October 12-13, 2023

Registration Open

 

What is the Prepare Here Conference?

Prepare Here is a church leadership conference for every staff member and lay leader in your church. Each individual will have opportunities to attend breakout sessions pertinent to their area of service, be emboldened, and leave better prepared to serve in ministry.

Servant Leadership in Uncertain Times

Jamie Dew

President, NOBTS & Leavell College

Robby Gallaty

Pastor, Long Hollow Church

Steve Gaines

Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church

Men's Panel Discussion

Jamie Dew, Fred Luter, Jim Henry, Steve Gaines, Robby Gallaty

Women's Panel Discussion

Stephanie Lyon, Emily Dean, Kandi Gallaty, Elizabeth Luter

Worship Leader: Nate Jernigan

Hosted by the Jim Henry Leadership Institute

Pricing

  • Alumni - $50
  • General Admission - $65
  • Group of 3 - $180
  • Group of 4 - $225
  • Group of 5 - $275
  • Group of 6+ $315
  • NOBTS Faculty & Staff - $15
  • NOBTS Students - $15

Prepare Here Conference Schedule

*Schedules are subject to change

Thursday

  • 9:00 - 10:30am - Registration
  • 11:00 - 12:00pm - Plenary 1 - Steve Gaines - Servant Leadership & Gospel Proclamation
  • 12:15 - 1:15pm - Lunch
  • 1:15 - 2:15pm - Breakout 1
  • 2:15 - 2:45pm - Coffee & Snack Break
  • 2:45 - 3:45pm - Breakout 2
  • 3:45 - 4:15pm - Coffee & Snack Break
  • 4:15 - 5:15pm - Breakout 3
  • 5:15 - 6:30pm - Dinner
  • 7:00 - 8:30pm - Plenary 2 -  Robby Gallaty - Servant Leadership & Spiritual Formation
  • 8:30 - 9:30pm - Lagniappe

Friday

  • 7:00 - 8:00am - Breakfast
  • 8:30 - 10:00am - Plenary 3 -  Jamie Dew - Servant Leadership
  • 10:15 - 11:15am - Men & Women's Panels - Perseverance
  • 11:30 - 12:30pm - Worship - Nate Jernigan

Alumni Reunion Schedule (Wednesday)

  • 5:00 - 8:00 - Dinner, Jazz Band, Lawn Games and more!

Breakout Tracks

  • Breakout 1 | Greg Mathias

    Hold On Loosely: How a culture of sending strengthens your church

    Description Coming Soon

  • Breakout 2 | Jim Henry

    Maintaining Leadership Momentum: Serving multi-generational churches for multiple generations

    One of the most important things in a pastor's ministry is to continue moving forward. This session will give you some important ways to do just that – stay by the stuff for the long haul and finish strong.

  • Breakout 3 | Jamie Dew

    Serving the Called

    Description Coming Soon

  • Breakout 1 | Bo Rice

    Mentoring to be a Man of God

    In this session, we will consider biblical models for mentoring. We will discuss a practical guide to developing a mentor/mentee relationship. As iron sharpens iron, we will challenge each other in our faith and call to be men of God.

  • Breakout 2 | Jake Roudkovski

    Don't Call it a Comeback: The hard work of revitalization

    How do I evaluate my church in the area of church revitalization? What are some proven principles for church revitalization? Where do I start? What resources are available to help my church? These and other questions will be addressed to help your church go to the next level.

  • Breakout 1 | Tawa Anderson & David Odom

    Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Preparing students for the difficult questions

    As our society becomes increasingly post-Christian and hostile to the faith, our students are being barraged with questions, doubts, objections, and obstacles. Contemporary disciples must always be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks the reason for the hope that they have (1 Peter 3:15). In this breakout session, NOBTS's resident youth ministry expert (Dr. Odom) and apologist (Dr. Anderson) team up to provide tools to help you help your youth navigate an ever-changing and treacherous cultural landscape.

  • Breakout 2 | Mark Johnson & Blake Newsom

    Closing the Gap: Creating age-specific ministries that feed into the church as a whole

    Every person who attends your church regularly needs to be involved in the ministry of the church. In this breakout session, we will discuss various approaches to engaging everyone from students to Senior adults in the work of the church.

  • Breakout 3 | Greg Wilton

    Leavin' on a Jet Plane: Effectively leveraging short-term missions opportunities

    Nothing beats long-term engagement, but oftentimes long-term engagement begins through short-term opportunities. Join this session to see how short-term mission trips provide exposure to God's global kingdom work, opportunities for cross-cultural evangelism and discipleship, and encouragement to local workers and full-time missionaries.

  • Breakout 1 | Donna Peavey

    More than a Game: Building blocks of faith development in kids

    The main functions of a foundation are to be an underlying support, prevent “settling”, and provide stability. A well-designed and strong foundation keeps a building standing when calamities come. In this session we will explore why and how to lay strong faith foundations that will support a child for a lifetime.

  • Breakout 2 | Ken Taylor

    Mighty Missionaries: Building a love of missions in kids

    A heart for missions is often developed during childhood. The church has the opportunity to start making children aware of God's heart for the world. In this session we will explore ways to use the natural curiosity of children to impact them with ways God uses us to fulfill the Great Commission. Many of us were involved in children's mission organizations when we were young. With fewer children taking part in these activities we must take advantage of every opportunity to acquaint them with local and international missions.

  • Breakout 3 | Cory Barnes

    Don't Skip All the Hard Parts: Teaching kids to love the OT

    Teaching the Old Testament to children can seem like a dangerous task. The Old Testament is far from G-Rated! Our temptation may be to simply avoid the difficult parts of the Old Testament and focus on a few sanitized versions of Old Testament stories. During this breakout we will discuss how focusing on the big picture of the Old Testament with children helps provide them with a view of the Old Testament (and the entire Bible) that will help them grow in their faith and grow into an understanding of how God reveals himself in the Old Testament.

  • Breakout 1 | Nate Jernigan & Chad Gilbert

    Building a Cohesive Music Ministry with Your Senior Pastor

    Description Coming Soon

  • Breakout 2 | Jessica McMillan

    Theological and Musical Considerations for Selecting Songs for Worship

    Selecting songs that are placed in the hearts and minds of worshipers is a heavy task. This session will equip attendees with some tools and ideas for filtering through the plethora of worship music available as they choose songs that are theologically accurate and musically appropriate for worship.

  • Breakout 3 | Greg Woodward & Quint Adkins

    Style in Worship: The Post-Passion Phenomenon

    This session will review the evolution of worship styles in the 21st century. The emergence of Post-Passion will be introduced. This topic entails a discussion of liturgy, emphasis on rich theology, and the singability of worship music.

  • Breakout 1 | Thomas Strong

    Remembering Your First Love: Maintaining intimacy with God in the midst of a busy ministry

    One of the great challenges of following Christ is maintaining an intimate relationship with Him while busy doing all that needs to be done. The reality is that nothing is more important than our relationship with Him -- and everything we do for Him depends on our relationship with Him. Come be encouraged in your walk and be a part of the discussion as we share in ways to "walk with Him" daily, even in the midst of busyness.

  • Breakout 2 | Reggie Ogea

    My Way or the Highway: Resolving congregational conflict

    Resolving congregational conflict involves intentional and strategic intervention. This breakout will deal with how to engage interpersonal conflict through care-fronting and peacemaking, and how to navigate congregational conflict by accepting the truth about conflict and eliminating unhealthy conflict.

  • Breakout 3 | Jody Dean

    Rethinking Church Governance to Address Cultural Changes: Updating your governing documents & practices

    We will explore policies and processes that guide your church constitution, by-laws, and leadership framework in the church.

  • Breakout 1 | Donna Gaines

    Missional Women - Equipping and Motivating Your Women to Fulfill Christ's Mission

    So often church members settle for just being “Christian” instead of making Christ's mandate our life's mission. Join us as we explore the necessity of Bible literacy for missional living.

  • Breakout 2 | Kandi Gallaty

    The Heart and Art of Abiding in Christ

    In order to survive and thrive we must abide in Christ Jesus, but what does abiding really mean? Kandi will explain what abiding means and discuss a practical way to daily hear from God through His word as you lead yourself and others well in ministry.

  • Breakout 3 | Tara Dew

    Serving Out of the Overflow

    Do you feel weary and worn? How do you serve others when you yourself are running dry? In this breakout, we will walk through Psalm 23 and learn what God teaches about Himself as our Shepherd and a “cup that runs over.” Let's be women who know what it means to “lack nothing” and serve out of the overflow!