Save the Date USA 2026 Conference!

We are delighted to announce that the Unitarian Christian Alliance is holding our 2026 Conference at Lakeshore Bible Church in Tempe, Arizona on October 22-24th (Thursday evening – Saturday evening). On Sunday (Oct 25th), conference attendees can visit a Christadelphian church in Phoenix, visit another church in the area, or come worship at Lakeshore.

Will you join us?

UCA conferences are an excellent time to hear cutting-edge scholarship from biblical unitarians like Dale Tuggy, Dustin Smith, and Jerry Wierwille. For those less interested in academic presentations, we also provide practical workshops on meaningful topics. There will be plenty of opportunities to renew old friendships and make new ones during the meals and free time. We hope you can join us October 22-24th!

If you are interested in contributing to the conference, whether by leading a practical workshop or submitting a paper for consideration, get to work on it now. We’ll let you know in a future update about the precise requirements for paper submissions as well as how to send them to us. Papers are judged by a double-blind review process, which makes it possible for first timers to have an opportunity to present. As for workshops, we are especially interested in topics that are both practical and relate to the unique concerns of biblical unitarians today.

Does the Bible Teach the Trinity? Reflections on the Dustin Smith vs. James White Debate

I had the pleasure of being in Dallas at a debate conference hosted by The Gospel Truth on Feb 6-7, 2026. One of the featured debates was Dustin Smith, host of the Biblical Unitarian Podcast and author, and James White, a Trinitarian apologist and debater.  I and around 20 other unitarian Christians were there to support Dustin and to be present and interactive with the attendees. The room was packed with over 200 people. The topic: “Does the Bible Teach the Trinity?” (Dustin Smith’s video with embedded, clear slides, or TGT’s video without slides), released Feb. 16.

Historically, unitarian Christians have been on the fringe: the ignored. For those of us who have been unitarian believers for years, the isolation tends to leave us with a “this is just how it will be” attitude. This is not the case any longer. The internet and the culture of skepticism, combined with the cultural departure from Christianity, has left the next generation with a willingness to ask questions and not feel beholden to an historic, post-apostolic credal identity. I saw this on display this weekend. Folks who identified as Trinitarian were asking great questions, sincerely wanting to know “how does a unitarian view X and Y?” And the answers they were getting intrigued them. 

There was a measurable sense of Dustin having won the debate. Note that “your guy” almost always wins the debate. So Trinitarians, by default, and unless in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary, will say that James White won. That’s just how debates play out for the audience. However, this time, there were Trinitarians saying that despite their disagreement with Dustin’s view, he did provide the better case.

There were several in attendance who were not “all in” on the Trinity. There were folks who might be more binatarian, or still working on it. There was one who said they may have changed their mind after the debate. Who knows how many other nearly-unitarians might have been there. This shift is happening quietly, mostly outside our awareness, and I saw a glimpse of that shift during that weekend.

Dustin clearly put the time and effort in, and it showed. An amazing case was presented before hundreds of Trinitarians (and over 16 thousand views on YouTube as of Feb. 17, less than 24 hours after release).

If you get an opportunity to visit with people outside your normal circle, try to take it. If you have a chance to be at a conference or event which is Trinitarian, maybe take that, too. For many Trinitarians, we are “them.” We are not real people; they have never met us. But when they meet us in person, they see real people with real faith and passion. That can’t be unseen. It is easy to dismiss the heretics en masse. It’s hard to ignore the christlike non-trinitarian soul who is having lunch with you.

Whatever your opinion on formal debates, this one thing is true: thousands more are going to be exposed to the simple truth of our human, exalted savior. It’s an exciting time.

UCA UK International Conference call for papers

The Unitarian Christian Alliance UK International Conference organisers are pleased to announce a general call for papers to be presented at our third annual conference at the Denham Grove Hotel in Uxbridge, UK, Thursday 30 July – Saturday 1 August 2026. (Optional Sunday + programme: Sunday 2 August.) Watch this blog for the opening of registration.

  • The paper submission deadline is the end of the day (UK time) of Friday, April 17, 2026. Please do not submit multiple papers. Submissions will be blind-reviewed by a committee.
  • We are looking for scholarly (or at least: clear, informed, insightful, and well-argued) papers which are also accessible to an educated lay audience on topics which can advance the cause of unitarian Christianity. Previous conference presentations can be seen on YouTube and some model papers are referenced here.
  • Topics may include but are not limited to: biblical theology, systematic theology, biblical studies, textual criticism, history of theology, history of unitarian Christianity, apologetics, Christian philosophy, analytic theology.
  • Authors may submit even if they are neither a member of the UCA nor a unitarian Christian.
  • Paper submissions must conform to the Chicago Manual of Style (Notes and Bibliography style, with footnotes and bibliography). A fully written paper must be submitted; an outline or proposal is not enough.
  • The main text should be no longer than 6,000 words, so that the presentation is no longer than 45 minutes. Submitted papers longer than 6,000 (in the main text – so not including footnotes) will be automatically rejected.
  • Authors should plan on about 10 minutes of audience Q&A after their talk. Papers may be read, although authors are encouraged to present the material in an engaging way.
  • Conference presentations will be video-recorded and may be posted on the UCA YouTube channel, and our social media committee may also snip out interesting “sound bites” for short videos. By submitting a paper, you agree that your presentation may be filmed and used in these ways by the UCA.
  • After removing any self-identifying features (e.g. your name, references to your other publications or other work), please email your submission to ukconference@unitarianchristianalliance.org. When submitting, please indicate your country of residence. We especially encourage submissions from the UK, Ireland, and continental Europe. Our conference coordinator will ensure that the papers are suitable for blind review and then pass them on to the committee.
  • The committee’s decisions will be emailed to authors by the end of April 27, 2026.

Also, if you are planning on attending and you are interested in leading a practical workshop (as opposed to a scholarly presentation) please contact the committee with your idea at ukconference@unitarianchristianalliance.org.

Call for Papers – Australian Stanwell Tops Conference – deadline extended

  • Unitarian Christian Alliance, Australia are pleased to announce a general call for papers to be presented at our conference at ‘The Tops’ Conference Centre in Stanwell Tops (1hr South of Sydney) 27 – 29 March 2026. Watch here for the opening of registration.
  • The paper submission deadline is the end of the day (Sydney time) of Thursday, 8 January, 2025.
  • If you have already submitted a paper, you are welcome to re-submit a revised version before that deadline and only the later version will be considered.
  • Please do not submit multiple papers.
  • We are looking for scholarly (or at least: informed, insightful, and well-argued) papers which are also accessible to an educated lay audience on topics which can advance the cause of unitarian Christianity. Previous conference presentations can be seen on YouTube and some “model” papers are here.
  • While all submissions will be considered, we are especially interested in submissions from unitarian Christians in Australia or elsewhere in Oceania, so in your submission email please state your country of residence.
  • Topics may include but are not limited to: biblical theology, systematic theology, biblical studies, textual criticism, history of theology, history of unitarian Christianity, apologetics, Christian philosophy, analytic theology. An author may submit even if they are neither a member of the UCA nor a unitarian Christian.
  • Paper submissions must conform to the Chicago Manual of Style (Notes and Bibliography style, with footnotes and bibliography).
  • A fully written paper must be submitted; an outline or proposal is not enough.
  • The main text should be no longer than 6,000 words, so that the presentation is no longer than 45 minutes. Submitted papers longer than 6,000 (in the main text – so, not including footnotes) will be automatically rejected.
  • Authors should plan on about 10 minutes of audience Q&A after their talk. Papers may be read, although authors are encouraged to present the material in an engaging way.
  • After removing any self-identifying features (e.g. your name, references to your other publications or other work), please email your submission to conference@unitarianchristianalliance.org. A UCA Board member will ensure that the papers are suitable for blind review and then pass them on to the committee.
  • Submissions will be blind-reviewed by a committee of three.
  • The committee’s decisions will be emailed to authors by the end of 15 January, 2026.
  • Authors of accepted papers must supply a PowerPoint or Keynote or Google Slides presentation to accompany their talk by the end of Sunday, 1 March, 2026 (emailed to the address below).
  • Conference presentations will be video-recorded and may be posted on the UCA YouTube channel, and our social media committee may also snip out interesting “sound bites” for short videos. By submitting a paper, you agree that your presentation may be filmed and used in these ways by the UCA.

Sydney conference registration is open!

UCA Australia is pleased to announce that bookings are now open for our inaugural residential conference near Sydney in March 2026.

In addition to fantastic fellowship with numerous other unitarian Christians, you can expect excellent opportunities to hear from the likes of Dr. Dale Tuggy, Pastor Sean Finnegan, Mark Cain, Jeff Deuble, and more.

Early Bird price available until December 14th, 2025. Follow this link to join us there!

Any Questions? Contact uca.australia@outlook.com. For more updates, watch this website or join in the UCA Australia Facebook group.

New Zealand Regional UCA Conference

I’m delighted to post this on behalf of our amazing organizers in New Zealand! – Dale

One year on from our first ever UCA conference in New Zealand, the NZ team are pleased to announce a smaller, one-day regional conference for the 22nd of November 2025 (only one month away). This will be held just out of Cambridge at the Don Rowland Centre (same venue as last year) and will go from 10:00am – 9:00pm.

This will be an awesome opportunity to reconnect with people you met last year and to make new connections with the growing community of unitarian Christians in NZ. At the link below, you can register now and find out all the information about the event, including presentation topics, speakers, agenda, and more.

Don’t miss out, register now.

Smith vs. White: join us there!

I’ve seen a lot of unitarian-trinitarian debates, but I would say this is my favorite. The star of it, in my humble opinion, was Dr. Dustin Smith, who has blessed a number of UCA conferences with excellent, cutting-edge scholarly presentations. Look out; Dr. Smith is currently honing his arguments for his next debate, this time, face to face!

This February some of us are going to Dallas, Texas to support Dr. Smith as he squares off against Dr. James White. The topic: Does the Bible Teach the Trinity?

Will you join us, supporting Dr. Smith in person? Get your tickets here. It’s a whole debate conference; at that link you can see what the other debates are going to be.

The UCA is coming to Australia in March of 2026!

Save the dates: the Unitarian Christian Alliance is coming to Australia! Inspired by our 2024 conference in New Zealand, our Australian committee has been hard at work putting together a full, residential conference at a beautiful conference center in Stanwell Tops, New South Wales (not too far from Sydney). The conference will start at 6pm on Friday, March 27, 2026 and it will end at 3pm on Sunday, March 29.

Confirmed speakers so far include UCA Board members Mark Cain, pastor Sean Finnegan, and Dr. Dale Tuggy.

Watch this blog for a call for papers; we intend to feature some excellent presentations by Australian unitarian Christians.

As with other UCA conferences, there will also be practical workshops and plenty of time for making new friends and encouraging one another.

We hope to see you there!

CONVERGE 2025 Approaches! August 1-3 in Hiram, Ohio

This year is the second CONVERGE meeting in northeast Ohio, a celebration for biblical unitarians designed as a family festival with worship, preaching, workshops, and family activities. The first CONVERGE was six years ago in 2019, and it is where we first announced the formation of the Unitarian Christian Alliance. We are pleased to return once more.

CONVERGE is not a UCA conference. It’s organized by a committee led by Jerry Wierwille of Spirit & Truth. Because of the notable overlap in people who would attend this event and a UCA conference, we are hosting a mini-gathering on Saturday afternoon, complete with a few presentations and some networking time.

In 2019 there wasn’t a UCA yet; there wasn’t a large communication network for unitarian Christians. Nevertheless, CONVERGE was able to bring in over 300 people! It was amazing, and it certainly helped make the launch of the UCA successful. Why? The network of friendships had already begun. We launched the UCA website in January of 2020 and the momentum has continued for six years!

We invite you to come and enjoy this time of celebration and of meeting new people. We look forward to what God has in store in the coming years.

Find more information and registration details here: https://convergefest.com

Last Week of Fundraiser

On May 16th we began a one month $10,000 challenge. A generous donor had come forward to match donations made for a thirty day period. We are thrilled to announce that quite a few donors have contributed and we’ve raised $13,189.24! Thanks so much to all who have kindly taken the time to give and support the cause. Because of your generosity we were able to meet the $10k matching donation challenge.

The total funds raised this year is now at $37,158. We are on track to hit our secondary goal of $40,000 so we can say “Yes” to holding a conference in July in England and another in Australia in March. However, we have yet to reach our ultimate goal of $60,000, so that we can also hold a conference in the USA this year.

We are looking to raise $22,842 to reach the budget threshold required to put on the USA conference in Arizona. If you’d like to see this event happen in October, please consider giving. The deadline for us to make a decision on this is less than a week from today, June 16th. (Of course you can continue to give after that date, but we need to decide on the calendar for planning purposes by then.) And again, thanks to all of you who have already given.