Abide 2026 Conference
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25th - 27th
August 2026
Venue
GraceCity Church
17 Marewa Road Greenlane, Auckland
Cost
$185 Super Earlybird
*Super Earlybird ends 28 February 2026
About Abide Conference
Laidlaw Centre for Church Leadership (CfCL) exists to bless, love, and serve the Church of Aotearoa New Zealand by providing her leaders with the tools, support, and guidance they need to flourish.
The Abide conference is one of the ways The Centre is outworking this, by offering a distinctly Aotearoa conference – developed by and for Aotearoa’s church leaders. As a national gathering point for all churches, you are invited to come for encouragement, inspiration, learning, encounter and refreshment.
Everyone is welcome. We look forward to growing together and experiencing what God is doing among us all.
More info to come!
We can't wait to be all together!
Overview
Day One - Tuesday
1:30pm
Keynote 1
3:45pm
Elective 1
4:45pm
Dinner
7:00pm
Keynote 2
9:00pm
End of Day
Day Two - Wednesday
8:15am
Optional Prayer Gathering
9:00am
Keynote 3
10:30am
Morning Tea
11:00am
Elective 2
12:00pm
Lunch
1:30pm
Keynote 4
3:45pm
Elective 3
4:45pm
Dinner
7:00pm
Keynote 5
9:00pm
End of Day
Day Three - Thursday
8:15am
Optional Prayer Gathering
9:00am
Keynote 6
10:30am
Morning Tea
11:00am
Elective 4
12:00pm
Lunch
1:30pm
Keynote 7
3:30pm
End of Day
Speakers
John Ortberg
John Ortberg is a pastor, author, and speaker. He has served in senior leadership and senior pastor roles at influential churches in the United States. He’s been in ministry for over 40 years and teaches around a central theme of spiritual formation.
He has written many books including the award winning If You Want to Walk On Water, You’ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat and When The Game Is Over, It All Goes Back In The Box. John is a deep believer that the main thing God gets out of your life is the person you become. He desires for people to know God in an interactive, life-transforming way.
Presently, John leads the ministry, Become New, focused on helping you grow spiritually one day at a time.
Nancy Ortberg
Nancy Ortberg is a respected Christian leader, speaker, leadership consultant, and author with decades of experience in pastoral ministry and organizational leadership. Known for her wisdom, clarity and pastoral depth, Nancy has been a trusted voice on leadership, spiritual formation, and leading through change.
Nancy is also the author of several books, including Looking for God, Unfolding God’s Story, and Spirituality and Leadership. She speaks widely to churches, conferences, and leadership gatherings, helping leaders cultivate resilient faith and healthy communities. She lives in California with her husband, John Ortberg, and is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of leaders.
Strahan Coleman
Strahan Coleman is a writer, teacher, pray-er and musician with a deep passion for helping the church to know and behold Christ. The author of five books on prayer, his heart is to help individuals unearth the ancient paths of prayer that lead to deeper communion with God.
Strahan is on the teaching team for Practicing The Way and is the founder of the Centre For Communion, a ministry for leading retreats, resourching churches, running prayer schools and training pastors and leaders in spiritual growth. Through the Centre he also disciples and teaches people in healthy, biblical prophetic ministry. Strahan lives in Tairua with his wife and three sons where they're involved in a young community church plant.
FAQs
What does the conference schedule look like?
The conference will be held across 3 days: Tuesday - Thursday. Beginning early afternoon on the Tuesday and finishing by mid-afternoon on the Thursday intentionally — so there is time to travel in and out and only be away 2 nights (if out of Auckland).
There will also be long dinner breaks in order to ensure more time to network and/or connect in your teams during conference.
Is there a programme of all session speakers and topics?
There will be! More detail about the programme and speakers coming soon.
What food and drink options are available during the conference?
Morning tea is provided on Wednesday and Thursday. You are welcome to bring your own lunch to eat in the cafe area, or purchase lunch from the food trucks on site or nearby cafes. There is a longer dinner break to create space to connect with other attendees.
Water is available at the venue. We recommend a reusable water bottle to reduce waste.
Will the conference be live streamed or recorded?
No. We are wanting to create something special for everyone in the room — so we are really hoping you can make it!
Will there be childminding?
Unfortunately we aren't able to provide any child-minding services at the conference.
Do I have to choose one elective stream and stick to all sessions?
No, you can select any session in any stream. Numbers may be limited for certain sessions.
Can I request an invoice or receipt?
No, to an invoice sorry! Yes, to a receipt! One should be sent to you automatically (please allow a week turnaround as it's a manual process from Laidlaw's Accounts team) which you can use to get reimbursement from your church/organisation if needed.
I am bringing a Walker/Wheelchair to the Conference — do I need to tell anyone?
Yes, please send an email to cfcl@laidlaw.ac.nz so we can be aware. However, it is an access friendly venue, so you should easily be able to get around to each area.
Photography
During services and events, we may be taking still photographs and capturing video footage of various aspects, including shots where individuals and groups are identifiable. Please note that we may use these shots in social media and for promotional purposes. Please let our team know if you do not wish to be in photos.
What parking is available?
Parking at GraceCity Church is very limited. There is some street parking available. Greenlane train station is a 10 minute walk from the venue.
I have a question that isn't answered here. Who do I contact?
Please email cfcl@laidlaw.ac.nz and we will get back to you as soon as we are able.
