ENGAGE 2026 Citywide Mission Conference
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.
8:00 am Doors Open + Check-In
9:00 am Main Session 1
Collaborative Worship by Columbia Area Churches
Prayer for the Unreached: Uyghur People
Daniel Topf on “God’s Glory Filling the Whole Earth: The Most Compelling Vision of All Time”
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
Collaborative Worship by Columbia Area Churches
Prayer for the Unreached: Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon
Carlos Negrón on “For the Sake of the Nations: A Challenge to Columbia”
5:00 pm Exhibit Hall
Breakout Sessions A
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Unreached People Groups and Important Missions Terms - Dr. George Murray
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Missionary Realities, Ask a Missionary - Panel: Randy Pfannenstiel, Ted & Sharon Wingo
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Building a Missions Strategy at My Local Church - Rev. Carlos Negrón
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A.I. and Missions - Doug B.
Breakout Sessions B
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Characteristics of an Effective Team - Sean Christensen
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Barriers to Sending NextGen and How to Respond - Panel: Olivia Caddell, Scott Brady, Bri, Erica Swanger
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Warnings and Best Practices in Short-Term
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Singleness, Marriage, Kids, and What to Expect in Missions - Scott & Angie Finnamore
Breakout Sessions C
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I Want to Go, Where do I Start? - Daniel Topf, PhD
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A Theology of Suffering in Missions - Panel: Doug Kracht, Matthew Rule, Ben Johnson
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EthnoArts and Missions - Mary Hendershott & Scott Rayl
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Local Engagement: Places to Plug in Now
Keynote Speaker Session 1
Keynote Speaker Session 2
Collaborative Worship by Columbia Area Churches
Leaders from multiple SendCola partnered churches join together to guide us in Christ-exalting worship throughout the conference.
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.
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.
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.
