This year it seems like we are looking forward to our upcoming Pastors’ & Workers’ Conference more than any other year.  I have found that the church members, pastors, and college students I have talked with recently all express their excitement for this year’s conference.

I personally look forward to hosting our Spanish Pastors’ & Workers’ Conference with a great lineup of speakers.  We will hear great preaching from Dr. Tommy Ashcraft from Mexico, Pastor Danny Ortiz from Texas, and Pastor Ezekiel Salazar from Ontario, California.

What is the purpose of such a conference?  Why has our pastor and our church family hosted this conference for thirty-five years straight?  And why should you attend our 36th annual conference on March 7-10?

1. To be encouraged

It is true, as Pastor Trieber often tells our church family, that many of our delegates travel hundreds and thousands of miles because they love to see the members of North Valley Baptist Church serve the Lord together.  God’s people at North Valley are defined by their service.  Nowhere have I seen greater servants than here at North Valley. 

Our delegates come to our conference and are encouraged by the servants in our church.  Pastors need encouragement.  Assistant pastors need to be encouraged.  Lay people who serve in their churches need to be encouraged, and they come to our conference because they know they will be encouraged by seeing God’s people at work during the week of the conference.

2. To be challenged

Another reason we need this year’s conference is to be challenged.  We all need to be challenged so we will grow in our walk with the Lord, and a conference like this one will challenge us in that area.  As pastors, we need to be challenged to do more for the Lord.  Every parent needs to be challenged to continue to improve.  Every husband, every wife, every son and daughter needs to be challenged to be closer to God, to be obedient to every command of the Holy Spirit, and to walk humbly before God and man.

The preaching and teaching during the week of our conference will challenge you to grow in every area of your spiritual life.  Whether you are a visiting pastor, a full-time Christian servant, or a member of our church or another church, I promise you that you will be challenged if you come to our conference with a desire to hear God’s voice speak to you.

3. To be revived

Every one of us needs to be revived.  We need a renewal of our love for the Lord, a rekindling in our heart, and a restoring of our walk with God.  Perhaps over the past year, your spiritual walk has become stale.  Let God rekindle that relationship He wants to have with you.  Maybe your service for the Lord has diminished, or your heart has grown cold to the things of God.  If you’re in need of God to do a work in your heart, then you need to attend the conference this year. 

If you’re like me, there are certain areas of your life that need the touch of God.  I need this conference this year.  Oh yes, I will do my best to host visiting pastors and our delegates and our church family, but I am also looking forward to having the Lord speak to me personally.  I will do all that I can to help others hear from God; but I need it just as much, and perhaps more, than any other person attending this year.

I love the passage in Psalms where it says,

“Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly”  (Psalm 85:6-8).

Can I encourage you to come to the conference this year?  If you have not yet registered, you can register today at nvbc.org.  And as you plan to attend, prepare your heart so the Lord can work in your life.  I promise that you will be encouraged, challenged, and revived this year at our 36th annual Pastors’ & Workers’ Conference!


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David Sloan

David Sloan, Spanish Pastor

David Sloan serves as pastor of the Spanish Department of North Valley Baptist Church. He and his family were missionaries in the Former Soviet Union and the Middle East, where he served as United States representative to the Christian Caucus in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. He and his wife Jolene have five children. Bro. Sloan is part of a missionary heritage of fourteen families who serve on the mission field, spanning seven countries and four continents. He is also the Missions Director at Golden State Baptist College.