SOLA Conference is a conference for collegians in hopes to help unpack the gospel and how to live it out in daily life.
Korean American college students may be familiar with various types of conferences offered to them by para-churches and local churches, including mission conferences, leadership conferences, and evangelistic conferences. SOLA Conference, however, is unique in that it doesn’t fit quite into any one of those categories.
SOLA Conference is a conference for collegians, with the purpose to unpack the gospel, discuss how it can be lived out in daily life, and allow attendees to see that they are not alone in the journey of living out the gospel on their campuses, in their families, and in their communities.
“I see these two big pockets of confusion in many collegians,” said Pastor Steve Lee from Living Hope Community Church.
“The first is, ‘What is this thing that I’m a part of called church? What makes me a Christian?’ So the first pocket of confusion is regarding what the gospel really is," Lee continued. "After that, once students are clarified in that aspect, the next pocket of confusion that comes is, ‘What does this look like on a daily level? How do I approach academics, sexuality, parents, and friends, with the gospel?’ And I love that this conference is trying to clarify both of those pockets of confusion, because this is something that is unnecessarily trapping a lot of collegians from the life that God has for them.”
“We want them to be liberated and freed from the burden of works and legalism. But we also want them to be led, convicted, and constrained by holiness,” said Pastor Michael Lee from All Nations Church.
Hence, the conference may not be easily categorized into any one "type" of conference, but it has the potential to embody the qualities of all of those various types of conferences through its focus on the gospel. Organizers shared that though the conference is not necessarily evangelistic, some previous attendees were able to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord through the conference; and though the conference may not necessarily have a heavy emphasis on missions, in its discussion on how to live out the gospel, attendees are naturally challenged to live missionally in their campuses and communities.
Another unique quality of the annual SOLA Conference, which began in 2013, is that it is not led by any one para-church or local church. Instead, the conference is led by a partnership of four local churches—Gospel Life Mission Church, Living Hope Community Church, Good News Chapel, and Christ Central of Southern California.
“We didn’t want to create a substitute for para-churches or local churches, but rather we wanted collegians to see churches in partnership with each other, and know that there are many churches that truly love Christ and are gospel-centered,” Pastor Michael Lee shared. “We invite churches to come in groups together, and we want them to come back to their churches on Sunday loving their churches even more.”
Organizers also encouraged attendees to seize opportunities to mingle and fellowship with other fellow collegians from other churches during mealtimes, and in between sessions, to further deepen relationships between churches.
This year's SOLA conference in particular is centered on the theme, “Becoming what we behold.”
“This year, we want them to be able to answer the question, ‘What does true godliness look like?’” shared Pastor Thomas Hwang from Gospel Life Mission Church. “Who is this God we’re beholding? This should inform the way that I live my life and what kind of a Christian I should and can be.”
To shed light into the topic, the conference features plenary speakers including Kevin DeYoung, author, senior pastor of University Reformed Church, and contributor to The Gospel Coalition; and Paul Kim, the lead pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church of San Diego.
The conference also features breakout sessions, all which will take place during the second day of the two-day conference, featuring speakers such as Danny Kim, an elder at Good News Chapel and adjunct professor of the University of Southern California; Peter Kim, the founder and senior pastor of Berean Community Church; Benjamin Shin, the Associate Professor of Bible Exposition and Director of the Asian-American Ministry track for the Doctor of Ministry at Talbot School of Theology; Harold Kim, the lead pastor of Christ Central of Southern California; and Richard Kim, the lead pastor of Gospel Life Mission Church.
SOLA Conference 2015 will take place from March 6 to 7 at New Life Community Church. For more information and to register, visit www.thesolaconference.org.
