Most Christian leaders feel hurried through life by endless demands and stifling routines. Even vacations can have a task-like frantic pace to them. Often we think, "If only I had more time." But time is really not the issue. What we have lost is the rest of God.

The Psalmist says, "Be still and know that I am God" (46:10). How many of us apply this verse regularly? How many of us would enjoy being still before God if we only had the time for it? The truth of the matter is that God invites us to rest in Him-to be still before Him in order to replenish and restore us for His service.

Unfortunately, many of us continue through life and ministry at a break-neck pace, often not being fully present in the moment. Regularly we pass through our days without curiosity, wonder and a desire to learn. In our efforts to gain time we many times lose it for good. The Chinese use two characters in their language to describe busyness. It is the word "killing" over the top of "heart" because the heart is the place that the busy life exacts the highest price.

In Mark Buchanan's book, "The Rest of God," he writes the following in chapter 3, "Only those who wait on the Lord renew their strength. Only those who are quiet and watchful find God's mercy that is new every morning. Only those who slow down get to 'Taste and See' that God is good!"

In God's economy, when it comes to leadership, less is often more, so make sure that you are finding your rest in Him.

It's time to encourage your pastor/s to sign up for the NWC 2012 Fall Ministerial Association Retreat. New brochures and a retreat registration form have been mailed to all NWC churches.

The retreat will be Oct. 1-3 at the beautiful Ruttgers' Sugar Lake Lodge in Grand Rapids, MN, and is for all pastors, spouses and ministry staff. Peter Sung, former director of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church, will be our speaker and retreat facilitator. Sung will focus on the theme of "Engaging the Culture and Moving Your Church Forward."

The fall is almost upon us and with the fall comes our annual Church Planter's Retreat. We will be converging on the beautiful Sugar Lake Lodge in Grand Rapids, MN. This will also be the site of the annual Ministerial Association Retreat that will follow our time together.

We will begin our retreat over dinner on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. Of course, early arrival is always an option. We will conclude our time together on Monday around noon. The ministerial association retreat begins at 1 p.m. on Monday so you can stay for that as well. I am looking forward to our spending some time together up in the beauty of the north woods on beautiful Sugar Lake.

If you have any questions please contact me. Scholarship help is available for the retreat, but the deadline to request a scholarship is the middle of September, so don't wait until the last minute to get registered or make a request for help if needed. I would love to have everyone attend this year. This retreat is for Pastors and spouses.

1,367 NWC students attend CHIC!

In July, over 5,539 students, leaders and staff people convened in Knoxville for a week of questions, stories and life-change. CHIC is a big deal in the Evangelical Covenant Church and it's a really big deal in the Northwest Conference. Out of the 5,539 attendees and staff, 25% were from the Northwest Conference.

Our history of emphasizing youth ministry in our conference was evident with 1,367 students and leaders. (The next largest in attendance was the Midwest Conference with 736 registrants.)  

It's not just about numbers; it's about numbers that represent adolescents and their churches and families. This conference emphasis on people in the first third of their lives, youth and children, is one of the key reasons why the NWC is bringing on a Director of Children and Family Ministry to collaborate with the Director of Youth and Family Ministry.

We are excited to announce our next NWC Converge leadership training event, which will take place at Redeemer Covenant Church in Brooklyn Park, MN, on Oct. 27.
 
The one-day event will feature a variety of workshops designed for pastors and lay leaders to come together to learn and be inspired. Some of the topics that will be addressed include: church communications, local church governance, church finances, processing setbacks, children's ministry, funding strategies for local churches, risk management, working with volunteers, and more.
 
Stay tuned for registration materials and more details.  

For over 20 years, high school students in the Northwest Conference have been challenged and formed by Adventures in Leadership (see below). Now, a new initiative is being piloted in the NWC to challenge students as leaders, in addition to AIL.

This August, the NWC will launch Emerge-a weekend leadership retreat designed for high school students to explore who they are as leaders.  

Emerge combines practical teaching, hands-on interactive learning experiences and time for individual reflection, peer-to-peer feedback and group worship.

This is a national Covenant initiative that is being piloted in the Northwest Conference. Emerge takes place Aug. 24-26 at Lake Beauty Bible Camp. The cost is $75 per person. Registration materials and other details will be found on the NWC Emerge page.  

The AIL pilot program for other conferences is in progress this week.

Please pray that the leaders from other conferences will develop a base understanding for the model, and that it will stimulate creativity and inspiration about how to relocate the AIL model to other locations and contexts.  

And pray that this will be a transformative experience for the students who are participating!

Northwest Conference churches, members and attendees have an opportunity to stand alongside our Congolese friends in the remote area of Congo known as Equateur Province. Along with them, we are seeking to turn around the most overlooked province in the neediest country of the world.  

But it will take all of us, says ECC President Gary Walter. A partnership with World Vision is about to make sure our Congolese friends receive the help they need. Together we can make a difference!

Right now, we ask our NWC churches to schedule a "Hope Sunday" this coming fall 2012 in order to give members and attendees the opportunity to sponsor a child in Congo.  

For $40 per month, a Covenant household can make it possible to promote clean water, nutrition, education, health, and economic development; expressing God's love in tangible ways that provide opportunities for the recipients to experience new life in Jesus Christ.

An unprecedented need ... an unprecedented partnership!

Visit the Covenant Kids Congo blog to learn more and sign up to host a "Hope Sunday."  

Watch a video introduction to Covenant Kids Congo by ECC staff. 

We are grateful for the commitment our executive board members have made to help lead the Northwest Conference in ministry. Please remember to pray for our board members and leaders.

• Jan Bros, Church Planter, Abbey Way Covenant Church, Minneapolis, MN
• Jeff Burton, Lead Pastor, Lakeview Covenant Church, Duluth, MN
• Tim Coyer, Director of Contemporary Worship Arts, Salem Covenant Church, New Brighton, MN
• Lynn Johnson, Bethlehem Covenant Church, Wheaton, MN
• Colleen Nelson, Associate Pastor, Roseville Covenant Church, Roseville, MN
• Bruce Peterson, Crossroads Church, Eagan, MN
• Lowell Peterson, Zion Covenant Church, Ellsworth, MN
• Marc Peterson, Senior Pastor, Crossroads Evangelical Covenant Church, Forest Lake, MN
• John Stewart, Pastor, First Covenant Church, Worthington, MN
• Clarke Tungseth, Excelsior Covenant Church, Excelsior, MN

Communications Corner

MissionInsite announces major database demographic update  

Evangelical Covenant Church 

Women clergy are found in increasing numbers in the Evangelical Covenant Church. As of 2010, there are 317 credentialed women ministers (18.8% of 1652) and 58 women serving as senior or co-pastor (8% of 652).

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.  

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).