Baptist ministers from around the world will be joined by local pastors and lay people – including Tim Tebow – this week at the 28th Pastors' Conference presented by First Baptist Church of Jacksonville.
Tebow and his family have attended First Baptist for years.
The theme this year is "Feed My Sheep: The Call to Preach the Bible."
More than 1,000 people preregistered for the four-day event, said conference spokeswoman Heather Stoll.
"We have pastors from Japan, Canada, Curacao and Liberia and a contingent of Vietnamese pastors," Stoll said.
The conference was founded, she said, to give First Baptist an opportunity to support the greater church community. "This church had a heart to minister to other pastors and encourage them," she said.
The conference features nationally known pastors and speakers including First Baptist Senior Pastor Mac Brunson and his predecessor, Jerry Vines.
Other speakers include Junior Hill, David Allen and Paige Patterson.
Tebow is scheduled as the final speaker Sunday with a speech entitled "Preaching Christ."
"I think a few people have heard of him," Stoll said. "We wanted to give him an opportunity to share."
In addition to the Omni Downtown, the host hotel for the conference, guests are registered at other Downtown hotels as well as Southside properties.
According to Visit Jacksonville, the Jacksonville and the Beaches convention and visitors bureau, conference attendees have booked more than 500 room nights with an estimated economic impact of more than $250,000.
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