Bishop T.D. Jakes to Headline Seventh Annual Shift Conference in Birmingham

By Nicole Sade’ Daniel | For the Birmingham Times

Bishop T.D. Jakes, one of the most recognized voices in Christian ministry, will headline Refresh Family Church’s seventh annual Shift Conference. The church will welcome attendees and faith leaders from across the region Sept. 27-29 for three days of worship, teaching, and spiritual growth.

For Bishop Stephen A. Davis, founder and senior pastor of Refresh Family Church, the conference is about much more than bringing people into a room. It is about creating access, challenging people to think differently, and helping individuals recognize the possibilities beyond their current circumstances.

“I feel extremely excited about The Shift Conference, but it’s been taxing getting ready for a person like Bishop T.D. Jakes to come,” Davis said.

Hosting Jakes has added another layer of significance to this year’s conference.

“It’s really exciting being able to host him in Birmingham,” Davis said. “I think Birmingham needs positive leadership to show us as people of color that we still have value and anything is possible.”

For Davis, however, The Shift Conference’s significance extends beyond one guest speaker. The name itself reflects the message he hopes attendees will take with them. The conference’s name reflects Davis’ belief that transformation begins with a willingness to change direction.

“Anything that you want to do, you’ve got to have a mindset shift. You’ve got to pivot, and it’s about shifting,” Davis said.

Davis compared the process to driving a vehicle.

“If you don’t want to grind your gears, you’re going to have to shift, and a lot of people are still in first gear, and they need to be in overdrive,” he said.

For Davis, that shift is not limited to one area of life. He wants conference attendees to examine their physical health, intellectual growth, spiritual lives, and personal purpose.

“I believe in every part, and that’s spirit, soul, and body. They’re going to start taking better care of their bodies, they are going to intellectually open their mind to the potential of doing more and thinking higher,” Davis said. “Spiritually, most of all, we want to really have that relationship with God that we need because so much is going on in the world. Without God, we’re not going to make it.”

Three Voices. Three Generations.

For nearly three decades, Davis has served in pastoral ministry, building a ministry centered on faith, leadership, and helping others grow.

“The Shift Conference was based on my desire to see others grow and give them access to things that they normally would not have access to without me leveraging my influence,” he said. That philosophy also shows up in the conference’s lineup.

Although this is the seventh annual conference, this year’s conference carries additional significance with the inclusion of Bishop T.D. Jakes, Dr. Thomas Beavers, and Davis, creating what Davis describes as an intentional generational lineup.

Dr. Thomas Beavers, senior pastor of The STAR Church, represents another generation of Birmingham ministry leadership.

Beavers became senior pastor of New Rising Star Church, now known as The STAR Church, in May 2010, following the retirement of his grandfather, Dr. Tommy Chappell. His ministry has also maintained a strong emphasis on community development, including education, financial literacy, workforce development, housing, and recreation.

“I wanted to put him in a lineup with the greatest person that I could attract to this place,” Davis said.

That person is Bishop T.D. Jakes.

Jakes recently marked 50 years in ministry. He founded The Potter’s House in Dallas in 1996 and has built a ministry that spans preaching, education, media, film, television, and other areas. In 2025, he transitioned leadership of The Potter’s House to his daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts, and son-in-law, Touré Roberts, while continuing to serve as chairman of the church and T.D. Jakes Group boards.

Davis said Jakes’ presence creates an opportunity for knowledge and influence to move from one generation to the next. He believes Beavers can take what he learns from Jakes and eventually pass it on to another generation of leaders.

“After Bishop Jakes is no longer moving like he’s moving, after I’m slowing down, Dr. Beavers will have a deposit in him, regionally wise, to keep going and do it for somebody that’s coming behind him,” Davis said.

Why Bishop Jakes?

For Davis, bringing Jakes to Birmingham is more than a headline-making moment.

It is personal.

“He showed up for me at a critical time. He answered my call when I needed him the most, and I didn’t even realize that I was on the radar for someone like him to respond to my call,” Davis said.

That experience helped motivate Davis to bring Jakes to Birmingham.

“So why not expose others to the person who helped me so much in a critical time?” he said.

Jakes’ influence, Davis said, extends well beyond the pulpit.

“I’m excited about the diversity that Bishop Jakes brings, not just his preaching,” Davis said.

Davis said he hopes Jakes will recognize what Refresh Family Church has been building and offer his perspective on the ministry’s work.

“I just would love to hear him validate what we’re doing because sometimes you can say it’s a lot of energy, but it’s a lot of anointing in the presence of God. That’s not normal hype out there,” Davis said.

Davis said Jakes’ experience across different ministry settings and arenas makes his perspective particularly meaningful.

“It takes someone like him, who has experienced many different settings, many different moves of God, and he’s functioning in so many different arenas,” Davis said.

More Than a Conference

Davis expects The Shift to have an impact that reaches beyond the church walls.

“I expect that everybody internally will be changed, but our region will also be changed. I want to show our region that anything is possible regardless of where you come from,” Davis said.

More than 2,000 people have registered for the free conference.

He wants attendees to leave with a mindset that challenges the limitations of their everyday environment.

“I want them to leave with a mentality that supersedes some of their natural, everyday environment,” Davis said.

The willingness of people to travel to Birmingham for the conference, he said, demonstrates a hunger for something more.

“With them uprooting themselves, driving in, flying in, it says to me that they’re hungry and they’re looking for something because people are not going to inconvenience themselves if they’re not looking for something,” Davis said.

“I want to give them a taste of what they’re looking for,” he said.

From Checkers to Chess

In its seventh year, The Shift Conference has evolved into something Davis believes is larger than a traditional church conference.

When asked what makes this year’s gathering different, Davis offered a simple comparison.

“For most people, and most pastors, they would see it as out of range. I see it as going from checkers to chess. This is a chess game right now,” Davis said.

Davis also said additional educational opportunities connected to Jakes’ ministry are part of the broader vision.

He said Jakes’ Divinity School will be coming to Refresh Family Church, creating an opportunity to bring theological education to people in the region.

“We’re going to be able to bring in a level of education in theology that people who are ascribed to know more and do more for the kingdom can benefit from it,” Davis said.

For Davis, that is part of what makes Jakes’ involvement so significant.

“There’s so many different avenues and so much diversity about Bishop Jakes. Right now, based on what I’m seeing and I’m experiencing, we can transform a region with the resources that he has right now,” Davis said.

A Moment for Birmingham

Davis believes this year’s conference represents an important moment for the city.

“With the roster that we have, it’s a monumental moment. It’s a time that we need recorded and captured, because I feel like it’s a historical time.”

While Jakes’ appearance may be one of the conference’s biggest draws, Davis said the larger purpose is to create lasting impact.

When asked what motivates him to continue doing this work, his answer was simple: people.

“I get motivated because when I wake up every day, I want to help somebody,” he said. “Every day I wake up to help somebody, I believe I can do something to enrich someone’s life every day.”

Whether it is his family, staff, or the people connected to his ministry, Davis said he wants his leadership to benefit others.

“I love motivating people, I love encouraging people, I don’t love disciplining people, but that seems to be a part of it too sometimes, but I only do what I think is going to help them to be better,” he said.

That philosophy ultimately describes Davis’s approach to leadership.

“I’m all about people winning, I don’t do this for myself,” he said.

Looking ahead, Davis said he understands that leadership is ultimately about preparing others to continue the work.

“I will land my plane one day,” he said, “but I want us to stay in flight.”

The 2026 conference schedule features Davis as the opening and Sunday worship speaker, Beavers as the Monday evening keynote speaker, and Jakes as the Tuesday evening speaker.

To learn more about the 2026 Shift Conference, visit theshiftco.org.