”That they may be one.” Those words of Jesus served as a springboard for the theme of the 2024 Southern California Conference (SCC) week of spiritual encouragement this March. It was the fourth time this virtual conference-wide event had aired, the first time being at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
This year’s event was themed “To Be One,” inspired by the prayer Jesus prayed for unity in John 17:20-23. Each of the eight nights was streamed live on Facebook and YouTube and featured a brief message followed by a panel discussion. The nightly messages were given by SCC pastors. Topics included: Unity in Christ, Unity in the Home, Unity in Conflict, Disunity, Unity in Love, and more.
“I’m encouraged that we have this event,” shared James G. Lee, SCC executive vice president. “There are so many things happening in the world, in our city, and in our conference that we really need the guidance of the Holy Spirit to direct us and to help us. Even though we started this about four years ago, I believe it’s still a blessing for us to have people come together to pray and hear the Word.” After the message and panel for each night, a special prayer room was open on Zoom that allowed viewers to meet with the SCC prayer team to receive prayer for their personal requests.
“As a panel participant, the biggest takeaway was a reminder of the importance of unity in the body of Christ and understanding what it means and looks like and what it isn’t,” said Stacy Moss, member at Valley Crossroads church. “As the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit operate as one, the Trinity should be our example. When the body of Christ operates in disunity, we do a disservice to the character of God and misrepresent who God is to the world. I am so grateful for the work SCC is doing to unite our community of believers while expanding our reach beyond denominational borders.”
Previous events focused on the words of Christ, themed “The Red Letters of Jesus,” and characteristics of Christ, themed “To Be Like Jesus.”
