York University hosted its third annual Equip Conference this week, which once again exceeded expectations. Attendance more than doubled from the inaugural conference, with about 170 ministers, elders, and other leaders representing 61 different congregations from 16 states and Canada. Dr. Garrett Best, chair of the department of Bible and ministry, felt, “an electric atmosphere on our campus for the two days of the Equip Conference. Everyone felt energized by worshipping, learning, and fellowshipping together. It was amazing to witness what God is doing through this conference.“
Photos from the Equip Conference
Lectures and worship opportunities were spread over two days, beginning with worship led by Campus Minister Sean Algaier and Aaron Miles, a member of YU’s Admissions Office. The Well featured a message from Mike Cope, director of ministry outreach at Pepperdine University. Cope spoke to Equip attendees and the student body during The Well, the university’s daily chapel gathering, saying, “God is here and He’s shaping you in love.” Mike Cope’s message can be heard here.
Mike Cope also talked about a grant that will channel almost a million dollars to York University over 5 years to create a center for supporting churches in rural and small towns. The grant for York University is part of a larger effort based out of Pepperdine University titled “Empower and Equip - Rural and Small Town Church Initiative”, led by Cope. Read more about the partnership here.
Afterwards, a panel including Leonard Allen, Doug Peters, Jovan Barrington, and Shayna Franson discussed ways to strengthen evangelizing for the church. These church leaders talked through the unique challenges and hopes of current churches. They also gave advice on priorities for congregations.
Another highlight of the first day was the inaugural Clayton Lecture, led by Dr. Alison Hawanchak, the assistant professor of Old Testament at Southern Nazarene University. Hawanchak’s lecture was titled, “Rethinking the Conquest of Canaan: Violence in the Book of Joshua in its Socio-Political Context.”
This year, the Equip Conference added a youth ministry workshop led by Kevin Knight, youth and family minister for the Eastside Church of Christ in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Nathan McBroom, youth minister for the Northwest Church of Christ in Oklahoma City. The workshop consisted of four breakout sessions that served to provide tools for ministering to teens. Another session with a similar theme involved a YU student panel, which included Drew Lugafet, Reagan Branum, Simeon Tremaine, Elizabeth Zaiger, Andrew Bennett, and Kinzie Norton. Their topic was, “Mission Impossible? Sharing the Gospel with Gen Z and Beyond.”
Day two started with another morning worship session, followed by keynote speaker Jovan Barrington. In his talk, Barrington emphasized that, like the paralytic man in Mark 2, we need to break through the barriers that separate us from Christ. The Well featured Jim Tuttle, who shared that, “There are sacred places, but there are also sacred faces... faces of people that have made a big difference in our lives.” Tuttle’s message can be heard here.
“The Equip Conference has quickly become a can’t miss event for me,” said Tuttle. “It is designed to encourage all church leaders especially in smaller congregations and it does that in a powerful way. I love how the leaders who attend are valued by York University and their leadership. The sessions, keynote and worship are carefully designed to not only inform the leader but show care and concern for them, and that is why many leaders, including me, are coming back to the Equip Conference.”
Doug Peters led a series of sessions discussing what God is doing and how others can be part of it, and Leonard Allen led sessions talking about the Holy Spirit. Other speakers throughout Equip included Glenn Hawley, Alison Hawanchak, Tiffany Baum, Bruce Goodwin, Bryan Fojtasek, Justus Coppinger, Shayna Franson, Scott Laird, Jason Hawkins, and Josh Ross. Hawanchak concluded the conference with her lecture “Swords, Tent Pegs, and Spirit: Weapons of War in the Book of Judges” given at the Ides of March dinner, an annual fundraising dinner for the Clayton Museum of Ancient History.
Additional Quotes
“I most enjoyed the time with friends and fellow alums, sharing worship, laughs, and great teachings. It was life-giving to reconnect with many wonderful servants and be encouraged in our shared mission of making Christ known. Every speaker was passionate and inspiring.” - Bryan Johnston, lead minister at North Bend Church of Christ
"Part of the Equip beauty is providing a place for spiritual leaders to gather, celebrate, connect, visit, laugh, learn and appreciate the larger Kingdom of God. Leading in the local Church is hard and we need to see the larger work of His hand. Equip's mission includes the joy of being together.” - Scott Lambert, co-founder of Heritage 21 & co-founder and executive director at The Conversation Group
"I made a new friend, hugged an old friend, had help solving a Bible class problem, and got excited about the Holy Spirit. It was just what I needed, just when I needed it!" - Susan Nossaman, class of 1976
"I am so grateful for an event like this in the middle of the midwest that is geared to our context in the midwest. This is a HUGE source of encouragement from speakers and presenters who take the time to share their wisdom and insights, and from other attendees, reminding us of our fellowship beyond our local congregation and all over the midwest. The fact that this is geared toward our context in the midwest, which consists of many small town and rural churches, makes this particularly encouraging in a very useful way. Thank you so much for doing this." - John Telgren, minister at Nebraska City Church of Christ
"It was a great conference—everything we expected for sure. The congregational singing in the chapel raised my eyes to see God and feel his presence with us. The guest lecture made me rethink my Old Testament understanding of God and war, and I loved that. The very best of all was Scott Laird’s breakout on discipleship. He was so humble and yet so knowledgeable and helpful. We are already thinking of next year’s calendar and making plans to be back at York U for Equip!” - Linda Thomas, York University board member
"I wanted to share just a couple of things about the role that Equip is filling for us. When our family was young and I was in the Student Life Office at York, every March we would travel to Tulsa—often with a group of students—to attend the Tulsa International Soul Winning Workshop. This became an annual 'pilgrimage' of sorts for our family. There were always friends that we would see every year at Tulsa. Since the Tulsa Workshop ended several years ago, we have had a void in our lives. I didn't realize how badly this void needed filling and Equip has fufilled this need. The opportunities for worship filled us and the excellent sessions provided teaching that encouraged and strengthened us. After attending for our second year, we will not likely miss it in the future, Lord willing!” - Mark Tremaine, vocational minister at Sterling Church of Christ and associate professor of criminal justice at Sterling College