Reflections on the Bible Teaching Conference

On January 31, we hosted more lay leaders, Bible study teachers, small group leaders, and pastors on campus than we’ve ever had at the annual Bible Teaching Conference. In fact, it was the largest conference we’ve hosted on campus since relocating to Southern California a decade ago. It was a blessing for those of us who taught and worked the event, but we got a chance to interview a few attendees to hear a bit more about their experiences, what they learned, and are bringing back to their churches.

Keynote speaker Dave Keehn, who is a professor at BIOLA University in La Mirada, California, spoke on hope and grief. Keehn’s adult son passed away suddenly due to brain aneurysm in 2022. His sessions focused on holding on to hope in light of what can seem like unyielding grief.

Read below how attendees are grappling with how to apply biblical hope to the people they minister to at their churches.

Mary and Cory

Question: What is one new thing you’ve learned today?

Mary: It’s not new, but it’s renewing: To keep our hope in the promises of God, no matter what’s going on in the world today. If we read the Bible and we look at the promises that God has for us, He’s already promised us what He’s going to do and that is renewing our hope. That’s what I’m getting out of this morning so far.

Cory: Absolutely, and I’m just going to piggyback on that. The theme of today’s event is ‘hope,’ right? David Keehn launched us off with an incredible, incredible message about hope and how grief encourages or builds hope. He walked us through the scripture in John 11 where Mary and her sister Martha interact with Jesus; how they were dealing with their grief and their despair (regarding Lazarus), and how Jesus just spoke into their lives and gave them hope. So if you’re feeling despair, if you’re feeling grief, if you’ve experienced a loss, go back to John 11. Read that passage again, but now read it from a perspective of how Jesus dealt with grief, how Jesus brought life into despair, how Jesus redeemed us from grief.

Jonathan

Question: What do you hope your church applies?

Answer: I hope for my church to be able to apply this ‘journey’ aspect of hope; that it’s not a two-day process or a three-day process to go through grief or difficulties. It’s a long journey that takes work and helping one another, understanding hope, and understanding how to give each other hope.

Katie

Question: What is one new thing you’ve learned today?

Answer: I was in a breakout for ministering to children who may have experienced trauma. The workshop was so rich with pieces of truth and perspectives on how to effectively minister to children who may have had experiences with trauma.

Alex Stewart, dean of the faculty and NT professor at Gateway, taught a breakout session on Revelation.

Below are photos of Gateway faculty teaching breakout sessions on a variety of topics.

Event Stats