The audio files from the BTC 2010 conference are now available for free download! To listen to Pastors Don Donell and Raymond Perron preach on the subject of “The Church & Missions,” follow the links below.

Session 1: Conference Introduction by Don Donell & Raymond Perron

Session 2: “The Mission Is God’s” (Don Donell)

Session 3: “Let’s Get Out of Our Hideout” (Raymond Perron)

Session 4: “Becoming a Radicalized Disciple”  (Don Donell)

Session 5: “Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Culture” (Raymond Perron)

Session 6: Questions & Answers with Don Donell, John Giarrizzo, & Raymond Perron

(By David Giarrizzo)

Just over one week ago, 110 people, most of them between the ages of 18 and 30-something, returned to their homes after a refreshing weekend of mutual edification and time in God’s Word. By all accounts, the third-annual Building Tomorrow’s Church conference was a wonderful success. Not even the cool, wet weather of Prescott, Arizona, could dampen the warmth of the fellowship between these like-minded brothers and sisters, many of whom sacrificed time and money to make it for the weekend. Conference attendees Anita, Catherine, and Joshua Baines traveled all the way from Maine to be with the brethren at BTC 2010 and listen to keynote speakers Raymond Perron and Don Donell preach on the topic of “The Church and Missions.” Others traveled from Massachusetts, Tennessee, and South Carolina in the east, and California and Oregon in the west. First Baptist Church in Clinton, Louisiana, sent the most young people with 14 attendees this year. Other churches in Bremen, Indiana, Mansfield, Texas, and southern California also sent large groups to this year’s BTC conference.

The 110 conference attendees represented more than 25 different Reformed Baptist churches from 17 states. More importantly, though, these 110 people represent both a legacy and a future for Reformed Baptists in North America.

A Legacy
Many of the young people who have participated in past Building Tomorrow’s Church conferences are second and third-generation Reformed Baptists. My brother Paul and I are examples of just such people. Our parents were exposed to the doctrines of grace shortly after being converted to Christ. They raised us with the understanding of Scripture’s authority and the Reformers’ and Puritans’ influence. To us, “doctrine” isn’t a dirty word. We have fond feelings towards catechisms, confessions, and creeds. Many young people like us know and love the great hymns of the church and we understand that reverence and order are essential to right worship. Most importantly, we learned from our upbringing in a Reformed Baptist home that everything we do should be done for the purpose of glorifying God (1 Corinthians 10:31, Soli Deo Gloria). This is the legacy our parents have left.

A Future
It is clear through their lives and conversations that most of the young people at the Building Tomorrow’s Church conferences are sober-minded believers. By their own admissions, they are seeking to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ, in full submission to His mission. Many of the BTC conference attendees are already members in their local churches; more are future members. Raised with a biblical understanding of reality, these young believers are the future of our churches; they present older saints with a hope for our churches when they are gone. Though few are seminary-trained and not all college-educated, they are nevertheless Reformed Baptist theologians in their own right because they have learned it from their parents and now own it for themselves. The purpose of BTC is to encourage the young people in our Reformed Baptist churches to continue in the fight for Truth that their parents have fought; to continue in the project of Kingdom-building in which their parents had labored. As Titus 2 encourages the older saints to teach the younger, through BTC we encourage attendees to be both the teachable younger brother or sister as well as the older saint who disciples. As we heard Robert Briggs say at BTC 2009, it’s not an “either-or, but a both-and.”

The legacy left by Reformed Baptist parents and pastors is seen in the lives of their children and young people. The future of Reformed Baptists is viewed also in these same people’s lives. Like a spiritual relay race in which one generation passes the baton of Truth to the next, our generation is responsible to preserve and promote and pass on the good deposit that has been entrusted to us.  As God keeps us faithful to Him and His mission, may we stay true to the truths of His Word and the lessons learned from our fathers and churches. May we continue in the work of building the Church today for tomorrow.


For more pictures from BTC 2010, click here.


(By David Giarrizzo)


After months of preparation, BTC 2010 is upon us. This weekend, August 6-9, 110 people from 25 different churches in 14 different states will descend upon Prescott, Arizona, for what should be a blessed weekend of time in God’s Word and fellowship with God’s people.

Please keep the following requests in your prayers:

• That God would be glorified in every part of our weekend together.
• That those who are travelling long distances to and from the conference will travel safely and without difficulties.
• That God would give Pastors Don Donell and Raymond Perron power from on high as they preach the Word.
• That God would encourage the young adults who attend the conference through the messages and fellowship.
• That God would encourage the brethren in the churches back home through the Christians who return to continue in their service to the Lord.
• That God might raise up the next pastor, missionary, or church planter through this year’s conference.  

We are continually amazed at what God has and is doing through this annual conference. Please pray for BTC 2010.

For more information, visit www.buildingtomorrowschurch.com.

(By David Giarrizzo)

Lately I have been working on preparations for two back-to-back weekend conferences and have had little time to think about blogging. So for this week, I’m going to pull a Tim Challies and share some miscellaneous links.

Please be in prayer for these two conferences hosted by my home church, Grace Covenant. This coming weekend, July 30-August 1, many from our church family will be heading to the cool(er) Oak Creek Canyon just outside of Sedona for our annual Family Camp. Pastor Robert Cole will be preaching God’s Word to us.  The following weekend, August 6-9, over 100 Reformed Baptist young adults from across the country will be assembling in Prescott, Arizona, for the third-annual Building Tomorrow’s Church conference. Please be in prayer for Pastors Raymond Perron and Don Donell as they focus our thoughts on what the Bible says about missions.

The Local Church and Evangelism – Speaking about gospel missions, I appreciate that the brothers over at Reformed Baptist Fellowship posted this wonderful article by Erroll Hulse. The topic is a timely one, especially for those of us who will be attending BTC’10.

Jason Helopoulos on Good Reasons for Moving On – Over at Kevin DeYoung’s Gospel Coalition blog, Heloploupos shares some helpful thoughts for both church members and elders on the topic of “Good,” “Possible,” and “Insufficient” reasons for leaving a church and moving on.

Andy Naselli on Confrontation – DeYoung also had Andy Naselli guest post for him recently. Naselli uses a hypothetical example of two men, “Mr. Confronter” and “Mr. Blogger,” and illustrates with biblical principles how to receive criticism from a brother.

28 years ago today Keith Green died. – Although he went to be with the Lord about a year before I was born, I grew up listening to singing along with Keith Green cassette tapes. As the author of this article states, “Keith certainly didn’t get everything right. He didn’t have great things to say about Reformed theology, although some of his song lyrics show that he was more reformed than he may have realized (see “You Put This Love in My Heart”).” I think Green’s life and his ministry through music serve as another important reminder to us that God uses various men with various theological views in various ways to bless the Church for His glory and praise.

And finally, in case you haven’t heard, the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith & the 1695 Baptist Catechism (Leather-Bound Hardcover Edition) is now available. Get yours today from Solid Ground Christian Books!

And finally, just one year ago this month, 6 men (who have come to be known as the “Ardent Cries Guys”) got their act together and started this blog. Happy One Year, brothers!

(By David Giarrizzo)

Growing up in a church where the Gospel was preached every week from the pulpit and in a home where biblical evangelism was just a part of life, I have understood from an early age the importance of gospel missions as it relates to the local body of believers. Tales of missions and missionaries were commonplace stories at bedtime or at the breakfast table in the Giarrizzo home. I remember fellowshipping with David Straub in our home on various occasions, listening to his stories of the spread of the Gospel to faraway lands, and being amazed by this man who would eat an entire apple—everything but the stem. (Rumor has it that ARBCA’s current coordinator also eats whole apples, core and all!) I remember attending RBMS missions banquets at Cornerstone Bible Church, even singing a duet with my brother at one of these conferences. As children, my brother and I knew who our missionaries were because we were taught to pray for them often.

I think I was in fifth grade when I went as a missionary for Career Day; I basically dressed like my dad on Sunday mornings and carried my Bible around all day. But there was a time in my life when I seriously wondered if God would someday call me to be a missionary to a foreign land, be it Australia or Hollywood. Since then, however, God has taught me more than I deserve to know about His Word, the Gospel of His Son, and His means of saving His elect throughout the world.

Ironically enough, even though I have never lived more than 13 miles from the house I grew up in, God has shown me still that I really am called to be a missionary.

In about two weeks from now, at this year’s Building Tomorrow’s Church conference for Reformed Baptist young adults, the emphasis will be on missions and how it relates to the local church, ultimately to each one of us individually. Although I grew up understanding the definition and importance of mission work, I had trouble really grasping my part in the work of missions. And I have a feeling I’m not the only one to experience this. At BTC’10, attendees will here from two men qualified to teach others about the biblical reasons for missions and the practical application the subject has on the lives of everyday church members. Pastors Raymond Perron and Don Donell will be bringing two messages each to help conference attendees synthesize the biblical doctrine of evangelism with personal practice. (To view the session titles, click here: BTC 2010 Messages)

Please pray that the Lord of the harvest might be pleased to instill in the lives of those who attend BTC 2010 a sincere and lasting desire to see Christ’s kingdom grow; a yearning so strong that maybe even one person from this conference will be used of God to bring a sinner to repentance and faith.

May the words of this song ever be a prayer in our hearts, our homes, and our churches:

Let Your Kingdom Come

Your glorious cause, O God, engages our hearts
May Jesus Christ be known wherever we are
We ask not for ourselves, but for Your renown
The cross has saved us so we pray
Your kingdom come

Let Your kingdom come
Let Your will be done
So that everyone might know Your Name
Let Your song be heard everywhere on earth
Till Your sovereign work on earth is done
Let Your kingdom come

Give us Your strength, O God, and courage to speak
Perform Your wondrous deeds through those who are weak
Lord use us as You want, whatever the test
By grace we’ll preach Your gospel
Till our dying breath

-Bob Kauflin

© 2006 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

(By David Giarrizzo)

In April of 2007, after a round-table discussion about the possibility of a nation-wide conference for young Reformed Baptists, Don Donell, serving at that time as a missionary in Argentina, expressed the following thoughts in an email to me:

I believe there exists a great opportunity to mobilize young people in godly living and purposeful preparation of their lives for gospel labors through such planned events. …That by His grace and blessing upon it we might see many lives transformed and kingdom priorities established in the lives of many young people that will impact whole nations for the gospel in their lifetimes.

Now in its 3^rd year of existence, the Building Tomorrow’s Church conference is aimed at impacting Reformed Baptist young adults, ages 18 years and older, with a deepening love for Jesus Christ and a renewed appreciation for His the church. Both singles and married couples from across America will be meeting together in Prescott, Arizona, August 6^th-9^th, for a weekend full of biblical teaching and sweet fellowship with like-minded believers. Indeed, we long to see “many lives transformed and kingdom priorities established” for the glory of God and the growth of the Kingdom.

We are privileged to have as this year’s speakers Pastor Don Donell from Crosspoint Church in Fletcher, NC, and Pastor Raymond Perron from Église Baptiste Réformée de la Capitale in Quebec, Canada. This year’s theme, “The Church and Missions,” deals specifically with the wonderful responsibility that Christ left with His disciples to take God’s Word to the ends of the world. At this summer’s conference Pastors Donell and Perron will address the parts that all of the church’s members should play in reaching the lost with the gospel. Through this conference we want to communicate that same evangelistic sentiment that C.H. Spurgeon expressed in his 1856 sermon on Gospel Missions:

We feel persuaded that all of you are of one mind in this matter, that it is the absolute duty as well as the eminent privilege of the Church to proclaim the gospel to the world. We do not conceive that God will do his own work without instruments, but that, as he has always employed means in the work of the regeneration of this world, he will still continue to do the same, and that it becomes the Church to do its utmost to spread the truth wherever it can reach the ear of man.

Thus, the activity of missions is an important part of the ministry of the local church, and therefore deserves our attention as individual Christians and faithful church members.

We have yet to find out how many future missionaries, church planters, elders, deacons, or Sunday school teachers may be raised up through one of these conferences, but we look forward to what the Lord might do. “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:17).  May God alone receive all the glory.

“Pity the nations, O our God, Constrain the earth to come;
Send Thy victorious Word abroad, And bring the strangers home.

We long to see Thy churches full, That all the chosen race
May, with one voice and heart and soul, Sing Thy redeeming grace.”

For more information about this summer’s BTC conference in Arizona, visit www.buildingtomorrowschurch.com or email us at buildingtomorrowschurch[at]gmail[dot]com.

To take advantage of the early registration discount, register online before May 31^st!