Phil Johnson, executive director of Grace to You and an elder at Grace Community Church (GCC), indicated in an update on Pastor John MacArthur‘s health that MacArthur could miss this week’s Shepherds Conference—a first for the pastor.
In February, MacArthur was released from a lengthy hospital stay after needing treatment for complications stemming from a heart valve replacement he received in July 2024.
The 85-year-old pastor has been preaching at Grace Community for over 56 years, but his health kept him out of the pulpit for more than half of 2024.
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“I spent an hour with John MacArthur in his home this morning,” Johnson posted on Sunday, March 2. “Though his illness is not the same as mine, we’ve faced an incredible number of the same trials and frustrations. Keep him in prayer.”
“He may be gaining strength incrementally, but he still has a long uphill recovery,” Johnson added.
Johnson himself is being treated for multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. Doctors discovered the disease last June during a treatment Johnson was receiving relating to kidney problems.
MacArthur had been scheduled to speak at Grace Community Church’s annual Shepherds Conference on Friday, March 7.
This year’s conference includes speakers Paul Washer, H.B. Charles, Conrad Mbewe, Austin Duncan, Nathan Busenitz, Joel Beeke, Michael Reeves, and more. Bob Kauflin and Keith and Kristyn Getty are scheduled to lead worship.
The sold-out conference, titled “Proclaiming Christ to the Ends of the Earth,” will kick off this Thursday, March 5 at 9 a.m. PST in Sun Valley, California.
One of Johnson’s social media followers commented, “Sounds like for the first time ever, neither of you can make Shepherds?”
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