TULSA— The Oklahoma Baptist Pastors’ Conference is an incredible gift to pastors and ministers as it provides opportunities for them to sit under the preaching of God’s Word to be encouraged, equipped and empowered to continue in the calling God has placed upon their lives.
This year the theme is “Devoted to Prayer.” It comes from Acts 6:4: “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.” It is so easy to glaze over the first part of this verse and just focus on the ministry of the Word. The apostles, though, realized their most important work was to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word. Prayer is often the most important meeting aspect ministers forgo to carry out ministry activities and responsibilities. That is why this year we want to provide an opportunity for pastors and ministers alike to pray. Every preacher at this year’s conference will testify to the power of prayer in their personal lives, family, ministry, and church. This year’s topics and preachers are:
The Priority of Prayer – Brian Kennedy, Pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Ontario, CA.
The Pastor’s Personal, Steadfast and Powerful Prayer – Todd Kaunitz, Pastor of New Beginnings Church in Longview, TX
The Pastor’s Supporting Prayer – Jeff Iorg, President/CEO SBC Executive Committee
The Pastor’s Intercessory Prayer – Heath Tucker, Pastor of Edmond, Waterloo Road
The Pastor’s Corporate Prayer – Nathan Lino, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Forney, TX
The Pastor’s Family Prayer – Andy Harrison, Pastor of Pauls Valley, Trinity
The Pastor’s Persevering Prayer – Hance Dilbeck, President/CEO Guidestone
Each of our preachers will give us practical takeaways and also lead us in a time of prayer as a part of
their message.
As we worship, we will also hear four testimonies from people who have devoted themselves to prayer and how the Lord has been working in them and their ministry.
As always, we will recognize one bivocational pastor who is faithfully serving in our state. This year we will introduce a new award, “The Endurance Award,” which recognizes a pastor in our state who has displayed faithful endurance in their ministry calling.
To encourage attendees of the Pastors’ Conference, we will provide a prayer journal and a “catch-all” tray displaying the number 6:4 to remind them to be devoted to prayer.
In addition to the conference Send Network Oklahoma is sponsoring a Pastors’ Lunch. The preacher for that luncheon is Daniel Henderson. He serves as Founder and President of Strategic Renewal and the Global Director of The 6:4 Fellowship, a coalition of pastors passionately committed to “prayer-and-word-powered” ministry (Acts 6:4). Every person registered for this event will receive lunch, an encouraging message and a copy of Daniel’s book Transforming Prayer: How Everything Changes When You Seek God’s Face.
We encourage every pastor and minister to attend Tulsa, South Tulsa on Nov. 9. We are praying that God will do a good work among Oklahoma Baptists during the conference, leading to more praying pastors, ministers and churches in our state.
For more information about the Pastors’ Conference visit oklahomabaptists.org/pastors/.
DeGiacomo, who is serving as Pastors’ Conference President, is senior pastor of Immanuel, Shawnee.
