CEDARVILLE — Cedarville University will host its seventh annual 9Marks Conference Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 6-7 in the Stevens Student Center.
This year’s featured speaker is Dr. Mark Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and founder and president of 9Marks.
This year’s conference theme is “Discipleship and Growth,” mark No. 8 from the 9Marks of a Healthy Church. The conference will focus on Scriptures that teach that a live Christian is a growing Christian (2 Pet. 1:8-10) and that we grow not only by instruction but by imitation (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1).
“Discipleship summarizes the mission of telling people about Jesus and helping them grow into faithful followers of Jesus Christ,” says Dr. Jon Wood, vice president for student life and Christian ministries. “This mission is central to the identity of the church, and it aligns with the mission of Cedarville as we educate students.”
The conference sessions will address three key questions: What is discipleship? Where is it in the Bible? and Why is it important? These questions will be thoroughly discussed in breakout sessions and main sessions.
The 9Marks organization was founded on the characteristics of a healthy church found throughout Scripture: expositional preaching, biblical theology, the Gospel, conversion, evangelism, membership, discipline, discipleship and leadership.
“Cedarville University seeks to support the local church by providing an educational experience marked by submission to the Word of God and academic excellence,” Wood said. “The 9Marks conference provides an opportunity for the university to support the church and, in turn, strengthen the university by the support and ministry of the pastors who share our mission.”
Along with Dever, speakers include Garrett Kell, lead pastor of Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va.; Brian Davis, pastor at Risen Christ Fellowship in Philadelphia; and Jared Wilson, managing editor of “For The Church” at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. They will be joined by Jeremy Kimble, interim director for the Center for Biblical Integration and assistant professor of theology, and Wood.
