2023 Fire International Fellowship Conference Report

Fellowship at the FIRE International Gathering

Hey everybody, it's Pastor Keith coming to you from Audubon Drive Bible Church here in Laurel, Mississippi. And as you know, Brother Andy Montoro and I were able to come to the FIRE International Gathering, and this is the first time since our church joined FIRE over 10 years ago that we've been able to come and be a part of the International Gathering.

Up until now, we've only been able to attend the regional events, so we were grateful to be able to be at this gathering. And I wanted to just share some of the things that we gleaned over the last few days.

We've had a wonderful time of fellowship. The church here has been so gracious and so wonderful, has received us well, has fed us well, has been very hospitable, and we were very thankful for that. But we've also had the opportunity to have some wonderful teaching.

Finishing Well by Raising Up the Next Generation

And the men who taught us really focused on the subject of this week, which is finishing well. And one of the things that Brother Andy and I both agreed we sort of gleaned from every message is the idea that in the ministry, as we do ministry and as we look toward the end of our ministry, we need to be thinking about things like raising up the next generation.

The first night, the gentleman who spoke, Pastor Jim Aleph, talked about how Timothy was like the tip of the spear that Paul was throwing into the next generation and how we need to be raising up men, we need to be raising up leaders in the church, and we need to be thinking about the future and thinking about what's going to happen after we go to be with the Lord and having a forward-thinking ministry.

And that's been very helpful. Another thing that's been brought up by a few of the speakers is the importance of not allowing ministry to rob us of times with our families, because our families are important, and being able to have a very solid relationship with our wives and our families and focusing in on that as an aspect of our ministry.

Scheduling Time with Family and Guarding Home Life

One of the speakers actually said that we need to actually schedule time with our families, and I thought that's not just something for ministers, that's something for men in general, that we become so caught up in work and career and hobbies and goals that oftentimes our family gets the last part, but we really need to be intentional with finding those places in life where we can put our investment where God has given us, the place in our home where God has given us children and wives, not only to care for, but to enjoy and to be part of the blessing that He's given to us.

Gratitude for the Conference and Support for FIRE

Well, there's so much more that I've learned, and I look forward to the weeks ahead where I'll be able to share things and sermons that we've heard about and talked about here, but I want to again thank you as a church for supporting Brother Andy and I coming to this conference and to continue to support us as we continue to be part of the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals.

If you want to learn more about the organization, I would encourage you to go to their website. It's firefellowship .org.