The upcoming Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Pastors’ Conference will include 12 sermons and a time of prayer and worship before the meeting, President Matt Henslee announced March 29.
“Interspersed among the 12 expositional sermons you will hear through Colossians will be six timely messages from some faithful men of God,” he said. “While exegetically faithful and a little shorter, these will cover topics vital to our work as Southern Baptist pastors. You will hear from Drs. Adam Greenway, Paul Chitwood, Hance Dilbeck, Bryant Wright, Kevin Ezell and a dynamic evangelist named Daniel Ritchie.”
The prayer time will take place in the main hall at the Anaheim Convention Center from 4-6 p.m. on June 12. “We Proclaim Him” is the theme of the 2022 Pastors’ Conference, which gathers in conjunction with the SBC annual meeting each year.
The conference preachers gathered on Feb. 17 at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for a time of fellowship, planning and prayer.
“A significant time devoted to prayer” was a goal for the conference, Henslee shared. While prayer will be a part throughout the four sessions, Pastor Robby Gallaty and the worship team of Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., will lead in a devoted time for it before the conference.
“You may remember that Dr. Gallaty did something similar in a packed side room in Nashville [prior to last year’s annual meeting],” said Henslee, “but this will take place in the main room this year and take us to the beginning of the Pastors’ Conference.”
“I should not need to tell you why prayer is so critically important for us as we descend upon Anaheim, but I would like to remind you of what the late E.M. Bounds said, ‘Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed,’” Henslee noted.
“If you can get there by 4 p.m. on June 12th, or 4:30 p.m. or even 5 p.m., do not stop. Go straight to the main hall and join us for prayer. If you cannot, I ask you to pray wherever you are from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.”
Those wanting to give to the conference now are still able to do so. “We are working hard to fundraise every dollar we will need so that every dollar we raise during the SBC Pastors’ Conference can go to a ministry near and dear to my heart, Mission:Dignity,” he added.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Scott Barkley is national correspondent for Baptist Press.)
