MBTS' For The Church National Conference Review (September Posting Challenge)

 I went to the For The Church National Conference at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. I thought I would do a quick review. Bullet points summary:



  • The campus was beautiful. It was the first time I'd been there, and evidently it has changed a lot in the last 10 years. Parking was a little packed but not as bad as it could have been with 1000 people there. The chapel is perfect because it holds a lot of people without feeling large. The student center is amazing. The Spurgeon Library is a museum quality space with so much to read, look at, and listen to.
  • They had unlimited black coffee that was good quality. I talked to a student that told me it was brewed by the on-campus coffee shop. 
  • The speakers were really good. Some of them were more my style like Tony Merida, Jared Wilson, and Crawford Lorritts. 
  • The conference was too short for me. It was over in 25 hours. I prefer a slightly longer conference for my own growth and refreshment.
  • The worship band was excellent. It was Matt Boswell's home church band, and they focused on leading congregational singing. 
  • The vendor space was good. I never care about the book tables though because I buy enough books from home that I don't need that. 
  • I always like the Radical booth and resources. They help me and our church pray for missions around the world.
  • Some people should have either stayed home or left their phones at home. They were on them the whole time. You all are missing out on living.
  • The student volunteers from Spurgeon College were not on their phones the whole time. They were great.
  • Jed Coppenger's session on prayer was excellent. He said things that were completely obvious and made sense and were profound at the same time. I was encouraged that his two sessions on prayer had a lot of people at them. I've been to conferences where no on cared about the session on prayer. 
  • The giveaways were better than the giveaways at The Gospel Coalition last year.
  • I took two men from our church with me to the conference and told them that we had to get good KC BBQ. We went to Joe's Kansas City BBQ. It was amazing.
  • My favorite thing about this type of conference is that I remember that I'm on a team with Christians and leaders all over the country and world who love the same LORD and are trying to lead his people in the same direction.




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