Mission is central to God's very nature, delegates have heard at the Global Connections' conference in Swanwick.

Conference speaker Clive Calver told that God is a sending God; the Father sent the Son; the Son sent the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit sends the Church.

Sue Jackson, Lecturer in Mission at the London School of Theology commented: "My thinking was taken in new directions to consider how each person of the Trinity was completely involved in the task of mission and this must work out in our practices."

Martin Lee, Executive Director of Global Connections, said: "It was great to rediscover the missional heart of God and that mission cannot be on the edges of church life but is actually in the very nature of God and so should be at the core of who we are."

The message to the conference reflected the mission statement of Global Connections, which is 'Mission at the heart of Church; Church at the heart of Mission'.

The conference was attended by 170 delegates, including church leaders and Bible College principals, and leaders from organisations including Tearfund, BMS, Interserve, FEBA, CMS and WEC also attended.

Global Connections, formerly known as the UK Evangelical Missionary Alliance, is the UK evangelical network for world mission