Hugh's News & Commentary

On Saturday, May 21 it was my pleasure to preside over the Promotional Conference session of the South Carolina Conference in Lake City, South Carolina.

The morning began with registration in the conference cafeteria from 8 – 9 a. m. There were 232 ministerial delegates, 77 minister spouses, and 87 church delegates, making a total registration of 393 delegates. Conference began at 9 a. m. with praise and worship, followed by greetings and prayer from Bishop Greg Amos. The presiding officer was then introduced, and the conference business began.

The conference Examining Committee Report was passed granting credentials to the following:

For Minister’s License: Eric D. Ferrell; Paul E. Garrett; James R. Greene; Kevin B. Howard; Aldon L. Johnson, Jr.; Paul M. Lemmond

For Ordination: Glen Allen Ard; Daniel Bigham; Timothy M. Davis; Richard C. Reed.

All the candidates were then called forward for a ministerial charge and the Minister’s License candidates received their credentials at this time from Bishop Amos. The ordination service was held later in the morning at which time the presiding officer reminded the candidates that between the reality of their current status and the potential of their future status lay one thing, “conflict”! He reminded them that their potential for success in the ministry was directly proportional to their tolerance for pain.

After the Examining Committee Report, I shared the IPHC Vision 20/20: Live.Move.Be. presentation. This material is being presented across the denomination for the first time in the 2011 conference sessions. The IPHC Communications Department has done an excellent job in preparing the video, power point, and script for the presentation. It was avidly received by the congregation in Lake City and resulted in much positive feedback.

This was followed by Bishop Amos delivering his State of the Conference address in which he revealed the following for the year 2010: 2,330 first time salvations, 385 water baptisms, 300 sanctified, 291 baptized with the Holy Spirit. The conference now has 17,740 members with 540 credentialed ministers. He also stated that the global outreach giving for 2010 was $390,794.51 with an aggressive faith goal for 2011 of $500,000. Bishop Amos chose to place a copy of the IPHC Centennial Covenant in the packet of each registrant. All other reports were presented and passed in written form.

Several significant moments occurred during the conference session. Thirty six ministers were presented a ministerial service pin for having 50 plus years in the ministry. Rev. James R. McNeill was the senior among the group with 64 years of ministerial service. Twelve individuals were memorialized during the Memoirs Committee Report at the close of the conference session. Approximately 50 family members were present for this solemn occasion.

In addition, there were a number of special guests present for the conference, including Dr. Michael Stewart, president of Emmanuel College; Bishop James D. Leggett, president of Holmes Bible College; Mrs. Esther Nix, representative for the IPHC Extension Loan Fund; and Missionaries, Rhonda Bauer; Debra Lybrand; Tim and Beth Salley; and Carl Sturkie.

The South Carolina Conference is blessed with visionary leadership that takes seriously its responsibility for relevant ministry in the 21st century. It is indeed a leader in the IPHC! Join me in prayer as we agree together for the continued growth and progress of this great conference!