2015 MACP Recap: Church Planting & Revitalization
During two days in mid-October filled with preaching, teaching and fellowship, 175 people attended the 2015 Mid-America Conference on Preaching at Inter-City Baptist Church. The entire DBTS community and many guests enjoyed the ministry of four main session speakers:
- Dr. David Doran, pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church and president of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, spoke about church revitalization and the need for churches to explore church planting.
- Dr. Steve Pettit, president of Bob Jones University, preached about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the mystery of God’s sovereignty.
- Mr. Jim Tillotson, president of Faith Baptist Bible College, shared ways to serve God joyfully in ministry.
- Dr. Lukus Counterman, a church planter in Salt Lake City, defined what successful ministry looks like.
“I feel like so much of what is happening today in church planting is this cheapened form of religious niche marketing,” said Counterman. “We’re the hipster, cyclist, vegetarian, reduce-your-carbon-footprint ministry. We’re the home school, old red hymnal, fundamentalist, culottes ministry for people transplanted from the South. Or we’re the contemporvant, creedal arts, ancient-modern, subtle-yet-out-there ministry for thirty somethings.”
MACP workshop topics ranged from the practical to the academic:
- Church planting in cities
- A critique of Wayne Grudem’s two levels of New Testament prophecy
- A survey of the life of Arminius
- Being a man of character
- Caring for missionaries
As always, MACP encouraged and refreshed us through the Word and fellowship. If you missed the conference, make your plans to attend next year!
