JEFFERSON CITY – An August conference in Jefferson City hopes to provide biblical understanding of end times events, according to Missouri Baptist church member Larry Crabtree, founder and president of Perilous Times Ministry, which is hosting the free event.
He says those attending the one-day conference will gain an understanding of future events as well as a heightened need to share Christ with nonbelievers.
Larry and Sally Crabtree
“Those who attend the conference,” Crabtree says, “will leave with a correct understanding of end times prophecy and the knowledge Christ could return any moment to rapture (remove) His church before the tribulation. And that will give them a greater sense of urgency to share the gospel with the lost.”
The event is intended for pastors, Christian laypeople and nonbelievers. It will be held on Aug. 6 from 7:45am-3pm at the First Assembly of God Church in Jefferson City. Though free, the conference requires pre-registration.
Crabtree and his wife Sally are members of Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City. He says he became interested in end times prophecy after reading Hal Lindsey’s bestselling book ,The Late Great Planet Earth.
“Learning that over one-fourth of the Bible was prophetic,” Crabtree says, “and that every one of God’s predictions has been fulfilled precisely as God declared, deepened my faith and gave me peace about the future.”
“A Christian’s blessed hope is the return of Jesus to take us home before God’s wrath is poured out on the world.” He says that knowledge relieved his anxieties about the future, and he began fully trusting in the Lord. “I want other Christians to have the same peace and trust in the Lord.”
The conference features representatives of other end times ministries. Guest speakers include Lamb & Lion Ministries Director and Senior Evangelist, Tim Moore; Main Thing Ministries Director, bestselling author, and podcast and TV host, Jeff Kinley; and Olive Tree Ministries speaker and representative, Ken Mikle.
“We have not had prophecy experts with our speakers’ credentials in Jefferson City for at least two decades,” Crabtree says. “My prayer is that having them here will ignite a fire in pastors and other Christians in our community.”
More information about the ministry’s conference and end times beliefs can be found on its website, www.periloustimesministry.com. Online registration can also be done through the website, which Crabtree says also offers end times education resources.
“I designed my website for the person just starting their study of prophecy. I also give them links to go as deep as they want in the study of prophecy.”
Besides the end times ministry, Crabtree and his wife operate international ministries in Guatamala and Mexico. A dental ministry in Guatamala serves Mayans. The Crabtrees also provide eight scholarships to Mayan students at a Christian school there and support a nursing home for the homeless. In Mexico, they provide Bibles, study materials, and other resources to churches in the country’s southern states.
Until three years ago Crabtree could conduct 25 annual evangelism events in Guatamala. However, “fighting between drug cartels became so fierce the army took over the area. As a result, we cannot hold evangelism events.”
That’s led to difficulty finding believers to disciple new Christians from the dental clinic. Other challenges include finding new ways to share the gospel in villages, funding the mission activities and turning away mission groups due to the danger from the drug cartels.
Despite those challenges, Crabtree says the Guatamalan ministries have seen successes. He’s trained over 400 pastors, provided Bibles and study materials to over 50 churches, funded an elementary school so it could quadruple its size, provided funding for a church building and held over 150 evangelism events in remote villages among other activities.
Closer to home the couple is busy, too. Sally teaches at a local ecumenical women’s ministry. Larry speaks on end times prophecy in churches and meets weekly with men going through spiritual struggles.