Mission Statement
“To inform, inspire, and engage in the work of God’s mission”
Our Story
The first Santa Barbara Mission Conference took place Saturday, January 18, 2003, when missionary statesman Harold Kurtz spoke to a group of about 80 people who gathered at First Presbyterian Church for a mission conference. That conference included presentations by nine mission groups, all of them validated by the Presbytery of Santa Barbara.
The conference’s goal, then and now, is to inform, inspire, and engage all who attend so that they will be active in God’s work in the world.
The conference has grown and expanded so that it now draws more than 400 people over a Friday evening through Saturday afternoon in late January. It has become a regional event, with people coming from beyond the tri-counties of California’s south and central coasts. It has also expanded in denominational terms; while it is officially a ministry of the Santa Barbara Presbytery, the Santa Barbara Mission Conference is in partnership with local congregations of the ECO-Presbyterian, Free Methodist, and Covenant churches, whose members are represented on the SBMC Council.
As it grew and expanded, the Santa Barbara Mission Conference increasingly drew college students and young adults. Often during those years an individual senses a call to serve God in an enduring way.
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Our Values
The Santa Barbara Mission Conference is a Christian mission conference. As stated in our mission statement, we produce the annual conference for attendees “to inform, inspire, and engage in the work of God’s mission.” That mission is the reconciliation of all people to God through Jesus Christ. Leaders of the conference are invited to be speakers or workshop leaders if they confess the Apostles Creed. A workshop may have multiple leaders, representing more than one faith tradition. However, we will require that one of the leaders confess the Apostles Creed.