SBTC pastors, officials among those selected for SBC Pastors’ Conference

FARMERSVILLE—Twelve pastors have been announced as the preaching lineup for the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference scheduled to happen prior to the SBC annual meeting in Anaheim next summer.

The selected pastors are diverse – in ethnicity, experience, and church size. Matt Henslee, president of the Pastors’ Conference and the Executive Director/Associational Missionary for the Collin Baptist Association, said his team sorted through nearly 500 nominations and listened to hundreds of sermons before selecting the 12.

Henslee and his team released a song to announce the lineup set to the tune of the “12 Days of Christmas,” only, in this case, their song is called the “12 Days of Pastors.”

Those 12, he said, affirm the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, the Chicago Statement on Inerrancy and “reflect the Southern Baptist Convention’s diversity in ministry contexts and backgrounds.”

“(The selection process) was a joy and affirmed our belief that God has blessed Southern Baptists with some amazing pastors,” Henslee said. “ … What you will see on the platform in Anaheim is what you see on any Sunday throughout the Southern Baptist Convention – pastors from all backgrounds in churches of every style and size, remaining faithful to preach the inerrant Word of God.”

Five of the pastors lead churches with an average attendance of less than 100, while two have congregations that number in the thousands. Several of the pastors who will preach represent church plants, replants, or revitalization churches.

Three of the pastors are from Southern Baptist of Texas Convention churches – Matt Carter of Sagemont Church in Houston; Marcus Hayes of Crossroads Baptist Church in The Woodlands; and Israel Villalobos, the Spanish service pastor at Plymouth Park Baptist Church in Irving. Additionally, Julio Arriola – who in November was named the first director of Send Network SBTC – will preach at the conference.

Other pastors selected are:

• Mathew Mueller, pastor of Valley Life Church in Peoria, Ariz.;
• Clay Smith, pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga.;
• Al Jackson, who recently retired after serving 42 years as the pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala.;
• Mark Clifton, Senior Director of Replanting and Rural Strategy at the North American Mission Board and pastor of Linwood Baptist Church in Linwood, Kan.;
• Daryl Jones, pastor of The Rock Fellowship in Miami Lakes, Fla.;
• Omar Johnson, pastor of Temple Hills Baptist in Baltimore, Md.;
• PJ Tibayan, pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Bellflower, Calif.; and
• Hanley Liu, English service pastor at First Chinese Baptist in Anaheim, Calif.

The 12 pastors will be joined by guest preachers Dr. Adam Greenway (president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) and Daniel Ritchie (an inspirational speaker and evangelist who was born without arms) and a worship team led by Matt Boswell (pastor of The Trails Church in Celina) and the SWBTS Cowden Hall Band.

The Pastors’ Conference is scheduled for June 12-13 and will precede the SBC Annual Meeting. Those who wish to donate to help cover the cost of the conference can do so here.