NWC Calendar
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August, 12-14 2010
M.U.U.U.C.E. - Faith Covenant Church, Burnsville, MN
October 4-6, 2010
Ministerial Association Retreat - Cragun's Resort, Brainerd, MN
October 10, 2010
NWC Celebration - Salem Covenant Church, Duluth, MN
October 12-13, 2010
Parish Nurse Retreat - Covenant Pines Bible Camp, McGregor, MN
October 15-16, 2010
Thrive North Dakota - Hope Covenant Church, Grand Forks, ND
October 24, 2010
NWC Celebration - Evangelical Covenant Church, Dassel, MN
November 13, 2010
CONVERGE Workshops - Roseville Covenant Church, Roseville, MN
January 8, 2011
Recharge - Berean Baptist Church, Burnsville, MN
January 31-February 4, 2011
Covenant Midwinter Conference, Chicago, IL
April 28-30, 2011
NWC Annual Meeting - Crossview Covenant Church, North Mankato, MN
June 11-18, 2011
Adventures in Leadership - Adventurous Christians, Grand Marais, MN
June 25-28, 2011
The Feast - Estes Park, CO
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Rochester Covenant Church hit by tornado, reaching out to neighbors
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ROCHESTER, MN (July 27, 2010) - Although Rochester Covenant Church
sustained damage caused by a series of tornadoes that ripped through the area
on June 17, the congregation is focusing on helping neighbors who suffered far
worse and are still seeking relief.
READ MORE |
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Ministerial Association Retreat information available online
The brochure for the 2010 Ministerial Association Retreat,
which will take place at Cragun's Resort in Brainerd, MN, Oct. 4-6, is now
available for download on our website. The brochure contains expanded
information about the speaker for this year's retreat, as well as general
information about the schedule, scholarships and the resort itself.
Registration Forms and Retreat Scholarship Applications are also available on
the site.
Printed copies of the brochure will be mailed in the coming weeks. We
hope you're planning to attend!
NWC Ministerial Association web page
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Thrive North Dakota: Oct. 15-16
Thrive North Dakota will refresh, invigorate and inspire
ministry leaders, staffers and lay volunteers and leaders with a renewed vision
of ministry. At Thrive
North Dakota, Oct. 15-16, you will find encouragement, as well as practical
advice from leading speakers.
Pastor Ray
Johnston of Bayside Church in California says, "Thrive is a time to think and
play, to worship and laugh, and to renew and invigorate your love for
ministry!"
Thrive North Dakota is co-sponsored by the Northwest Conference and will take place at Hope Covenant Church in Grand Forks, ND. The event costs $49 and will offer a variety of
breakout classes in multiple categories from ministry to personal development.
General sessions will be fun, thought-provoking, and worship-filled!
Look for more details and registration information coming
soon.
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CONVERGE Workshop: Nov. 13, Roseville Covenant Church
On Saturday, Nov. 13, the Northwest Conference will host a
one-day workshop called CONVERGE. This will be another great opportunity to
bring NWC churches together for learning and inspiration. The gathering will
take place at Roseville Covenant Church in Roseville, MN. It will begin at 10
a.m. and conclude at 3 p.m.
The purpose of the day will be to provide practical help to
NWC churches by bringing in highly competent presenters to lead break-out
sessions covering a wide-range of topics.
Some of the topics included will be:
· Church Finances for Treasurers
· Effective Communication Strategies
· Program Planning Evaluation
· Community Demographics and local "Soil
Analysis"
In the coming months, more information and registration
materials will be sent regarding this event. The cost for a church to attend
CONVERGE will be minimal and will include all materials and lunch.
This workshop is open to all, but strongly recommended to
church leaders. It is just one more way that the Northwest Conference is
seeking to fulfill our mission to engage, empower, and equip healthy, missional
leaders, knowing that this is pivotal in growing healthy, missional churches.
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Ten observations on leadership
One: Leadership is hot
There is a call, even a cry, from congregations for
leadership. Increasingly, congregations know they need capable leaders.
Two: Leadership is complex
Congregations are not static structures described by an
organizational chart, they are complex, living organisms.
Three: Leadership is relational and interactive
Leaders are partners in a relationship. It's not all about
the leader alone, but about the dynamic relationship between leaders and their
partners or those whom they would engage. ... Congregational leaders are joined
by partners, associates, or best, by a church.
Four: Leadership is dangerous
Leaders will experience opposition and resistance if they
are doing their job. This is not, however, to be considered a warrant for
needlessly offending people or for considering opposition a confirmation of
one's authenticity. It is simply to say that leading change is tough and
resistance is part of it.
Five: Leadership matters
Churches should be trying to accomplish something for God.
Churches should be trying to make a difference. Too many churches today are not
trying to accomplish much, interested perhaps in only maintaining the status
quo. If churches are to thrive, be vital, change lives and impact communities,
that is, to make a difference, capable leadership is a key.
Six: Leaders are people who are willing to work
While leaders are gifted people, what they are most of all
is people willing to work, willing to put their shoulder to the wheel. While it
is the case that sometimes we need to work smarter and not simply harder, it is
also the case that successful leaders are hard workers because leadership is
hard work.
Seven: Congregations tend to be ambivalent about leadership
That is, congregations both want and don't want leadership.
Congregations, are seldom, if ever, single-minded in this regard nor unified in
their desire for capable leadership, nor even united about what they mean by
"leadership."
Eight: Leadership is not a status, but a function
People may have status or power or authority and still not
be leaders or give leadership. Leadership is a functional role within a group,
body, institution, or congregation. As a function, leadership helps a group
identify, name, and engage the group or organization's own most important
challenges.
Nine: Leadership has multiple dimensions
Capable leaders pay attention to all four dimensions: the
congregation's mission or purpose, the cultural context, their own person, and
the movement of the Holy Spirit.
Ten: Leaders lead
Leaders actually lead, that is, they point the way forward
and mobilize people and resources for the challenge the congregation faces at
the time.
"Congregational Leadership: Ten Observations from a Practitioner and Teacher" by Anthony B. Robinson is reprinted from CONGREGATIONS magazine, Spring 2010 (vol. 36, no. 2), with permission from the Alban Institute. Copyright © 2010 by The Alban Institute, Inc., Herndon, VA. All rights reserved. CONGREGATIONS magazine is a membership benefit of the Alban Institute. Become a member and receive CONGREGATIONS by visiting http://www.alban.org/connect.aspx?id=2784.
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Communications Corner
Check out the Center for Church Communication
By Bryan Malley  I tend to poke around the Internet a lot, scouring for new
tools, ideas, resources, articles and groups that are making headway in
communication-especially in regard to church communication. One group that I
see referenced quite a bit is the Center for Church Communication. With such an ambiguous title, I've been hesitant to dig
deeper into who or what the organization was, until now. After some research
and communication with one of the group's leaders-who happens to be an old
associate of mine from my Christian newspapering days-I think anyone in a NWC
church who's looking for a growing network of other church communicators would
benefit from checking out some of the tools and resources available. Some portions of the group's site seem somewhat undeveloped,
but they will only become more developed if church communicators decide to use
them. A little bit about the CFCC and what they offer: PURPOSE: "We exist to help the church matter. We're a
resource for church communicators. Churches have the greatest story ever told,
but struggle to tell it well. We want to help churches tell it better." We're a community of storytellers coming together to help
the church communicate better. Resources, best practices, ideas, tips,
insights, connections ... you name it. PROJECTS:Church Marketing Sucks - Flagship marketing and communications blog. Church Marketing Lab - A Flickr community where people can share designs in progress and get
feedback. There's also a vibrant discussion group. Job/Freelance Board - A place where churches can post job openings or freelance needs (Free!). Church Marketing Directory - A collection of church marketing resources, from free downloads to providers
to blogs. |
Video series highlights ministry priorities of the NWC
The Northwest Conference recently released a series of video
segments designed to highlight ministry priorities of the conference,
including: "Congregational Vitality," "Church Planting" and "Children, Youth
& Family." Each video features interview segments with NWC staff, lay
leaders and pastors-intermixed with photos and video footage from the churches
highlighted-telling stories of how the conference has influenced and aided ministry
on the local level.
The videos are designed for use throughout the year in
church new member classes, services and other adult education opportunities to
help congregations better understand and engage the work of the Northwest
Conference.
Each church's delegates left the NWC 2010 Annual Meeting
with a DVD copy of the videos. Because of the range of DVD players and
technologies available in our churches, we are aware that the DVD copies may
not work perfectly in all instances.
The series is currently available on the new NWC web site's
video page.
The videos are also available in even higher definition on Vimeo (click here)
and this would be the ideal source for streaming the series in your church or
group.
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The Northwest Conference on Facebook
Become a fan of the Northwest Conference on Facebook to receive important notifications and see photos from events.
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