Christian Education & Publications and Mission to North America will partner to sponsor the 2005 Mercy Ministries Conference, "Enriching the Kingdom: Impacting Church, Community, and Culture" April 14-16, 2005 at the Atlanta Airport Hilton. Showing mercy affirms the image of God in all kinds of people and demonstrates the life-changing love of Christ in a concrete way. By ministering to those in need we can change our churches, communities, and culture by inviting Jesus to work through us to reach His people.

The 2005 PCA Mercy Conference will focus on four aspects of developing a vibrant mercy ministry: the leadership of deacons in mobilizing congregations, equipping congregations to minister to those in need, teaching congregations that mercy is a characteristic of a covenant community, and developing and integrated approach to ministry so that mercy permeates the entire church. In addition to these four action modes, four specific areas of ministry will receive a special focus: prison, senior adults, Hispanic communities, and the inner city.

This year's program has much to offer, whether your church is already deeply involved in mercy ministries or is just getting started. Among the plenary speakers are Amy L. Sherman, a national expert on charitable choice, an advisor to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, and the urban Ministries Advisor for Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia; Mo Leverett, the founder and director of Desire Street Ministries, which embodies faith-based community development, racial reconciliation, and visionary urban leadership in one of the most violent urban communities in the nation; and Mike Higgins, senior pastor of Redemption Fellowship, PCA, in south Atlanta, and Chaplain and Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army Reserves. The conference also provides practical, hands-on workshops on such topics as racial reconciliation; volunteer recruitment; ministry to the poor, the elderly, the disabled, immigrants and refugees, single moms, homosexuals, and victims of sexual abuse; and cooperating with other churches and agencies.

For more information on the conference, www.pcacep.org/mercy

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