2025
Sunday, April 27th – Tuesday, April 29th
Registration Deadline: Saturday, April 26th
REGISTRATION OPENS NOVEMBER 20TH
This conference is for all Christian workers serving in their local churches. We understand that Sundays are difficult days to miss being in your particular churches, but we encourage you to be here, and soak up the blessing of God’s Word & Christian fellowship.
Serving the Lord in His ministry can be difficult at times. God’s men from Enoch in Genesis to John the Apostle in Revelation knew and experienced this. Perhaps you have experienced it, too. But God always sent encouragement to His workers about the Person of Himself through His Word or through a word from a fellow worker. We desire to use God’s Word and a word from fellow workers in this conference to be an encouragement to you. Come fellowship and be discipled by others who have shared in the delights and disappointments in ministry for the Lord. Come be revived at the Encouragement Conference.
General Session Speakers
Dr. C.J. Harris
President of Positive Action for Christ, Whitakers, NC.
Dr. Les Ollila
Director of Building Great Leaders and former President of Northland Baptist Bible College, Dunbar, WI
Dr. Sam Horn
Pastor, Palmetto Baptist Church, Greenville, SC
Rev. Christian Scott
Pastor, Paint Creek Baptist Church, Gallipolis, OH.
Dr. Douglas McLachlan
Chancellor, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Plymouth, MN.
Dr. Jim Tillotson
President, Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, Ankeny, IA.
Workshop Speakers
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What about meals?Meals will not be provided, but we will dismiss at lunchtime for you to enjoy our local restaurants. In the mornings, we will offer donuts, fruit, crackers, water, and coffee.
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What about my wife or children?Wives and ladies are welcome to attend. However, we are unable to accommodate children or provide childcare.
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What about dress?Casual attire is appropriate for Monday and Tuesday, while many attendees opt for business casual on Sunday.
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What about hotel accommodations?Discount accommodations are listed below.
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Is there a cost?Encouragement Conference is free to those who attend.
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Is there a deadline to register?Registration deadline: Saturday, April 26th.
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Further Questions?Contact an administrative office assistant at 740-446-0324 or secretary@firstbaptistgo.org.
Conference Schedule
Sunday, April 27th
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9:00-9:40 AM - Ollila - Living by Faith: Living with Joy
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10:00-11:30 AM - Scott - Encouragement in Ministry
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3:45-4:45 PM - Special Workshop - Young - Lessons / Reflections from the First Years of Ministry. This workshop is for those training for ministry or those within their first few years of ministry.
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5:00-5:45 PM - Harris - The Battle is the Lord’s (1 Samuel 4-7)
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6:00-7:00 PM - Tillotson - Trusting God When You Can’t Track Him (Ruth)
Monday, April 28th
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1:00-2:00 PM - Ollila - Bitterness: Symptoms & Solutions (Not running away - Ruth 1)
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2:20-2:40 - Break
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2:40–3:40 PM - Workshops 1
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3:40-4:00 PM - Break
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4:00-5:00 PM - Workshops 2
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5:00-6:30 PM - Break for Supper
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6:30-7:30 PM - Questions & Answers
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7:30-7:45 PM - Break
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7:45-8:45 PM - Horn - Beauty for Ashes: The Outcome of God-Appointed Suffering (1 Peter 4:12-5:11)
Tuesday, April 29th
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9:00–10:00 AM - McLachlan - Great Commandment Love: Our First and Highest Priority – Christ Our Model (Mark 12:28-31)
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10:00–10:20 AM - Break
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10:20–11:20 AM - Tillotson - Ministering for a Lifetime? or ! (2 Timothy 2:1-7)
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11:20-11:40 AM - Break.
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11:40 –12:45 PM - Final Questions & Answers
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12:45 PM - Dismiss
Workshops
Workshop # 1
Monday at 2:40-3:40 p.m.
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Harris - The Fruit-bearing Spirit (Galatians 5).
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Herron - Juggling Jobs in the Ministry (Ephesians 5:16). At times, it can feel like we’re part of a ministry circus, constantly juggling multiple roles and responsibilities. How well are you managing your job performance amid all that chaos? Together we will review three essential secrets to help you complete your work effectively and efficiently.
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Horn - Faith in the Fire of Adversity (Daniel 6) - how suffering deepens you at every level of life and ministry.
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Hummel - The Art of Medieval Warfare. Lust has declared war on all of us—especially our students! How can we prepare our young men and women to rise above the commoners and be committed to pleasing their King of kings with patience and purity in our contaminated and polluted world?
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Johnson - Dear Pastor, Jesus Is Enough.” How the “Melodic Line” in Hebrews encourages weak servants to keep going.
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Ollila - A New Normal: Christlikeness (1 Corinthians 1; Hebrews 12). Christlikeness is God’s purpose when we face painful times in life.
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Wiebe - You Are Who He Says You Are. Ministry life is unique in its blessings and challenges. Those challenges though! They can be overpowering, easily distracting us away from the special blessings God pours out on those who serve Him in vocational ministry. Ladies, God made you on purpose and with a purpose, and He perfectly designed you to meet the needs of the specific ministry and family in which He has placed you. He doesn’t make mistakes! This session will explore specific encouraging tools and strategies God has provided to strengthen our hearts, as ladies in ministry, and for us to share with those around us.
Workshop # 2
Monday at 4:00-5:00 p.m.
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Herron - Life’s Battles: Five Imperatives for Spiritual Victories (1 Corinthians 16:13-14). Our King and Field Marshall has specifically designed us for the precise moment of time in which we find ourselves – deployed downrange not to survive, but to hack at the root of darkness taking hold all around and within us, and to lead others towards His throne. In 1 Corinthians, Paul gives five crisp and clear commander-like directions to prepare you for life’s battles.
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Horn - Advancing the Gospel through Affliction (Philippians 1:3-30) by means of Grace-enable suffering.
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Hummel - Religious Robots: Serving Out of Duty or Devotion. Have you ever felt mechanical in your ministry? Do you do what you do because you “have to” or because you “want to”? It is so easy in our overly scheduled lives to become robotic in our serving and teaching that we lose heart in what we do. Religious Robots (much like Pharisees) can do a perfect job at what they are programmed to do—but they cannot love.
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Johnson - Ordinary Ecclesiology (Acts 2:42; Ephesians 4:11-16). How embracing a simple ecclesiology keeps pastors sane and steadfast.
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McLachlan - The Benevolent Revolution: Serving Redemptively in a Malevolent World (Psalm 2:1-3; 2 Timothy 2:3-7).
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Tillotson - Two Qualities of Exceptional Pastors (1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
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Ladies Roundtable Discussion & Fellowship.