Our work is anchored in a yearly Consultation where at the invitation of a local host we come together to learn from and with local churches and leaders as we discern together the future God may have in stock for them. Our consultations currently rotate among four continents: Europe, Africa, Australia, and North America. The Consultation is shaped by a particular contextual missional question, formulated by the host, and presentations and conversations are focused on both learning from and contributing to the ways local churches and their leaders have engaged this challenge. Our aim is to publish papers and presentations offered during the Consultation as a collective in the journal Ecclesial Futures, as a contribution to the wider missional conversation.
Upcoming consultation:
ICEF 2026 • Stiftsgården Rättvik, Sweden
Our next consultation (June 8th-12th) will be hosted by the Diocese of Västerås (Sweden), MF Norwegian school of theology, religion and society (Norway), Kirkefondet (Denmark) and Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm (Sweden). Research will be once again presented form different parts of the world with the theme ‘Collaborative diaconal work as church development and ecclesiological challenge’.
In recent years, ICEF has met in:
2025 • Wellington, South Africa (hosted by Communitas, Excelsus and Hugenote Kollege)
2024 • Halle, Germany, Europe (hosted by the Center for Empowered Studies (CES))
2023 • San Francisco, California, USA (hosted by the Episcopal Diocese of California)
2022 • Adelaide, Australia (hosted by the Lutheran Church of Australia)
2021 • Online gathering (hosted by the Church Mission Society, United Kingdom)
2020 • Online gathering due to the Covid pandemic.
2019 • Wellington, South Africa (hosted by the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa and Universiteit Stellenbosch)
2018 • Zürich, Switzerland (hosted by the Evangelisch-Reformierte Landeskirche des Kantons Zürich and the Universät Zürich)
2017 • Pittsburgh, USA (hosted by Pittsburgh Theological Seminary)