About the Vessels Conference
For over 20 years, Vessels has been seeking to encourage young adults throughout the Midwest to grow as committed believers and disciples of Jesus Christ. Every year on Memorial Weekend, dozens of young people gather at Park University to dig into the Word, unite in prayer, and build up each other's faith in conversation and friendship. And occasionally play Spikeball.
Our Mission Statement
The goal of Vessels is to see young believers as vessels available to God, sanctified and pure, prepared for the Master's use.
1 —
Growth for the Believer
We long for young people to live for the Lord first of all wherever He has them, be obedient to the Lord and His Word, grow spiritually, and serve in dependence on the Lord.
2 —
Growth for the Church
We want young people to have confidence that the Lord will continue to use the same principles in our world today that He gave to the NT church.
3 —
Growth for the Body
We want to encourage friendships with like-minded believers, and to “spur one another on to love good works (Heb 13:24-25)” through fellowship and outreach opportunities.
How Vessels Happened
The History of the Vessels Conference
In the mid-1990’s, the Lord put it on the hearts of believers at East Tulsa Bible Chapel to provide some specific spiritual encouragement for young adults in the surrounding area. This led to a “pilot” weekend in 1997 at a rented campground near Tulsa with about 25-30 young adults.
That next winter, several saints began to consider what it would take to provide a similar conference for a wider audience across the Midwest. It was decided that the KC area would be a more convenient location, and a personal contact arranged for Baker University to be the next host in 1999. The local assembly in Baldwin City, KS was a major help in the work during those early years. The conference continued in Baldwin until 2006 when the conference moved to Park University in Parkville, MO, where it was held regularly through 2019.
In addition to the Baldwin meeting, believers from other assemblies have been a crucial part of this conference over the years, namely, Westside Bible Chapel in Wichita and the Bible Chapel of Shawnee. In 2020 the conference was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Lord has brought forth the opportunity to meet in person since then using the Calvary University campus. We pray the Lord continues to use the Vessels conference to edify and build up the next generation of believers.