Sold-out conference at Saint John's Resort reminds Catholics of their mission — and more importantly, the one Who gives it
PLYMOUTH — When attendees of The Jesus Conference walked into Saint John’s Resort in Plymouth on Friday, Oct. 2, they were greeted by a host of saints: Joan of Arc, Bartolo Longo, Padre Pio, Maximilian Kolbe, Jerzy Popieluszko, Augustine, Monica, and others. Banners portraying the saints and blesseds draped the hallways and the columns of the large ballroom.
The stage was framed by artwork depicting Jesus gathered around a table with friends, smiling — as if he himself was welcoming them as they took their seats.
From the beginning, guests knew this would be unlike any other Catholic conference they had attended.
The Jesus Conference, held Oct. 2-4, was hosted by ACTS XXIX, a Catholic apostolate founded by Fr. John Riccardo in 2019.
Four days after registration for the conference opened on Jan. 13, all 1,000 seats sold out. The waiting list quickly filled, with 1,000 people still on the list when the conference began. People came from 39 states, 270 cities, and five countries: the United States, Canada, England, Ireland and Norway.
The Jesus Conference featured talks by Fr. Riccardo and ACTS XXIX missionaries Mary Guilfoyle and Albert Faraj, with music by Catholic singer-songwriter Sarah Kroger.
The opening talk by Fr. Riccardo set the tone for the experience, highlighting the communion of saints cheering guests on from heaven, and urging them to “take the baton” in doing the work of spreading the Good News.
“I was brought to tears by that video,” said Meredith Havercamp of Midland, Michigan.
Havercamp and her husband, Travis, heard about the event on the ACTS XXIX podcast, “You Were Born for This.” Last year, they attended "Rescue Michigan,” a one-day experience hosted by the Diocese of Saginaw and ACTS XXIX and based on the organization’s “The Rescue Project.”
“I heard about The Jesus Conference on the podcast, and I was one of the first people to sign up during early registration,” Travis Havercamp told Detroit Catholic. “I went out on a limb and registered before we even had a chance to work out child care. I took a leap of faith and figured we’d make it work.”
Travis’ grandparents babysat the children, ages 1-1/2 and 4, while he and his wife went to the conference.
The couple was thrilled by the surprise guest who delivered the "keynote talk" on Saturday evening.
“The schedule said that keynote No. 5 would be after dinner. So we sat down expecting a talk, and then Fr. Riccardo basically said, ‘We’re not actually going to give a talk; we’re going to let Jesus talk to you.’ And then they put out the monstrance,” Meredith Havercamp explained.
The time in adoration gave space for Jesus to speak directly to guests as they sat together in the ballroom.
Anna Walker from Woodbury, Minnesota, drove to The Jesus Conference with a friend, taking two days each way to visit pilgrimage sites, including the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin, and the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak.
“It was well worth the drive,” Walker said. “What drew me to the conference was the chance to deepen my relationship with Christ, and what better way to do that than with Fr. John and Mary and the ACTS XXIX team.”
The ACTS XXIX team designed The Jesus Conference to allow attendees to steep in the Lord's heart and be moved to act on the mission to which He calls them — to rescue, renew and transform the human family into the family of God. That mission is spelled out in Fr. Riccardo’s recently released book, "The Resistance: God's Plan for Renewing the Human Family."
While the mission may seem daunting, Guilfoyle’s keynote talk on Saturday offered a practical way to get started. She urged guests to invite people into their homes to form friendships, noting the many times Jesus spends time with people at the table in the Gospels.
“Hospitality breaks open our hearts and creates a space for real friendship, deep friendships,” Guilfoyle said. “What if our homes become places where people are loved into wholeness, where they are loved out of their loneliness and their isolation, and their fragility?”
That hospitality and love, she said, builds a bridge across which truth can pass.
As a guest at the event, Meredith Havercamp noticed the example of hospitality set by ACTS XXIX.
“I loved the space they had prepared for us. It was just beautiful,” she said. “Fr. John shared with us the care put into the preparations. For example, the people at ACTS XXIX had been praying for each attendee by name leading up to the conference, which really made us feel wanted and desired to be there.”
After the final talk of the weekend, the 1,000 conference guests gave the ACTS XXIX team a standing ovation. For Travis Havercamp, it was a full-circle moment, reminding him of Friday night’s opening talk as he was surrounded by the cheers of the crowd.
“It felt like we're the living saints, cheering each other on for mission,” he said.
ACTS XXIX plans to release videos of the conference talks on their soon-to-be-released ACTS XXIX app. Sessions will be available for anyone to view. A livestream on Oct. 29 will dive deeper into acting on the mission set forth at The Jesus Conference. For details, subscribe for updates at www.actsxxix.org. Information on “The Rescue Project” can be found at www.rescueproject.us.
