The rich sounds of worship music bounced off the walls of the Kings Community Empowerment Center gym Thursday afternoon during the opening service for the Fellowship of International Churches’ 2015 Leadership Conference. 

The gym floor was temporarily transformed into a place of music, worship and prayer as leaders and church members attended the F.O.I.C.’s weekend conference hosted in Vicksburg.

“It’s a great opportunity for exposure, not just for our ministry but for the fellowship to branch off and have other churches become a part of the fellowship,’ Triumphant Baptist Church pastor Dexter Jones said. “It’s an opportunity for growth, an opportunity to get the word of God out there. It’s an opportunity to create a positive sound out there in the community.”

The conference, which was jointly hosted by both Triumphant Baptist and the Jubilee Revival Center, was a way for church members to praise together while attending workshops and getting a chance to hear the teachings of F.O.I.C. founder Bishop Wellington Boone. Triumphant Baptist is a part of the group’s Mid-South Dioceses, which covers Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee.

“It gives you a foundation that you can sew on and sew in, and build on most importantly. It gives you the opportunity to spread your wings, but more important, it’s an opportunity to provide a service to the community where leaders can come — not just members of the fellowship — but leaders, pastors, whomever can come and be a part of this fellowship,” Jones said.

“It’s an opportunity where you can gain valuable teaching from an internationally known bishop in Bishop Boone, and it’s an opportunity to get some real positive seeds sewn into you and come see what we’re all about.”

The conference was highlighted by afternoon and nighttime workshops, with those in attendance meeting in introspection and prayer to further the message of Christ’s teachings.

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr. attended the opening luncheon and commended the F.O.I.C. for choosing Vicksburg to host its leadership conference.

“Any time that you can get a congregation of true believers into your community, it’s a blessing and, in fact, an honor for them to select Vicksburg. We welcome the people to come to Vicksburg with their different leadership and conferences and those things,” Flaggs said. “I think Vicksburg welcomes and lays out the red carpet for these type of groups. It’s just phenomenal how a lot of people are beginning to look at Vicksburg as a way to come and celebrate in fellowship together.”

Flaggs cited the city’s safe environment and its close-knit, mostly Christian community as a draw for groups like the Fellowship of International Churches. Pastor Jones agreed.

“There are some good things going on here in Vicksburg,” Jones said. “But more importantly, there are ministries that are concerned about the growth and the welfare and the leadership of the church.”