Wow! The Impact Bible Conference was amazing! It was my first time visiting New Zealand, but my wife Lisa’s second trip. We knew from talking to pastors from New Zealand and missionaries to New Zealand that there is a “famine of the Word” in that country. We were told very few churches in New Zealand practice expository preaching. I was curious to see who would attend the conference and the level of their spiritual hunger. Both Lisa and I were pleasantly surprised.
It seems that the reputation of pastors Russell Hohneck and Donald Stevenson of Riverbend Bible Church, and Nigel Shailer of The Shepherd’s Bible College is great indeed! Over 600 Bible-loving believers gathered from all over New Zealand, Australia, and even Africa to the small town of Havelock to be fed the Word! The New Zealanders who came had a deep love for Christ and passion for the Word which was very encouraging.
Our times of worship through singing were heavenly, catching our hearts up to the third heaven, and the fellowship was sweet. And food, lots of great food! I had previously thought that only Hobbits ate six meals a day, but now I know where they got that habit from – the Impact Bible Conference! Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper or evening tea were our daily delight. By the end of the conference my soul and body were made fat!
The theme of the conference was an excellent choice – “Stepping Into Eternity.” I was blessed by the accumulated effect of so much preaching and teaching on eternity. Our minds were constantly transported to heaven and the glories to come. Each day our focus became more heavenly oriented. The joy and anticipation of heaven filled the hearts of those who attended. Each message caused us to “fix our minds on the things above” and see the practical value of living with heaven in view. By the end of the conference we were aching to see Jesus, the angels, departed saints, and glories untold.
Lisa was very blessed to be able to speak to the women and was warmly received. Every night Lisa and I would collapse into bed, exhausted from long days of ministry, but excited to share our stories with each other of people we had met. We were so blessed by many servants from Riverbend Bible Church. A small army of faithful men and women from Riverbend labored to make the conference a reality and blessing for all who attended. Surely they will be great in the kingdom for their service to us was unsurpassed. Our host family, Phil and Natalie Henderson (Phil is Pastor of Onekawa Bible Church and teaches at Shepherd’s Bible College), pampered us to shame. We left thanking and praising God for the many blessings we had received and longing to spend eternity with the many believers we had met.
To God Be the Glory!
Pastor Jack Hughes
Calvary Bible Church, Burbank, California
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