Father Greg Boyle and Kara Powell will headline the 2020 Santa Barbara Mission Conference, Radical Kinship, Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at First Presbyterian Church. The two-day non-denominational event also features speakers from Fuller Theological Seminary and Southern California churches and organizations.

The UCSB Gospel Choir will perform Friday evening. The conference seeks to inform, inspire and engage all who attend to actively accomplish God’s work in the world.

Fr. Boyle, founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries, has written two bestselling books “Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship” (2017) and “Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion” (2010).

In a recent Los Angeles Times article, Martin Wolk wrote: “In ‘Barking to the Choir,’ Boyle preaches the ‘power of radical kinship,’ the idea that everyone belongs in what he calls the ‘circle of compassion,’ including people who have committed acts of terrible violence.”

Witnessing gang violence as pastor of Dolores Mission in Los Angeles in the 1980s led Boyle to establish Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world.

Homeboy employs former gang members and previously incarcerated individuals, reducing recidivism, substance abuse and reconnecting individuals to society.

Powell serves as the executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute, teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary and speaks regularly at parenting and leadership conferences. She has written or co-authored numerous books, including “Growing Young,” “The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family,” “Deep Justice in a Broken World” and “Can I Ask That?”

She studied child and youth development at Stanford University and earned a doctor of philosophy in practical theology at Fuller. She encourages churches, parents and grandparents to give their teenagers the best possible answers to their toughest questions about life and faith.

Other speakers will lead additional sessions digging deeper into the theme of radical kinship. Register by Jan. 21 at www.sbmissionconference.org for the best rate ($60 adults; $20 students), which includes appetizers Friday evening and breakfast and lunch on Saturday. After Jan. 21, the cost is $90 for adults, $30 for students.

— Kirk S. Gilbert for Santa Barbara Mission Conference.