By Eliza Rohda ‘26
The 4th annual Equip Conference is coming up next spring, with dates announced for March 16-17.
Dr. Anessa Westbrook, Co-Executive Director of the Center for Ministry, reflected on the conference’s growth: “Every year it has almost doubled. It has developed a niche of addressing the needs of smaller churches, which are sometimes overlooked at larger conferences.”
The conference will be centered around the theme “Faithful,” with a panel discussion on longevity in ministry featuring Dr. Warren Baldwin, Bruce Goodwin, Wayne Hawley and Dr. Scott Laird on Monday, as well as the keynote given by Mike Cope on Tuesday.
Due to the growth of the conference, each breakout session will now feature seven different speakers for attendees to choose from, including sessions geared toward five different tracks: Small Churches, Book of Hebrews, Women’s Ministry, Shepherd’s Connection and Youth Ministry. Many of these sessions will feature new York University faculty and staff, including Dr. Darrel Sears, Dr. Greg Stevenson, Dr. Scott Laird and Dr. Anessa Westbrook.
Some other speakers will include Walter Clark, Jim Coehoorn, Chris Crooks, Jeff Hill, Rowlie Hutton, Kevin Knight, Chris Krotz, Nathan McBroom, Diane Reese, Dr. Tim Westbrook, and Franklin Wood. Additionally, a panel made up of York University students will be moderated by Dr. Jared Pack.
Conference attendees can look forward to special events such as a trivia night hosted by Jason Hawkins, the Clayton Lecture entitled “A Christian Philosopher’s Take on Science and Religion” given by Dr. Nathan Guy and a dinner at Chances “R” Restaurant hosted by Renew University. The annual Ides of March Dinner will take place in conjunction with the conference, with Dr. Peter Gurry giving his lecture “From Ancient Manuscripts to Modern Bible.”
“I’m more excited now than ever,” said Dr. Garrett Best, “because what started as this small conference has become a really meaningful two days for churches outside the Bible Belt.”
To register for the Equip Conference, visit york.edu/center-for-ministry in January. Registration for the conference is $75, while the Ides of March Dinner, an event independent of the Equip Conference, is an additional $30.