Annual Meeting
April 25-26, 2025 | First Baptist Church, Durham, NC
Please click on each icon to learn more about the meeting and then proceed to the Registration Page.
Welcome to our information and registration page for the 47th Annual Baptist Medical Dental Fellowship.
As you scroll down, you will find information about our event program; a listing of speakers/presentations; and the registration form. Unlike past meetings, we will not be able to provide Continuing Medical Education at this event although we do have several gifted healthcare professionals speaking. This year, we will be providing the opportunity for healthcare students to attend our sessions at no cost except for meals. As a student, you will have to register below.
Please note: Registration will close on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
“Facing the challenge of running the race”
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12: 1-2)
General Information
Questions
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Bob Thomas
via email at RThomas@bmdf.org or by phone at 662-710-5661.
Meeting Venue
First Baptist Church, Durham, NC
414 Cleveland St
Durham, NC 27701
Phone: 919-688-7308
Conference Fees
Member Registration (early, by March 8, 2025) || $150
Member Registration (after March 8, 2025) || $200
Spouse Registration || $75
Student Registration || $30 (Covers $15 each for Friday’s evening meal and Saturday’s lunch. No Conference fees.)
Saturday Night Banquet
Healthcare Professionals/Spouses || $50 each
Students || $20 each
Lodging
As hotels require a minimum number of reserved rooms to qualify for special rates, we are asking that you reserve your own room.
There are several major brands within a ten-minute drive of the venue. A good site to let you know what is available can be found by clicking here. The annotation on each hotel “# of miles from address” is interpreted to mean the distance between the hotel and FBC, Durham.
PRIMARY PRESENTERS
Brother John
Keynote, Saturday Evening Banquet
Brother John currently serves as a Global Mission Strategist. John grew up in Guyana as the son of Southern Baptist missionaries. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Furman University and a master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Jenny, have been with IMB for more than three decades.
Andy Davis, M.Div., Ph.D.
Bible Teacher
Dr. Andrew M. Davis is the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Durham, North Carolina and the founder of Two Journeys Ministry. He holds a bachelor’s degree from MIT, a Masters in Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
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He is also a visiting professor of church history at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Council member of The Gospel Coalition, and a former trustee of the International Mission Board. In addition to his preaching and teaching, he is the author of An Infinite Journey: Growing Toward Christlikeness, Revitalize: Biblical Keys to Helping Your Church Come Alive Again, Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Isaiah, and An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture. Andy and his wife, Christi, have five children.
Farr Curlin, M.D.
Dr. Curlin is the Josiah Trent Professor of Medical Humanities, Professor of Medicine (Palliative Medicine), and Co-Director of the Theology, Medicine and Culture Initiative at Duke University. He is co-author of The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession (Notre Dame University Press, 2021, with Christopher Tollefsen), as well as more than 150 articles and book chapters addressing the moral and spiritual dimensions of medical practice.
Walter Lee, M.D., MHS
Dr. Walter Lee is a Professor and Chief of Staff in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. He serves as Co-Director of the Head and Neck Program at the Duke Cancer Institute and has a joint appointment with Duke-National University of Singapore.
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His practice is focused on head and neck cancers, and he also has an active global health research program centered around early detection and treatment of cancers. Dr. Lee has been involved with education for nearly 20 years and currently leads leadership and professional development for the Department. He currently serves as the Duke CMDA Faculty Mentor and Elder at First Baptist Church of Durham. On a personal note, Dr. Lee is married and has four children. A highlight of his life has been serving with his three sons on a mission trip to Taiwan in 2023.
William Clark, M.D.
Dr. William Clark is an Internal Medicine and Pediatrics physician who lived and worked in the Middle East for 10 years with his wife and family. During his time overseas, he sought to share the gospel in different settings as he worked in medical education, medical consulting for refugees, and training young doctors. He is currently a primary care physician in Raleigh, North Carolina.
David Ciesla, D.D.S., M.A.S, FAAPD
Dr. David Ciesla serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Developmental Sciences at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Dentistry. Dr. Ciesla is the Program Director for the Pediatric Dental Residency at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, where he played a key role in the development and accreditation of the pediatric dental residency program, which officially launched in July 2024.
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Currently, he is leading multiple local and global initiatives aimed at reducing oral healthcare disparities. He recently completed a master’s degree in Global Health Planning and Management from Johns Hopkins University, where his studies centered on healthcare access and workforce development strategies. Annually, Dr. Ciesla leads dental students on mission trips to San Lucas Hospital in Valladolid, Mexico, where they provide critical dental care to underserved populations in the Yucatan region. He is also involved in educational initiatives at Uganda Christian University in Kampala, where he delivers annual seminars in pediatric dentistry and contributes to the development of advanced education programs in pediatric dentistry. Additionally, Dr. Ciesla provides consultation for a dental therapy school in northern Kampala, which is focused on training professionals to deliver dental care in rural areas of Uganda.
Tom Hicks, M.D.
Dr. Hicks is the Director of Global Health Strategies at the International Mission Board and his wife, Janet, serves as a field medical coordinator for personnel in Asia. Doctors Tom and Janet (both physicians) served on the field in East Asia and then the Asia Pacific Rim for 27 years prior to taking their current roles in Richmond, Virginia.
Cory Whittaker
Corey Whittaker and his family have lived in Durham since 2001. He has been a Youth Pastor for 27 years and has served as a preacher, retreat speaker, mission trip leader, and anything else that needs to be done.
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Corey attended Roanoke College and has a BA in International Relations. He also has an MA in Missions and Evangelism from Trinity School for Ministry and an MA in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. Corey has been married to his wife Lisa for almost 25 years and they have a son and a daughter who are both young adults. Corey’s desire in this ministry is to connect people as the Body of Christ at work and help students and practitioners see their “Medicine as Ministry.”
Richard Brunson, BS Education, M.Div. (North Carolina Baptists on Missions)
Richard earned a B.S. in Education from Gardner-Webb University and a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Seminary (1986). Richard has worked for NC Baptists since 1982. Richard has served as the director of Baptists on Mission since 1992.
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Baptists on Mission has 19 different ministries including disaster relief, medical/dental ministries, and mission partnerships in 10 states and 8 countries. Richard is married to Lesley Tucker Brunson. Richard and Lesley have three grown children and five grandchildren!
Sheila Prevatte, RN, BSN (North Carolina Baptists on Missions)
A graduate of UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing, Sheila retired from full-time nursing in 2021, after 47 years in the field. She has been active in medical missions for many years, having led medical mission teams to Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Togo.
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She traveled with a medical mission team to Ukraine shortly after the Russian invasion in 2022. She is currently serving as Chair of the Medical Dental Advisory Team with NC Baptists on Mission. Sheila is a deacon and teaches Mission Friends at her home church, First Baptist Salisbury, and serves on boards for the local YMCA and Rowan Helping Ministries. Sheila is widowed, and has two children and three grandchildren.
Mike Grober, M Div.
Mike Grober was raised overseas as an MK (missionary kid) and is passionate about helping people worldwide fulfill their God-given mission. His parents, Glendon and Marjorie Grober, were Southern Baptist missionaries to Equatorial Brazil for thirty years. His mother was President-Elect of BNF when she and her husband suffered a fatal car accident in 1994.
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Mike is currently serving in several capacities, which include:
- Founder and Executive Director of Your Mission Matters, a mission organization that helps missionaries and small mission organizations advance the vision God has given them. Over the past several years, BMDF has partnered with Your Mission Matters to help provide healthcare volunteers to serve in Peru.
- President of AMOR: Amazon Mission Organization. AMOR champions riverbank pastors and their communities in the Brazilian Amazon.
- Vice President of the Kingdom Missions Fund, an organization committed to finding, funding and featuring innovative mission projects.
- Founder and Director of Life & Work, an organization in Peru that helps aging-out orphans transition into life beyond the orphanage.
- Owner of the Café Vida y Vocación (Life & Work) in Cusco, Peru. The café trains and hires Life & Work graduates. All proceeds are reinvested in the Life & Work program
- Mike earned the degree of Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Lana have four children and live in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Special Reports From:
Baptist Nursing Fellowship
Church Free Clinic Organizers
Send Relief
IMB Work in Europe
Global Consortium for Education
The “Doctor Luke” Project
Program
Friday
April 25, 2025
8:30 a.m. || Board of Directors meeting
11:00 a.m. || Registration Opens
1:00 p.m. || Welcome and Worship—Andy Davis
2:15 p.m. || Send Relief Report
3:00 p.m. || Break
3:15 p.m. || Your Mission Matters—Mike Grober
3:30 p.m. || Baptist Nursing Fellowship Report
3:45 p.m. || Guest Speaker. Farr Curlin, M.D.
4:45 p.m. || Free Clinic Report—Bill Sisson (Video)
5:00 p.m. || Missions Committee report; Randy Oliver, M.D., Missions Committee Chair
5:15 p.m. || Dinner (catered)
6:15 p.m. || Overcoming Challenges on a Volunteer Mission Trip—Walter Lee, M.D.
7:00 p.m. || Greetings from Paul Chitwood, President, International Mission Board
7:15 p.m. || Field Report—Europe—Cade and Ginny Wheeler
8:30 p.m. || Closing Prayer
Saturday
April 26, 2025
8:30 a.m. || Worship and Bible Study (Dr. Andy Davis and the Worship team)
9:30 a.m. || IMB Healthcare Strategies Report
10:15 a.m. || Membership Committee Report and Challenge. Janet Hicks, Membership Committee Chair.
10:30 a.m. || Greetings from Triangle CMDA chapter—Corey Whittaker
10:45 a.m. || Break
11:00 a.m. || Field Report: North Africa and the Middle East—Dr. Joel
12:00 p.m. || Special Prayer for this speaker and recognition of any student guests we have. Lunch directions.
12:10 p.m. || Lunch (catered)
1:15 p.m. || Vol Mission Trip Report—Challenges faced on Vol. Dental Mission Trips—David Ciesla
2:00 p.m. || Special Report (North Carolina Healthcare Missions)—Richard Brunson, North Carolina Baptist Men & Sheila Prevatte
2:15 p.m. || Prayer Committee Report and Challenge: Mary Clawson, M.D., Prayer Committee Chair
2:30 p.m. || Consortium for Global Education – Dr. Carolyn Bishop
2:40 p.m. II Dr. Luke update – Ron Halbrooks, MD
2:50 p.m. || Break
3:10 p.m. || Executive Director’s Report
3:40 p.m. || President’s Report
4:10 p.m. || Business Session
4:45 p.m. || Passing the Torch—Rick Dunbar/John Witt
5:00 p.m. || Recognition of outgoing officers
5:15 p.m. || Closing prayer
6:00 p.m. || Evening Banquet (catered)
7:00 p.m. || Worship team. Introduction to Keynote speaker
8:00 p.m. || Special Recognitions and Closing Prayer
Registration
Click for Registration Form
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