Worship Conference attendees fellowship before a session on Saturday at First Baptist Church in Cabot.
CABOT, Ark. — Hundreds of worship leaders, musicians and technical volunteers from across the state gathered Saturday at First Baptist Church Cabot for the 2026 Arkansas Baptist Worship Conference.
While the one-day event featured practical training in music, technology and leadership, the central focus of the day came during the opening general session, when keynote speaker John Bolin, an instructor at California Baptist University and leader of John Bolin Ministries, offered a candid word to leaders carrying the weight of ministry.
“Maybe what you need to hear more than anything today is this: you are not alone,” Bolin said.
Faithfulness
Drawing from personal experience, Bolin acknowledged the joy of worship ministry while also naming the pressures many leaders quietly bear—stress, discouragement, family strain and burnout.
Citing research showing high levels of fatigue and depression among ministers, he said the cultural climate of recent years has only intensified the load.
“If you take ownership of the battle, you take on responsibility for the victory,” Bolin said. “That’s a weight you were never designed to carry.”
Instead, he reminded attendees that both the battle and the ministry belong to the Lord. Their role, he said, is faithfulness.
“Life is not about balance. Scripture calls us to priorities,” Bolin said, urging leaders to guard their personal walk with Christ and their families before pursuing ministry success.
Before serving as worship leaders, he said, they are called to be worshipers—sons and daughters of God. Ministry should flow from a personal walk with Christ rather than replace it.
“Don’t build a ministry, build a testimony, and out of your testimony will come your ministry,” Bolin said.
Bolin also urged leaders not to sacrifice their families for the sake of ministry success. “Your first congregation is not your church,” he said. “It’s your home.”
Drawing from his own experience of vocal cord surgery that temporarily sidelined his singing, Bolin said God used the season to clarify his primary calling.
“The main calling never changes. No matter what you are doing, you are called to be a disciplemaker. Use your music, use your instrument, use your voice to be that,” he said. “Your ministry is the Lord’s. It is a gift from God.”
Bolin encouraged leaders to live with “open hands,” trusting God with outcomes rather than clinging to positions, recognition or control. Echoing the well-known phrase associated with the late pastor Charles Stanley, Bolin summarized the posture as obeying God and leaving the consequences to Him.
Treasure in the field
While affirming the importance of musical preparation and excellence, Bolin cautioned that technical skill is no substitute for the work of the Holy Spirit.
Bolin referenced the parable of the treasure hidden in a field from Matthew 13. He urged leaders not to overlook small evidences of God’s work because they are distracted by what seems lacking.
“If Satan can’t destroy you, he’ll try to discourage you,” he said. “Don’t throw out the treasure with the trash.”
Sometimes, he noted, the most significant spiritual moments happen in unexpected settings. He recounted a worship service his family attended while on vacation — musically imperfect but spiritually powerful — where his son publicly professed faith in Christ.
“It was not good musically,” Bolin admitted. “But it was the Spirit of God at work.”
The reminder was unmistakable: excellence matters, but it is no substitute for the work of the Holy Spirit.
Bolin closed the morning session with a reflection from Genesis 29, tracing Leah’s journey from longing to be seen and heard to finally declaring, “This time I will praise the Lord.”
“All you need is Jesus,” Bolin said, inviting attendees to lay down burdens and return to simple surrender.
Practical equipping
In addition to the general sessions, participants attended specialized breakout tracks for vocalists, instrumentalists, tech teams, and more.
Christy Etters and Wendy Nelson of Woodland Heights Baptist Church in Conway attended after their worship pastor, Greg Childress, encouraged them to go.
Etters said Childress described the conference as a “PraizFest for adults,” referencing the Arkansas Baptist youth worship event. Having gone as a chaperone with her children to PraizFest, Etters said that drew her interest.
The pair participated in a vocal coaching breakout led by Trent Broussard, who serves as assistant professor of Music & Worship at Williams Baptist University.
“I really appreciated what he talked about as far as the placement of your voice and where it should be—just the overall health of your voice and all that. I enjoyed that,” Nelson said.
Key Poindexter, worship and students associate at First Baptist Church in Searcy, said he attended Saturday’s conference at the encouragement of his worship pastor, Taylor Keenen.
After attending a breakout on leading a worship team, he said the reminder that “our first audience is God” helped reframe discouragement he had felt regarding student engagement in worship.
On the conference as a whole, Poindexter said the event allowed attendees to see friends who are like-minded and “get what you are going through.” Additionally, he said it was a good training opportunity “not only for pastors or future pastors but anyone who is in the ministry of worship.”
Jason Jolley, bivocational worship pastor at Sugarloaf Baptist Church in Heber Springs, attended the conference to learn and be refreshed.
Jolley said one of his takeaways from the event was the unity among worship leaders — “the idea that we’re all in this together and we’re here to encourage each other.”
“It is easy for Satan to try to get us off of what our ministry is,” Jolley said. “We are called to be leaders and also inspire, but yet the Holy Spirit is there inspiring us as well.
A renewed vision
The conference also served as a networking hub for regional worship leader roundtables that meet throughout the year in cities including Texarkana, Hot Springs and Jonesboro.
As attendees returned home to prepare for Sunday services, many carried more than new music or production techniques. They left with renewed encouragement to remain faithful in their calling—and to remember that the ministry, and the results, belong to the Lord.
For upcoming Arkansas Baptist Worship Leaders Network events, click here.
This event was made possible thanks to the generous giving of Arkansas Baptists through the Cooperative Program and the Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering.