Dave Owen, Associate Pastor of Evangelism and College Ministries at Providence Baptist Church, led the third session. Dave has served at Providence since 1995. His message, Affirming Truths that Matter, was taken from II Timothy 4:1-8, which is Paul's charge to Timothy to remain faithful. How do we remain faithful? By affirming and persevering in the truth. Owen's thesis was: A student ministry that is passionate about bringing fame to God is one that is saturated with the Bible, centered on the Gospel, devoted to the family, and committed to the local church.This thesis was naturally … [Read more...] about reThink Conference – Session III – Dave Owen
Theology
reThink Conference – Session II – David Horner
David Horner is the founding pastor of Providence Baptist Church, which was established October 1, 1978, and he has served as the senior pastor ever since. Horner's message was entitled Knowing How to Live. His thesis was that we need to know what it means to live life God’s way and love it enough to lead others to do the same thing according to that same purpose. Taking his text from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Horner sought to show us answers to two questions: 1. Where do we get this idea that we are supposed to be partnering with parents in the area of cultivating youth? 2. Where do we get the … [Read more...] about reThink Conference – Session II – David Horner
reThink Conference – Session I – Leon Tucker
Pastor Blake Hickman of Providence Baptist Church kicked-us off this morning by reiterating the three-things the conference hosts hope to accomplish today. 1. That we will make “much of Him.” 2. That the gospel of Christ and its rich provisions will once again be proclaimed as our only hope. 3. That pastors and church leaders will be inspired to do ministry “on His terms”. We then enjoyed a wonderful time of worship through singing led by Daniel Renstrom. We sang Not to Us, Beautiful One, Praise to the Lord the Almighty, Come Thou Fount, and Here I Am to Worship. After that, Leon Tucker, … [Read more...] about reThink Conference – Session I – Leon Tucker
Interview with Steve Wright: Part 2 of 2
[This is part 2 of a two-part interview with Pastor Steve Wright. Part 1 can be found here.] ALEX: You've been in youth ministry for over 20 years. How has it changed during that time? STEVE: Unfortunately I see student ministry heading in a very dangerous direction. Many of us got caught up on the “bigger is better” treadmill. Bigger budgets, bigger programs, bigger personalities. We believed we could entertain students all the way to the cross. While I would have never confessed it early in my ministry, I was literally trying to prop up the gospel with gimmicks, giveaways, and all the … [Read more...] about Interview with Steve Wright: Part 2 of 2
Interview with Steve Wright: Part 1 of 2
In my last post, I introduced Steve Wright and his book reThink: Decide for Yourself - is Student Ministry Working? Steve's book is the basis of a one-day Conference at Providence Baptist Church. What follows is the first installment of a two-part interview with Pastor Steve. ALEX: Please tell us a bit about how God saved you. STEVE: I met Christ as a 10th grader at a little country church in north Georgia. My grandmother who was a committed Christ-follower passed away a few weeks before I was invited to go to a revival by a neighbor. Before this time, I had never thought much of death and … [Read more...] about Interview with Steve Wright: Part 1 of 2
Steve Wright – reThink Conference
Over the last year or so I've had the pleasure of getting to know Steve Wright. Active in youth ministry for over twenty years, Steve currently serves as Pastor of Student Ministries at Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. Last year he published a book entitled reThink: Decide for Yourself - is Student Ministry Working?. Having come to faith in the context of a high school youth ministry, but aware that many such individuals abandon Christianity during the college years, I read Steve's book with great interest. I found it to be extremely insightful, biblical, and balanced. Wright … [Read more...] about Steve Wright – reThink Conference