In the will of the Lord, we will hold our 47th annual Family Conference as follows:
Dates:
Wednesday, July 1 – Sunday, July 5, 2026
Venue:
Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, IN*
Theme:
Faith that Works: A Study of the Epistle of James
Faith without works is dead. – James 2:26
Speakers:
Br. Jerry George Matthew, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India – Jerry is an itinerant Bible teacher, mentor, and educational consultant. He and his family fellowship at Bethesda Assembly Bangalore, where he serves as one of the elders. He was commended for the ministry from Bethesda in January 2024.
Jerry completed his PhD in Human Anatomy from Manipal University and taught medical students for about 12 years in Manipal. In June 2011, he was called by the Lord to move to Bangalore to take up the post of Principal at Clarence High School in Richards town, Bangalore, till December 2023.
Jerry is passionate about inspiring the next generation to live wisely and purposefully. To that end, Jerry preaches and teaches the word of God at meetings, seminars, conferences, and workshops. He mentors a few young men by meeting with them once a week. He provides pre-marital and post-marital counselling to young couples.
He serves on the boards of five Christian schools and three Christian mission organisations. He offers professional development seminars for staff and curated workshops for school students. He provides consultancy services to school management teams to ensure excellence in practices and policies.
His wife, Blessy, is a professional freelance counsellor. They have a daughter, Abigail, who is completing 2nd PUC at Mount Carmel PU College.
Br. Enrique “Henry” Sardiña, Satellite Beach, FL – Enrique was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1953, and came to the US to escape the horrors of Communism following Fidel Castro’s takeover of the nation.
Henry and his wife, Lisa, are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year. They have 6 children and 13 grandchildren. They are eternally grateful that each of our children follows the Lord Jesus, and the 5 married ones raise their children in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was converted to the Lord Jesus Christ at Her Majesty’s Prison in Foxhill, Nassau, Bahamas, in 1984. His wife, Lisa, was a believer before him.
In 1987, they were first commended in the grace of God for their work in the Lord’s service. Subsequently, also from the Bible Truth Fellowship in Washington, MO, in 1993, and later by the Bethany Chapel by the Sea assembly in Satellite Beach, FL, where they have been residing since 2007.
The Lord has used his fluency in Spanish to minister across the US, and in Mexico, Central America, South America, and Spain. At the Centro Bíblico assembly in Valladolid, Spain, they continue active evangelism and pastoral teaching. They resided there in 2005 – 2007 and continue to minister there weekly. Our work for the Lord in Spain began in 1993.
Here in the US, by God’s goodness, they very much enjoy their family. They travel with itinerant preaching, and he serves on the oversight of the Bethany Chapel, where they are in fellowship as their home assembly.
For anything of eternal and present value, they give the glory for it to the living God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Other Speakers To Be Announced
Plenary Sessions:
The Book of James addresses believers who possess genuine faith, but whose lives lack consistency, obedience, and spiritual fruit. Trials reveal instability; relationships reveal partiality; speech reveals inner disorder; attitudes reveal worldly wisdom; and conflicts reveal pride. Many hear the Word without obeying it and profess faith without works. Through vivid instruction and convicting illustrations, James calls Christians to mature into active, humble, obedient disciples marked by love, wisdom, and visible transformation.
Introduction
The Book of James addresses believers who possess genuine faith, but whose lives lack consistency, obedience, and spiritual fruit. Trials reveal instability; relationships reveal partiality; speech reveals inner disorder; attitudes reveal worldly wisdom; and conflicts reveal pride. Many hear the Word without obeying it and profess faith without work. Through vivid instruction and convicting illustrations, James calls Christians to mature into active, humble, obedient disciples marked by love, wisdom, and visible transformation.
Background
The Epistle of James speaks directly to believers whose faith is genuine yet underdeveloped—Christians who know the truth but struggle to practice it consistently in their speech, attitudes, decisions, and relationships. James exposes the gap between confession and conduct, hearing and doing, belief and behavior, calling the church into a living faith that is visible, active, obedient, and mature.
Written to scattered believers facing pressure and instability, James provides a pastoral roadmap for spiritual growth. His message remains strikingly relevant for today’s Christians who are faithful attenders yet passive practitioners, orthodox in doctrine but inconsistent in obedience. James urges believers to move beyond passive faith into faith that works—faith proven through endurance, obedience, love, wisdom, humility, integrity, and compassionate community.
The IBF Conference theme committee organizes this message into five plenary sessions that track the logical movement of the letter and two evening sessions that deepen the practical and spiritual implications for mature believers.
Plenary 1 — Faith That Stands and Obeys
Text: James 1:1–27
Trials test faith’s genuineness and produce steadfast endurance when believers seek God’s wisdom with single-minded trust. Temptations reveal inward desires and call for discernment. But endurance must lead to obedience: the Word implanted in the heart must be practiced in life. Hearing without doing results in spiritual deception, but obedience in action reveals true religion marked by purity, compassion, and self-control.
Summary: Faith that stands under pressure must become faith that obeys in practice. True maturity is seen when endurance produces obedience and when the Word heard becomes the Word lived.
Plenary 2 — Faith That Loves and Works
Text: James 2:1–26
Genuine faith expresses itself through love without partiality. Believers must not judge by appearance or social standing but fulfill the royal law of love for neighbor. Favoritism contradicts Christ’s character. James then deepens the call by confronting the empty confession: faith without works is dead. Living faith is revealed through action, as seen in Abraham and Rahab, whose obedience validated their belief.
Summary: Faith that loves must become faith that works. True faith is impartial, merciful, and always visible through obedient action.
Plenary 3 — Faith That Speaks
Text: James 3:1–12
The tongue directs the life. Though small, it wields great power to bless or curse, build or destroy. James warns that inconsistency in speech reveals inconsistency in the heart. Mature believers guard their words carefully, knowing that unrestrained speech leads to spiritual harm and division.
Summary:
Faith that works must govern speech, for the tongue reveals the condition of the heart.
Plenary 4 — Faith That Thinks Wisely
Text: James 3:13–18
Wisdom from above produces purity, gentleness, peace, mercy, and sincerity. In contrast, earthly wisdom—rooted in jealousy and selfish ambition—produces disorder and every evil practice. Mature believers demonstrate their wisdom through their conduct and attitudes, not merely through words.
Summary:
Faith that works must think wisely, embracing the wisdom from above that produces righteous conduct and peaceful relationships.
Plenary 5 — Faith That Submits Humbly
Text: James 4:1–12
Conflicts and quarrels arise from desires at war within believers. Worldliness, pride, and self-will disrupt fellowship with God. James calls the church to repentance: submit to God, resist the devil, draw near in purity, humble yourselves, and stop speaking evil of one another.
Summary: Faith that works submits humbly before God, overcoming pride and restoring peace through repentance and dependence.
* This is not a function of the Indiana Wesleyan University