Two Regional Conferences to Replace the BJS Conference this Year, by Pr. Rossow

In place of our annual conference, BJS is helping to underwrite a couple of one day conferences across the country in Fairview Heights, Illinois and Corpus Christi, Texas. These conferences will highlight BJS speakers and interests. In both locations Rev. James May, Director of Lutherans in Africa (LIA), will be updating folks on the work of LIA and in Fairview Heights, recently coloquized LCMS pastor and BJS blogger Matt Richards will be joining Rev. May.

The event in Fairview Heights will start on Friday night, February 21 and conclude on Saturday, February 22. Both speakers will be focusing on the liturgy as a means of making disciples. This has great meaning for Rev. Richards who came to the LCMS in part because of the liturgy and for Rev. May who emphasizes the liturgy and other Lutheran distinctives as he spreads the Gospel around Africa.

The event in Corpus Christi will be on Saturday, February 15 at one of the Corpus Christi churches. Rev. Dustin Beck is organizing the event. We will have more details in a week or two.

The staff and members of Bethany, Naperville, Illinois are taking a year off from hosting the annual BJS Conference. The first conference was held six years ago with 80 participants. Attendance at the conference peaked two years ago with 250 attendees who enjoyed LCMS President Matt Harrison’s address to the banquet. Over the years we have been edified by engaging speakers such as Todd Wilken, Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, Klemet Preus, Chris Rosebrough, Jonathan Fisk, Bryan Wolfmueller and others.

Stay tuned here on the BJS blog for details on next year’s plans. We may have more regional events, return to our annual conference format or both.

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