News > North America

After the last Well conference held on December 31, 2015, there was not another national Well conference in 2016. 

A couple of the core young leaders that handled the conference for the past 2-3 years were not involved in any planning for the next conference. Including myself (Augustine Park), Edward Papabathini, and Teddy Hembekides, Pastor Abraham also asked Little-Sarah Kim to join this advisory group to plan the next Well event. We met several times throughout the year to brainstorm and pray for the Well. 

It was clear, though, early on, that there was a desire for a different direction due to different factors. Included among other reasons were the absence of a clear group of ready young leaders, the gradually declining attendance, and the lack of a clear purpose for having the conference. Was the conference for outreach of new believers, discipleship of current believers? Was it geared toward college students or a broad age range of young leaders? Or a little of all of the above? Planning of a Well conference usually took a good part of the year with a lot of meetings and work being done in December. So the advisory board wanted to see if there would be a more efficient way of ministering without a 3-4 day event that required a lot of logistical planning. After much thought and prayers, we decided the future direction of the Well should be having regional events instead of one national event for a few reasons, such as the opportunity for more leaders to step up in responsibility, easier on attendees who would have to travel from longer distances, and having a more intimate event that can be tailored to better suit the region’s needs. Even with this plan, though, it was not clear whether having a Midwest Regional Well conference in 2016 should be done because the next group of committed young leaders was not known. There were preliminary talks for a small leadership workshop event or a Chicago-based Midwest Well conference but there was a lack of traction and ultimately, no official Well event took place in 2016. 

Looking forward, we are still praying for vision and direction for the Well. It remains a bit fluid and unclear now. A Midwest Regional Well conference can occur in the summer or winter of 2017. Or a national Well event can take place at the 2018 International Summer Bible Conference in Louisville. More importantly, though, the search is on for the next generation of young, preferably student, leaders committed and willing to take this on. 

By Augustine Park