We are a led people – led by God’s Spirit and always led towards Jesus.
Our annual 4D Conference was held on 18 May at Clovie Modbury and online with the theme “Led”. Hundreds of leaders and volunteers from across our churches gathered to listen, share, learn, and encourage.
In our keynote sessions, we were inspired in worship by a team from across our churches, and our speakers reflecting on biblical images of being led including pillars of fire and a lamp to our feet, seeing through a glass darkly or walking through the tunnel, and getting out of the boat to step out in faith with Jesus.
Alongside this, we read the Scriptures in multiple languages representing the diversity of our movement, got to know our new Baptist Care CEO, and were led in prayer by pastors seeking to discern the Spirit’s work among us on the day.
GODx talks were, as always, a major highlight of the day. Charlotte Berry reminded us that being a Christian teenager is hard but worthwhile, Lindsay Mayes shared his pastoral heart with us, Eliud Kali’alaha expressed his unique voice and challenged us to find our own, Charity Mwangi gave us a window into working in her cultural context and how we can learn from others, and Erin Spavin called us to pray – however stumbling, fumbling or groaning.
Across our electives, leaders explored topics more deeply, ranging from how we are led by the Spirit, in our workplace vocations, and into our communities, and how we might lead ourselves at a sustainable and sacred pace, be awesome members of teams, be formed and shaped by our enduring values, continue to prioritise discipleship, and consider what is needed for the future we are stepping into.
We hope that stories from the day are continuing to be shared across our churches as we reflect on our time together, and we look forward to more opportunities to gather together, including Baptist Family Gathering in Darwin in August, the Baptist World Congress in Brisbane in July 2025, and of course, next year’s 4D!