The Outreach Ministry has teamed up with the Urban Ministry Conference to get Oklahoma Christian University students involved in inner city ministry.
The conference includes speakers from across the country who have experience in urban or inner city ministry. The Capital Hill Church of Christ is hosting the conference and it will be at their building on Thursday and at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City on Friday and Saturday. Adjunct professor David North is a co-director for the project.
Senior Sierra Gustafson is trying to get the word out to the student body about the Urban Ministry Conference.
“[For the] last five years, the younger generation is really involved in it,” Gustafson said. “The conference is at a different location every year. This is there first year to do it in Oklahoma City, and so it is a really good opportunity for Oklahoma students to take advantage of it.”
Oklahoma Christian University students do not have to pay to attend the conference this year.
“Everyone else has to pay like $100, which those people are also traveling from out of state, which means that they also have to pay for a hotel,” Gustafson said.
Many are coming from across the country to listen to the speakers and network with others who share the same interests. North helped put the Conference together with a team from Capitol Hill Church of Christ.
“I am one of the co-directors for the conference this year and so I helped with some of the responsibilities of getting some of the speakers and finding a venue and getting the program put together,” North said. “We are glad to have all that work done and see the conference actually happen.”
North said he is excited to see some of his friends from out of state join him at the conference to listen to many different speakers.
“We have about 30 practitioners who will be speaking and so it will be like a TED Talk-style – so short presentations,” North said. “We have a really wide range of topics that are all focused on urban ministry, so I am looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.”
North and Gustafson said one speaker that they are really looking forward to is Harold Shank.
“Harold shank is going to be a speaker and he is pretty renowned in the urban ministry world, “ Gustafson said. “He had started out in Memphis Tennessee. Him and his wife have worked out in the field for about 30 years.”
North said Shank has been someone who helped north get involved in Urban Ministry.
“He is a speaker and also a great presenter of the truth,” North said. ” It is a good chance to be exposed with what is going on in that world. We encourage students to come and you might be able to get a free T-shirt.”
Junior Ross Wagnon said he is looking forward to hearing from speakers at the conference.
“Urban ministry is actually what I want to do,” Wagnon said. “It’s a bonus that through the school we get to go for free, so I was like, ‘I have to do it.’”
Wagnon said he hopes to network at the conference.
“Its hard for me not to network when I go anywhere, but there are going to be a lot of people I will be in contact with and being able to be exposed to people more than anything,” Wagnon said.
Wagnon said his interest in addiction ministry has made him realize urban ministry is up-and-coming and is something that he wants to be a part of.
“Anybody who is at all interested in any type of urban mission, this is an awesome opportunity to be exposed to what that will look like,” Wagnon said.
The conference begins Thursday and ends Saturday. For more information email sierra.gustafson@eagles.oc.edu.
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