The Iowa Association of Regular Baptist Churches met for its annual conference April 13–15.
Gathering at Iowa Regular Baptist Camp, the group explored the theme “Adore. Align. Advance.: Moving Together to Accomplish God’s Mission” with speaker Clare Jewell (above), national representative of the GARBC.
Attendees Ben and Stacy Hartwig, pastor and wife at Calvary Baptist Church, Greene, Iowa, said they “appreciated [Clare’s] emphasis on having the right vision. Our vision will be right, in God’s eyes, as we align our hearts with His will. When we have the proper vision and confidence that God is at work in our ministry efforts, we can proceed with confidence. He will strengthen our hands for the job before us by His grace and for His glory.”
The group also attended workshops with speakers Mike Augsburger, lead pastor of Soteria Church, West Des Moines, Iowa; Greg Gosnell, lead pastor of Horton Baptist Church, Waverly, Iowa; David Strope, who leads the GARBC’s Intentional Interim Pastoral Training program; Doug Brown, professor and seminary dean at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary; and Diane Scallon, wife of Luke Scallon, senior associate pastor of CrossRoad Church, Ames, Iowa, and administrative assistant to the GARBC national representative.
Diane is also the author of Designed and Against the Tide (Regular Baptist Press). In her women’s workshop, “From Heart to Mission: Equipped and Wired for Godly Living,” she taught the women how they can grow in worship, obedience, and courage by aligning their hearts and minds with Christ. “Through Scripture, practical applications, and insights from neuroscience,” the women discovered “how God has equipped and wired us to live intentionally for His mission in every area of life,” Diane said.
Stacy Hartwig shared that she “can’t stop thinking about the importance of creating the right neural pathways” in our brains, a point Diane makes in Designed: Created for God’s Glory, Wired for Godly Living, published in January 2026. “Transforming our thinking to align with Jesus—what a wonderful challenge. And how intriguing to hear how the brain responds to our following what we are commanded to do in Scripture,” Stacy said.
“In addition to the ministry of the Word,” said Tim Capon, state representative of the IARBC, the conference included “meaningful worship of our Savior,” insight on “what God is doing in and through our ministry partners and pastors from around the state,” “free time to enjoy camp activities,” and a Youth Workers’ Roundtable Q&A, hosted by the IARBC youth committee to address the questions and challenges that matter most to the churches’ youth workers.
Throughout the conference, students from Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary led classes for children and teens.
Tim Capon will retire as state representative June 1, after serving in that role since 2009. During the conference, he symbolically passed the baton of leadership to Will Hatfield, who will begin the role May 1. “The transition plan includes some time of overlap before and after that date so he and I can work together to make this as smooth a transition as possible,” Tim has said.
Will is lead pastor of CrossRoad Baptist Church, Ames, Iowa, and a member of the IARBC Council of 10 and the GARBC Council of 18.
Hosting the conference was “a joy,” said Iowa Regular Baptist Camp. “What a rich few days of fellowship, rest, great preaching, and plenty of camp fun. We’re so thankful for our churches and the pastors who faithfully serve them.”
Photos by Shon Lundberg
