The Annual Fellowship Meeting of the Baptist Bible Fellowship was held at Sonrise Church in Clovis, CA, from September 18 to September 20, 2023. The theme of the meeting was “The Gospel Changes Everything.” The host pastor, Otis Ledbetter, and the church went above and beyond expectations to serve all those in attendance. From the carefully prepared worship services to the freshly painted and updated meeting spaces, no detail was missed. Guests felt loved and appreciated as they were greeted with a friendly smile and a hot cup of coffee and snacks each day. A hospitality booth was set up to provide restaurant guides, brochures about Clovis, stickers for kids, points of interest around town, walking trails, and other information. As a bonus, the California weather was about as nice as one could have hoped for.
Powerful and Practical Preaching
One thing that can always be counted on at a Fellowship Meeting is the preaching. This year’s meeting featured fourteen different speakers from a wide range of backgrounds addressing a wide range of topics. Bruce Garner, pastor of Crosspoint Church in Huntington Beach, CA, preached Monday night from Acts 4, answering the question, “What will make us bold to proclaim the Gospel?”
Tuesday morning began with attorney Kevin Snider from the Pacific Justice Institute based in Sacramento, CA, sharing four areas to protect your church. This was followed by a stirring message by Bob Stephenson, pastor of Graceway Baptist Church in Springfield, MO, from Luke 10 on the important topic of trauma in the pew. The second half of Tuesday morning’s session featured a ladies’ gathering with Jenell Bender as the featured speaker. For the men, there were four first-time national meeting speakers, including Rob Lyons, associate and young adult pastor at Crosspoint Church in Huntington Beach, CA, Joel Byers, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Tyler, TX, Nate Harmon, pastor of Louisville Baptist Church in Louisville, OH, and Dennis Mays, pastor of Noble Hill Baptist Church in Willard, MO.
Tim Hawks, pastor of Hill Country Bible Church in Austin, TX, spoke Tuesday night out of Deuteronomy 6 on what he called the “new frontier of missions,” which is raising children to be spiritual champions.
Wednesday morning featured two preachers as part of the church planting and worldwide missions emphasis. Randy Abell, pastor of Heartland Baptist Church in Ames, IA, and currently serving as the BBFI’s third vice president, shared a challenge from John 8 on how God is the Great I AM, not the Great I was. Steve Bender, BBFI Associate Mission Director in Springfield, MO, said that God had given him another “simple” message to share. He spoke from Matthew 9 to remind everyone that the Gospel, and only the Gospel, has the power to change the eternal destiny of a man’s soul.
Wednesday night concluded the meeting and was scheduled to feature the current and the three most previous Fellowship presidents, including Jon Haley, pastor of Hallmark Church in Fort Worth, TX (current BBFI President), Linzy Slayden, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Owasso, OK (BBFI President 2010-2014), Eddie Lyons, pastor of High Street Baptist Church in Springfield, MO (BBFI President 2014-2018), and Tim Adrian, pastor of Westside Baptist Church in Hutchinson, KS (BBFI President 2018-2022). (Note: Lyons was unable to attend the meeting due to a family illness.) Each man spoke on the state of the Fellowship during their tenure as president and how they saw God at work during that time.
To watch any of these messages, visit the BBFI YouTube channel by clicking here.
Church Planting Emphasis Growing in the BBFI
Church planting has seen a renewed emphasis in the BBFI over the last few years. This year’s Fellowship Meeting included a church planting emphasis time on Wednesday morning. Several recent church planters were recognized and gave updates on their ministry. The most recently approved BBFI church planters, Marcus and Kayla Mackey, church planters in Indian Hills, CO, shared that since their church, Grace Hills Community Church, launched in April 2023 they have seen 52 salvations (25 adults and 27 under the age of 18). Other church planters giving reports included Tim Hale, pastor of Renovation Church in Midlothian, TX, Bobby Sharp, pastor of Crosspointe Church in McFarland, CA, John Markum, pastor of Life Valley Community Church in San Jose, CA, and via video Tyler Martin, pastor of Outfitter Church in Bar Nun, WY.
There is a significant need for more financial partners with these and other BBF church plants. If you are interested in supporting any of these efforts, the BBFI Mission Office has a line item designated for BBFI Church Planting. You can find more information on these church planters, how you can be involved, and information on future church planter assessments on the BBFI church planting website by clicking here.
Worldwide Evangelism Will Always Be the Priority
Jon Konnerup, BBFI Mission Director, and Steve Bender, BBFI Associate Mission Director, hosted the Wednesday morning missions emphasis. Konnerup provided an update on the building project featuring a new BBFI Mission Office, event center, and housing for retired missionaries. The new Mission Office building is scheduled for completion in January 2024. Two veteran missionary couples were recognized for their longevity on the mission field. Randy and Linda Perkins, missionaries to Australia, were recognized for fifty years of faithful service. George and Luisa Dimakos, missionaries to Greece, were recognized for thirty years of faithful service. Konnerup emphasized the World Initiative Network (WIN) stating there are currently 22 WIN missionaries. There have been two singles and two couples approved this year. Sarah Warsham was introduced as one of the newly approved WIN missionaries preparing to move to Greece and work with the Dimakos family. Over the last couple of years, the Mission Office has completed work on a docuseries featuring BBFI missionaries. Currently, there are three available. One on the life of Marjorie Browning. The second is the life of Lavern Rodgers. A third documentary was introduced on the life of Richard Konnerup. Click here to watch this new documentary.
BBFI Presidential Rings
A new tradition was started at this year’s Fellowship Meeting. In a partnership between the new BBFI Central Office and Sonrise Church, in a special celebration service on Wednesday night, the three most previous BBFI presidents, Tim Adrian, Eddie Lyons, and Linzy Slayden, were presented with a custom-made gold ring. The ring has a blue gem on the top with the words Baptist Bible Fellowship President. On one side is an image of the world and “Founded 1950.” On the opposite side is the BBFI logo with the year their presidential term began. Future plans include a celebration service each time there is a transition to a new president. This is a small token of appreciation for the sacrifice of time and energy that only someone who serves in this role can understand. (Note: since Lyons was not present, his ring was presented to him at High Street Baptist Church on Sunday, October 1, 2023).
BBFI Business
The September National Fellowship Meeting also serves as the Annual Business Meeting of the BBFI. Although there was nothing that required a vote from the floor, there was much information to share. BBFI president Jon Haley shared about work being accomplished to establish operational guidelines for BBFI State Representatives. BBFI first vice president, John Theisen, reviewed the positive financial audit for the mission office. He also presented new mission field representatives. BBFI second vice president, Kevin Carson, gave updates on each of the partner and affiliate colleges. Mark Milioni, president of Baptist Bible College, Dave Melton, president of Boston Baptist College, and Greg Lyons, president of both Louisiana Baptist University and Global Life University, were all present and shared reports during the State Representative meetings. Each college is experiencing varying degrees of numerical growth in enrollment. Carson also shared there is work being done to update the BBFI Education Policy. BBFI third vice president, Randy Abell, shared there have been eleven new churches started this year affiliated with the BBFI. Work is also being accomplished on a Spanish-speaking APEX church planter assessment. Abell also presented a newly approved BBFI Church Planting Policy. Fourth vice president, Jason Petermann, shared how the partnership between the BBFI and Small Church, USA is producing positive results. There are currently two year-long coaching cohorts with BBFI pastors. Finally, BBFI Central Office director Randy Harp shared about the newly released devotional book published by Tribune Publishers with over 30 BBFI leaders providing the content. In its first week it climbed to the #1 new release in multiple categories on Amazon. (Click here to purchase Searching for Wisdom on Amazon).
If you are ready to publish a book, the Central Office/Tribune Publishers can help.
Other Meetings
Wednesday afternoon included the much anticipated Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College reunion. It was such a hit, in fact, that it continued Thursday morning for a breakfast gathering as well. The turnout was great, and everyone left encouraged. Plans were discussed on how to continue these meetings. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons saw various groups participate in “ministry hangouts.” These were gatherings in restaurants around town with ministry groups such as worship leaders, youth pastors, young adult pastors, children’s ministry leaders, and church planters.
Throughout the week, guests visited the National Parks in the area. A busload toured Yosemite National Park on Thursday. A small group even received permits to hike to the top of Half Dome inside of Yosemite National Park. Others visited Sequoia National Park, which contains five of the ten largest trees in the world, including General Sherman, the largest tree in the world.
Upcoming Meetings
February 2024 – Regional Healthy Church Conferences sponsored by the BBFI Central Office
April 30 – May 3, 2024 – BBC’s Fellowship Week
September 16-18, 2024 – Annual Fellowship Meeting in Rapid City, SD, hosted by Mercy Gate Church
Click here for more information on upcoming meetings.
Click here to read the 2023 BBFI National Meeting: Presidential Perspective
Click here to read the 2023 BBFI National Meeting: Host Pastor Perspective.
