HAMMOND -- When a sky blue church bus drove past First Baptist Church of Hammond on Monday afternoon, Leonard Delano couldn't help but notice from whence it came.
"Winthrop, Maine,'' its placard said.
Delano, a First Baptist Church deacon from Hammond who was acting as a type of greeter for visitors, wasn't surprised.
He's seen pastors travel to the annual conference from places around the globe for years.
This year's conference -- the 38th annual Pastors' School -- promises to be no exception: Up to 5,000 delegates are expected.
Dedicated in the memory of the late Rev. Jack Hyles, the conference is called, "The Miracle of Miller Road.''
Hyles preached at Miller Road Baptist Church in Garland, Texas, before he came to Hammond in 1959.
Hyles, 74, died on Feb. 6 of complications following heart bypass surgery. Recently, the church voted overwhelmingly to pass the pastoral baton to Hyles' son-in-law, the Rev. Jack Schaap, who long has been a leader in the church and Hyles-Anderson College in Schererville.
Schaap, who will moderate the conference and is expected to close the conference Thursday night, said this year's event will pay tribute to Hyles.
As such, the Pastors' School committee voted to keep the Western theme that Hyles chose before his death. And by midday, downtown Hammond looked a little like Texas -- First Baptist Church-style.
A large helium balloon in the shape of a gun-totin' sheriff hovered in a parking lot near the church entrance, bearing the sign, "Welcome Pardners!"
Church members and students, gussied up in Western wear. A contingent of volunteers checked into Rose O'Brien's "Errand Runner" room, where messages would be displayed, where stray Bibles would be returned to owners and where visitors unfamiliar with these parts would be made to feel at home.
Greg Bowe shuttled pastors to and from a parking area for buses to the Sibley Street church.
"I just brought someone in from Portsmouth, Ohio,'' he said. "A few minutes ago, I spotted someone from my mom's church in Belleville, Mich.''
Delegates got their first message from Schaap when they registered.
A letter from Schaap, written in their program, called this an "unusual year for the church family,'' as it has said goodbye to "our pastor, our mentor, our friend."
Schaap then expressed hope that the delegates will carry home memories of Hyles, a man they loved as a hero and a friend.
The goal may have been realized even before the festivities began.
As the Rev. Paul Brown, of Bible Baptist Church in Stillwater, Okla., headed toward the church to register with Bible in hand, he said one reason for enrolling in the conference was to pay tribute to Hyles.
"I was unable to get to Brother Hyles' memorial service,'' he said, so the trip represents a kind of pilgrimage to honor a preacher who touched so many lives.
His brother, Warren, who is pastor of a Baptist church in Norman, Okla., said there was great anticipation, too, about the future of the church.
"I feel it's going to go forward, as it was, because Brother Hyles laid a good foundation,'' he said.
First Baptist Youth Pastor Eddie Lapina said the conference also will be a pivotal moment.
"This conference was the heart and soul of Dr. Hyles, whose focus was to train men of God to build churches across the world like we have here,'' Lapina said.
"The church has picked up that mantle, and will carry on that part of Jack Hyles' mission that he loved so much."