October 1, 2026
CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — The Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s 2026 SPARK conference season continued Sunday night with the second-largest gathering in the event’s history, as 853 people from 98 churches attended at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cartersville.
The turnout for the church-strengthening conference included 135 walk-ups, a sign of strong last-minute momentum. The Cartersville location is one of three SPARK gatherings this year to include Spanish-language breakout sessions.
Combined with the 616 who attended the opening SPARK conference in Thomson, the first two 2026 gatherings have drawn 1,468 attendees, about 36% of last year’s record-setting total of 4,111.
Scott Sullivan, discipleship catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said the Cartersville gathering showed a strong desire among Georgia Baptist churches to equip their people for ministry.
“This marked the second-largest SPARK Conference attendance in our history, demonstrating the hunger of Georgia Baptist churches to equip their people to live on mission and make disciples,” Sullivan said.
Hance Dilbeck, president of GuideStone, delivered the keynote message from Acts 6, calling pastors, ministry leaders, and lay volunteers to pursue the kind of spiritual health that strengthens the local church and advances the gospel.
“The key to the advance of the gospel is not somebody out there,” Dilbeck said. “The reason is the people right here in this room. Healthy leaders and healthy churches spreading the Word.”
Preaching from the account of the early church selecting leaders to help care for widows, Dilbeck said local church leaders need three basic qualifications: integrity, responsibility, and spiritual maturity.
Integrity, he said, means having a good reputation in the church and the community. Responsibility means being willing to own the task God has placed before them. Spiritual maturity means being full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
“I don’t care how much you know,” Dilbeck said. “If you fail in one of these three areas, then you’re not going to be a good leader.”
Dilbeck said churches need men and women who are not only gifted, but spiritually mature and dependable.
“Whatever you’ve been given to do, own it,” he said. “If you’re responsible with that, He’ll give more. That’s the Kingdom principle.”
The Cartersville conference also included breakouts led by native Spanish speakers.
Mario Arjona, Hispanic ministry pastor at Tabernacle Baptist, helped organize the Spanish-language sessions. He said the goal was to equip Hispanic leaders while emphasizing unity in doctrine, mission, and gospel purpose across cultures and languages.
Arjona said the Español track included sessions led by Arnaldo Silva, a church planter and chaplain who works with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, and Jessica Ruiz, who taught sessions for women in ministry.
Silva’s sessions focused on multicultural ministry, collaboration, and helping churches think beyond language barriers, Arjona said.
“He wants to teach us how to work in a church that is multicultural and multiethnic, in English, in Spanish, and in other languages,” Arjona said. “There is diversity, but we need the same doctrine and the same vision of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.”
Arjona said Spanish-language training is especially important in Cartersville because the community has changed significantly in recent years.
“In this town right now, 20% are Latino, and 10% are Korean,” he said. “Compared to 10 years ago, more nations are coming to this city, they need to hear the gospel, and we need to be able to share it with them.”
Tabernacle Baptist is already seeking to reach that changing community through an English as a Second Language ministry. Arjona said 95 students from 18 countries began classes last week.
“The community seeks the American dream,” Arjona said. “But as we help them progress in the language, we want them to know Christ as Savior and Lord of their lives.”
Sullivan credited the strong turnout to local leadership, association involvement, and targeted promotion.
“The host pastor Patrick Latham and host AMS David Franklin spent many hours promoting and preparing,” Sullivan said. “The large registration is a direct result of their teams completely buying in. Our marketing team is also doing a tremendous job with targeted promotion.”
Patrick Latham, lead pastor of Tabernacle Baptist, said the Mission Board approached the church about hosting SPARK, and he was immediately excited about the opportunity.
“I’ve known of SPARK, been a part of it, and know the heart behind it,” Latham said. “Equipping the saints for the work of ministry — that’s a verse I use a lot with our people to remind them that the work of the church isn’t just for the pastors or even the deacons, but for all people.”
Latham said the turnout was encouraging not only for Tabernacle, but for churches across Northwest Georgia. “We want to see gospel saturation here,” he said. “So to know that there’s that many churches wanting to be equipped is really encouraging.”
Hosting the conference required more than a hundred Tabernacle volunteers to serve rather than attend breakouts, Latham said, but he called it an opportunity for the church to serve the state and region. “There’s joy in serving,” he said.
David Franklin, associational mission strategist for the Bartow Baptist Association, said bringing SPARK to Cartersville was a partnership between the GBMB, Tabernacle Baptist, Bartow Baptist, and other associations in Northwest Georgia.
His role was to recruit pastors and churches across the region. “I know I called at least 30 pastors in our association and said, ‘You need to get here for this,’” Franklin said.
Franklin also cited Ephesians 4 and the call to equip the saints for the work of ministry. Pastors cannot carry the work of the church alone, he said, and need trained lay leaders and volunteers serving alongside them.
“If you want to see your church grow, and you want to make life easier for you, get your people trained better,” Franklin said. “This is the best training that I’ve seen in 15 years.”
Franklin said the packed house was encouraging because pastors did not simply attend by themselves. Many brought people from their churches. “This is an opportunity,” he said. “This is a moment to get your people engaged in the mission and trained.”
The conference offered two 50-minute breakout opportunities covering a wide range of ministry areas, including church administration, church planting, church revitalization, collegiate ministry, counseling, disaster relief, discipleship, evangelism, men’s and women’s ministry, ministry administration, Mission Georgia, missions, Next Gen ministry, pastor wellness, public affairs, worship, and music.
Sessions addressed practical needs in the local church, from safety, preaching, deacon ministry, and ministry to special-needs families to evangelism, discipleship pathways, grief care, church planting, and community missions.
Brent Baskin, executive pastor of Meadowdale Baptist Church in Calhoun, said SPARK offered training that could help him better support ministry across the whole church.
“What SPARK does," he explained, "is give me an opportunity to look at all areas of ministry so that I can support not just what I do, but my volunteers as well and make sure they’re being equipped to do their ministries effectively.”
Baskin attended a breakout led by Allen Huber on ministering to children and students with special needs. He said the session reminded him of the importance of listening carefully to parents.
“What I took is the intentionality that we should be spending with parents, listening to their needs so that we can best minister to their children who have special needs,” Baskin said.
James Nussbaumer, a member of Riverview Baptist Church in Calhoun, attended with a group of about 30 people from his church. Nussbaumer said he is one of two men being considered for the office of deacon, and the conference gave him an opportunity to learn alongside current deacons from the church.
He said Riverview encouraged anyone who wanted to grow in ministry to attend. “We really looked at this as an opportunity for a strengthening of not only those who are already in position, but those who could be good candidates to grow into a role within the church,” Nussbaumer said.
Nussbaumer attended a breakout on deacon ministry and said the session helped him better understand the role and expectations of deacons. It also gave him a chance to talk with current deacons about how Riverview’s deacon ministry functions and how it could continue to grow.
“It was really great to be able to ask them questions and have conversations about the way that we currently do things,” he said. “Just to see other ways that we can be effective as a group and support our congregation and glorify the Lord while we’re doing it.”
Sullivan said the night reflected broad cooperation among churches, volunteers, and ministry partners.
“We are grateful for every church, leader, volunteer, and ministry partner who helped make SPARK a powerful night of encouragement, equipping, and Kingdom impact,” he said.
The 2026 SPARK conference season continues Aug. 30 at McConnell Memorial Baptist Church in Hiawassee, followed by gatherings Sept. 13 at Central Baptist Church in Americus, Sept. 20 at Flat Creek Baptist Church in Fayetteville, and Sept. 27 at Crossroads Baptist Church in Valdosta. Registration and additional information are available at thesparkconference.com
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