IMMA Conference Recap

IMMA CONFERENCE

RECAPBy District Elder Tommie R. Hughes

raise the Lord, Brethren,

The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW) came together with the Apostolic Faith Fellowship

International (AFFI); Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith International (PCAFI); and Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ (COOLJC) brotherhood to have the Global Men’s Conference on October 28, 2021. The theme was, “We Are Stronger Together.” The Bible says, One Lord, One faith, One baptism, One God, and Father of all. (Eph 4:5-6) This was a historic event…Men across organizations came together as one unit, taking their rightful position in front, where God intended them to be. We had a vision of four organizations coming together in a collaborative fashion to present the Gospel to men on a global platform. These four organizations gathered together in Unity to encourage and exhort while showing unity in the Apostolic Faith. The planning team consisted of District Elder Tommie R. Hughes (Men’s President of PAW); Deacon Tannis Vaughn (Men’s President of COOLJC); Elder Richard Lawrence (Men’s President of AFFI); and Elder Larry Stevens (Men’s President of PCAFI). As men of God, our goal is to be biblically correct—not politically correct. Although these four organizations differ in some respects (two are conservative, and two are liberal), we wanted the attendees to come to their own conclusions. The most important questions we wanted answered were: “Does the slight (organizational) differences affect men who are not churched? and “Are these differences significant enough to determine whether or not he stays around long enough to experience the manifest presence of God?” The conference brought out the fact that men need more than spiritual manifestation; they want physical manifestation. In other words, brothers want to see other brothers “walk the walk, and not just talk the talk.”

PBishops from the organizations also weighed in on our Friday panel discussion moderated by Bishop Carl Turner (PAW). Participating Bishops were: Bishop Troy Dockery (PCAFI); Bishop Royce Fields (AFFI) and Bishop Malcolm Mitchell (COOLJC). They discussed tough issues such as: “How can we reconcile our belief system so that we are sending consistent messages to the world about what it means to be apostolic?” The discussion was lively and full of thought-provoking dialogue. One of our topics was: “Can a man be the head of his household and not appear chauvinistic in the 21st century?” The conference addressed how as leaders are we reaching young Millennial and Generation X brothers. We addressed: “What do you speak into a young man’s life who doesn’t believe that Black Lives Matter?” The conference was truly a blessing, and it was the first of many to come. We thank and praise God for the great Presiders who blessed this conference and supported the Men’s Presidents. They are: Bishop Theodore L. Brooks, Sr. (PAW); Bishop Charles E. Johnson (AFFI); Bishop Lambert W. Gates, Sr. (PCAFI); and Apostle James I. Clark, Jr. (COOLJC). We thank God for the opportunity to serve the Lord and look forward to next year’s conference being more explosive and spiritual than ever. Tune in to your Brotherhood auxiliaries as we hope to be a shining example of how a man can embrace God’s will for his life in an ever-growing secular church environment. A special thanks to Bishop Marvin E. Donaldson who started me on this walk 25 years ago in the Men’s Ministry Auxiliary, I also would like to thank Elder Larry Cushingberry, Suffragan Bishop Larry Thompson and Suffragan Bishop Roskco Motes. Blessings, District Elder Tommie R. Hughes

District Elder Tommie R. Hughes currently serves as the President of the International Men’s Ministry Auxiliary of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. He is a Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley where he has worked for over 30 years as a Financial Advisor. District Elder Hughes is active in the community and his church Greater Pentecostal Temple, where he serves as Associate Pastor, Treasurer and Trustee. He is the proud father of four children Ninesha, Kristin, Bree, and Thomas Trevor.