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Tour_inlineThe GARBC staff arrived in Omaha, Nebraska, on the evening of Sunday, June 28, eager to kick off the 2015 national conference. After regrouping, the team prayed together for the Lord’s blessing on the coming week and enjoyed fellowship over a meal. The rest of the evening was spent busily unloading conference materials and setting up shop.

“I am really looking forward to this year’s conference,” says Michael Nolan, CFO and treasurer for the GARBC and director of Baptist Builders Club. “It’s like a family reunion—you get to reconnect with pastors and their wives and church members that you only see once a year. It’s encouraging and it’s re-energizing. The fellowship alone is incredible, but then on top of that you get great workshops and you get to soak in the Word of God for an entire week. In some respects, putting on a conference like this can be tiring, but at the same time it’s absolutely energizing. It’s a time of joy, refreshment, and renewal. I’m confident we’re going to have a great conference this year.”

The venue for thiWelcome_leads year’s conference is the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Omaha. The conference theme is “Connected to Christ.” John Greening, national representative of the GARBC, says, “This year’s theme gives us a great opportunity to express both the theological commitment of our fellowship (which centers in Christ) and expresses the fellowship we have as a group of believers. We come together for our annual conference, we connect with friends and ministry colleagues, and it’s just a wonderful week of fellowship expressed in that term connectivity. We’re looking forward to a great week of fellowship, and we’re grateful for our commitments as a fellowship of churches.”

In a climate dominated by churches that are seeker-sensitive, purpose-driven, or gospel-centered, emphasizing the centrality of Jesus Christ is vital. “Certainly the gospel is of paramount importance,” Greening says, “but we are a Christ-centered fellowship. We’re built upon the authority of Scripture and we’re centered on Jesus Christ. I trust this week’s conference will bring a lot of clarity to the implication of that Christ-centeredness in terms of spiritual development and in terms of impacting the culture in which we live.”

Throughout the week this site will be regularly updated with conference coverage so that those unable to attend can still benefit from the event. Keep checking back to stay up to date on the latest conference happenings!