West Coast Ministers’ Conference 2019

A Preview of the West Coast Ministers’ Conference location

Watch these videos to learn more about the conference

Tuesday Oct. 15 – Thursday Oct. 17, 2019

The West Coast Ministers’ Conference is a biennial event where men gather from a variety of ministerial vocations to worship God and sit under the preaching of his Word.

Conference Theme

The New Covenant Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Location

Murrieta Hot Springs, Murrieta, CA.

In a world where there are an increasing amount of reformed conferences to attend, some might wonder what this conference venue has to offer. Murrieta surely isn’t the most populous city on the West Coast.

Some might ask, “Why did Banner choose to host a conference at a Christian conference center/resort?” First, the conference center allows us to keep everyone together. Traffic in the greater LA area is terrible. But once guests check in at the conference center they will have no reason to leave. All food, room arrangements, conference activities, etc., will be located at the conference site. This will allow our attendees to relax, form stronger relationships with the other Christian men at the conference, and be able to spend time in public and private prayer and Bible study. The vast majority of the attendees will stay in the private rooms on campus, share meals together at the campus dining hall, and enjoy fellowship together in the campus recreation centers (pool, beach volley ball, tennis, etc). Second, the Hot Springs Conference Center allows us to keep the conference rates low. This is an important feature of Banner of Truth conferences, for we want to reach out to as many pastors as possible, not all of whom are serving in large and prosperous congregations. Our conference fee, which ranges from $270 to $405 is great value for money when you consider it covers room and board, conference registration, bookstore gift certificates, and the use of all campus facilities. There are absolutely no hidden costs!

Who Attends?

The US Ministers’ Conference is arranged for men in (or who have been in) pastoral ministry; students in theological training for the ministry; men serving in missionary work (at home or overseas); and men serving the church as elders or as deacons. In addition, we welcome those who are sponsored by their church/minister who are seriously considering the possibility of eldership or full-time ministry.

We ask that only men attend to maximize opportunities for fellowship, accountability, and prayer. We understand the difficulty of being away from family for a couple of nights, but one of the goals of this conference is to encourage men to forge strong friendships with like-minded brothers and fellow gospel ministers.

Tuesday, October 15th

11:00am – Registration Begins
3:30pm – Opening Sermon — Ian Hamilton
7:00pm – Worship in the New Covenant — Robert Godfrey

Wednesday, October 16th

8:15am – United Prayer
9:00am – The Holy Spirit in the Incarnate Life of Christ — Derek Thomas
10:45am – The Spirit’s New Covenant Ministry of Conviction — Kevin Efflandt
3:15pm – Short Address
3:30pm – Panel Discussion
7:00pm – The Father’s Promise of blessing on all Nations — Chad Vegas

Thursday, October 17th

8:15am – United Prayer
9:00pm – The Ministry of the Gospel among all Peoples — Brooks Bucer
10:45am – The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life — Derek Thomas
1:30pm – The Gift of the Son: a Better Advocate? — Chad Vegas
2:45pm – Closing Sermon— Mark Johnston

Solid, reformed preaching from the Word of God, with encouraging fellowship among like-minded men in ministry.
Located at the beautiful Murrieta Hot Springs Christian Conference Center in Murrieta, CA.
Fee includes meals and lodging, unless you designate otherwise.
Lodging in air-conditioned rooms on campus; linens, pillow, wash cloths and towels supplied.
The San Diego International Airport and the Los Angeles International Airport are both just over an hour away.
Registration begins Tuesday, October 15, 2019.
Basketball courts, swimming pool, beach volleyball courts, natural hot spring pools, and tennis courts available during designated times.
Banner of Truth Conference Bookstore with most, if not all Banner titles for purchase at discounted prices.
Attendees receive a conference gift, a one-year electronic subscription to The Banner of Truth magazine, and a special conference bookstore gift certificate.

Brooks Buser and his wife Nina graduated from San Diego Christian College in 1998. Brooks worked as the CFO of a Dutch multinational till they were convinced from Scripture of the need to work with an unreached people group. In 2003 they left for the country of Papua New Guinea and spent 13 years planting a church among the Yembiyembi people. In 2016 they finished the N.T. translation and returned to San Diego. Brooks was named President of Radius International in late 2016. Brooks and Nina have one son.

Kevin Efflandt (B.A. in Biblical Studies, Biola University; M.Div. Grace Seminary) is the Pastor of Preaching at Zion United Reformed Church in Ripon, California. He has been at Zion since August 2010. Prior to this, he served as church planter and pastor of Bellingham United Reformed Church in Bellingham, Washington for 8 years. He is a contributor to “Planting, Watering, Growing: Planting Confessionally Reformed Churches in the 21st Century.” He and his wife, Memry, have 2 daughters, 1 son-in-law, and 2 grandsons.

Robert Godfrey has taught church history at Westminster Seminary California since 1981. He taught previously at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Stanford University, and Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He served as the third president of Westminster Seminary California, a chairman of Ligonier Ministries, a Ligonier teaching fellow, a minister in the United Reformed Churches in North America, and has authored several books, including An Unexpected Journey: Discovering Reformed Christianity, Learning to Love the Psalms, and John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor.

Ian Hamilton currently serves as Associate Minister of Smithton Free Church in Inverness, Scotland. Formerly the pastor of Cambridge Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, England, he has ministered the Word in Brazil, South Africa, Morocco, Canada and the United States, and pastored a church in Scotland for 19 years. He is the author of the Banner of Truth titles The Faith Shaped Life, The Gospel Shaped Life, Let’s Study the Letters of John, and the new Banner Mini-Guide Salvation: Full and Free in Christ. Pastor Hamilton serves on the boards of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and lectures in Church History at Edinburgh Theological Seminary. He is a Trustee of the Banner of Truth and the editor of the Banner magazine. He is married with four children.

Mark Johnston is Pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church, Cardiff. He previously ministered in his native Northern Ireland, London, and Pennsylvania. He is a Trustee of the Banner of Truth Trust and the author of the Banner Mini-Guide The Church: Glorious Body, Radiant Bride, as well as three commentaries in the Let’s Study series; Let’s Study 2 Peter and Jude, Let’s Study Colossians and Philemon, and Let’s Study John. Mark is married to Fiona and they have two grown-up children.

Derek Thomas Originally from Wales, Derek Thomas is Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina, and the Robert Strong Professor of Systematic and Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. After pastoring for 17 years in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Thomas returned to the USA in 1996 where, in addition to his service to the Jackson campus of RTS, he served as the Minister of Teaching at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson until 2011, when he joined the staff at FPC, Columbia. He has written or edited several books including Ichthus, The Bible: God’s Inerrant Word, and a couple of the Trust’s ‘Let’s Study’ commentary series (Galatians, Revelation). He is a teaching fellow with Ligonier Ministries, in Sanford, Florida.

Chad Vegas is the founding pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, where he has served since 2006. Prior to planting Sovereign Grace, Chad received his MA in Theology at Talbot and served for six years as an associate pastor at Riverlakes Community Church. He is also the founding board chairman of Radius International, an organization that trains people to plant churches among unreached language groups. He has been married to Teresa since 1994, and they have 2 children.

Registration Rates	Early Bird Registration	Standard Registration	Late Registration
Registration Rates	Before July 1, 2019	July 1, 2019 to Sept 30, 2019	After Sept 30, 2019
¹Single Room	$415	$445	$475
²Group Room (2-5 People)	$365	$395	$425
³Seminary Student (2-5 People)	$270	$300	$330
⁴Registration & Meals Only	$250	$280	$310

Single Room: 1 person bedroom with private bathroom facilities. 2 nights accommodation and a 6-meal plan (Tuesday supper to Thursday lunch). Limited availability.
Group Room (2-5 People): A shared bedroom for 2-5 attendees with a private bathroom. Each person will have their own bed and you may specify your roommates. If you specify roommates we will not add other people to your room. Price is per person and includes 2 nights accommodation and a 6-meal plan (Tuesday supper to Thursday lunch).
Seminary Student (2-5 People): Based on the Group Room Plan, but with a discounted rate for seminarians.
Registration & Meals Only: You arrange your own accommodations for lodging. All meals will be included and access to the entire event.