Town & Country e-mail newsletter   

Welcome to the e-newsletter from the Northwest Conference Town & Country Commission aimed at resourcing and encouraging our Town & Country churches.

Children & Family Ministry
Building a faith that sticks

By Kara Stromberg, Director of Children & Family Ministry, Northwest Conference

At the NWC Annual meeting in April, Dr. Kara Powell spoke of the two factors that are most influential in making faith "stick" beyond high school. Those two factors were intergenerational worship and intergenerational relationships. Kara talked about her experiences with churches where the family mini-van pulls up and each person hops out to join their respective programs-the kids to the kids ministry, teenagers to the youth room, adults to grab their coffee and head off to worship, each event carefully orchestrated to end at the same time. After church, the family gathers back in the mini-van, where the parents may ask "what did you learn in Sunday School today?" quickly followed by, "where do you want to go for lunch?"

As I listened to Dr. Powell share her research, I thought of our Town & Country churches who are intuitively implementing her team's findings without even knowing it. What a gift we give our young people when they come to church and all the adults know their names and to whom they belong. When the church kitchen is bustling with cooks preparing home-cooked meals for all to enjoy, when your congregation has grandparents worshipping together with children and their parents, when the senior pastor teaches Confirmation and leads youth activities ... in all of these things, count yourselves blessed.

If your church is doing any of this, celebrate the fact that you are making a long-term impact on the faith development of young people. Next, gather your team together for a conversation about how you can be more intentional with intergenerational worship and intergenerational relationships. Do all ages in your congregation understand they have something to contribute? How can empty nesters support and encourage new parents to start the faith conversations at home? In what ways can children and youth have a voice in worship planning and implementation?

By Nancy King, Prairieview Covenant, New Richmond, WI

This spring Kara Stromberg, Director of Children & Family Ministry for the NWC invited the children and family ministry leaders to a day with Scott Peterson, former program director at Lake Beauty Bible Camp who is now serving as a Children's pastor in California.

One thing that Scott emphasized in looking at ministry to children was to make sure that your Christian Formation ministry in the fall surpasses your summer activities in quality. Many of our Town & Country churches do a great job with Bible School in the summer. We put lots of time, energy, prayer, volunteer hours and money into doing a great Bible School. Everyone has fun. As we come to our fall program and look at our Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, do we put as much energy into that?

In many of our churches Sunday morning is the main time of connecting with people, especially new people checking us out. As we think about children's ministry on a Sunday morning, are kids really excited about coming? Does our ministry draw them in? Do they want to invite their friends?

"... and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you ..." (Matthew 28:20)

By Nathan Hillman, Youth and Family Pastor, Community Covenant, Upsala, MN

At Community Covenant in Upsala, MN, the most exciting time of the week (in my opinion) is Wednesday evening! Wednesday nights during the school year are full of energy, fun and intentional discipleship of both churched and un-churched children and youth from the Upsala area. Since Wednesday is such a key part of our church's carrying out of the Great Commission, we figured we'd make it really great!

Kids, Teens, and Adults all together during the Fall-Kick-off carnival.

You can feel (and hear) the anticipation as we start each Wednesday with a Family Meal for all ages before splitting up according to age for the teaching, small groups, music and games that each group experiences. We have an amazing team of people who pour out their hearts every week in order to make this night happen.

In order to build up the excitement for each school year of ministry even more, we hold a big, Fall Kick-off. The past couple of years, we rented one of those inflatable, bouncer things for kids to jump around in. We had a carnival for the elementary kids; and the carnival games were run by the teens. The teens got to serve while the elementary kids had a blast! It's mass chaos, but everybody knows that they're a part of something big!

Pie a leader, wear a balloon, or get your face painted!

At Covenant Trust Company, we think everyone should have a Will; as stewards of God's gifts, we believe it is important to be responsible for those gifts in life and in death. Of course, estate planning isn't simply about the things in your life-it's about the people in your life. A Will or Revocable Living Trust isn't just for your home, your car or your savings account: it's for your family, your friends and the causes and ministries you believe in and support.

A Will is a legal document that directs the distribution of your assets and can also determine the legal guardianship of your children. With a Will, you can take important steps to ensure your plans to take care of your family are carried out even after your death.

A Revocable Living Trust is a trust funded with assets and designed to provide for yourself and others. You can establish for whom the trust will provide, to what extent and for how long. As your situation changes, you can amend the trust as needed. Covenant Trust Company can serve as trustee for your Revocable Living Trust and manage the assets should you become unable to do so or after your death.

In addition, both a Will and a Revocable Living Trust can help you achieve your charitable goals. Cash donations and regular tithing are the most common way to give. However, many people desire to give beyond writing a check but don't have the means to do so during their life time. Through a Will or Revocable Living Trust, you can leave assets to your home church or any of your favorite Covenant ministries. Without an estate plan, the charities and ministries you support are guaranteed to receive nothing from your estate when you pass.

Covenant Trust Company can help you determine whether a Will or Revocable Living Trust is right for you and your plans for your estate. The attorneys we work with can prepare either document, and we can serve as trustee for a Revocable Living Trust. Give our local Financial Service Representative, Steve Allison, a call at 877-768-1766 or email him at srallison@covenanttrust.com. Steve would be happy to help you develop a plan that can provide the best possible care for you and your family, and help you reach your charitable goals.

Host an event

At our Northwest Conference Annual Meeting this spring our Town & Country Commission presented our new grant program for Town & Country churches that are doing a new outreach initiative and need a little help. We are happy to say that we did award two grants in June.  

One grant went to Huntley, MN, for their new park and play area the church is developing for the town. The other grant went to LaBolt, SD, for a new prayer ministry they have been developing. We will be hearing more from each of them in future newsletters.  

If you are interested in hearing more about our grant program, contact Nancy King at rudynancy.king@gmail.com. We are able to award two grants per year.