The Gospel Coalition is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2013 national conference in Orlando, Florida. The five-day event will run April 6 to 10, including a weekend conference on world missions and three-day main conference focused on the mission of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke (Monday through Wednesday). Both events will be held at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida. You are encouraged to attend them together, but you may also register separately. Over five days 80 speakers from around the world will aim to stir your affections for Jesus Christ, equip you to live faithfully in this world, and spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. You can view the schedule and read the talk descriptions. And in partnership with The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, you can now earn up to six hours of transferable graduate or undergraduate credit by attending the conference.
Missions Conference Overview
Starting Saturday, April 6, we’ll gather to hear from missionaries, theologians, pastors, and other church leaders about the love of God that compels us to fulfill the Great Commission. Three plenary addresses will expound the compelling love of God from 2 Corinthians 4:1-5:21; another three will directly address select topics of urgent concern to international outreach. Numerous workshops will explore special subjects in missions. We are asking God to bless this event by spreading passion for global missions among those who attend. We dare to pray that many will respond by committing themselves to cross-cultural outreach both at home and around the world.
Main Conference Overview
What grander theme than Jesus himself! Eight plenary addresses and one panel will re-introduce us to Jesus as recounted by Luke. Beginning Monday, April 8, we’ll explore together the dramatic progression from Jesus’ birth to ascension. We’ll be looking for how Jesus embodies and explains the gospel to a diverse collection of baffled disciples, joyful outcasts, and skeptical rulers. We’ll marvel at Jesus’ miracles, puzzle over his parables, and count the cost of his compassion on the Cross. Jesus will teach us how to behold him in the Old Testament and commission us to proclaim his name to all the nations. Clothed with the same heavenly power that raised Jesus from the dead, we bear witness to the one true gospel as revealed in the Gospel of Luke.
Why Orlando?
After three national conferences in the Chicago area, we’re eager to bring this event to another part of the country where God has raised up many vital churches and ministries. And with a growing number of attendees from outside the United States—especially the Global South—the higher volume and lower price of flights and hotels in Orlando will serve many responding to our new TGC International Outreach and anticipating the pre-conference on world missions. The Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando also helps us accommodate your requests by bringing the conference and lodging into one facility where everyone can better manage a packed conference schedule. We trust you will enjoy the slower pace by taking breaks in your hotel room and especially around the pool in Orlando’s welcoming early April weather. Besides the Rosen Shingle Creek, you’ll find 15 other hotels within a short walk or drive from the conference, so lodging options will accommodate any budget.
We also hope in this way to serve your desire for fellowship and intimacy amid a growing conference. Along with our plenary addresses and dozens of workshops, we’re introducing a new element called Focus Gatherings to foster informal, topical conversation facilitated by an experienced leader or two in a particular field. Abundant space at the Rosen Shingle Creek will help us feature Q+A with seasoned pastors on various aspects of church ministry, collaboration by biblical scholars studying key textual issues, and conservation among worship leaders and youth pastors seeking to apply the gospel to their specific callings.
