September 30, 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Midwestern Seminary welcomed more than 1,500 guests to campus on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 23–24, for the 2024 For the Church National Conference, “Faithful: Serving the Most Beautiful People on Earth.”
Pastors and ministry leaders from around the country gathered to hear sessions by Jason K. Allen, J.T. English, Tony Merida, Kevin Ezell, Jared C. Wilson, and Crawford Loritts. The event also featured a Women’s Pre-Conference with Jen Wilkin, a Student Pastor Summit, and various workshops for equipping in ministry.
“This year’s For the Church National Conference was incredibly encouraging,” said President Jason Allen. “We live and minister in complicated and consequential times. But to be able to gather with almost 1,500 ministry leaders and equip and encourage one another brings a profound sense of joy. I am grateful for all that God did over the two conference days, and I am hopeful that the effect upon the Church will be great for months and years to come.”
Faithful to Lead
Preaching from 1 Timothy 4:6–16, Allen delivered the opening session, challenging those who lead in the Church to remain faithful to the end.
“To faithfully lead others, you must first faithfully lead yourself,” Allen said. “To do that in the words of our text today, you must guard your life and your doctrine.”
Allen pointed out several reasons why leaders must pay close attention to their inner spiritual health, emphasizing that spiritual leaders reflect God to their people and that their personal spiritual health is essential for enjoying life in Christ and withstanding ministry hardship. He encouraged attendees in practical means of guarding their lives and doctrine, including by cherishing the gospel and the local church.
“Your church is a group of people God has called out of the world to covenant together, and whom He’s called you to serve, to lead, to shepherd, and to feed,” Allen said. “Think about these people as being a part of God’s eternal plan of redemption.”
Faithful to Disciple
The second session was given by J.T. English, lead pastor of Storyline Church in Arvada, Colorado. English spoke on being faithful to disciple.
Noting the various types of ministries within the Church, English said, “Our greatest indicator of ministry success is this: Are we helping people love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind, and with all their strength?”
He went on to say, “If we want to be faithful to make disciples, we must reprioritize discipleship in all of our ministry contexts.”
Defining discipleship in terms of the Great Commission, English noted that ministry leaders must focus on teaching those who are converted and baptized to follow the way of Jesus. He encouraged the audience, “Pray for revival in our churches, and be faithful to share the gospel with lost people.”
Faithful to Proclaim
Tuesday morning began with a session by Tony Merida, pastor for preaching and vision at Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and vice president of planter development for Send Network.
Merida preached from Colossians 1:23–29 on being faithful to proclaim Christ. Merida began by noting how the Old Testament promises are fulfilled in Christ, saying, “There is a messianic wind that blows through the pages of the God-breathed Bible.”
He encouraged preachers to remember the priority, purpose, and power of Christ-centered preaching, saying, “People become more like the Lord Jesus Christ as they see Him in His beauty and His glory. It weans them off the pleasures of sin in this world. So we hold Him up, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”
Faithful to Multiply
Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, delivered the fourth session, on being faithful to multiply from 1 Corinthians 16:5–8.
Ezell began by surveying the accounts of the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys in Acts, pointing out that Paul saw challenges as reasons to remain in a place to advance the gospel. “We’ve got to see that every day it’s all about the gospel,” Ezell said. “We’ve got to be intentional in how we share our faith and about making disciples. It’s all about the gospel.”
He added, “The first sign of a multiplying church is when you understand you have to send people out and not just hold them in.” He encouraged church leaders to seek open doors for gospel advance and to expect challenges, trusting that God is faithful to lead His Church to the end.
Faithful to Reflect
Jared C. Wilson, assistant professor of pastoral ministry and author in residence at Midwestern Seminary, gave the conference’s fifth session. Preaching from Philippians 2:1–11, Wilson showed how faithful ministry reflects the affection, humility, cross, and glory of Christ.
“The Church is Christ’s before she is any of ours,” Wilson said. “And the Church will always be Christ’s, even after it is ours. For the Church to be precious to us, Christ must be precious to us.” He added, “The Church will see in its shepherds a reflection of the Good Shepherd who looks at them with love. To receive these things from Christ, however, means getting down to the level of the lowly Christ.”
Wilson emphasized the need for pastors to die to pride and self-exaltation in their ministry to reflect Christ’s sacrificial love and His glory. “The cross is reflected in our ministries when we put on the attitude of Christ, who went to the cross for the sake of the Beloved,” Wilson said.
Faithful to Holiness
Crawford Loritts closed the conference with a session on being faithful to holiness. Loritts is founder and president of Beyond our Generation and has previously served as a church planter and senior pastor.
Loritts preached from 1 John 1, showing that fellowship with God and His Church requires pursuing holiness and putting to death both sin and self-righteousness. “Authentic biblical Christianity has to do with the visible transformation, before a watching world, of the people of God to look more and more and more like Jesus,” he said.
Loritts called attendees to repent of sin and pursue faithfulness in their daily lives, noting, “Finishing well means to live well until you finish. Faithfulness is only good as the moment in which you live. You have to be faithful in the moment.”
He encouraged attendees to pursue godliness over talent and influence, reminding them that the power and blessing of God working through a faithful minister is “what wins the day.”
Pre-Conferences and Workshops
On Monday morning before FTC National, the Midwestern Women’s Institute hosted a Women’s Pre-Conference with Bible teacher and author Jen Wilkin. Titled “Faithful to the Family: How Spiritual Mothers and Sisters Strengthen and Sustain the Family of God”, the pre-conference featured two sessions in which Wilkin focused on the role of women as spiritual mothers and sisters in the local church.
Also on Monday morning, Spurgeon College hosted the annual Student Pastor Summit to equip and refresh student ministers. This year’s conference focused on the role of biblical theology in student ministry and featured speakers Sam Bierig, Alex Duke, and Brian Cosby.
Tuesday afternoon included multiple workshops and breakout sessions for conference attendees. Pastors and ministry leaders from Midwestern Seminary and the broader Southern Baptist community led each session, including:
During the national conference, guests also participated in special late-night and luncheon events hosted by sponsoring organizations including Send Network, Made to Flourish, and BetterMan.
Full videos of all FTC National 2024 plenary sessions will be available soon at mbts.edu/ftc24. Information regarding FTC National 2025 is available at mbts.edu/conference.
