ABILENE, Texas — One-hundred-sixteen years of religious gathering is blossoming into a biannual tradition.
Abilene Christian University has shifted the structure of its yearly summit into an event that will take place in both fall and spring with the purpose of forming specific leadership groups.
This year, the two-day "Abide With Me" event will occur Oct. 13-14 as part of ACU's Homecoming weekend. In the spring, the event will coincide with the university's Sing Song weekend.
"By joining the Summit with two large networking groups on campus, our attendees can connect to others in their line of ministry, followed by time and space to connect with friends, mentors and others in the broader university community," previous summit director Leah Andrews said.
The autumn weekend will include a presentation Thursday, Oct. 13 by author and theologian Dr. Andrew Root, who recently wrote a book titled "Churches and the Crisis of Decline."
Those interested in Root's speech are required to register ahead of time and no more than 400 people can attend.
The weekend will also focus on various areas of ministry including children's, Hispanic, preaching, recovery, small church leaders and youth.
Event planners are hoping to keep summit enjoyable and relevant in the modern world.
"We must remain open to change to meet the needs of our attendees, yet always hold the greater purpose of Summit high," current director Jennifer Schroder said. "Although the method may be different, we still serve our mission to connect church leaders in transformative learning communities for dialogue, encouragement and edification."
A general interest session will also be held to discuss 1 Peter and its relevance to the modern church. This will be open to all attendees whether or not they have a ministry role.
Go to acu.edu/summit to register and Summit Facebook page for more information.
