Welcome to the Second Annual BBFI Healthy Church Conference. I want to first say thank you to the churches and/or State Fellowships and the host pastors who have partnered with the Central Office to facilitate this event. It would not have happened without you. Second, I would like to say thank you to the four men who took the time to prepare and record the video content for this conference. Dustin Janney, Ed Holland, Otis Ledbetter, and Steve Reynolds all did an outstanding job of providing timely messages that I believe will both be an encouragement and a challenge. I am thankful to call each of these men my friend.

Last year’s Healthy Church Conference had two themes: being a healthy pastor and having a healthy church. This year, our focus is solely on the pastor. Before the church can be healthy, the pastor must be healthy. We will be focusing on four areas of pastoral health: spiritual health, mental health, relational health, and physical health. From my observation, most pastors are doing well in one, two, and maybe even three of these areas. I know few pastors who are extremely healthy in all four areas. My challenge to you is to select one or two areas of focus today and commit the next few months, maybe even the remainder of this year, to growing in health in that area.

One of the things I appreciate about the Healthy Church Conference being a regional conference is that each region and host has the flexibility to customize the conference to the particular needs of the area. Some groups are meeting over a weekend, others for an evening gathering, and still others almost as a normal monthly State Fellowship meeting.

Regardless, the format will be simple. After a couple of brief welcome and introduction videos from myself and BBFI President Jon Haley, you will watch a video on one of the four topics. After each video message, you will have a time of discussion around a table. This time of discussion is the secret sauce for having an effective time together. The questions are probing, and some might make you a little uncomfortable. You will benefit the most by opening up and being transparent with your brothers in ministry. I can’t overemphasize this enough. After a time of discussion, the host will play the next video covering another topic, and then you will go into discussion groups on that topic.

There are also some reflective-type questions for you to consider on each topic after you return home. This conference is more than just a time to get away and check a box that you attended. The goal is growth. That goal will only be accomplished when you make it personal.

I am praying for you and I am praying that God would use this year’s Healthy Church Conference to be a help and an encouragement and that He would receive much glory for all that is accomplished.

Randy Harp
BBFI Central Office