FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Pastors, ministry leaders, and church members from across the region gathered Sunday, Sept. 20, at Flat Creek Baptist Church in Fayetteville for the fifth of six Georgia Baptist Mission Board SPARK conferences of 2026.
Scott Sullivan, GBMB discipleship catalyst, said 617 people registered for the Fayetteville conference, representing 86 churches and three Baptist associations. Through the first five SPARK conferences of the year, 3,270 have registered for the regional church-strengthening events.
Josh Saefkow, senior pastor of Flat Creek, said hosting SPARK gave the church an opportunity to serve other Georgia Baptist churches while strengthening cooperation among them.
“I love being a Georgia Baptist,” Saefkow said. “You equip the body of Christ so that we can together be the arms and feet of Jesus in our community. We can reach, teach, and minister to more people in our community. How couldn’t I be a part of something like this?”
Saefkow estimated about 150 Flat Creek members served during the conference, including volunteers in the parking lot, audiovisual ministry, worship, breakouts, and other areas.
“It’s a joy, it’s an honor, it’s a privilege,” he said. “I just love seeing all of us together under one banner, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Andy Childs, assistant executive director of the GBMB, thanked Saefkow and the Flat Creek volunteers and reminded those attending that the work of Georgia Baptists is centered in their local churches.
“If anyone ever asks you, ‘Where is the headquarters of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board?’if you're at church on a Sunday or on a Wednesday or on a Saturday or a Tuesday ladies’ Bible study, you can smile and look at them and say, ‘You're standing in it.’"
He said SPARK could not provide its training, encouragement, fellowship, and gospel focus without host churches willing to open their facilities and serve those attending.
Art Fulks, association mission strategist for the Southside Baptist Network, said one of SPARK’s strengths is the range of training available to churches and their leaders.
“I think the biggest selling point to SPARK is there’s something for everyone,” Fulks said. “Whether you’re the pastor of a small church or a larger church, you can bring your people, your leaders, there’s something for them here.”
Because the GBMB, host church, and host association handle the logistics, Fulks said pastors are able to participate alongside the people they bring.
“You can really focus on being with your people, with your leaders,” he said.
Bruce Mewbourne, who serves as missions and connections pastor at Oak Hill Church in Williamson, said SPARK provides an opportunity to learn from others doing similar ministry.
“We’re all learners, right?” Mewbourne said. “That never stops no matter how old.”
He said gatherings like SPARK also remind ministry leaders “that you’re not alone” as they meet others facing similar challenges and hear how churches are engaging their communities and the world.
Lorraine Johnson, co-missions leader at Greenforest Community Baptist Church, said learning from other churches was also part of what brought her to Fayetteville.
“Coming to SPARK really helps us to understand what other churches are doing as well,” Johnson said.
She described the gathering as an opportunity to benefit from the collective knowledge of other Georgia Baptist churches. A breakout on community missions, she said, provided practical information she could take home and apply to her church’s planning and ministry.
Daniel Courson, student pastor at Ephesus Baptist Church, came with about a dozen people from his church. He said leaders need to continue sharpening their ministry skills regardless of how long they have served.
“None of us have ever made it. We’ve never arrived,” Courson said. “So to take opportunities just to come and to learn and to grow and be reminded of what God has called us to is always just an amazing opportunity.”
Courson was particularly interested in a breakout on engaging Generation Alpha, the younger generation now moving into the student ministry age group he serves.
The evening’s keynote message came from Daniel Ritchie, an author, speaker, and Southern Baptist Convention vice president. Saefkow introduced Ritchie by telling those gathered that he hoped the message would create “a greater hunger for the gospel.”
Ritchie, who was born without arms, shared how God saved him at 15 during a difficult period marked by depression and suicidal thoughts. He said that even after coming to Christ, he struggled with how people treated him because of his disability. About a year later, however, he sensed God calling him into ministry and eventually came to see his entire life — including his disability — as something God could use for His purposes.
Preaching from Acts 20:17-36 and Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders, Ritchie challenged those attending to finish the ministry God has placed before them. He organized his message around four calls: preach the grace of God to yourself every day, give the gospel all that you are, recognize that gospel ministry comes at a cost, and depend on prayer and the power of God for the mission.
Ritchie told ministry leaders that the gospel should shape more than what happens inside the church. Paul, he said, lived among the people of Ephesus and made his life, work, relationships, preaching, and teaching about the grace and gospel of God.
Courson said Ritchie’s challenge about pastors personally sharing the gospel was what struck him most.
“We expect our congregation, we expect our members to go and share, but are we really going and sharing daily ourselves, or even monthly, as he said?” Courson said. “I think that’s a check for all of us, including me.”
Jack Miller, pastor of the 55+ group at Fayetteville First Baptist Church, said Ritchie’s message was also a reminder of the central importance of evangelism.
“I think we get complacent at times,” Miller said. He said Ritchie’s testimony challenged him to remember “there are people out there that need Jesus” and not to forget the calling to share the gospel, love people, and remain faithful.
Saefkow said Ritchie’s message challenged him personally, particularly the emphasis on surrendering comfort for the sake of the gospel.
“The grace of God is worth more than my comfort,” Saefkow said. “The grace of God is worth more than my security.”
He said comfort can become an obstacle for Christians who are called to pour themselves out in service to Christ.
Saefkow also pointed to Ritchie’s emphasis on prayer as important for churches and ministry leaders seeking to work together.
“If we ever want to see a corporate revival take place, it’s not going to be separated from prayer,” he said. “Daniel nailed it tonight.”
Sullivan said one pastor recently told him SPARK had been one of the most beneficial events his church had participated in during his tenure. He said the conference had not only trained and encouraged that church’s staff and lay leaders, but also helped them understand cooperation among local churches, associations, and the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
“That is the heart of SPARK: reminding Georgia Baptists that we can accomplish more for the Kingdom when we work together,” Sullivan said.
One SPARK conference remains in 2026. The final gathering is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 27, at Crossroads Baptist Church in Valdosta, with Jimmy Scroggins, pastor of Family Church in South Florida, as keynote speaker.
Sullivan encouraged pastors to bring ministry teams and lay leaders, noting that training will be offered across a broad range of church ministry areas.
“We are in a season where we must train our leadership teams and lay leaders to accomplish the mission of the local church, which is to make multiplying disciples of Jesus,” Sullivan said. “If we fail at anything, it must not be in the mission to reach, connect, mature, and launch disciples of Jesus.”
He summed up the goal in one sentence:
“Let’s make it hard to get to hell from Georgia!”
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