News & Reports

After the perils and stress of 2020, hundreds of families were eager to gather in person for the 2021 April Big Sandy Family Conference! God put together a wonderful group of staff, speakers, and attendees for a week of rich fellowship, dynamic messages, and spiritual encouragement.

Praise the Lord for open doors for Journey to the Heart to return to three prisons in March! The last time a Journey was held in prisons was February of 2020—right before COVID lockdowns made it impossible for volunteer groups to enter the prison facilities.

After a ten-year pause, the Excel program returned this year with sixteen young ladies in attendance. The ladies had classes in many topics, including nutrition, spiritual gifts, hospitality, sewing, hand lettering, first aid, and spiritual growth. Five weeks of in-person study was followed by five weeks of study at home. God worked mightily in each student, as the following testimonies reveal.

Keith Daniel has been a beloved speaker at a number of our Family Conferences over the years, and we were looking forward to having him speak at our Northwoods Fall Family Conference this year. However, God, in His providence, chose to take Brother Daniel to glory after a battle with COVID-19.

As we face challenges, difficulties, and uncertainties in these unprecedented times, there can be a temptation to take our eyes off of the Lord and put them on our circumstances. It seems as if Satan is working overtime to dishearten and discourage believers. But what does God say in His Word about how we are to respond to trials and difficulties? Psalm 97:12 commands, “Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” This passage echoes a command seen throughout Scripture: Rejoice and give thanks in all things. It is for this reason that the 2021 Family Conference theme is “Rejoice and Give Thanks!” Four Family Conferences are scheduled for this year: Registration for all four events is now open on our new website! To register, visit FamilyConferences.org. Register one month before the Family Conference to receive the early registration discount.

Pastor Gary N. Fraley went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, November 14, 2020, after a brief hospitalization with COVID-19. He was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, on April 7, 1941, and was the first of four sons born to Norman and Geanne Fraley.

“The fellowship with old and new friends is what blessed our family the most this year. Some of the best fellowship happened while watching the volleyball tournament and hanging out at the lake Friday afternoon.”

With some simple protocols in place, the class enjoyed three amazing weeks of classes—including music theory, history, songwriting, hymnology, children’s choir, conducting, choir, and orchestra. A highlight this year was the new level—Advanced Sound Foundations.

More than 120 families gathered from around the country for a time of encouragement and fellowship. Due to the COVID-19 protocols, some families were hesitant to attend the conference, not knowing how it would go. While the additional guidelines were inconvenient, each one who came was strengthened and encouraged by the fellowship and messages.

“Before I came to Journey, I was bitter at God. I was going through a hard time in life.” So began one Journey participant's testimony. This young man attended the young men's Journey to the Heart in Big Sandy. As he began to spend time meditating on Scripture, God showed him things from His Word that he had never seen before.

God wants to share His heart with us. Don’t just gloss over that. Stop, and let it sink it in. The God of the universe wants to share His heart with us as His children. The question is, are we willing to turn aside from the busy things of life to seek His face and give Him the time and the place to share His heart with us?

Sometimes God's greatest blessings come in strange packaging. The need to cancel the Big Sandy April Family Conference, our largest event each year, came with a wave of disappointment. Little did we know the tremendous blessing that would come as a result of this change in plans.

We know it is easy to grow discouraged in the midst of canceled events, adjusted travel plans, and social distancing requirements. But what if, wrapped up in the midst of these challenges, God is giving us as believers an opportunity to go deeper than ever before in our relationship with Him?

We will stream a free session each evening from April 27–May 1, beginning at 6:30 pm CT. The content from these sessions will not be available again until after September 15, so be sure to catch them when they stream live each evening!

In the last several weeks, you have probably had your inbox flooded with emails about how restaurants, supermarkets, and other businesses are responding to the COVID-19 virus. Fears and concerns are evident in most newscasts or interactions with people we know.

Our families frequently tell us how the Family Conferences are a highlight in their year, and how the fellowship, powerful teaching, and life-changing children’s programs keep them coming back.

We at IBLP are always grateful for the times that we can be together. Prioritizing your health and welfare are of utmost importance whenever we plan our events.

A team of sixty volunteers took the Journey to the Heart program into four correctional facilities at the end of February. Two hundred inmates participated in the week-long program.

The first country in the world to see the sunrise each day is New Zealand. In January, young people were praising the Lord “from the rising of the sun” during a Journey to the Heart.

Held each January, the Australian Family Conference is a blessing to the families, and this year was no exception. The messages encouraged attendees to seek the Lord in all areas of life, and fed souls with the meat of the Word.