This Year's Conference will offer three tracks for the presentations and panel discussions

Biblical/Theological Track

The Biblical/Theological Track will be on why it is necessary and vital for pastors/teachers to provide instruction from the Old Testament regularly and consistently. The general tendency seems to be that pastors and teachers are not as eager or confident in handling Old Testament texts. Some prominent evangelical leaders have advocated that the church distance itself from the Old Testament altogether and see it as a stumbling block for evangelism and even Christian growth.  

David Santis (M.A in Old Testament from Gordon-Conwell and Ph.D in Hebrew and Judaic Studies from New York University) will be giving four presentations advocating the importance and genuine value of preaching and teaching from the Old Testament, as well as, providing two workshop presentations on exegeting various genres of the Old Testament. He will also dive into how Christ is central to the Old Testament’s structure and message. He will be especially focused on helping those with no Hebrew background to grow in confidence in studying and teaching from the Old Testament.   

David currently works at Covenant to Care for Children (CCC). Based in Hartford, Connecticut, CCC provides basic goods to abused, neglected and/or impoverished children throughout Connecticut. He has been with the organization for seventeen years, the last ten as the executive director. 

David attended Gordon College, graduating with a B.A. in Biblical Studies and Philosophy. He graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary with an M.A. in Old Testament, and completed a Ph.D. degree in Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU, studying with Baruch Levine and Daniel Fleming. His doctoral dissertation examined the religious practices of the Israelite tribes that settled in the Transjordan (modern day Jordan). He also completed coursework at Harvard Divinity and Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia). David taught for a number of years at Seminary of East in Worcester and NYC, teaching Classical Hebrew and Old Testament courses (Pentateuch, History of Israel, Psalms & Wisdom Literature, OT Prophetical Literature), and at the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies, where he taught an Old Testament Survey course. He is also a licensed minister with the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. David and his wife Phyllis live in Canton, Connecticut

Ecclesiological/Ministry Track

The Ecclesiological/Ministry Track will entail a presentation by Pastor Nathaniel Bickford on the importance of the faithful administration of the sacraments for the vitality of the local church and how they function along with the ministry of the Word for the health of the local church. Baptism and the Lord's Supper serve as a crucial means of ordering the ministry of grace within the gathered body of Christ. Together we will look at what these sacraments are, how the Lord uses them to minister to his people, and how they relate to church membership.

Nathaniel Bickford lives in Whitefield, NH with his wife (Kimberly) and three kids (Lydia, Josiah, and Miriam), where he serves as the teaching elder of the Whitefield Christian Church. A graduate of the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies, Lancaster Bible College, and Westminster Theological Seminary, Nathaniel has taken courses in the Master of Theology program at Westminster with a focus in historical and theological studies. In his spare time, Nathaniel enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, fiddling with computers, and playing board games.

Ecclesiology/Ministry Track II

Ecclesiology/Ministry Track II will be on the relationship between a viable ministry of disciple making and the life and maturity of the local church. What does it mean to fulfill the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ in making disciples and how should this be carried out in and through the local church?  

The presenter will be Rev. Harry Stoliker who set for both the case for intentional disciple making within the local church and some practical steps for its implementation. He will have two sessions with Q&A on Wednesday afternoon.

Harry Stoliker graduated from Berkshire Christian College and Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.) in Philadelphia. He was on staff with the Navigators Campus Ministry for a number of years at the University of Delaware and University of West Chester in Pennsylvania. He is married to his wife Ruth for close to 50 years and they have been blessed with 5 children and two grandchildren.  Harry served as pastor at Emmanuel Bible Church in Schooley’s Mountain, NJ for 24 years from which he retired in 2018. Presently he serves as an elder, in his church in Lynchburg, Virginia where he also serves as a small group leader and director of the church’s Men's Ministry. He is passionate about discipling young men into the vision of expanding the Kingdom of Christ mentoring, discipling and training them to be committed to the Word, prayer and spiritual reproduction. 

The Restoration Network brothers will be leading a panel discussion entitled:  "Finishing Well: A Conversation About Pastoral Faithfulness and Integrity."  This will fit well with the presentation on the importance of cultivating accountable friendships, as the panel explores in greater detail the pressures on pastors and church leaders not to finish well and the gracious resources our Lord provides directly and through his people to enable those in leadership to maintain faithful personal lives and ministry integrity to the glory of God.