23rd Baptist World Congress
Plenary MessagesIn July 2025, more than 3,700 Baptist sisters and brothers gathered online and in Brisbane, Australia, for the 23rd Baptist World Congress focused on the theme “Living the Good News.” We were blessed by an incredible time of strategic prayer, worship, and learning together. We want to make this experience as accessible to as many people as possible, so we have included the powerful plenary messages below to encourage and inspire you. Let’s continue to Live the Good News together!
Elijah M. Brown is the General Secretary and CEO of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). Founded in 1905, the BWA is a Christian World Communion that draws upon 400 years of shared Baptist history with 283 member bodies in 138 countries and territories representing over 53 million baptized believers and 178,000 churches.
John Kim is the Executive Director of Good Steward, part of the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) in Korea. Dr. Kim studied in the USA and has planted churches in a number of places in Korea. He is an author and the founder of WAFL, a community of artists for artists. He has been involved in broadcasting through FEBC since 2013.
Dale Stephenson is the Senior Pastor at Crossway Baptist Church in Melbourne, Australia, the largest Baptist church in the country. Dale is committed to seeing Australian Christians empowered with simple and replicable means of empowering “Disciples that Multiply.” A gifted preacher and teacher of God’s Word, he has an enthusiastic approach to making disciples with a contagious delight in Jesus.
Jennifer Lau began her tenure as Executive Director of Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) in 2020, the first woman and layperson to hold that position in its 150-year history. Jennifer has served with CBM since 2002, primarily focused on providing strategic direction for all of CBM’s partnerships and initiatives in North America. She has also served as a BWA Vice President from 2020-2025.
Kay Warren (USA) cofounded Saddleback Church with her husband Rick in 1980 and served there until Rick’s retirement from senior leadership in September 2022. She is an author, speaker, and Bible teacher. After the death of their son Matthew, who lived with serious mental illness for most of his life, she founded Saddleback’s Hope for Mental Health Initiative and the Hope for Mental Health Community to provide a safe and welcoming place for individuals and families to receive accurate psychoeducation, build community, and be fully incorporated into the life of the church.
Marsha Scipio, originally from Trinidad & Tobago and raised in Brooklyn, New York, serves as the Director of Baptist World Aid. She has the privilege of networking the Baptist family to impact the lives of the world’s most vulnerable populations, overseeing the coordination of Baptist-led humanitarian aid efforts. Marsha is also the facilitator of BFAD – the global network of Baptist aid organizations and implementing partners. Marsha is also an Associate Minister at Berean Baptist Church in New York and the Convener of Women Who Minister, a conference to empower women to serve in ministry.
Kethoser (Aniu) Kevichusa from Nagaland, India, came to Christ as a teenager, and since then has been involved in various kinds of Christian ministry and mission. While his involvement in ministry ranges from leading worship in conferences to supervising doctoral candidates, Aniu’s primary ministry has been as a preacher, apologist, Bible teacher, and mission mobilizer. He currently serves as the Director of Intercultural Learning and Collaboration for BMS World Mission.
Charlie Dates is blessed to have served churches in Chicago, the city in which he was born. In 2011, Rev. Dates became the youngest Senior Pastor to serve the historic Progressive Baptist Church, which saw exponential growth under his leadership. He is currently the Senior Pastor of Salem Baptist Church. As a highly sought-after speaker, he is widely invited to preach at churches and speak at retreats, conferences, and universities throughout the United States and abroad.