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ENGAGE 2026 Citywide Mission Conference

Hosted on April 25th at Crossroads Church
2723 Ashland Rd, Columbia, South Carolina 29210
Please text the word ENGAGE to (803) 598-3312 to receive updates

ENGAGE is a one-day gathering designed to unite believers from across the greater Columbia area around the mission of God. Hosted by SendCola, this conference exists to help every follower of Jesus understand their role in the Great Commission — in their neighborhoods, workplaces, and to the ends of the earth, including those who are still unreached or least reached.

At ENGAGE, you’ll hear God’s heart for the nations woven throughout the grand storyline of Scripture, and you’ll be encouraged to respond with boldness, faithfulness, and obedience. No matter your age, stage, gifting, or experience, you have a place in God’s mission — and we want to help you find it.

ENGAGE is for everyone. We believe the whole Church is called to reach the whole world, and that collaboration is far more powerful than isolation. There is one King and one Kingdom, and together we desire to see more partnership, less tribalism, and a renewed passion to see the gospel advance — especially among those who have yet to hear.

Come ready to be challenged, equipped, and inspired as we pursue God’s mission together.

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Schedule
*Subject to change

8:00 am Doors Open + Check-In

9:00 am Main Session #1

10:45 am Breakout Session A

11:45 am Lunch & Exhibit Hall

1:00 pm Breakout Session B

2:15 pm Breakout Session C

3:30 pm Main Session #2

5:00 pm Exhibit Hall

    List of Breakout Sessions
    • Singleness, Marriage, Kids, and What to Expect in Missions
    • Ask a Missionary Anything
    • A Theology of Suffering in Missions
    • Building a Missions Strategy at My Local Church
    • Local Engagement: Places to Plug in Now
    • Characteristics of an Effective Team
    • I Want to Go, Where do I Start?
    • Warnings and Best Practices of Short-Term
    • Unreached People Groups and Important Missions Terms
    • Called and Excuses: How to Recognize the Difference
    • Technology and Missions
    • Music and Missions - Ethnomusicology
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    Keynote Speaker Session 1

    Originally from Germany, Daniel Topf has over ten years of cross-cultural experience in countries like China, Singapore, and India. In 2015 he moved to the United States to obtain his PhD in missiology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He worked as a missions coach with the sending agency World Team for almost nine years, and since August 2025 he has been serving as the program director of intercultural studies at Lancaster Bible College (LBC) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

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    Keynote Speaker Session 2

    Carlos Negrón joined the Missio Nexus team as Director of Church Engagement in September of 2023. He grew up in Puerto Rico and has a BA in History from the University of Puerto Rico. Carlos’ call to missions was cemented while serving in Colombia in the late 90’s during the height of the guerrilla movements there. Eventually he along with his family would serve the Arab Muslim community in Brooklyn, New York. He later became a field missionary with Pioneers in Indonesia. Carlos has served as a missions leader in churches across the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. Most recently, he worked as a teacher and missionary with Pioneers and Mustard Seed International. Carlos lives in Florida with his wife, Marisol Kavetsky-Cora, and their three children.
    Worship

    Collaborative Worship by Columbia Area Churches

    Leaders from multiple SendCola partnered churches join together to guide us in Christ-exalting worship throughout the conference.

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    Unreached People Group (UPG) Prayer Focus

    This year we will focus our attention and prayers on the Uyghurs people in China and the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon.  During each main session we will spend time hearing about each UPG and then break into smaller groups to pray.

    Click on the pictures to learn more about the people groups.


    Uyghurs
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    There are roughly 12 million Uyghur people around the world.  The vast majority of them are in the north-western area of China.  They are predominantly Sunni Muslim with very few known Christ followers.

    Not only are the Uyghurs far from Christ, but they are also heavily pursecuted by the Chinese government.  They are labeled as terrorists and there are more than 1 million Uyghurs in internment camps. Other policies have included forced labor, suppression of Uyghur religious practices, political indoctrination, severe ill-treatment, forced sterilization, forced contraception, and forced abortion.  You can read more here.

    We must pray for the Uyghurs and ask God to free them from this oppression and that they learn of Jesus' great love of them.


    Indigenous peoples of the Amazon
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    While each people group may only have a few hundred people, they are incredibly remote and access to the people is very restricted.  Today, only near-culture people will have any chance of meeting and sharing the Gospel with someone in these frontier people groups.

    We must pray that God would mobilize Christ following Brazilians, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, and Venezuelans to take the Gospel of Jesus into these tribal groups.

    FAQs
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