Strengthening Churches at the Lampstand Conference Church Strengthening Coach Rev. Wayne Frazier gathered a group of ARP ministers to attend the Lampstand Birmingham
Conference January 12–15, 2023, at Briarwood Presbyterian Church. Lampstand is a term used to describe the Church in the Book of Revelation. Dr. Harry Reeder led the conference on the biblical principles of mission, message, and ministry. Then the confer- ence broke up into 3 tracts 1) planting (with ARP Dr. Tom Hawkes), 2) revitalizing, and 3) accelerating. The conference format was a series of lectures followed by group discussions with fellowship time in the evenings. Below are some thoughts from ARP pastors who attended the conference.
Rev. Brad Anderson, Cayce Presbyterian Church Would you encourage other pastors to attend this conference? Yes, it would be good for any ARP pastor
- ate that Dr. Reeder, Dr. Hawkes, and Dr. Sandy Wilson all emphasized that the root of the church must be based on prayer and preaching the Word, not a special program. They also challenged all of us to be more involved in evangelism. We should do everything we can to share the gospel with our church and community no matter our context.” Any other take-aways you would like to share?
know the answer, but it is a good question for us to consider. We often send our best and brightest pastors to plant churches. We need the best and brightest in revitalization as well. I would challenge pastors to consider serving a congregation that needs some help.
Rev. Russ Harless, Sherwood Forest ARP What made you interested in attending Lampstand? I serve a church that needs revital- izing. Our congregation is mostly elderly, and I’m concerned about this church being a light for the next generation. Dr. Reeder has a reputation for being a good resource for this, and the ONA scholarship made it affordable for me. What did you take away from the conference? I received a lot of encouragement. Dr. Reeder is a wise optimist, and he reminded me of the hope that the Lord has a way of doing things, and I need to (metaphorically) get back in the batting box and keep swinging at the ball. I need to be faithful to the basics: preaching the Word, being more committed to prayer, and pastoring through reaching out and loving my congregation. Dr. Reeder shared his powerful story from a time when he was at a church on the edge of extinction. He asked the question, “what does the Word of God say about this?” Dr. Reeder turned to the Word of God in Revelation and looked at the reasons why lamp- stands (churches) are removed. He challenged us to “make sure the Lord doesn’t have a reason to remove your lampstand!”
Rev. Randy Foster, Maupin Avenue PC Would you encourage other pastors to attend this conference?
Reeder’s Embers to a Flame Conference in 2005. That conference was focused on church revitalization, where Lampstand is more fully orbed. Lampstand is helpful for churches continuing past the redevelopment stage as well. Leadership is really impor- tant in healthy churches. Leaders need to be able to train leaders under them. Most pas- tors do not have that skill set right out of seminary, but it can be taught and mentored. Do our pastors have mentors? Maybe our presbyteries can identify retired pastors to help develop that. What else did you take away from the conference? I was convinced that my presbytery needs to develop plans for church planting and move forward because it is not going to happen if we do not do it intentionally. and conferences like this as well as Synod are important for this.
Dr. Harry Reeder will be the keynote speaker at World Focus this June at Bonclarken.
Sign up for our weekly “Pray for this Mission Church” email where you can learn about both existing and new works, like Rev. Stacey Cox, who aims to plant a new church in Gainesville, GA.
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Helping You Reach Your Community 14 The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Outreach North America
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