About the Conference

The conference was held Sept. 23-25, 2004.

This conference focused upon the meaning of citizenship in the U.S. from the perspective of the Believers Church. The planners observed that the U.S. possesses and exercises unprecedented influence on a global scale. The conference was designed to clarify together what it means to be both citizens of the state and members of the body of Christ. (Please read the conference press release.)

Church traditions usually associated with the Believers Church include Adventists, Baptists, Brethren, Disciples of Christ, Mennonites, Methodists, Pentecostals, Plymouth Brethren, and Quakers. They understand the church to consist of voluntary membership by those confessing Jesus Christ as Lord.

The planners designed the program to engage a diverse audience. The program included respected voices from both the academy and the congregation. Presentations included biblical sermons, academic papers, and autobiographical narratives. Critical analysis was interspersed with reflective worship. These features of the program signal the priority for integrating scholarly, pastoral, and activist perspectives.

Believer's church perspectives How do Christians in the Believers Church tradition, living in a democracy that is the world’s dominant power, understand their witness for God and their relationship to political authority?
	Home Schedule Speakers Registration About the Conference The conference was held Sept. 23-25, 2004. This conference focused upon the meaning of citizenship in the U.S. from the perspective of the Believers Church. The planners observed that the U.S. possesses and exercises unprecedented influence on a global scale. The conference was designed to clarify together what it means to be both citizens of the state and members of the body of Christ. (Please read the conference press release.) Church traditions usually associated with the Believers Church include Adventists, Baptists, Brethren, Disciples of Christ, Mennonites, Methodists, Pentecostals, Plymouth Brethren, and Quakers. They understand the church to consist of voluntary membership by those confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. The planners designed the program to engage a diverse audience. The program included respected voices from both the academy and the congregation. Presentations included biblical sermons, academic papers, and autobiographical narratives. Critical analysis was interspersed with reflective worship. These features of the program signal the priority for integrating scholarly, pastoral, and activist perspectives.
	This fifteenth gathering in the series of Believers Church Conferences is being hosted by Eastern Mennonite University and Bridgewater College in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with assistance from the Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office, Church of the Brethren Witness/Washington Office and the Baptist Joint Committee.