Spiritual Leadership Conference has already held so many blessings. My heart has been stirred through the preaching, sharpened through the fellowship, and touched through the testimonies of others. But the watershed moment for me happened yesterday afternoon when I stepped into the room where our annual West Coast Baptist College alumni luncheon was served. (Many of our alumni attend the conference, and this luncheon is a great way for them to get together each year.)

One of the decisions requiring the most faith that our church ever made was to start West Coast Baptist College. From its beginning, the college surpassed all of our resources in every way—time, money, facilities—everything! To this day, overseeing and caring for the college is a daily walk of faith.

Not only that, but it’s a lot of work! Over the years, God has brought together a team of staff and faculty who tirelessly give of themselves to this work of training laborers for His harvest. Of course, even as we pour our lives and our hearts into our students, we do it with gratefulness to have a part in their future labors.

But yesterday afternoon, when I stepped into the room where the alumni had gathered for lunch, I was overwhelmed by what I saw—hundreds of men and women who are literally serving the Lord all around the world as pastors, missionaries, assistants, Christian school teachers—faithful servants of God. Seeing so many at the same time astounded me as I realized the magnitude of what God has done through these years of faith and labor. (more…)

Good news for those unable to attend this year’s Spiritual Leadership Conference! We will be live streaming the evening services and all of the daytime sessions taking place in the main auditorium. Additionally, there will be some special features and interviews broadcasted before and after the evening services. (These will begin thirty minutes before the services.)

The live stream is available at lbclive.tv. I pray that it is a blessing to friends around the world who are not able to be in Lancaster during the conference.

I’m looking forward to this conference and am praying that the Lord will use these services and sessions—here in Lancaster and via live stream—to do a great work in all of our lives and ministries!

Below is a schedule for the live stream (times given are Pacific Time): (more…)

Spiritual Leadership Conference is less than three weeks away, and I’m praying for God to do a mighty work in all of our lives through this week.

Please pray with us that God would accomplish these three things through this conference:

1. The glorification of God

We all believe the chief end of man is to glorify God. This conference provides an opportunity to step back and remember the great work of God in our lives and ministries. It’s a time for us to thank God for the souls saved, decisions made, lives changed, missionaries sent, and provisions given—all the work of our faithful God.

When we see the work still remaining to be done, we know that we have just barely scratched the surface. Yet, I’m thankful for this moment when we all glorify God for His great faithfulness to honor His Word and build His church.

2. The inspiration of others

Every moment of this conference is prayed over. For months now, I’ve been praying over each song, video, special speaker, workshop session, and even the lunch menus! But I especially ask the Lord, “Please inspire the heart of every person who comes.” (more…)

About fifteen years ago, I became burdened that there were vital topics necessary for healthy, local church growth and ministry that were not being addressed in preachers’ conferences or pastors’ fellowships. It seemed that while many taught on soulwinning and numeric church growth, our churches were lacking in areas of discipleship, servant leadership, and biblically balanced local church leadership.

So in 1996, we launched our first “Spiritual Leadership Conference.” Since that time, the Lord has used this conference to encourage thousands of guests and strengthen literally hundreds of churches around the world. The focal point of the conference is always the preaching in the evening services, but all day long, we have workshops covering topics that equip, challenge, train, and encourage local church leaders. (more…)

What a blessing it has been to join a number of pastors in the Northwest at our regional Striving Together Conference. This meeting was hosted by Pastor Mike Kinney (who just celebrated 25 years of ministry in the Northwest) and the Temple Baptist Church in Lacey, Washington.

Dr. Ouellette and I both preached last night, and this morning we held training sessions for pastors and Christian servants. I thoroughly enjoy time spent with like-minded pastors, and I’m thrilled to see how the Lord is using good men in the Northwest who have a commitment to walk in the old paths and a passion to see God bring revival. I’m thankful to serve alongside these men, and I’m grateful for their vision to see churches planted and raised up in this part of the country.