Chambersburg Bible Church

Having recently concluded our Fall Missions Conference here at the Bible Church, I am amazed at what the Lord has done for us. It was a “good” conference and one through which I was personally encouraged and blessed. But “good” hardly seems an appropriate description for the spiritual impact of those special meetings. The full value of the conference cannot be calculated through the addition of its individual parts, even though many of the parts were outstanding in their own right.

Yes, the Lord brought together a diverse group of missionaries. The Aaron Shipe family, new appointees under Gospel Furthering Fellowship to the Datooga people of Tanzania, exuded the kind of excitement we have come to expect of those called to missionary service. Veteran missionaries, Charlie and Bonnita (Bo) Frink, spoke with the authority and conviction gained through over twenty years of faithful service in New Zealand. Dr. Curtis Young and his wife Lori of International Partnership Ministries challenged us to think outside of the proverbial “box” by sharing what the Lord is doing through national pastors around the world. God’s promise to bless and honor His Word was the theme of Source of Light Ministries International under the direction of Dr. Bill Shade.

And yes, there were other features of the conference which stand out in my mind as being excellent. I would be remiss if I did not mention the wonderful time of food and fellowship shared during our international banquet on Sunday afternoon. Our ladies out-did themselves by providing a table set with culinary delights from around the world.

But the full weight of the Lord’s blessing is seen through the messages preached during the conference. The Spirit used each message to reinforce our personal responsibility and commitment to the great commission which was in keeping with our planned theme, The Missions World Starts Here. That part was obvious, but there was also an underlying theme present in each message. This “unplanned” (by us) theme gave a continuity to our week of mission’s emphasis which, I believe, was of the Lord. The thread that held these messages together was the need for faithfulness because we are living in the last days. The imminent return of Christ became a dominant theme during our conference. Each speaker mentioned the need for evangelistic faithfulness out of a firm conviction that Christ’s return could be just around the corner. Please do not misunderstand by thinking that we are date setter here at the Bible Church. We are not! But, we do believe that the next great event on God’s calendar is the rapture of the Church. It could happen at any moment. The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is certainly closer to His appearing than it has ever been before. Our 2009 Missions Conference has motivated me to serve the Lord more faithfully with eyes looking to heaven (Titus 2:13Titus 2:13
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; glorious...: Gr. the appearance of the glory of the great God, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ  
).