Preaching Conference 2011

Thinking about the conference this year, I come to realise that having a conference for people in ministry is always encouraging. I am sure that for some people this year’s conference was not quite what they expected, however for others it was just what they needed and still others were somewhere in between, thankful for what they were learning, and at the same time not sure if it was for them.

For a preaching conference you really do want preachers attending. This year was a year that I thought I should change the goal a little in order to make the conference more accessible to those who are not in full-time ministry however are very involved. Do we need to change the focus of the conference? I am talking about people who teach regularly, bible study leaders, youth group leaders and others who have a basic understanding of the bible with no formal training of any sort. So did we have more of these people than those who preach?

No, in fact I counted and at least half of the people in the conference have a regular preaching opportunity, which was more than I thought (I thought perhaps only 5 to 10 would have the opportunity). This is a real encouragement to me and makes me want to think about perhaps having a different conference that would cover these others, perhaps even using those who attend the preaching conference to run it. Many thoughts and many ideas, however perhaps I just need to keep my feet on the ground, ask for some help and perhaps someone else will take up this responsibility.

I guess this is one thing that motivates me to keep going here in Loja, that is, a need for bible teaching. A need for getting into the text and explaining what it says and not what our itching ears want to hear.

Take for instance two young guys who came from a province town where there is no real evangelical presence. Both in their early twenties and both very shy and turn red at the drop of a hat. However a few weeks after the conference they both attended a youth camp where a young girl from their town was greatly impacted as a result of the change she saw in these two guys, especially one of them. This comes from creating this space where he can flourish and at the conference this young guy received what was necessary for him to be encouraged to take this message further afield than perhaps he has done before.

Praise God for the conference and for the encouragement that these stories bring to us. Praise God for the way he is using these events for his glory.