Registration deadline extended for campus-ministry conference

The registration deadline for “TABOO” — the 2015 National LCMS Campus Ministry Conference set for Jan. 5-7 at Saint Louis University in midtown St. Louis — has been extended from Nov. 1 to Nov. 17.

The Rev. Marcus Zill, director of LCMS Campus Ministry and LCMS U and organizer of the event, said the deadline was pushed back to allow more people who want to attend the groundbreaking event to register.

“Registration is really picking up, but we are happy to extend the registration deadline in the hope that every last student, or young adult, who would like to come has the chance to do so,” Zill said.

The conference is geared toward college students, but is open to anyone interested in campus ministry in the Synod, particularly those involved in campus ministries.

The conference will address many topics related to marriage, dating and sexuality that college students are bombarded with on campus.

The three-day conference will include plenary presentations, sectionals on a wide variety of topics of interest to college students, worship and time for fellowship.

Scheduled plenary speakers are:

the Rev. Tom Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, N.D., and author of Bearing Their Burden: Speaking the Truth in Love to People Burdened by Homosexuality;

the Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer, associate professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.;

the Rev. Roger Sonnenberg, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Arcadia, Calif., and first vice-president of the LCMS Pacific Southwest District; and

Scott Barefoot, a Lutheran lay member from Virginia who returned to the church after having embraced the homosexual lifestyle for more than a decade.

“This conference couldn’t be more timely,” Zill said. “In addition to extolling God’s gift of marriage and all that it is, we also are very clearly tackling issues such as same-sex attraction, not only so that young people can understand what God’s Word has to say about it, but also to provide a framework for how we can reach out to those who struggle with it.”

The conference registration fee is $190 per person. This includes everything related to the conference program and activities, lunch Jan. 5–6 and three nights at the conference hotel Jan. 4–6 (based on quad occupancy). Rates for those who would prefer other occupancy arrangements are provided on the registration page.

TABOO follows “UNWRAPPED,” the LCMS campus-ministry conference in January 2013, which drew more than 400 college students and campus-ministry workers from around the country.

Visit lcms.org/events/taboo for more information or to register for TABOO.

Posted Oct. 30, 2014 / Updated Oct. 31, 2014