Conference designed to encourage bi-vo pastors
By Allen Palmeri
Senior Writer
JEFFERSON CITY – A combination preaching conference/couples retreat designed primarily with bi-vocational pastors in mind is coming to Hannibal in October. Jeff Anderson, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church and a member of the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Executive Board, has offered to host the Oct. 6-7 conference, which is primarily for pastors in the nine northeast
Missouri associations, plus Mt. Zion Baptist Association. Cost is $15 a couple, which includes three meals at the church. Registration deadline is Sept. 15, with the first 50 bi-vocational pastors that register getting their hotel room paid for by the directors of missions.
Al Groner, president of the Northeast Missouri Director of Missions Fellowship, said that the six directors of missions (DOM) in the fellowship are helping to plan and organize the event
as well as contributing financial support. He emphasized that the Hannibal Inn is a quality, affordable place for the bivocational pastors and their wives. “Even if a pastor-wife doesn’t get in on the first 50, another $56 will get them a hotel room,” Groner said. Calvary, two specialists with the MBC, and the DOMs are teaming up to sponsor the conference as an expression of love and blessing for bi-vocational pastors. “If God wants to do a great spiritual
awakening and use these guys, then we want to be a part of that,” Anderson said. “So our church is embracing it. We’re already beginning to pray for it. “I hope that the state convention can duplicate this in like five areas across the state, where we can bring a
preaching conference to a bi-vocational pastor on their level.” The theme of the conference is “Fire in the Pulpit: Pursuing God-anointed Preaching.” There will be three preaching sessions and two joint sessions for pastors and their wives. “The idea is to give them a spark of
get alone with God, become a Spirit-anointed preacher and watch God do a magnificent work,” Anderson said. The two MBC staffers helping to put on the conference are Ron Barker, spiritual awakening / personal evangelism specialist, and George Roach, ministerial services specialist. “We need to try to figure out every possible way to help them (the bivocational pastors) be the pastor that they want to be,” Barker said. Barker said one of the objectives for the conference is to show bi-vocational pastors that they have a place in the
body of Missouri Baptist pastors and that they are making a difference. Secondly, the conference is there to provide them with some instruction, “maybe how to do a better job,” Barker said. Finally, the conference stands as a statement to their wives that they, too,
are valuable. Preaching on Saturday morning will be Anderson, Barker and John Marshall,
pastor, Second Baptist Church, Springfield. Ministering in the area of marriage will be Tom Hufty, vice president for collegiate affairs and assistant to the president at Hannibal-LaGrange College, and his wife, Rhonda, who is director of public relations at HLG. Participating associations are: Salt River Baptist Association; Bethel Baptist Association; Macon-North Central-North Missouri Baptist Associations; Mt. Pleasant-Mt. Zion- Monroe Baptist Associations; Mt. Salem Wyanconda Baptist Association; and Pleasant Grove Baptist Association. The conference is limited to the first 100 couples that register, Groner said.