An Invitation and Explanation of the Coram Deo Pastors Conference

Dear brother pastor, 

In a spirit of prayerful expectation, I want to invite you to the Coram Deo Pastors Conference. This new event is hosted by Clearly Reformed (a new ministry I help to lead) and Christ Covenant Church (where I have the privilege of serving as senior pastor). We look forward to filling our sanctuary with nearly 2,000 pastors and church leaders at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina on March 12-14, 2024. 

The aim of the conference is, quite simply, to strengthen pastors. After the conclusion of the Together for the Gospel conference in 2022, a number of us started talking about how we might build on that legacy to provide a venue for pastors (and their wives, if that would benefit some couples) to be edified, inspired, equipped, and recharged for faithfulness in ministry. To that end, I organized a small steering group of friends—Justin Taylor, Ryan Kelly, Greg Gilbert, Jason Helopoulos, and Matt Schmucker—to think and pray about whether we might launch a new conference and what that conference might look like. Coram Deo Pastors Conference (CDPC) is the fruit of those conversations. 

It may not be obvious from the conference schedule, but we’ve deliberately tried to organize the conference with three kinds of messages in mind: expositional sermons (Smith, Piper, Charles), history/theology lectures (Beeke, DeYoung, Finn, Van Dixhoorn), and messages that address current “hot topics” (Trueman, Gilbert). The three panels roughly follow the same pattern: one panel on pastoral ministry, one on the Christian and history, and one on the vexing issue of Christianity and politics. We hope this approach enables the conference to cover a variety of topics while also being clear about what the various messages are trying to accomplish.  

We think there is much to be gained by hosting the conference at a local church (even if that means our space is limited). We will still have a great bookstore, exhibitors, sponsors, and the “feel” of a conference. But we also hope for the “feel” of church. The music will be led by Nathan Clark George, the pastor of worship at Christ Covenant, as he collaborates with other musicians from inside and outside our church. 

I love being a pastor, and I love pastors, which is why I am thrilled to be a part of this new initiative. I hope to see many of you here in the Charlotte area for the inaugural Coram Deo Pastors Conference in the spring of 2024. 

In Christ,
Kevin DeYoung