NWC Calendar
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May 16-18
Youth Pastor's Retreat, Adventurous Christians, Grand Marais, MN
June 11-18
Adventures in Leadership - Adventurous Christians, Grand Marais, MN
June 25-28
The Feast - Estes Park, CO
June 28-30
Evangelical Covenant Church Annual Meeting - Estes Park, CO
August 18-20
MUUUCE - Faith Covenant Church in Burnsville, MN
October 10-12
Ministerial Association Retreat - Arrowwood Resort, Alexandria, MN
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Mark Stromberg elected as next NWC Superintendent
 Delegates to the 2011 Northwest Conference Annual Meeting voted to approve the Rev. Mark R. Stromberg as the next superintendent during the meeting's first Business Session on Friday, April 29, at Crossview Covenant Church in North Mankato, MN. Stromberg has served on the conference staff for the past 10 years; first as director of administration and church development, and then as associate superintendent for the past 8 years. He will be installed as superintendent during the Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Estes Park, CO, June 28-30. Continue reading about the 2011 Annual Meeting online |
Myth-Busting: Emotional Intelligence, Conflict Competence and the Clergy
by Susan Nienaber, Mark Sundby Bill sat across from his counselor and recounted the pain of the last eighteen months. After nine years at First Church, he had taken a well-deserved sabbatical to travel, reflect, study, and pray. On his first Sunday back at the church, he found a sealed envelope conspicuously placed in the middle of his desk. It was an anonymous petition asking for his resignation. The ensuing months were a blur of board meetings, interventions by denominational officials, listening posts with members of the congregation, and sleepless nights. He had survived the ordeal (he thought) but it had clearly taken an emotional toll. He now wondered if he should even remain in parish ministry. He pondered with his counselor: "What red flags did I miss? What should I have done differently? Why does this seem to be happening so frequently to me and my colleagues?" Virtually every pastor has battle scars to show, and conflict seems almost part and parcel to the practice of ministry. So, what's going on here? Is it our congregations and their particular cultures that create these scenarios? Or, is it the pastors themselves? Are folks who are drawn to ministry less emotionally, healthy than the general population? Of course, there are no simple answers to these questions and no one person or situation is to blame. Continue reading online |
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Funeral service Saturday for Rev. Gerald Duane Alger
 Rev. Gerald Duane Alger, retired Covenant pastor, died Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at his home in Walker, MN.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 7, 2011, at 11 a.m. at Calvary Church in Walker. Visitation will be Friday evening, May 6, 2011, from 5-9 p.m. at the Dennis Funeral Home in Walker, and one hour prior to the service at the church.
Please keep the family in your prayers.
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Health Care Tax Credit could help some churches
Some local Evangelical Covenant churches may benefit from a new small employer health care tax credit designed to provide financial relief to qualifying churches that provide health benefits from their denominational benefit program.
As part of the Affordable Care Act enacted in March 2010, the Health Care Tax Credit for Small Employers is designed to encourage both small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations (like churches) to offer health insurance coverage to their employees for the first time or maintain coverage they already have.
However, interested churches need to act fast if they desire to apply - the deadline for filing applications is May 15, notes Elliott Johnson, controller for the Evangelical Covenant Church. The tax credit applies to tax year 2010 and beyond.
Continue reading online |
Communications Corner
What to do about Facebook
By Bryan Malley Often I'm asked how churches can best use Facebook as a piece of the communication pie for their ministry. Although the NWC is still figuring out how this tool could be most beneficial to our ministry, here are a few common tips about FB. Benefits:- Free/ nearly everyone uses it
- Lots of tools that would normally be expensive to build into a full site (photos/video)
- Others can tell your story for you
- Mobile - most modern smart phones already have a FB application built in
Tips:- You must commit to using it regularly, and find ways for your fans to interact
- Provide links to FB from your site and email communications. And vice versa.
- Post your most viral content so others will spread it for you
- Learn from the experts: Just Google "Facebook tips for churches"
One helpful link I found while scouring for church-specific tips for Facebook was a blog post called 8 Things Pastors SHOULD do on Facebook. |
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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