SMBC 2026 Global Mission Conference
28-30 July 2026
Sent and Sending: God’s Mission in a Changing World
God’s mission is not caught off-guard by global change. People are moving, religious landscapes are changing, and yet the gospel is advancing. God is sending his people from everywhere to everywhere to share the hope and love of Jesus. This conference is an opportunity to listen to people from around the world who have crossed cultural and national boundaries to serve Christ. We will be strengthened in our own efforts to make disciples among the nations, whether we are going to our neighbourhoods, our networks, or the least-reached people of the world.
J.D. Payne, Professor of Christian Ministry at Samford University, is our keynote speaker. Learn more about what he will be speaking on in this article
Speakers:
J. D. Payne is Professor of Christian Ministry at Samford University, and a leading voice in the fields of missions, church planting, and evangelism. He has served as a pastor, a church planting coach and mentor, including as Pastor of Church Multiplication at The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham (2012-2017 ) alongside David Platt. The author of sixteen books on missions and evangelism, J. D. also hosts the podcast 'Strike the Match', addressing missions, innovation, and leadership.
Clive was born in Sri Lanka and migrated to Australia at the age of five. Since really understanding the gospel at University, God has put it on Clive's heart to understand and reach South Asians. After working as an Anglican Minister for more than 10 years, Clive is now working for Evangelism & New Churches (ENC). Clive works through the SATYA network to make Jesus known among South Asians.
Ed is the Director of the SMBC Centre for Cross-Cultural Mission, and Head of Missions. Originally from the U.S., he served for 14 years in church planting and field leadership in Central Asia. On returning to the U.S. Ed worked as the Missions Pastor at Cherrydale Baptist Church located just outside of Washington D.C. for 15 years.
Evelyn, with her husband, Richard, served as a pioneer church planter in the Middle East and Bulgaria. She has an international ministry helping missionaries with strategic planning, church planting, multicultural teamwork, and developing and evaluating missionary training programs. Together with Richard she has written several books on cross-cultural ministry.
Glen and his family moved to Australia in 2019 having been in multi-ethnic church ministry for 18 years in the Middle East. In 2021, they heard about the projected growth in Western Sydney and much of that growth through international migration. In 2023 they planted Grace Emmanuel Church in Marsden Park. Grace Emmanuel currently has people from 13 different ethnic backgrounds.
Grace Lung is Director of the Centre for Asian Christianity at Brisbane School of Theology and Coordinator of the Next Generation Bicultural Program at Melbourne School of Theology. She writes and teaches on Asian Australian and intercultural faith, and pastors with her husband at Rise Alliance Church on Brisbane’s southside.
Peter Moore is an SMBC graduate who has more than 30 years experience in cross-cultural ministry and training cross-cultural workers.
Ben is the Director of The Bridge gap year program at SMBC. With his family he served in East Asia from 2009 to 2021 in church planting, mentoring, and area and regional leadership .
Margaret moved from parish ministry in North West Sydney to community ministry in South West Sydney 18 years ago. Working in one of the most diverse multicultural areas of Sydney she has established communities in which women can belong – observing and receiving Christian community.
Tim lectures in Missions at SMBC. He completed his M.Th in the field of intercultural leadership development and his doctoral studies exploring the involvement of Australian local churches in mission.
Kamal was born in Sri Lanka and migrated to Australia as a teenager with his parents. He is now a Presbyterian Church minister and adjunct faculty at both Christ College Presbyterian Theological Centre Sydney and the Reformed Theological College in Melbourne. His Master's thesis was in biblical sexual ethics and his doctorate in globalisation and migration.
Dr Abe, an Ethiopian, has ministered in southern Ethiopia among the Hamar nomadic people, in central Ethiopia among the Oromo people, in Pakistan among the Marwari people, and in Xi’an, central China. He is currently serving in Egypt, focusing on equipping Ethiopian house churches across the Middle East and encouraging local churches to get involved in global missions. Dr Abe has a PhD in Education and is a passionate mobiliser for global missions and advocate for the unreached. He will be joining us online.
Standard On-Campus Tickets:
This ticket is available up till 11.59pm 19 July. It includes the full three day program (with Wednesday evening). Morning Tea, lunch and Afternoon Tea is included for each day.
Purchase TicketsThis ticket is available up till 11.59pm 19 July. It includes one day of the program, but not the Wednesday evening program. Choose from Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. To attend for two days, please purchase two one day tickets. Morning Tea, lunch and Afternoon Tea is included for each day.
Purchase TicketsThis ticket is available up till 11.59pm 28 July, or until sold out. It includes the Wednesday Evening Program (7:00-9:00pm) on-campus. A light supper will be provided.
Purchase TicketsLast Chance On-Campus Tickets:
This ticket is available from 12:00am 20 July till 11.59pm 26 July. It includes the full three day program (with Wednesday evening). Morning Tea, lunch and Afternoon Tea is included for each day.
Purchase TicketsThis ticket is available from 12:00am 20 July till 11.59pm 26 July. It includes one day of the program, but not the Wednesday evening program. Choose from Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. To attend for two days, please purchase two one day tickets. Morning Tea, lunch and Afternoon Tea is included for each day.
Purchase TicketsLivestream Tickets:
This ticket provides online access to the full three day program.
Purchase TicketsProgram:
Join us for one, two or all three days – or just Wednesday evening.
- 9:00am
- Session 1 – Derek Brotherson, J.D. Payne
- 10:30am
- Morning Tea
- 11:10am
- Session 2 – Tim Silberman, Kamal Weerakoon
- 12:40pm
- Lunch
- 1:30pm
- Session 3 – Missionaries
- 3:00pm
- Close
- 9:00am
- Session 4 – Geoff Harper, J.D. Payne
- 10:30am
- Morning Tea
- 11:10am
- Session 5 – Evelyn Hibbert, Glen Jones
- 12:40pm
- Lunch
- 1:30pm
- Session 6 – Workshops (J. D. Payne, Peter Moore)
- 7:00pm
- Session 7 – Ed Grudier, J.D. Payne
- 9:00pm
- Close
- 9:00am
- Session 8 – Kirk Patston, J.D. Payne
- 10:30am
- Morning Tea
- 11:10am
- Session 9 – Ben Powell, Grace Lung
- 12:40am
- Lunch
- 1:30pm
- Session 10 – Workshops (J. D. Payne, Clive Buultjens, Margaret Powell)
- Panel Discussion
- 3:30pm
- Close
Sessions:
Tuesday 28 July
Morning:
Derek Brotherson – When God’s Mission Seems Stalled: Remember the Stairway
Bible Talk from Genesis 28:10-22.
J. D. Payne – The Father Who Sends: Understanding the Apostolic Imagination
This session will consider the sending nature of God and the global status of the unreached and unengaged-unreached peoples of the world. J. D. will examine how the apostolic (send-ness) nature of God should influence our thinking and missionary practice.
Tim Silberman – Gospel Need and the Aussie Church
Churches in Western nations are in decline, and the centre of global Christianity is now found in Asia, Africa and South America. So how should we think about the need for gospel ministry? We can see the need for evangelism, church planting, and cross-cultural outreach in our own community, but we also hear about the billions of unreached people around the world. What is our role in God’s global mission? This session will explore the place of ‘need’ in our thinking about mission involvement.
Kamal Weerakoon – Globalisation and Hybridisation: Fishing in a Soup Bowl
This seminar will show how the intercultural nature of the Christian gospel helps us embrace the communicative opportunities of hybridisation without degenerating into mere relativism. These intercultural principles can be applied both to reach people from different ethno-cultural backgrounds and for intergenerational migrant ministry.
Wednesday 29 July
Morning:
Geoff Harper – Outsiders and Insiders
Bible Talk from Exodus 18:1-12.
J. D. Payne – The Son Who Builds: Embracing a Stewardship of Innovation
This session will consider God’s mission in a changing world. If Jesus has promised to build his Church and we are filled with a dynamic Spirit, then not only should change be expected, but the Lord has provided a way for us to think about gospel advancement and change. J. D. will offer a biblical understanding of innovation, success, and the steps the first disciples followed as they experienced Spirit-led change.
Evelyn Hibbert – Managing Conflict in Multicultural Teams
The principles of managing conflict are simple to say but difficult to apply in multicultural settings. In this talk, Hibbert will outline the dynamics of multicultural teams, will present the principles of managing conflict, and will discuss the challenges of applying them in practice.
Glen Jones – Being a Backyard Global: Multi-Ethnic Ministry Lessons for Our Backyard
Afternoon:
J. D. Payne – Pastors and Global Missions
This session will address the vital role of local church pastors in sending missionaries. After considering relevant biblical texts, J. D. will draw on the early Moravians, William Carey, and John Mott for instruction on pastoral engagement in missions and the place of Western missionaries today. He will conclude with nine things he would have done differently across nineteen years of pastoral ministry.
Peter Moore – Developing Cultural Intelligence in Your Church
How do we reach people whose thinking and way of life differ so greatly from our own? Cultural Intelligence is the ability to understand and interact appropriately in cross-cultural settings. It encompasses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable deep, trusting relationships in which the gospel can be shared compellingly. Cultural Intelligence can be learned and developed. This session will introduce the concept and will suggest practical ways to cultivate it in your church.
Evening:
Ed Grudier – The Nations Among Us: Migration and Mission
Migration is a global phenomenon that presents an incredible opportunity to ‘preach the gospel among the nations’ without leaving home. In this session we will consider how we can join God in this work and mobilise our churches to be intentional about reaching the diverse communities around us.
J. D. Payne – Six Principles of a Sent Life
This session will draw heavily from Colossians 4:2–6. As Christians consider crossing cultural contexts in Australia and the world, Paul has much to say about witness in actions and words. Whether in the marketplace or in remote regions among frontier peoples, J. D. will consider how all evangelism involves crossing cultural gaps and will outline principles for practical application.
Thursday 30 July
Morning:
Kirk Patston – Captured: What can an enslaved, young, female victim of forced migration do?
Bible Talk from 2 Kings 5:1–19a.
J. D. Payne – The Spirit Who Multiplies: Working Toward the Multiplication of Healthy Churches
2027 will mark the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of Roland Allen’s Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which Hinder It. This session will consider the multiplication of disciples and churches and where the conversations stand today. J. D. will share how both church health and multiplication are biblical and should be integral to our strategies.
Ben Powell – When Cultures Meet: A Biblical Vision for Power and Partnership in Mission
When cultures meet, power is always present – but how can Christians best understand and use it for gospel witness? Drawing on doctoral research, years of cross-cultural ministry experience, and biblical theology, Ben will examine competing understandings of power and will show how Scripture transforms it into a means of service and shared participation in God’s mission throughout the local and global church.
Grace Lung – Asian Australian Christianity (Second Generation)
Afternoon:
J. D. Payne – Reaching the Strangers Next Door
This session will address diaspora missiology and will consider God as the Divine Maestro who orchestrates the movement of the nations. J. D. will share global statistics on migration, including international students and new migrants, and will draw stories and practical strategies from his book Strangers Next Door, with principles for reaching the unreached.
Clive Buultjens – Reaching Hindus and South Asians
Margaret Powell – How Does Jesus Speak into the Lives of Muslims in Australia?
Event Location
SMBC Croydon Campus
43-45 Badminton Road
Croydon NSW 2132
Parking note: for the benefit of our neighbours, please avoid parking in Badminton Road or near the corner of Beaufort and Arthur Street, thank you. (Street parking map)
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