We are thrilled to welcome a slate of gifted speakers to General Assembly 2024, including our keynote speaker, Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE).
Walter Kim previously served as a pastor at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and at churches in Vancouver, Canada and Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as a campus chaplain at Yale University. Through preaching, writing, and collaborative leadership, he connects the Bible to the intellectual and cultural issues of the day and regularly teaches in conferences and classrooms, addresses faith concerns with elected officials and public institutions, and provides theological and cultural commentary to leading news outlets.
“I have gotten to know Walter over the past few years as he has served as president of the NAE,” says Alan Robinson, national director of BIC U.S. “I have found him to be a passionate leader of integrity who challenges the Church to be a better representative of Christ in this world. I am delighted that his schedule allowed him to join us for this year’s General Assembly.”
Walter Kim will present the keynote the evening of Saturday, July 13.
A very brief history of the BIC’s connection to evangelicalism: While our deepest theological roots go back to Anabaptism, evangelicalism has contributed to the rich blend of theological traditions that make us who we are today. The evangelical movement of the mid-twentieth century shifted the BIC’s focus from what separated us from culture – such as dress and lifestyle – to how we could better engage culture with the transformative message of Jesus. Brethren in Christ U.S. has been a member of NAE since 1949.
Full Speaker Schedule
We are also thrilled to welcome Jay Moon, Jose Rodriguez, and Traci Hunter to the General Assembly stage on Friday evening, Sunday morning, and Sunday evening, respectively. Alan Robinson will close General Assembly by preaching the final session on the evening of Monday, July 15.
- Friday, July 12, evening – Jay Moon
- Saturday, July 13, evening – Walter Kim
- Sunday, July 14, morning – Jose Rodriguez
- Sunday, July 14, evening – Traci Hunter
- Monday, July 15, evening – Alan Robinson
Jay Moon
Jay Moon will speak the evening of Friday, July 12.
Jay Moon is a professor of evangelism and church planting and the director of the Office of Faith, Work, and Economics at Asbury Theological Seminary. He previously served 13 years as a missionary, largely in Ghana, West Africa, focusing on church planting and water development. He is an author, book editor, and frequent speaker on areas of church planting, evangelism, and marketplace mission. In addition to his role as a teaching pastor in a local church plant, he holds a professional engineer’s license and an MBA focused on social entrepreneurship.
“Jay is going to be talking about sharing the Gospel with people who are indifferent to it,” says Bishop Lynn Thrush of the Great Lakes Conference. “He is creative in so many ways. We found him helpful at our regional annual meeting a year ago, and I am excited for him to share at General Assembly.”
Jose Rodriguez
Jose Rodriguez will speak at our morning worship service on Sunday, July 14.
Jose Rodriguez, from Miami, Fla., serves on General Conference Board as a member-at-large. Born in Cuba, Jose came to faith in Christ as a child and was heavily involved in the first Cuban BIC mission congregation, the Cuatro Caminos Church under Pastor Juana Garcia. After sensing a call to pastoral ministry and attending seminary, he served as pastor of that church for two years. In 1989, he and his family moved to Miami, Fla. where he has served in pastoral ministry ever since; most recently providing oversight to the Esmirna congregation, which he planted in 1998. In addition to serving on the Commission on Ministry and Doctrine and the Southeast Conference Board of Directors, Jose founded PEACE CDC, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides after school and summer camp programs throughout Miami-Dade County for approximately 250 children year-round.
Tracie Hunter
Tracie Hunter will speak the evening of Sunday, July 14.
Tracie is the senior pastor of Western Hills BIC in Cincinnati, Ohio, and serves on the Leadership Council Advisory Team as the representative for the Great Lakes Conference. In 2009, she became the first African American Senior pastor in the Brethren in Christ denomination in North America and the first female pastor of Cincinnati’s local BIC congregation. She is passionate about seeing people and communities restored and has led over 200 prayer walks in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky’s toughest neighborhoods to rebuild communities and curb urban violence. In addition, she has taught over 100 churches how to organize prayer walking missions in their own communities. Her impressive career has spanned many different fields from lawyer and Judge to journalist and pastor. At the heart of everything she does is a vision to help individuals of all ages, races, and socio-economic backgrounds embrace Christ and reach their full intellectual, physical, and spiritual potential.
Breakout Sessions
In addition to speaking and preaching, Walter Kim and Jay Moon will offer breakout sessions on Saturday; the full breakout session schedule has yet to be released.
We hope you will join us for General Assembly this summer! This year’s theme – Formed to Follow – invites us to embrace our identity as disciples created to follow God, love the world, and share the redemption he offers.