The Xenos Summer Institute began in 1996. That year the multi-authored book, The Death of Truth was published. The Institute and the book were the culmination of a couple of years of research, writing, and speaking by a team of Dwell Community Church apologists on the relationship of Christian witness to the emerging postmodern consensus primarily in the university community.
The Xenos Summer Institute was originally a nine-day apologetics conference, patterned after Trinity's "Week in the Word," a summer program for intensive Bible study. The Institute brought together experts in various aspects of Christian witness with our own leaders to equip the church for the task of evangelism and discipleship in a rapidly changing culture.
Since those early days, the Institute has been pared down to a three-day conference and the original vision has been widened beyond apologetics to include a range of issues surrounding the church and its mission.
Over the years, the Summer Institute has accomplished two things. First, it has provided an opportunity for us here at Dwell to share our vision for home church ministry. That has stimulated lively and productive interaction with church groups and missions around the world. We are thankful for those growing relationships. Second, the Summer Institute has brought the very best thinkers in the Christian world to our church. These scholars and cutting-edge practitioners have been a source of encouragement and instruction for us and we are grateful for their contribution to our ministry.
The Summer Institute has become a vital part of our community life. It reflects both our deep commitment to an informed, intellectual understanding of the Christian message to secular culture and our passion for a rich, authentic biblical community in which these truths are lived out. Inviting like-minded Christians from around town and the world into this conversation has been a great blessing to us here at Dwell Community Church.