The Conference
Two Days of Spiritual Renewal
October 24-25, 2025
To say that sexual sin is running rampant in our culture would be an understatement. We live in the age of free sex, where virtually no sexual behavior is viewed as immoral. Our entertainment is saturated with sex, and even our very identities have been reduced to sexual orientation. As believers living in a broken world, we must think carefully about what it means to honor Christ in our over-sexualized setting. The battleground isn’t the internet, Hollywood, or our screens. The battleground is the heart. In Matthew 5:28 Jesus teaches us that sexual sin is a matter of the heart. “But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Join us at our 12th annual Spiritual Life Conference, October 24-25th at Green Pond Bible Chapel, as we consider the calling to be Pure in Heart as followers of Jesus. Garrett Kell will be preaching on this important topic, pointing men and women alike to the grace and provision of God. As we look to God’s Word, we will find forgiveness for past failures, and help moving forward by faith in him.
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SCHEDULE
Friday, October 24
6:30 pm
Doors open
7:00 pm
Session 1
Saturday, October 25
8:30 am
9 am
11am
Child Drop-Off Opens
Session 2
Breakout Sessions
Parenting in an Oversexed Culture
- Jim MacLean
12 pm
1pm
2 pm
Pursuing Marriage in a Culture without Morality
- Josh Barlow
Entertainment Choices in an Oversexed Culture
- Stuart Swicegood
Lunch
Panel Discussion
Session 3
PRICING
$40 Early Bird Price
$50 Regular Price
$20
Friday Only
$30
Saturday Only
Childcare will be provided for children under 12・Teens 12-18 attendance is free・Lunch: Child $5 Teen $10
About the Spiritual Life Conference
The Spiritual Life Conference is a ministry of Green Pond Bible Chapel. Our goal for the SLC is to provide an opportunity for our church body and those in our community to experience growth in spiritual maturity. Each year we focus on a relevant theme and hear a speaker uniquely gifted by God to help us consider God's Word.
Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Garrett Kell
Garrett Kell did his undergrad at Virginia Tech where he came to know the Lord through the witness of a friend. Garrett served as the evangelism pastor at Denton Bible Church in Denton, TX while earning his ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary. He then served as a pastor with Graham Bible Church in Graham, TX for seven years. He later spent time on staff with Capitol Hill Baptist Church who helped place him with Del Ray Baptist Church where he has served as a Pastor since 2012.
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Garrett is the author of Pure in Heart: Sexual Sin & the Promises of God, as well as other books for the 9 Marks Church Questions and First Steps series. He also is a speaker at Camp of the Woods yearly, as well as many other conferences.
He is married to Carrie and together they have seven children. Garrett enjoys hanging out with his family, watching sports, fishing, and exercising so he can eat whatever he wants.
Breakout Session Speakers
Jim MacLean
Born in Grenoble, France, Jim MacLean lived all over the world before settling in Denville, NJ with his wife, Wendy, and their four beautiful children whose adorable antics frequently find their way into his sermons. Jim attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY, and earned his undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Liberty University. He is currently taking seminary courses with New York Divinity School.
Jim oversees CTK’s youth ministry which pairs his passion for seeing young people grow closer to Christ with his love for staying active. Jim is an avid soccer player, and loves volleyball, snowboarding, and traveling. He is also quite a talented whistler!
Josh Barlow
Josh Barlow serves as the Family Pastor of Green Pond Bible Chapel. He desires the youth to come to a personal, saving faith in Jesus Christ and parents to be equipped and encouraged to disciple their children. Josh earned his Masters of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2018 with a focus in Family Life and Discipleship. Josh joyfully builds relationships with families and teaches God’s Word to each generation for the sake of the gospel.
Josh has been married to his beautiful and loving wife Jamie since 2013. They have four energetic and fun children, Asher, Owen, Macy, and Cooper who never cease to keep Josh and Jamie on their toes and make everything unboring. As a family they enjoy hiking, cooking (and then eating), hospitality, board games, and movie watching. Personally Josh enjoys drinking black coffee, playing frustrating video games, listening to face-tingling metalcore breakdowns, all things winter, playing games that involve throwing stuff, and historically accurate cannons.
Stuart Swicegood
Stuart grew up in south Alabama and came to saving faith in Christ at the age of 12 through the faithful ministry of a local church. However, changes in his family circumstances pulled him away from active church involvement, and he spent over a decade pursuing his own passions and running from the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in his life. Through the destructive and self-serving patterns of sin, the Lord graciously brought Stuart to repentance. At the age of 25, he surrendered his life to follow our King and serve in His church.
After graduating from The Baptist College of Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in Theology, Stuart went on to earn a Master of Divinity in Applied Apologetics from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Over the years, he has served as a youth minister, pastor of discipleship, senior pastor, and church planter in Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, and now New Jersey. He is deeply convinced of the central role of the local church in the Lord’s work to advance His kingdom and in the maturity and flourishing of every disciple.
Stuart has the joyful privilege of being married to Michele, and together they serve in what God is doing to build His church in Mount Olive. He currently serves as the planter and pastor of Mission Church Mount Olive, where God is forming a core group and establishing a community committed to living loved and sent—making disciples who live loved and sent to the glory of God.