Feelings of isolation or loneliness are not uncommon for pastors. “Eve got into trouble when she walked in the garden alone,” Martin Luther wrote. “I have my worst temptations when I am by myself.” Barna research shows that 65% of pastors report feelings of loneliness or isolation, a 23% increase since 2015.
The 2023 IBSA Pastors Conference is an invitation to walk shoulder to shoulder with others, connected to the true source of vitality.
“Healthy pastors are men who know their need for the empowering of the Holy Spirit,” says Jonathan Davis, who is organizing the event.
Davis, lead pastor of Delta Church in Springfield, and Dustin Haile, pastor of Gateway Church in Mt. Vernon and treasurer of the event, chose the theme “Life in the Spirit.”
The conference will feature a diverse slate of preachers who will exposit Romans 8. Two IBSA pastors will open the session.
Bob Dickerson is pastor of First Baptist Marion and a former IBSA president. He has served six IBSA churches during 40 years of ministry.
Jonathan de la O, who planted and leads Starting Point Community Church in Chicago, is a catalyst in immigrant and migrant ministry in the state. He is part of a group of Spanish speaking pastors from Chicago partnering with Southern Illinois churches to minister to migrant laborers working on downstate farms.
Conference speakers also include two SEND City missionaries, Ryan Brice of New Orleans and James Westbrook of San Francisco. Both men are former church planters who now lead the NAMB’s church planting efforts in their respective cities.
Rounding out the lineup are Jamus Edwards, a pastor and college professor from Owensboro, Kentucky, and Stephen Love, planting pastor of Redemption City Church in South Bend, Indiana.
Worship will be led by Josh Jones of August Gate Church in Belleville.
“The aim is for fellow laborers of God’s Word to come and be fed from God’s Word,” Davis said.
The Pastors Conference begins Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. and will conclude at 11:30 a.m. Wed., just ahead of the IBSA Annual Meeting.
The annual preaching conference is a free event provided through the generous giving of IBSA churches and attendees. Pastors and churches that wish to help defray expenses may give online or mail a check payable to:
IBSA Pastors Conference
c/o Illinois Baptist State Association
3085 Stevenson Drive
Springfield, IL 62703