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NEXT INTERNATIONAL BRETHREN CONFERENCE ON MISSION (IBCM4) TO BE HELD IN GERMANY IN 2007

The next International Brethren Conference on Mission (IBCM4) is, the Lord willing, to be held in at Wiedenest in Germany in the middle of 2007. The proposed dates are 25 June - 1 July.
The Missionshaus-Bibelschule Wiedenest has invited the IBCM International Planning Group to hold its fourth world conference at their excellent facilities in the Oberberg hills, 50 kilometres east of Cologne. The site has large well-equipped conference facilities including a wide range of workshop rooms. The centre is easily accessible from international airports in Germany which have worldwide services.

The subject of the conference is under discussion with the IBCM International Advisory Group and with the German National Advisory Committee which is being formed for the IBCM4 conference. Recent preparatory discussions at Wiedenest have suggested, however, that the conference theme might be aspects of, and challenges to, the Church's task (in the widest sense) in rapidly-developing and culturally-varied societies.

Chairman of the International Planning Group (Dr Fares Marzone - Italy) said: 'We are delighted to have received the invitation from our friends at Wiedenest. It will be a joy to work with them on the fourth IBCM conference. We were greatly encouraged by the success of the IBCM3 conference in Romania, when more than 300 were present from some 57 countries. Since the decision on the location of IBCM4 has been reached in good time, we have every hope that considerably more countries will represented in 2007. Let us continue to seek the Lord's help with the follow-up to the 2003 conference and preparations for IBCM4.'

Further information about the programme and arrangements will be published later. This website will be dedicated to the conference.

Notes for editors
The intended dates of the conference are to be Monday 25 June to Saturday 30 June 2007. As at previous IBCM conferences, it is expected that some participants from outside Germany will be invited to preach in assemblies across the country on Sunday 1 July.
Previous IBCM conferences were held in Singapore (1993), Italy (1996) and Romania (2003). The idea for such conferences resulted from side discussions at the Lausanne 2 conference in Manila in 1989 and at a seminar at Regent College Vancouver in 1990.

The purpose of the IBCM conferences is to bring together key people from churches in the Brethren movement from across the world on a regular basis for spiritual reflection, fellowship, and renewed experience of the Lord. 'Mission' in the title refers to the whole task of the church in every country and all countries. The specific objectives of the conferences are:

• To enable leaders from across the world to discover one another
• To strengthen informal networking and fellowship
• To encourage younger leaders, particularly from emerging countries, to learn about each other's work, challenges and opportunities
• To share ideas and methods to help churches to be effective in their mission for Christ.

See here for a note on the work of the Missionshaus-Bibleschule Wiedenest.

For further information about the conference contact Neil Summerton

The IBCM International Planning Group comprises Fares Marzone (Italy), Ken Newton (Australia), Paul-Gerhard Kalthoff (Germany) and Neil Summerton (United Kingdom). Gerd Goldmann has overall responsibility for leading the work at Wiedenest. A National Advisory Committee for the conference is being formed in Germany. The IBCM International Planning Group and the National Advisory Committee will co-operate to organise the conference.

At the IBCM3 Conference at Selimbar in central Romania in July 2003, two networks were discussed to assist churches of Brethren background in the 130 or so countries in which they can be found (there are in total probably 20,000 congregations with some 5,000,000 regular attenders).

The Brethren international Network will aim to provide a contact network, information and mutual support on spiritual and church matters. The practical details are still being decided (contact Neil Summerton). The Brethren Educational Network aims to provide materials to assist in training and development leaders in the Brethren movement (contact Ron Diprose [Italy]; website). Both networks are being developed through international e-discussion groups with representation from across the world.


For further information about IBCM, visit the IBCM page of the Partnership website or contact Neil Summerton.