![]() ![]() Information: For more information about registering at the conference, call 732-1300.By Terry Barone for California Southern Baptist News and David Roach for Baptist Press The fee includes conference materials and banquet. Two sessions will be held, at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., with the conference ending at noon.Ĭost: $129 per pastor or church staff member. Continental breakfast will begin at 7 a.m. The day's activities include a banquet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, with three sessions planned from 1:30 to 9 p.m. Where: First Southern Baptist Church of Del City, 6400 S Sooner Road, Del City. What: Kingdom Families Conference "Kingdom Families: Coming Home to the Heart of God." 6-7, Immanuel Baptist Church, Highland, Calif. 2-3, Bell Shoals Baptist Church, Brandon, Fla. 4-5, Applewood Baptist Church, Wheat Ridge, Colo. ![]() He said a limited number of people can register on the first day of the conference. ![]() "It really opens the door to a meaningful communication in the home," Elliff said. Some of the Kingdom Family concepts, such as premarital counseling, are simple but key to building a strong family foundation and "divorce-proofing" a marriage.Įlliff said premarital counseling is a priority at First Southern, and as the church's pastor, he has had only three couples that he married divorce in his 29 years at the ministry's helm. "The key here for us is we want to do something about the incredibly high divorce rate," Elliff said. Oklahoma has the second highest divorce rate in the nation behind Arkansas. 3 story package in The Oklahoman that said 32 percent of all adults in the state have been divorced as compared to 21 percent of all adults in the United States. To illustrate the troublesome state of marriage in Oklahoma alone, Elliff pointed to an Aug. "We are concerned with building families strong in the Lord and vital in their communities but also marriages that last a lifetime," Elliff said.īesides strengthening families, the initiative seeks to preserve families and help lower the number of divorces in the state and the country. Other speakers will be Pete and Debbie Livingston, who lead the Family Ministry at First Southern and who have their own marriage ministry, "Radically Married."Īt the heart of the new initiative to be discussed at the conference, is the Kingdom Family Strategy's set of guidelines entitled "Seven Pillars of the Family." The pillars, based on Scripture, are: honoring God's authority, respecting human life, exercising moral purity, serving my church, using time wisely, practicing biblical stewardship and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Special guests include Danny Akin, academic dean at Southern Theological Seminary and author of the book, "God on Sex." Akin will speak at the conference banquet planned Monday evening. "We're very encouraged because this signals a high level of interest."Įlliff said he and several special guest speakers will unveil the family initiative over the course of five conference sessions. The conference, set for Monday-Tuesday at Elliff's First Southern Baptist Church of Del City, is the first of four two-day conferences that will be held across the country this year.Įlliff said the conferences are a way to educate people about the Kingdom Family Strategy launched at the convention's annual meeting in June.Ĭonference organizers set an initial goal of 50 pastors for this first conference, but Elliff said that estimate has doubled since about 100 pastors have registered for the event. "What we're saying to these pastors is 'Look, if you can go back and share these very simple principles with your church family, you can virtually halt, not just stem, the divorce culture." "We look upon them as the gatekeepers of the church in a sense that it would be very hard to have an emphasis if it is not embraced by the pastor and his wife," Elliff said. Tom Elliff hopes to capture the hearts of pastors and their spouses who attend the upcoming Kingdom Family Conference designed to promote the prosperity and preservation of families.Įlliff wants to fill the church leaders with excitement about the Southern Baptist Convention's Kingdom Family Strategy in the hope that they will encourage their congregations to cultivate the family strengthening concepts. ![]()
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