Two weeks have now passed since we held our BCMN conference in Gulfport, Mississippi. It was truly a blessing to gather with Pastor Mike Spann and the wonderful people of Bible Baptist Church. Their gracious hospitality created an atmosphere where we all left Gulfport refreshed, renewed, and ready to return to our respective places of service.

As I reflect on the conference, three significant takeaways stand out:

Outstanding Preaching

From the very conception of the BCMN, we intentionally decided to make the preaching and teaching of God’s Word central in all of our meetings – national, regional, and state. We’re convinced that God uses the proclamation of His Word to encourage, edify, and equip us for the ministry He’s called us to accomplish.

It was moving to see many respond by coming to the altar and making decisions that will impact them both personally and ministerially. What a powerful reminder that even we as ministry leaders occasionally need to experience turning points in our spiritual walk with the Lord!

Exceptional Missionaries and Church Planters

I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of presentations from our endorsed missionaries and church planters. We had the privilege of hosting five missionaries and two church planters at the conference. One missionary, Matt Moeller to Scotland, even delivered an excellent message from Acts 16 during one of the morning sessions.

I must commend Lewis McClendon for the tremendous job he’s doing training and coaching our missionaries and church planters. They are certainly worthy of our financial and prayerful support! If you would like to schedule them to visit your church, please visit our website – www.baptistcmn.com – for a complete list of all BCMN endorsed missionaries and church planters.

Valuable Networking Opportunities

Whether it was before or after services, during a meal, or even over a bowl of ice cream at Bop’s Frozen Custard (which I already miss dearly), we were able to connect with each other about ministry.

What does networking truly mean in our context? It means we positively impact and influence one another. We help each other through wise counsel and share ideas that enhance our ministries. We love and pray for each other while building life-long friendships that constantly remind us that we’re in this together.

Networking connects us and provides valuable ideas, advice, and information that help us grow into more effective leaders for the cause of Christ. I can honestly say that I’m a better pastor because of the relationships formed with our ministry partners in the BCMN.

If you weren’t able to attend the meeting in Gulfport, I encourage you to mark your calendars for October 6-8, 2025. Cherry Street Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri will be hosting our next BCMN national conference. I’m confident that if you make the effort to attend, you’ll experience these three takeaways and likely even more!