On May 14-16, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and P&R Publishing will host the Faithful Shepherds Pastors’ Retreat in Harvey Cedars, New Jersey, built around the theme “The Welcoming Church.”

The conference includes sessions with three PCA pastors: keynote speaker Joe Novenson, MNA’s Urban and Mercy Ministries Coordinator Randy Nabors, and Irwyn Ince, director of the newly-formed Grace DC Network Institute for Cross-Cultural Mission.

While the retreat is a regular event, the 2018 conference will be the first one co-sponsored by MNA.

The topic for this year’s conference is simple but challenging: making churches more welcoming. Most people have visited a church that seemed indifferent or unwelcoming to visitors. “We want pastors to consider how to make their churches welcoming,” Nabors said. “Is there some work of grace that can make believers friendly? That can make them take on an attitude of servanthood to people who are different from themselves?”

Healthy ministry requires intentionality, a conscious remembrance of the Gospel so that pastors, leaders, and churches themselves don’t drift away.

The conference will encourage attendees to engage in the intentional work of welcoming all believers.

To learn more and register, visit alliancenet.org/the-welcoming-church.