RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP) – Finishing an event in Louisville, Ky., Belinda Wright thought it excellent to swing by the Black Church Leadership and Family Conference (BCLFC) in Ridgecrest, N.C., to relax and spend time with her sister Joyice Jones from Suffolk, Va.
“I was going to come here, hang out with her … find a rocking chair,” said Wright, a retired project manager. “But when I looked at the itinerary, I said that looks interesting and that looks interesting and so I just started to engage more as I looked.
“I said, let me go see this, let me go see that. And before you know it, I was involved,” Wright said. “It’s been good. It’s been really good.”
The Black Church Leadership and Family Conference (BCLFC) offers a culturally rich encounter with the risen Savior and His Gospel through preaching, worship, spirited praise, Bible study, teaching, small-group study and discussion in a fast-paced week spiced with exercise, fellowship and fun.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Wright has drifted away from the mostly white Assemblies of God church she attended in Dayton, and has been worshiping online with a mostly African American Baptist congregation and supporting that church with her financial gifts.
The BCLFC offered Wright the flavor she received online, with an added benefit of presence.
“That’s an added plus for me, to be in the environment, culture, to hear the preaching and the hooping (a celebratory and rhythmic style of preaching).
“Nobody does it like us. Some things you got to experience right there, face to face. You know. You can’t even put it online,” Wright said. “Some things, you just got to be there.”
Wright was among more than 700 attendees at the event, according to conference organizer Mark Croston, national director of Black Church ministries for Lifeway Christian Resources. Attendance is perhaps on pace to return to its pre-COVID attendance of 1,000 or more, having drawn about 600 in 2023.
When Wright spoke with Baptist Press, she had heard the previous night a sermon from Johnnie Bradley, whose sermon ending in the traditional African American style of hooping led to an extended praise session of 15 minutes or more.
Bradley, senior pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church of Dallas, preached “With God, We Can Do This,” from 1 Corinthians 15:58, exhorting worshipers to stand firm when facing challenges, knowing that victory is already a reality with God.
“Is there anybody here who can testify to your neighbor and let your neighbor know that you’re going to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, because you know your labor is not in vain?” Wright asked, initiating a call and response, directing his question in succession to each area of Spilman Auditorium.
“Yeah,” was the response from numerous individuals in rapid succession.
“Is there anybody here who loves my Lord? Say yeah. Did He bring you out? Say yeah. Won’t He do it? Won’t He do it? I know He’s all right,” Bradley hooped, almost singing. “There may be three things I may not know. There may be two things I may not know. But there’s one thing I know.
“He’s real,” he said, leading worshipers in fast-paced worship.
Hands clapped. Feet tapped. Bodies hopped. Backs swayed. Arms swung. The keyboardist began a staccato beat extending perhaps 15 minutes.
The four preachers featured Monday-Thursday nights at the event July 22-26 offered a diversity of preaching styles. See Baptist Press’ related story here.
Young adult ministry was a special emphasis this year, with the addition of a Black Church Discipleship Talk Show featured on stage in Spilman Auditorium July 23, hosted by Brenda Croston, discipleship director at Mount Gilead Missionary Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn. Representatives from Gen Z and Gen Y discussed discipleship, ministry and evangelism from their generational perspectives, offering ministry insights for leaders in attendance.
The daily BLLFC schedule included early morning praise, morning exercise, daily large group Bible study, daily Fuge camps and a diversity of daily small-group sessions focused on church administration, technology, leadership, evangelism, spiritual growth, Sunday School, discipleship, finance, missions mobilization, church growth and other topics.
“We are in a whole new paradigm,” Croston said of Black church ministry. “Technology and the times have changed so much. Technology includes all aspects of digital discipleship, streaming, social media and more. The idea of times embraces these post-Christian and politically charged times. Pastors and church leaders are hungry for training and resources in these areas.”
Croston appreciates that the conference “offers a space where Black churches and those you seek to minister to this demographic can find training, resources and inspiration in this cultural context and heart language.”
Among other events at BCLFC, the National African American Fellowship (NAAF) of the Southern Baptist Convention hosted Ministers Welcome Reception attended by about 75 pastors, ministers and spouses. NAAF leaders including president Greg Perkins, lead pastor of The View Church in Menifee, Calif., updated attendees on NAAF initiatives including international missions and ministry partnerships. The NAAF First Ladies Network, founded two years ago to undergird the ministry of wives of pastors, hosted its first conference luncheon.
Conference attendees extended beyond the African diaspora, including Chris and Beca Autry, a white couple who adopted their son Sam, an African American, as an infant.
“They started coming to the BCLFC so Sam could have some exposure to other Black people. Sam has grown up coming to this event for several years,” Croston said. “Chris and Beca are like family to all the other attendees. Chris has taught classes on how to do what he and Beca have done. In fact, Chris preached, just this year, in the 6:15 a.m. praise.”
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