Christian conferences are often strong on the great matters of the gospel but offer little guidance as to the nuts and bolts of church life.
9Marks Ministries, headed up by Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C., majors on local church related issues and Tuesday 1 September saw the first 9Marks conference in this country. With around 100 church leaders in attendance, it was hosted at Duke Street Church in Richmond where the pastor is John Samuel. The main mover behind the day was Jonathan Worsley of Kew Baptist Church, himself a former intern at Capitol Hill.
Wide audience
Mark Dever began the day by explaining that although he is a convinced Baptist and the issues of church structure which he was about to touch on fitted most naturally into a Baptist polity, he wasn’t there to make everyone into a Baptist but to highlight principles which could be translated into the thinking of different denominations. With participants from FIEC, Grace Baptists, Anglican, ACTS29, Sovereign Grace and Co-Mission churches, this eirenical introduction set a good tone for the day.
It was a heavy schedule as Mark Dever spoke four times. The first session was on true conversions being necessary for church growth. God’s plan is that he might be glorified through his redeemed people and therefore if the church is to fulfill its calling it must aim at being composed of truly born-again people.
Church membership a good idea
Secondly, the issue of meaningful church membership was addressed. Membership often has a bad press, but it is essential to practical love and discipline within a congregation. In the NT, joining was a congregational act: once the individual was willing, the congregation had to be willing too. Thirdly, Mark went on to explain that the local church is the normal context in which Christians grow and are discipled. You can’t be a real disciple of Christ without committed ‘one another’ ministry. The evening session saw some people coming straight from work to hear about raising up godly leaders.
Being a smaller conference, there was plenty of opportunity for Q&A on many practical areas of church life. This was much appreciated, especially by the younger men who were grappling with some issues for the first time. A one day conference packed with good things is spot on for many busy church leaders. A second 9Marks conference is planned for September next year.
