Previous College Conferences
College Conference 2008
It’s been said that any gray area shows lack of study. With God, His word, His plan, and His order are clear as black and white. The world has taken the black and white concerning gender and blurred them together attempting to create a gray area. This year’s conference “created He them” focuses on what the Word of God tells us about gender.
Jeff Merrick of Calvary Baptist Church in Knobnoster, MO and Dave Hardy of Stillwater, OK delivered the messages at the 2008 conference.
Listen to sermons from College Conference 2008
Jeff Merrick
Pastor Jeff Merrick has had the privilege of being the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church since 2000.
Before coming to Calvary Baptist Church, the Lord allowed Pastor Merrick to start the Faith Baptist Church, in Eldon, Missouri which he pastored for 8 years. Next, Pastor Merrick and his family moved to Washington State where he started the Berean Baptist Church, which he pastored for 9 years. He returned to Missouri after being voted in as the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church on October 29th, 2000.
Pastor Merrick spent four years in the United States Air Force in law enforcement. While in the military he surrendered to preach in 1981. After his service in the Air Force he attended Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, TN and then graduated from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO. While attending BBC he was a member of the Berean Baptist Church.
Pastor Jeff Merrick has been saved for 37 years. He and his wife, Eileen have four children.
Dave Hardy
Dave was saved at age 14 in a small Independent Baptist church in Arlington, Texas, under the preaching of Pastor Bud Arrant. After high school, he served aboard the submarine USS Sennet (SS408) for four years. During this time he married Grace Wilkinson, and their son, Wayne, was born. They were active in Hanahan Baptist Church of Charleston, S.C., under Pastor Hobson Wolfe. Dave held services on the Sennet while at sea, and God used that time and experience to call him into full-time ministry.
After being discharged, the Hardys returned to Arlington for a year where Dave attended Arlington Baptist College. They moved to Springfield, Mo., in 1967, where he attended and graduated from Baptist Bible College. After working on the staff at Seminole Baptist Temple for three years under Pastor Raymon Tracy, he accepted the call to become pastor of Eastland Baptist Church in Tulsa, Okla. Consistent growth from 55 to 700 in attendance reflects a lively, thriving ministry.
It was Dave’s desire to build a church that was pleasing to God: One that recognized God’s primary attribute of holiness and worshiped Him in spirit and truth; one that was conservative in theology and practice; one that was sanctified. Eastland has been marked as a church that is friendly and accepting, and which carries solid Biblical truths into the community and world.
While at Eastland, Dave was able to earn the Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, and the Doctor of Ministry degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He has served as adjunct professor at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, and also as trustee for two three-year terms. Additional opportunities have included nine years as a Mission Field Representative and two terms as First Vice President of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. From 1998 to 2003, Dave was professor of homiletics at Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma City, and served as interim executive vice president of the college for one year.
Dave and Grace have been married 41 years and have one son, Wayne, who pastors Bible Baptist Church in Stillwater, Okla., and one Japanese daughter, Ai Fujino, who has lived with them for several years. Wayne and his wife, Lisa, have been blessed with three children.
College Conference 2007
The 2007 College Conference was held on July 27-28 at the Berean Baptist Church, in Springfield, Missouri. The 2007
conference centered on the joyous poem and song of praise and worship “And Can It Be?” written by Charles Wesley. As Bible-believing Christians, we know what eternal destination we deserve to receive. God’s grace, giving us an eternal home in Heaven, can only make one say, “Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”
Assistant Pastor Tim Knutson from Berean Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri and Attorney David Gibbs with the Christian Law Association delivered the messages.
Listen to sermons from College Conference 2007
David Gibbs, Jr.
Attorney David C. Gibbs, Jr. is the Founder and President of Christian Law Association, a nationwide legal ministry of helps dedicated to defending Christian liberty in America. Brother Gibbs’ Law Firm represents over 10,000 ministries nationwide. Attorney Gibbs has appealed and argued before 15 different State Supreme Courts in defense of religious liberty.
Brother Gibbs and his wife Glorianne have four children -- David III, Sharon, Matthew, and Jonathan and six grandchildren Heather, Heidi, David IV, Danielle, Matthew, Jr. and Adam.
Other ministries that David Gibbs, Jr. is active in are Bible preaching, free legal defense, free legal counsel, legal seminars, a daily radio program, The Legal Alert, and publication of a monthly newsletter, The Legal Alert.
Tim Knutson
Tim and Dana Knutson came to Berean Baptist Church in June of 2005. Both Tim and his wife, Dana have felt the call to ministry since an early age. Tim was saved in 1977, and answered the call to preach at 15 years of age in 1987.
Tim was in evangelism with his parents from 1987 until 2000, when he moved to Oklahoma City, OK to attend Heartland Baptist Bible College. Tim worked at Heartland Baptist Bible College during his time there and continued working another year after his graduation in 2004.
Tim and Dana have two children: Autumn Rose, age 9 and Dakotah Seth, age 2.
Tim is the Assistant Pastor, overseeing the Outreach Program, Sunday School Administration, and teaches the Homebuilders’ Sunday School class.
College Conference 2006
The Berean Baptist Church 2006 College Conference was held on July 28-29 2006 in Springfield, MO.
That year’s conference focused on the charge the Apostle Paul gave Thessalonian church when he said to “walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” As Bible believing Christians, that same charge is one we should hold strong to today.
The preachers at this year’s conference are Pastor Jeff Hastings from Bible Baptist Church in Columbia, Missouri and Executive Vice President of Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Brother Jeff Copes.
Listen to sermons from College Conference 2006
Jeff Hastings
Bro. Jeff Hastings is the Pastor of Bible Baptist Church of Columbia, MO. This is a New Testament church plant out of Calvary Baptist Church in Knob Noster, MO, where Bro. Hastings and his family have been members for the past 10 years. Bro. Hastings was saved, baptized and trained for the ministry all at Calvary Baptist Church. He served as the youth director for 7 years, visitation director and bus worker before being sent out to start the new work in Columbia. Pastor Hastings and his wife Kristina, have three girls – Kaitlyn (8), Bethany (6), Allision (4).
Bro. Hastings and his wife grew up in Southwest MO, he attended college at the University of Missouri, and holds a degree in Physical Therapy and works full time as a physical therapist as he Pastors the work in Columbia.
Jeff Copes
Jeff Copes was born in Boston, MA, in 1963 and was raised in a Christian home. His family migrated to Titusville, FL, in 1981 and began attending Temple Baptist Church where Dr. Wendell Correll is the Pastor. In the winter of 1984, he accepted Christ as his Savior primarily through 11 months of faithful soul winners from the College and Career Class. Praise the Lord for persistent soul winners!
He enrolled in Liberty University in the fall of 1984, and majored in Finance. Bro. Copes graduated in 1987 with a B.S. degree in Finance and moved back to Titusville to work in a local bank. He returned to Temple and assumed the position of Superintendent of the High School Youth Group.
In 1989, he married Pam Thrift, a preachers’ kid. After working at the bank for one year, the Lord moved his employment to the Kennedy Space Center as a Financial Analyst for Rockwell International for five years.
The spring of 1993, his life was changed once again at Temple when he finally surrendered to the call of God into full time service. In June of that year, Jeff and Pam moved to Springfield, MO, and enrolled in the Baptist Bible Graduate School of Theology’s Master of Divinity Program. He promptly began to work as the College and Career Teacher for Dr. Tom McGath at United Baptist Church in Springfield, and Bro. McGath soon called for Jeff to be ordained in order to fill the role of the Assistant Pastor.
During the first year of graduate school, Bro. Copes was able to work as the Project Assistant for Dr. Randall, Vice President of Baptist Bible College and Mr. Larry Stonebraker, Finance Director. In the fall of 1995, he started working as BBC’s Business Department Chairman and full time faculty member (until June 1999).
He graduated from Drury College with a Master Degree of Education with a Business concentration in the summer of 1997, and started pastoring the Meadowview Baptist Church in Republic, MO. (Republic is approximately 16 miles west of Springfield). The Lord blessed the church with growth from five widow ladies and one couple to an average Sunday morning attendance of 110. Faith Promise Missions giving was implemented and the annual missions giving increased from $12,000 to $36,000 in the three year term.
In May of 1999, BBFI Mission Director Bob Baird selected Jeff Copes for the newly created position of business manager for the Mission Office. Copes' acceptance of this position filled a need created by the continued growth and expansion of services provided by the Mission Office to pastors, missionaries and churches.
In November of 2000, Jeff, Pam and their daughter, Victoria Grace moved to Oklahoma City to work with Heartland Baptist Bible College. Bro. Copes considers Heartland to be the premier training institute for independent fundamental Baptists and is excited and humbled to serve the Lord as Executive Vice President. His role is to oversee the daily operations of the college under the direction of Sam Davison, President. The Copes count serving the Lord at Heartland and attending Southwest Baptist Church as their greatest privilege yet.