APCE 2027 Will Renew Christian Education in Portland and Online

The Association of Partners in Christian Education will hold its 2027 Annual Event from January 27 through January 30 at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront in Portland, Oregon, with an online participation option for people across the country. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) announced the open registration on October 8, 2026. The theme, Can These Bones Live? Rediscovering What Matters, draws from Ezekiel 37:3-6 and the prophetic vision of God breathing life into dry bones. Event leaders Anna Sheetz and Brendan McLean describe the image as an invitation to reconnect and revitalize Christian formation without abandoning the foundations that have sustained the church. Each day will examine a different movement in the biblical vision - breath, sinews, flesh and spirit - as participants consider what faithful education and formation require now. The program is designed for Christian educators, pastors, children's ministry leaders, volunteers, artists, musicians, liturgists and others who form followers of Jesus. APCE identifies keynote speaker Patrick B. Reyes, president of Auburn Theological Seminary, along with preachers and leaders Junha Kim, abby mohaupt, Chris Dela Cruz and Kevin Nye. Artist Lauren Wright Pittman, musician Kim Mendoza, liturgist Beth Neel and spirituality-center director Lanie Sipes are also part of the leadership team. The official event information lists workshops, worship, a marketplace, networking, pre-events and online programming. Beginning January 25, optional pre-event learning includes opportunities connected with a new children's ministry micro-credential called Building Blocks of Faith of the Next Generation. The hybrid structure makes the gathering accessible to leaders who cannot travel while preserving an in-person community at a walkable riverfront hotel in downtown Portland.

APCE's annual event addresses a challenge shared by churches of many sizes and traditions: familiar Christian education structures may feel depleted, yet congregations still need deep, durable ways to pass on faith. The conference theme refuses both nostalgia and novelty for its own sake. Ezekiel's vision begins with a truthful look at what is dry, disconnected or unable to sustain life, but it also insists that renewal comes from God's breath. For a local church team, that framework can prompt constructive questions. Which practices genuinely help children, youth and adults know Scripture, pray, worship and participate in Christian community? Which programs continue only because they are familiar? Where are families, volunteers or generations disconnected from one another? How can art, music, storytelling and embodied worship support theological depth rather than distract from it? The event's speakers and workshops bring academic insight, congregational practice and creative leadership into the same conversation. Participants attending in Portland can build relationships across denominations and ministry settings; online participants can join without the cost and time of national travel. A practical plan would be for a church to send a small team with different responsibilities, select workshops around one shared formation problem and schedule a post-conference design session before normal routines resume. The optional children's ministry credential also offers a path for leaders seeking more sustained learning. The reason to attend is not simply to collect ideas. It is to renew the habits, imagination and communal structures through which Christians learn to recognize God's work and respond faithfully. By centering Scripture, worship, theological reflection and intergenerational practice, APCE 2027 aims to help leaders rediscover what matters and return home prepared to cultivate formation that is welcoming, substantial and rooted in the life of the church.