OBU Hosting Pastors Conference Oct. 21-22 During ‘The Weekend’

OBU will host a special Pastors Conference Oct. 21-22 on its campus in Shawnee. All pastors, church staff ministers and those who preach and teach the Word of God are invited to attend the free event. The conference kicks off activities for “The Weekend,” OBU’s homecoming celebration on Bison Hill.

Guest speakers include Dr. Todd Fisher, Dr. Heath A. Thomas and Dr. D. Hance Dilbeck. The first session begins at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, led by Fisher. A free fish fry dinner, sponsored by GuideStone Financial Resources, will follow. The second session begins at 7 p.m. and will be led by Thomas. Session three begins at 8:30 Friday morning, following breakfast, and will be taught by Dilbeck. The conference concludes with a 10 a.m. panel discussion.

Dr. Todd Fisher is the senior pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Shawnee, Oklahoma, as well as the president of Oklahoma Baptists. A 1992 OBU alumnus, he continued his studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he completed a Master of Divinity in biblical languages in 1996. In 2001, he earned a Doctor of Ministry from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and later earned a Ph.D. and Th.M. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been in pastoral ministry for 29 years and has served IBC Shawnee as its senior pastor since 2003.

Dr. Heath A. Thomas is the 16th president of OBU. Before assuming the presidency at the beginning of 2020, he served the University as dean of the Hobbs College of Theology and Ministry as well as the associate vice president for church relations. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from OBU in 1998. He then earned a Master of Arts in theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Old Testament from the University of Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom.

Dr. D. Hance Dilbeck graduated from OBU in 1987. After completing his undergraduate studies, he continued to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he earned a Master of Divinity in 1992 and Doctor of Ministry in 2002. He served as the senior pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City for many years before assuming the role of executive director-treasurer of Oklahoma Baptists in 2018. Earlier this year, Dilbeck departed that position and is currently serving as president-elect of GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, where he will assume the role of president and chief executive officer in the first quarter of 2022.