In May, Downtown Mission Church will be hosting its first annual one-day conference, Shepherd to Shepherd: A Conference for Pastors and Elders. Our aim is twofold: to provide a venue where pastors speak to brother pastors regularly involved in the task of shepherding the church and to strengthen one another in the unique calling we share as fellow elders serving under the Great Shepherd. We are eager to host men serving as elders, whether vocationally or not, as our calling is the same: to shepherd the flock of God among us, which Christ has obtained with his own blood.
Our hope is to provide for pastors in our region a one-day event that distills the essence of our annual theme into a budget and time friendly package we are all able to benefit from. Our inaugural theme will be Graciously Enduring with Christ. Pastor Joshua Holland (Teaching Pastor, Downtown Mission Church - Wausau) will be addressing themes from 1 Peter in which we are reminded that it is a gracious thing to endure suffering while being mindful of Jesus. Dr. Christopher Tillman (Teaching Pastor, Downtown Mission Church - Stevens Point) will give a talk on material taken from his recently published doctoral work on John Bunyan's pastoral theology of suffering, encouraging pastors to entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing good. We are excited to welcome Sam Crabtree (Pastor of Care, The North Church) as our keynote speaker, who will discuss the role of suffering in shaping faithful pastors who endure graciously. Pastor Sam formerly served as the Executive Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN and currently serves as Pastor for Care at The North Church in Mounts View, MN. His published works include three Christ-centered books of practical theology: Parenting with Loving Correction, Practicing Affirmation, and Practicing Thankfulness. He and his wife, Vicki, have two daughters and six grandchildren.
This one-day event will be hosted at our church building in Stevens Point, WI from 9:30am-3:30pm on Thursday, May 21st. The event cost is $30 per attendee, which includes a lunch of smoked, pulled pork. (Payment information will be available closer to the event date and sent to all who have pre-registered.)
Our chief aim and prayer over the next few months is that God would use this conference to strengthen shepherds of his church according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with great joy. We look forward to joining with you in pursuing this great calling, that we may graciously endure with Christ as men called to the task of faithfully shepherding his church.
Please note: As our desire is to honor God's design for the local church, registration for Shepherd to Shepherd is restricted to men engaged in the work of pastoral/elder ministry or those aspiring to serve in that capacity.