Town & Country e-mail newsletter   

We all know that staying connected to other pastors is crucial for sustainability and accountability. This is very true in any setting, but over the years Rudy and I have been blessed way beyond what we could have ever imagined through the support of our ministerial colleagues. Through the hard times and the good times they have been there, listening, encouraging and PRAYING for us.

Most of our dearest friends are Covenant pastors and youth pastors. One thing we have learned over the years is that staying connected has given us so many great memories of praying, laughing ... and ... laughing and crying together. Whether you are a seasoned pastor or a young pastor starting out, I really encourage you to connect in your district ministerial. Your perspective and experience can always be an encouragement to your colleagues.

As we retire from local ministry, I just want to encourage all our Town & Country pastors. Your ministry is so important to the Kingdom of God. You are raising up disciples of Christ and you never can predict where God may use them in His work around the world. You may be in a small church but you can still serve God in a BIG way.

We are also excited about our new chapter in ministry ... volunteering at Lake Beauty Bible Camp ... especially with Solid Rock, the new discipleship training for young adults. If you have young adults who would like to spend a school year growing much deeper in their spiritual walk, I encourage you to check out Solid Rock on the www.lbbc.com website or read the attached letter. This is a very exciting new opportunity that God has opened up in a big way for any young adults across the country and Canada.

Nancy King, Community Covenant, Upsala, MN

Navigating together

By Kyle Kachelmeier, Pastor of Winthrop Evangelical Covenant Church in Winthrop, MN  

I settled in pretty quickly. I knew the area. I knew the church. I grew up here. And, although I didn't grow up in this church, I became a Christian here. My faith started through this church, and now I was back ... as their pastor.

I was fresh out of seminary at 27 years old, serving as a solo pastor in Winthrop, MN. And as familiar as I was with the area, I was a fish out of water. Of course, it helped that I knew it all (especially with all the Greek and Hebrew that I had taken). But when my first funeral came within the first month, I began to realize how much I hadn't experienced. I realized how much I was going to be learning on the fly. I realized that parsing Hebrew verbs wasn't going to be the hardest thing I would do in ministry. So, I was grateful for the phone call.

You see, years ago a group of pastors began meeting together when Oak Heights Covenant (Hutchinson) was being formed. The pastors from Dassel, Lake Jennie, Oak Heights and Winthrop decided to get together every week for accountability, support and prayer. It wasn't a district meeting-just an opportunity to be in each other's lives and care for each other in ministry. So when I got the call inviting me to these gatherings, I was thankful.

Over the last seven years, Keith Carlson, Doug Pierce, Todd Harris and I have met together, sought counsel from one another, and have cared for each other. Their wisdom has seen me through some difficult phases of ministry and I have relied a great deal on their varying perspectives in my own process of discernment.

Ministry is isolating enough. For Town & Country pastors, it can feel like navigating a ship through a storm with no crew. Where do we turn when the seasons of ministry life seem far too large for us to handle? Who do we have to ride along with us during both the calm and troubling waters? There are always people to whom we can turn when the going gets rough, but who will be there to know us in the in-between? And who will we stand beside?

I was very fortunate. I had an invitation ready for me when I took my Call. I was able to step into a group that had already established a rhythm of support and regularity (something that often takes a while to establish). But I would encourage pastors to begin finding other ministry leaders in your area and begin forming that rhythm. Who knows? Maybe that small group can become a full crew of shipmates who brave the ministry storms together.

May God bless us as we seek to navigate the waters of ministry together.

This month we are highlighting another of our Town & Country grants. We are excited and blessed to be a part of God's surprising plan in International Falls!

By Darren Olson, Pastor of Evangelical Covenant Church of International Falls, MN  

How God works! Let me tell you that if you have this figured out your God is too small. Last Summer our church applied for the Town & Country grant that was graciously given to us. In short, our plan was to bring Covenant Pastor and musician Glenn Kaiser to International Falls. Now, most people have heard of International Falls because, well, it's cold up here. It's also somewhat isolated from other communities and opportunities. In addition, our communities biggest employer (Boise, Paper Mill), had just announced that one-third of its employees were to be laid off.

Our desire was to bring a message of hope to our hurting community. Having talked with my friend, Glenn, in San Diego at Mid-Winter we were trying to figure out a way to get him to come and bless our community. Glenn, being a very gifted musician and having a great love for people was willing to come and share this with us.

We decided that we would not just have him do a concert and share with our community, but that he would hold a cigar box guitar-making workshop. Not knowing where to get a bunch of cigar boxes I did what comes natural to most of us these days, I went on Amazon to purchase some. But for some reason they had been delayed and they hadn't arrived in time.  

So I went to our town's smoke shop located in the liquor store. Not really knowing much I asked the manager if he had any cigar boxes that he might be able to part with at the time. He only had two, but back at his home in Superior (3 hours away) he had a garage full that we could have. But I didn't have 6 hours to go get them. So how was I going to get these cigar boxes?

Then I remembered that the Falls High School football team that I helped coach and my son played for had a game nearby. So he said that he could have his wife deliver them to the liquor store in that town. One problem, I was riding on the team bus and I wasn't going to be able to have it stop at a liquor store to pick up the cigar boxes for obvious reasons. But my wife would be going with some other mothers and they could pick them up on the way. Problem solved.

On Saturday, we had well over 25 people from over 2 hours come to participate in building their own cigar box guitars. Glenn shared the history behind making cigar boxes, how they related to slavery, and how they were used for worship in those times. In the evening the church was filled with around 200 people who were mesmerized by music being played on instruments that you would have never imagined possible to produce such music. Jesus was shared and people felt hope.

I, of course, had made a cigar box guitar for the manager of the liquor store and the following week went to go give him a return gift for his help. Amazingly, the manager was a guitar player. After our youth pastor showed him how it worked he was playing it. And not only that, he started to invite his employees and customers to come, see, and hear the cigar box guitar. Then he asked us if we would be willing to come and show the community how to make cigar box guitars in the store. He even said, "This is so cool, that if you guys are willing to do this you could have the freedom to talk about Jesus when you do it."

So that is our plan in the near future. We will be holding a cigar box guitar-making workshop at a liquor store. Something we would have never planned. But this is how God works.

Thankful for the Gift,

A will is an essential estate planning document. However, a 2013 survey reported that 61% of Americans don't have a will.

In addition to facilitating the distribution of assets, it can determine legal guardianship of children and name friends and charities along with family as beneficiaries of your estate. If you are interested in creating a will, here are a few things to consider. Similarly, if you already have a will, make sure that the following topics are addressed and current.

Who will be guardians of your children?

If you have children, decide who you would like to care for them should you and your spouse pass. By naming guardians (and alternate guardians) in a will, you can ensure that your children are cared for by the people you trust most.

Who will be in charge of managing your estate?

The executor of a will is the person in charge of the management and distribution of an estate. Your executor should be someone you trust and someone who can handle the responsibilities (legal and otherwise). A successor executor should also be named should the first executor not be able to perform the duty for any reason.

Who will receive your assets?

Have the names and current contact information of the people to whom you plan on leaving your assets. Also be sure to include any Covenant ministries like Prairieview Covenant Church that you would like to support through your will. If ministries are left out of your will, they will receive nothing from your estate.

Do the beneficiaries of financial accounts and investments correspond with the beneficiaries in your will?

There is a good chance that you named beneficiaries on some or all of your financial accounts and investments. To ensure that your assets are passed along according to your wishes, coordinate the beneficiaries on your financial accounts and investments with your estate plans.

Who should have a will?