getting started or well along in the journey.

Thomas Idiculla, President, Agape Partners International, Research Task Force Liaison

I am humbled to be part of the local steering committee and I am very impressed by the cross-ethnic Christian team approach of this summit. I am convinced that the Boston summit will be a confluence of committed Christian leaders from diverse background representing race, ethnicity, language, and gender. The pre-summit research session will lay a foundation of why we do what we do and helps to bring perspective and identify unique challenges of cross-ethnic churches and various ministries. There will be great opportunity for cross cultural research, information sharing, and networking and second generation ministry. This is a must summit for all who are committed for the cause of gospel in the 21st century.

Khaled Ghobrial, Sr. Pastor, Arabic Baptist Evangelical Church, Summit Co-Chair & Seminars Task Force Liaison

I see three great values of the Ethnic Ministries Summit. First, it helps stretch me beyond my cultural comfort zone. Second, it helps me to get beyond a local church mindset to a broader Kingdom mindset. Third, it helps me to see in the Church what Paul describes in Ephesians 3:10--"the manifold wisdom of God" (in Arabic the word for "manifold" carries the idea of the "multicolor"). These are values that will benefit all Christian leaders. 

Lisa Smith, Alpha New England, Logistics Task Force Team Member

Gregg Detwiler, Dana Baker, and Pastor Cooper all begin to envision the 2010 Boston Summit, while we attended the Phoenix Summit together back in April...Boston, A City Without Walls...no barriers, just a coming together of the Body of Christ and not just for the sake of holding another event, but to learn from, to grow with and to form Kingdom building relationships that will last long after the Summit...leaving us all better equipped to reach the world at our doorstep...It was an intriguing vision I wanted to be a part of.

Gregg Detwiler, Intercultural Ministries Director, EGC, Summit Co-Chair & Post Summit Task Force Liaison 

We are asking God to add His grace to our meager efforts of seeking to express and advance His vision of a city without walls; a city that will more clearly demonstrate to the world the beauty and love and Shalom of God. As diverse leaders, churches, and organizations are coming together in this process we are seeing walls come down, relationships grow up, and the horizons of what is possible expand. We are praying that hundreds of diverse Christian leaders from across Greater Boston, New England, the United States and Canada will come join us on this journey.

Stay Tuned & Get Involved
 
Stay Tuned for future updates about Summit developments. In September we will be launching our local website which will provide additional information on the Summit and registration details.

For now, mark your calendars for April 15-17 2010, as the Ethnic Ministries Summit pre-summit journey continues. If you are interested in learning how your church or ministry can become involved in the summit or other ways you can support the summit, please email interculturalministries@egc.org.