Kingdom Justice Summit
March 4 @ 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM CST
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Hard times can illuminate new and exciting opportunities for the church. That’s what Kingdom Justice Summit (KJS) 2023 is all about: Reimagining and reengaging with hope.
2020 may be in the rear-view mirror, but its impacts are still with us. Individually and community-wide we grappled with how to cope with isolation, do ministry online, have a shared life, and scale our callings to our capacities. Even as we mourned many losses—from lives to illusions—we also grappled with culture-shifting public problems and injustices: the murder of George Floyd, healthcare inequities, job losses, food insecurity, strains on our public health and education systems, disinformation campaigns, and questions about the integrity of our public institutions.
Though we are three years on, many churches continue to struggle to make the turn to the future, even as some regular attendees maintain their distance. In the midst of this new reality, we are eager to be faithful to the eternal call to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). How do we make sense of God’s call to justice now?
At KJS2023, we will reimagine the call of God in this season. We will consider: How might we reengage the pursuit of justice? How might we discern and more effectively pursue justice locally?
Saturday’s keynote speakers, pastors José Humpreys III and Marcio Sierra, Jr., will each speak—theologically and practically— to what it means to be faithful, focused, and vitally present in our communities. Breakout sessions will offer opportunities to explore practical avenues for seeking justice. At the end of our day, cultural anthropology professor Christine Jeske will guide us in clarifying our unique stories and calls to justice in this season.
You can register for the Saturday Summit at Upper House, or for the full Summit Package, which also includes a Friday evening Dinner Church experience at five geographical locations across Madison/Dane County (designed for you to connect with your community where you live or attend church). Note—rates increase after January 31!
Upper House is excited to partner with Collaboration Project on this Saturday’s gathering of KJS2023.
Come expectant. Come curious. Come hopeful.
Program Schedule
9:00 AM | Session One: Pastor José Humphreys III
10:30 AM | Session Two: Pastor Marcio Sierra Jr.
12:00 PM | Lunch (Offsite with your friends)
1:00 PM | Breakout Sessions
2:00 PM | Session Three: Cultural Anthropology Professor Christine Jeske
Ticket Pricing
The following sessions are held at different locations. Upper House is co-hosting the Saturday Summit. Registration and tickets are purchased through Collaboration Project. Please follow links for your preferred experience.
Saturday Summit at Upper House – $40.00 through January 31
Friday Evening Dinner Church – $25.00
Summit Weekend Package – $60.00 through January 31
José Humphreys III
José Humphreys III is a native New Yorker, author of the award-winning, Seeing Jesus in East Harlem: What Happens When Churches Show Up and Stay Put (IVP, 2018), social worker, facilitator, and ordained minister with over 22 years of nonprofit experience. In his work, he has organized neighborhood groups and faith leaders around public justice engagement. Together with his wife, Mayra, and others, José began Metro Hope Covenant Church, a multi-ethnic church that partners to provide whole-life mentoring to people impacted by the criminal justice system.
José has also served as a coach and consultant to many organizations providing technical assistance and training around culture building, organizational development, transformative dialogue and more recently, trauma-informed leadership. He graduated with a Master of Social Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work and holds a Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. José resides in East Harlem with his wife Mayra and fifteen year-old son, Javier.
Marcio Sierra, Jr.
Marcio Sierra, Jr. is the Senior Pastor and President of Lighthouse Church and Schools in Madison, Wisconsin, a multi-cultural, international, bilingual fellowship of believers, with a ministry to provide education for low-income families of color. For his passion and dedication to help the Madison community prosper, Pastor Sierra has been named Community Champion of the Year by the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce in 2021, recognized as the Hispanic Entrepreneur of the Year at the Hispanic Heritage Luncheon by La Movida Radio Station, Mid-West Family Broadcasting, and the Latino Chamber of Commerce in 2018, and as one of the 48 Most Powerful Latinos in Wisconsin by Madison365 in 2016.
Originally from Honduras, Pastor Sierra moved to the United States in 1993 when he was 15 years old. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison and holds a Master of Divinity from Regent University. Pastor Sierra currently serves as board chair of the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce, as board president for Impact Christian Schools, and ministers in many Latin American countries and around the USA. He is married to Tia Sierra, and together they have two children, Marcio and Isabela.
Christine Jeske
Christine Jeske is a professor of cultural anthropology who believes that practicing social and cultural analysis along with community engagement can be an act of reciprocal transformation, respect, and love. After a decade working in microfinance, refugee resettlement, community development, and teaching while living in Nicaragua, Northwest China, and South Africa, Christine returned to the Midwest where she grew up, and has now been teaching at Wheaton College for seven years. Her current vocation is a mix of teaching, hospitality, parenting, and learning to live well in community.
Christine holds an MBA in International Economic Development from Eastern University and a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is author of three books, including The Laziness Myth, which explores what goes wrong with work and what people do about it. Currently, she is researching how white Christians envision and seek racial justice based on dozens of interviews conducted with individuals in the Madison faith community and beyond.
Isaiah Oby
Pastor Isaiah Oby is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, where he earned a Bachelors of Music with a concentration in contemporary composition. During his time in school, Oby began a full-time missionary apprenticeship at Chicago City Life Center, located in the south-side community of Englewood. After graduation, Isaiah’s work in the music industry took him on multiple world tours and even landed him television appearances on Fox and Netflix.
Over the years, Oby served as a Music Director and Worship Arts Coordinator at Park Community Church and Gospel Life (formally Crossroads Community) Church. During his time at Gospel Life, Isaiah served as the Interim Campus Leader at their Dekalb, IL location. In 2019, Oby returned to Madison to become an Associate Pastor at Northside Christian Assembly (NCA), where he oversees ministry operations, Sunday worship services, and preaches regularly. In addition to his work at NCA, Pastor Isaiah is a speaker, music producer, composer, and Worship-Arts consultant. He is married to Alina and they have two young children, Zion and Shiloh.