News from The Northwest Conference

For staff members and leaders

of Northwest Conference churches

Pastor's Perspective

Hand-feeding fish

By Kevin Johnson, Pastor of Emmaus Road Church

Tetra After spending the winter carefully restocking a sizeable home aquarium, I was so giddy about the results that I impulsively bought a second tank to fit the corner of my home office desk. I dropped in a small school of young bleeding heart tetras-fish with translucent pink bodies and a striking red splotch on each side.

This unfamiliar species soon had me worried. For weeks my new tankmates refused any food but freeze-dried worms, which as a staple is like raising a toddler on fudge. Online advice said I should let the fish go hungry for a few days, and sure enough, they now attack whatever I put in the tank. They flash, break the surface, and voraciously ingest food, mimicking their distant cousin the piranha.

But these fish don't let me simply open the lid and toss in food. Too little food and they languish. Too much food and the tank becomes a toxic cloud. So two or three times a day, I hand feed my fish.

I might be less concerned if I thought my fish were the only project that might die without my personal attention. But there are people and causes I take on purposely and randomly, because of outward demands and inner needs. And no one has endless capacity. I have a better grasp of my limits when I evaluate which of my responsibilities have trapped me into an unexpected or unhealthy or unnecessary habit of hand-feeding-and which truly need my in-depth involvement.

Kevin Johnson is the solo pastor of Emmaus Road Church in St. Louis Park, MN, and the author of more than 50 books and Bible products for adults and youth. More at emmausroadchurch.com and kevinjohnsonbooks.com.

NWC Ministry Priorities series

View, embed and share our new videos on Vimeo

Our 2012 Annual Meeting included the debut of three new videos highlighting the Ministry Priorities of the Northwest Conference. Each video features interview segments with church staff, lay leaders and pastors, intermixed with animations of statistics and key statements designed to help explain each priority.

NWC Ministry Priorities: Congregational Vitality

NWC Ministry Priorities: Church Planting

NWC Ministry Priorities: Children, Youth & Family

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 NWC. The delegates from each church left with a DVD copy of the videos, and the series is available on the NWC web site's video page (www.nwc-cov.org/resources/videos) and Vimeo Channel (http://vimeo.com/channels/northwest).

What do you value?

Covenant Trust Company

Understanding what people value is important in investing and money management; it's one of the first things Covenant Trust Company asks people about, and it's important to consider when you assess your own financial situation.

Values can affect how you choose to save and invest. Savings accounts are fine, but depending on your goals, there might be a more efficient way to manage your money. If supporting The Northwest Conference or one of its ministries is important to you, a Charitable Gift Annuity can help you make a considerable donation.

Finding a balance in your financial situation is vital to financial health, and determining your values to set goals is an important process in that. CTC has the resources and expertise to help people achieve their goals through a variety of financial services.

CTC has values, too. We value integrity and invest in the best interest of our clients. We value excellence and strive to improve our already rock-solid market performance. And we value ministry and stewardship: we want to help our clients leave a lasting legacy.

These are some of our values - what are yours? Contact Kevin Lawson, CFP®, our local Financial Service Representative at 1-877-222-3960 or kelawson@covenanttrust.com and let us know!

Please visit http://www.covenanttrust.com/news/ to read more.

Communications Corner

Web policies and privacy

By Bryan Malley

When I talk with churches in the NWC about their web presence, I often hear questions regarding copyright, privacy, publishing photos, and more, all centered around policies for a church web presence.

Here's a resource called Web ministry: Privacy and Permissions that suggests some good answers.