A Glorious Calling: For The Church National Conference, Review

I have just returned from attending this year's remarkable For The Church conference that is organized and held by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary each year on their campus in Kansas City, Missouri. This year’s conference centered on “A Glorious Calling: Why Everyday Ministry Matters,” targeting the growing difficulty of ministering in an increasingly hostile world, alongside burnout rates skyrocketing, and struggling churches. I am an Alumni of both Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College and a yearly attendee of the For The Church conference, and I can say with certainty that this year’s conference may have had its largest positive impact on the pastors and ministers who attended this year. 

Alongside attending the main conference, I also attended the Student Pastor Summit put on by Spurgeon College. The pre-conference summit this year focused on the newest generations (Generations Z and Alpha) occupying our student ministries and how to reach them with expository sermons. Dr. Sam Bierig, Dean of Spurgeon College, spelled out the landscape of what many student pastors, like myself, are going to encounter with this new “techno-generation.” In brief, student pastors are going to encounter a generation with incredible access to global information, unlike any generation before them. However, this is not a positive. Such unparalleled access to information in seconds creates a pseudo-omniscience that is having devastating effects on our students. 

Dr. Bierig rightly diagnosed that these new generations are more anxious and depressed due to what they see and know, and yet have no opportunity or power to do anything with the information they have. They are becoming highly knowledgeable about the world, yet lack the wisdom to put knowledge to proper usage; and due to their social-connectivity, their ability to build and form natural relationships outside of social media is stunted. Dr. Bierig noted, “They will know you before you know anything about them.” Each speaker followed with a proper prognosis on how to reach the newest generations via expository preaching.

My hope, over the coming years, is that the Student Pastor Summit will continue to grow and have an increased impact on student pastors and ministers. Student ministry is growing more complicated with these new generations. The students are more technologically literate, they have more sporting events, challenging courses in both Middle and High School, and more options that are lain before them than ever before. Spurgeon College, therefore, has taken up the gauntlet to equip student pastors further to engage these newest generations with the Gospel of Christ.

Following the Student Pastor Summit, I attended the full For The Church conference which, as stated before, sought to encourage pastors against the backdrop of an increasingly difficult ministerial landscape. Dr. Jason Allen, President of Midwestern Seminary, began the conference from a small text found at the end of Colossians:

“And say to Archippus, ‘See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.’” (Col. 4:17)

The thrust of Dr. Allen’s message came in the theme of the whole conference, “If God has called you to preach, it’s a glorious calling.” The following speakers: Jimmy Scroggins, Afshin Ziafat, Ben Mandrell, H.B. Charles Jr., and Jared Wilson compounded on the glorious calling that it is to be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each speaker stoked the coals of pastors and ministers with convictional preaching, and courage, and refreshed the souls of attendees with the water of the Word.

I want to conclude here with a personal note. The national For The Church conference is a yearly personal delight to see old friends that have been scattered across the nation, and the globe, to go and proclaim the Gospel. From Texas, where I now live, to Alaska, New England, and elsewhere; pastors journeyed to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary seeking encouragement, a stirring of the coals, and to get fuel in the tank – and Midwestern did so. I have seen many tweets, posts, and photos praising Midwestern for this conference. As a yearly attendee, I concur with the praise.

Being a pastor is becoming increasingly difficult due to cultural pressures amid myriads of other issues that arise from simply being a pastor. Amid that reality, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary does not simply host a conference. For two days, the seminary became a strong tower, a lighthouse for the faithful pastor braving the cultural storm. Following those two days, she sent those same pastors warmed and encouraged in the Gospel back to their local churches to serve the Bride of Christ. I am incredibly thankful to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Spurgeon College, for this year’s conference, and I look forward to returning in 2024.