2025
Sunday, April 27th – Tuesday, April 29th
Registration Deadline: Saturday, April 26th
This conference is for all Christian workers serving in their local churches. We understand that Sundays are difficult days to miss being in your particular churches, but we encourage you to be here, and soak up the blessing of God’s Word & Christian fellowship.
Registration is FREE!
Serving the Lord in His ministry can be difficult at times. God’s men from Enoch in Genesis to John the Apostle in Revelation knew and experienced this. Perhaps you have experienced it, too. But God always sent encouragement to His workers about the Person of Himself through His Word or through a word from a fellow worker. We desire to use God’s Word and a word from fellow workers in this conference to be an encouragement to you. Come fellowship and be discipled by others who have shared in the delights and disappointments in ministry for the Lord. Come be revived at the Encouragement Conference.
General Session Speakers
Dr. Brent Belford
Pastor, Colonial Baptist Church, Virginia Beach, VA
Dr. Douglas McLachlan
Chancellor, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Plymouth, MN.
Dr. C.J. Harris
President of Positive Action for Christ, Whitakers, NC.
Rev. Christian Scott
Pastor, Paint Creek Baptist Church, Gallipolis, OH.
Dr. Sam Horn
Pastor, Palmetto Baptist Church, Greenville, SC
Dr. Jim Tillotson
President, Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, Ankeny, IA.
Workshop Speakers
Dr. Marty Herron
Executive Vice President of Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, Ankeny, IA.
Andrew A.C. Young
Pastor, Indianola Regular Baptist Church, Indianola, IA
Matt Johnson
Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, West Valley City, UT.
Kim Wiebe
Pastor’s Wife, Grace Gospel Church, Huntington, WV
Conference Schedule
Sunday, April 27th
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9:00-9:40 AM - Belford - The Praying Life of a Pastor: Overcoming Excuses & Strategizing for Prayerfulness
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10:00-11:30 AM - Scott - Encouragement in Ministry
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3:45-4:45 PM - Special Workshop - Young - Lessons / Reflections from the First Years of Ministry. This workshop is for those training for ministry or those within their first few years of ministry.
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5:00-5:45 PM - Harris - The Battle is the Lord’s (1 Samuel 4-7)
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6:00-7:00 PM - Tillotson - Trusting God When You Can’t Track Him (Ruth)
Monday, April 28th
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1:00-2:00 PM - Herron - Life's Battles: Five Imperatives for Spiritual Victory
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2:20-2:40 - Break
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2:40–3:40 PM - Workshops 1
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3:40-4:00 PM - Break
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4:00-5:00 PM - Workshops 2
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5:00-6:30 PM - Break for Supper
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6:30-7:30 PM - Questions & Answers
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7:30-7:45 PM - Break
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7:45-8:45 PM - Horn - Beauty for Ashes: The Outcome of God-Appointed Suffering (1 Peter 4:12-5:11)
Tuesday, April 29th
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9:00–10:00 AM - McLachlan - Great Commandment Love: Our First and Highest Priority – Christ Our Model (Mark 12:28-31)
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10:00–10:20 AM - Break
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10:20–11:20 AM - Tillotson - Ministering for a Lifetime? or ! (2 Timothy 2:1-7)
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11:20-11:40 AM - Break.
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11:40 –12:45 PM - Final Questions & Answers
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12:45 PM - Dismiss
Workshops
Workshop 1
Monday at 2:40-3:40 p.m.
Dr. Brent Belford
The Target of Preaching
Preaching Text-driven, Trinitarian, Doxological Sermons
Dr. C.J. Harris
A Perfect Word from Imperfect Servants: Revisiting the Donatist Controversy
How do we deal with spiritual “heroes” who sin? How do we reconcile the ways their ministries may have blessed us in the past with their current or past failures?
Dr. Marty Herron
Juggling Jobs in the Ministry (Ephesians 5:16)
At times, it can feel like we’re part of a ministry circus, constantly juggling multiple roles and responsibilities. How well are you managing your job performance amid all that chaos? Together we will review three essential secrets to help you complete your work effectively and efficiently.
Dr. Sam Horn
Faith in the Fire of Adversity
How suffering deepens you at every level of life and ministry. (Daniel 6)
Matt Johnson
Dear Pastor, Jesus Is Enough
How the “Melodic Line” in Hebrews encourages weak servants to keep going.
Kim Wiebe
You Are Who He Says You Are
Ladies Only. Ministry life is unique in its blessings and challenges. Those challenges though! They can be overpowering, easily distracting us away from the special blessings God pours out on those who serve Him in vocational ministry. Ladies, God made you on purpose and with a purpose, and He perfectly designed you to meet the needs of the specific ministry and family in which He has placed you. He doesn’t make mistakes! This session will explore specific encouraging tools and strategies God has provided to strengthen our hearts, as ladies in ministry, and for us to share with those around us.
Monday at 4:00-5:00 p.m.
Workshop 2
Dr. Brent Belford
"This Do In Remembrance of Me"
The Theology, & Practice of the Lord's Table
Dr. Marty Herron
Learning the Art of Hospitality
Magnets that Draw People to Your Ministry
Dr. Sam Horn
Advancing the Gospel through Affliction by means of Grace-enable Suffering
(Philippians 1:3 -30)
Matt Johnson
Ordinary Ecclesiology
How embracing a simple ecclesiology keeps pastors sane and steadfast. (Hebrews 13:7-17)
Dr. Douglas McLachlan
The Benevolent Revolution: Serving Redemptively in a Malevolent World
(Psalm 2:1-3; 2 Timothy 2:3-7).
Dr. Jim Tillotson
Two Qualities of Exceptional Pastors
(1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
General Woman
Ladies Roundtable Discussion & Fellowship