Editor’s note: This article was changed to reflect updated attendance numbers.
HARRISBURG (BRN) – Guests at the fifth annual Baptist Resource Network (BRN) of Pennsylvania/South Jersey Accelerate Conference were challenged with sidelining the timid and accepting a call to bold prayer, bold impact and boldly loving their neighbors on Oct. 7 at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey Hotel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
At the conference, the BRN welcomed 247 guests, who collectively represented 83 churches across Pennsylvania and South Jersey and 32 partner organizations.
Business Session
As a precursor to the conference, the BRN held its 55th annual business session, where BRN Executive Board President Pastor Jason Hunter, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Clarion, greeted 109 messengers and presented his presidential report.
Following Hunter’s address, BRN Executive Director Dr. Barry Whitworth delivered quick BRN highlights from the 2024-2025 year via video. Whitworth delved deeper into these highlights later in the day during his keynote address.
Messengers were then addressed by Jennifer Musser, BRN Executive Board recording secretary, who spoke on behalf of the Executive Board Nominating Committee.
She reported that heading into 2026, the board faces two vacancies, one of which will be filled by Megan Guensch of Bedrock Church Fishtown. Guensch will represent the Greater Philadelphia region for the 2026-2028 term. At this time, the South Jersey Region seat remains vacant.
Musser also presented the Nominating Committee’s candidate for president, recommending Pastor Jason Hunter for a second term. Davis Younts, BRN legal counsel, oversaw the voting for this recommendation.
BRN messengers unanimously voted in favor of Hunter serving a second year as the BRN Executive Board president. Hunter’s new presidential term will expire in 2027.
During the meeting, the board also recognized outgoing members. These members include Anthony Peña, layperson at Fellowship CrossPoint Church, who served as the board’s South Jersey Region representative, and Jennifer White, pastor’s wife at Keystone Community Fellowship, who held the Greater Philadelphia Region seat.
The final item messengers voted on was the BRN’s proposed budget for 2026. The budget was presented by the board’s Finance and Operations Chair Brennan Coughlin, senior pastor of Fellowship CrossPoint Church.
With cooperative missions giving through the Cooperative Program (CP) tracking higher than ever before throughout the year, the 2026 proposed budget of $2,483,250 asked messengers for a 1% increase in CP giving beyond Pennsylvania/South Jersey. This would raise the percentage of CP funds funneled to national and global efforts overseen by the Southern Baptist Convention to 35%, with 65% of CP funds given by BRN churches remaining in Pennsylvania/South Jersey for local missions and church resourcing.
Apart from CP giving and other ministry expenses, the budget also accounted for BRN operational costs and expenses for 2026. The purposed budget projects 62% of all BRN expenses will be related to missions and ministry, while 38% of the budget will be dedicated to operations and personnel expenses related to the BRN.
Tracking with past years, BRN messengers voted to pass the proposed 2026 budget, approving an increase in CP giving for the eighth year in a row. This reflects an 8.9% increase in national CP giving between 2018 and 2026, a 1% increase every year since Whitworth took over as executive director.
The business session concluded with newly re-elected Board President Jason Hunter exhorting messengers with Matthew 22:15-22.
In this passage, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees about paying taxes to Caesar. He quickly retorts their attempt to entangle his words by pointing to the inscription on the coin and challenging them to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21 ESV).
Pulling from Jesus’ response, Hunter encouraged messengers with the truth that “we bear the image of God” and that the “the Imago Dei is pressed into every one of us.” He expressed that he sees this truth reflected through the work of the BRN and its churches and pastors, which makes him “excited about the work we are doing at the BRN.”
A call to return to the altar
In his keynote address, Whitworth touched on this exciting work, noting several initiatives the BRN has accomplished thus far in 2025 and a few that are yet to come. Of the 2025 highlights, Whitworth mentioned the BRN’s annual Serve PA/SJ Tour.
This year, over 500 volunteers from the BRN’s two-state region and beyond converged in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton region to partner with six local churches and complete 54 projects over the span of two-days. This missional effort resulted in 10,000 hours of service, 8,500 people served, 1,500 gospel conversations and 35 decisions for Christ.
Along with Serve Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Whitworth recognized the following projects: the building of a Disaster Relief Response and Relief Center in Winfield, Pennsylvania, completed renovations at the Pittsburgh-Warren Mission House in partnership with Saluda Baptist Association in South Carolina and the establishment of an Associate Membership opportunity for non-SBC churches in Pennsylvania/South Jersey.
Looking forward, Whitworth encouraged churches to continue in their generous giving to the Cooperative Program by announcing a centennial CP challenge.
“As we celebrate 100 years of Cooperative Program impact, we invite churches to pray and consider an extra $100 gift – monthly, quarterly or annually. These gifts will advance global missions and help reach 14 million lost people in Pennsylvania/South Jersey,” said Whitworth.
Whitworth also revealed the BRN Executive Board’s affirmation to launch a new non-profit (501c3) under the BRN umbrella. The purpose of the non-profit would be to help provide resources often restricted to religious organizations, mirroring a similar mission as the SBC’s Send Relief.
“Tailored to serve within the BRN…we’re excited about the doors this will open, strengthening our ability to respond to disasters, crisis situations, and community needs across PA/SJ and the Northeast,” said Whitworth.
Following these highlights and future engagements, Whitworth leaned into the theme for Accelerate, “bold move,” and challenged guests to “return to the altar” and to “not miss this moment.”
Whitworth’s plea to BRN churches comes in response to a “culture starved for truth, fractured by distrust and poisoned by lies and hate” and a noticeable movement of the Holy Spirit awakening hearts and drawing broken people to a Holy God.
“This moment of national and global unrest has awakened a spiritual hunger we cannot ignore stirring a relentless pursuit of what is real and unshakable. And unless the Church steps in with prayerful presence and prophetic clarity, the momentum of this stirring may fade,” charged Whitworth.
The solution, urged by Whitworth, is bold prayer.
“Scripture and history are clear: Where prayer is absent, power is absent. No prayer, no movement…if we want to see God move in our churches, our cities and our generation, we must first return to the altar.”
Putting his preaching into practice, Whitworth concluded his keynote time with a dedicated time of prayer. Intentionally seated at round tables, elbows touching elbows, guests were prompted to stop and pray with the person next to them.
This trend continued throughout the conference, with each keynote session ending with a prayer prompt and providing guests the time and space to bow their heads and return to the altar.
Additionally, throughout the day, several BRN churches were recognized for their boldness in spreading the gospel to their communities and received BRN Accelerator awards.
Bold impact and Christ-like compassion
CEO/President of the SBC Executive Committee Dr. Jeff Iorg followed Whitworth’s call to bold prayer with a charge to Pennsylvania/South Jersey pastors and laypeople to be churches that “make an impact.”
Iorg built up to this assignment by walking guests through portions of Acts 11-13 and looking at the Church at Antioch, a church Iorg deemed “the most significant church in the New Testament.”
“It was the place where the gospel finally broke out of its Jewish strictures and became a gospel for the Gentiles, a gospel for the nations and, frankly, for almost all of you in this room, a gospel for you,” said Iorg.
During his address, Iorg highlighted four main characteristics of a church that makes an impact: impactful churches are empowered by the Holy Spirit, they share the gospel with lost people, they teach for transformation and a church that makes an impact gives itself away.
Iorg relayed these defining features of an impactful church from the example given in Scripture of the Church at Antioch, noting how the early church’s demeanor is one to admire and exemplify in our modern day contexts.
“Church ministry is difficult, but it is not complicated,” said Iorg.
“Building a church that makes an impact requires you to remain focused on very simple principles, doing them over and over and over again to make the impact God desires to use you and your church to make.”
After concluding Iorg’s session with a time of intentional prayer, guests were dismissed to explore the vendor/sponsor networking expo and to grab a bite to eat before heading to their afternoon breakout sessions.
New this year at Accelerate, the BRN offered four breakout sessions and two workshop experiences. Breakout sessions were led by BRN leaders in a lecture-style format, while the freshly developed workshop opportunities gave guests a mix of instruction and hands-on experience.
The conference day concluded with a final keynote session led by Dr. Tom Dawson, senior pastor of The Soar Church in Woodbine, New Jersey.
Fluorescent yellow crime scene tape hung around the room and decorated the pulpit on stage as Dawson approached the microphone and firmly informed the audience that they were on trial.
The verdict in question? Have you been a good neighbor.
Drawing from his experience of working alongside the FBI to do community outreach in New Jersey, Dawson declared the room under investigation and then opened his Bible to Luke 10.
Looking at the familiar narrative of The Good Samaritan, Dawson equated this well-known passage to a crime scene investigation by identifying several similar factors, including a victim, evidence, witnesses and a verdict.
Before unpacking the text, Dawson defined the original meaning of the Greek word for “neighbor,” stating that within the context of the text the term refers to “anyone within your proximity…those in front of you, those behind you, those who are left of you and those to the right of you.”
Digging into Luke chapter 10, Dawson found “evidence” of three main themes: a call for compassion, cliquish compassion and Christ-like compassion, spending most of his time urging his audience to boldly embrace Christ-like compassion.
“God is calling all of us to be bold enough to have compassion…you can’t have the holiness of God if you don’t have the heart of God,” said Dawson.
In true Law & Order style, Dawson concluded his keynote by causing the audience to reflect, stating, “Have you been acquitted or indicted? I’m Dr. Dawson and I approve this message.”
The 2025 Accelerate Conference wrapped up with one final prayer prompt and a time of worship led by North American Mission Board (NAMB) Musicianaries Haney Love.
The BRN’s next convention-wide gathering will be Advance, an evangelism conference, on March 16, 2026 at Calvary Church in State College, Pennsylvania.
Replays of 2025 Accelerate keynotes and breakout sessions are available here. View a full photo gallery from Accelerate here.
