TEXAS - Nearly 2,000 leaders and managers from churches and nonprofit ministries across the nation and overseas gathered for Christian Management Association's 27th annual leadership and management conference, in Grapevine, TX, April 26-29.

The theme of this year's conference was "Spiritual Leadership: Moving Your Team on to God's Agenda."

The goal of the conference was to provide a network among the Christian leaders to enhance the effectiveness of the ministries they serve and to enrich their own careers and personal development. It also helped them to know about strategies that could be used to enhance their ability attract employees

CMA Texas 2004 offered about 100 training sessions, workshops and seminars for administrative, development, marketing, financial and accounting, human resources and information management personnel.

Followed by a series training sessions, CMA awarded its highest honor to Hugh O. Maclellan Jr., president of The Maclellan Foundation, Chattanooga, TN, who also serves on several nonprofit boards, including: First Things First; United Way of Greater Chattanooga; and The Jesus Film, which has been shown to more than 4.5 billion people in 770 languages.

The four-day conference featured many leaders from the Christian community. The first day evening's opening keynote session featurde Leith Anderson, senior pastor of Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie, MN, and past president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE).

Other keynote speakers at the conference included: Henry Blackaby, author of "Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God," which has sold more than three million copies; Tony Evans, senior pastor at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church, Dallas, TX, who is also a founder/president of The Urban Alternative; Kay Coles James, director of the federal government's Office of Personnel Management, and former senior vice president of the Family Research Council, Washington, D.C; and Joe Stowell, president of Moody Bible Institute.

Christianity Today International and the Best Christian Workplaces Institute presented the second annual survey of The Best Christian Places to Work and the top 48 Christian organizations in the survey were honored at the keynote session on the first day of conference. .

CMA's conference is held annually to strengthen leadership of the 1,500 Christian organizations and churches and 3,800 members who are part of CMA. Founded in 1976, CMA has members across the U.S., Canada and other countries. Its mission is to equip its member organizations with management information, leadership training and strategic networking relationships so ministries are led and managed in God-honoring ways.