News from the Northwest Conference

Children, Youth & Family workers in Red River Valley area invited to regional Connection event

WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 TIME: 7-8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hope Covenant Church
1601 17th Ave S., Grand Forks, ND 58201
gfhope.org / (701) 772-1884

Hosted by Ginny Olson, Director of Youth Ministry, and Kara Stromberg, Director of Children & Family Ministry

All who work with children, youth and families are invited to connect with others for fellowship, encouragement, and a guided discussion about trends in child and adolescent ministry.

Email jessa@northwestconference.org to let us know if you're coming so we can plan for you.

"Practical Tools for Learning, Leading and Liberating"

Jan. 5, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Christos Center for Spiritual Formation in Lino Lakes, MN

This one-day retreat will explore how to know and understand your natural voice in a way that will help you learn, lead and liberate in your ministry environment.

Our facilitator: Jeffrey S. Dorman served as an ELCA pastor in various Minnesota locations for over 20 years. A mediator in private practice, he also works as a leadership consultant with GiANT Worldwide. His D-Min studies were at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Registration: Confirm your reservation with Jeff Burton - jeff@northwestconference.org.

Fee: $15 per participant - includes lunch

Checks: Payable to the Northwest Conference Ministerial Association.

PostureShift workshop w/Bill Henson draws more than 200

On Saturday, Nov. 14, more than 200 lay leaders and pastors from around the Northwest Conference gathered at Maple Grove Covenant Church for a workshop lead by Bill Henson, founder and president of "Lead Them Home," a ministry grounded in orthodoxy and committed to sharing Jesus Christ with non-heterosexual persons. The response to the day was strong.

One participant said the following: "I wanted to say 'thank you' for bringing Bill Henson to the Northwest Conference for our pastor and leaders. It is important to address this from a pro-active stance rather than the usual re-active. Both my wife and I appreciated what Mr. Henson had to share. We could tell he is well-studied and passionate about this. We gained a whole lot from this. Thanks for your leadership and care for the churches of the NWC."

Workshop w/Dr. Mark Yarhouse set for Feb. 27

It continues to be our desire to provide helpful resources to better equip our pastors and congregations to be effective witnesses for the Lord and faithful to His Word. A reminder that the Northwest Conference will also be sponsoring a workshop with Dr. Mark Yarhouse on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Yarhouse was a primary presenter at a daylong event at the University of Northwestern (St. Paul) sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals and attended by ECC President Gary Walter and NWC Superintendent Mark Stromberg. His presentation was entitled, "Pastoral Care of LGBT Persons & Families."

Yarhouse is the Hughes Endowed Chair and Professor of Psychology at Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA, where he directs the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity. He has spent several years promoting dialogue between people who view the topic of sexual identity differently.

In 2000, Yarhouse chaired a groundbreaking symposium at the American Psychological Association's annual convention that brought together gay psychologists and religious psychologists to discuss common ground for people sorting out sexual and religious identity conflicts.

Yarhouse has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and is author or co-author of several books, including "Homosexuality and the Christian: A Guide for Parents, Pastors, and Friends," "Understanding Sexual Identity: A Resource for Youth Ministers," and the forthcoming book, "Understanding Gender Dysphoria: Navigating Transgender Issues in a Changing Culture" (InterVarsity Press, June 2015).

Details on location for this event will be forthcoming in the near future.

Church Resource

Brotherhood Mutual website features best practices resources for churches and church leaders

In recent months, a number of NWC churches and pastors have been requesting resources pertaining to best practices and guidelines on a variety of topics facing churches and church leaders in the face of a rapidly changing culture.

We want to alert you to one particular organization that has sought to compile a wide range of resources in order to be of service to local congregations. As a result, we would invite you to check out the website for Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company at brotherhoodmutual.com. We believe that you may find some of its materials to be helpful to you.

Recharge 2016 - January

Early bird registration ends Nov. 30! Sign up your team for this one-day youth ministry and children's ministry leadership training event. It is expanding to several cities in our area: Minneapolis/St. Paul is Jan. 9, Duluth is Jan. 16, and Fargo is Jan. 23. Covenant churches will meet for lunch at the Twin Cities Recharge.

For more info on Recharge, visit www.ministryrecharge.com or visit their Facebook page: facebook.com/ministryrecharge

2015 Superintendent's Letter to Churches Gathering in Annual Meetings Available

Click here for your copy of Superintendent Mark R. Stromberg's letter to churches gathering in annual meetings.

Feel free to include this letter in your annual meeting booklets or provide a copy to your church family via a bulletin insert!

Communications check-in ...

Are you receiving the right information from the Northwest Conference? Does your own website link to the accurate URL for our site? We're checking in to see if any updates/changes are necessary, and we'd love to hear from you:

Are we sending the correct number of IMPRINTS, our print newsletter that is distributed to churches three times each year?
Are you or your leaders on the correct email lists? Church staff and lay leaders can opt to receive the UPDATE every 2 weeks, as well as targeted communications for Youth Ministry and Children & Family Ministry. Visit northwestconference.org/newsletter-archive/ to make adjustments.
We've noticed recently that some Conference church sites feature links to our OLD URL, which was nwc-cov.org. Please make sure your site links to our NEW URL at northwestconference.org as the old link will expire soon.

Email Jessa Anderson at the Northwest Conference with your updates or for more info.

To enhance connections among those serving in NWC churches and other types of ministry, we are initiating this Life Events feature. Pastors and ministry staff are encouraged to send news of births, adoptions, weddings, and deaths (immediate family only) to Judy Swanberg, Associate Director of Pastoral Care & Development.

Births

Maya Analina Clauson

Born: Oct. 15, 2015

Family: Erika and Nils Clauson (Covenant career missionaries to Mexico, on home assignment in MN through July 2016) plus two big brothers.

Early Bird deadline is Nov. 20

Midwinter invites us into conversations, reflections, and opportunities to dream, create, envision and imagine what God can do in and through us. It's a chance to step back and consider our strengths, assess our challenges, and explore new possibilities that are before us.

Midwinter is designed for active and retired pastors and spouses, staff ministers, missionaries, chaplains, NPTS and CHET students, institutional leaders, and laypersons exploring future ministry in the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Rates go up after Nov. 20. For more information and to register, visit covchurch.org/midwinter/

Pre-Midwinter worship offering at NPTS

Songwriting for Christian Worship

Class: Jan. 22-24, 2016

Workshop: Jan. 23, 2016 / 9 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Location: North Park Theological Seminary

Description:

There are two opportunities to engage this topic. First, participants may choose to take this as a one-day, stand-alone workshop. Second, participants may choose to take this as a three-day, one-credit course.

This opportunity gives songwriters a valuable theological and pastoral framework for writing worship songs that help congregations worship well. Hands on training and learning labs equip both beginning and experienced songwriters to write better songs. Special attention is given to writing for multigenerational and intercultural settings.

Workshop Registration Information:

$50 per person, $100 for a group of 3, or $150 for a group of 5.

For more information and to register, click here.

November 19, 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

Children, Youth & Family workers in Red River Valley area invited to regional Connection event

"Practical Tools for Learning, Leading and Liberating"

PostureShift follow up

Brotherhood Mutual website features best practices resources for churches and church leaders

Recharge 2016

2015 Superintendent's Letter to Churches Gathering in Annual Meetings Available

Communications check-in

Life Events

Midwinter Early Bird deadline is Nov. 20

Pre-Midwinter worship offering at NPTS

Dec. 1. 2015

CY&F Red River Valley Connection - Hope Covenant Church, Grand Forks, ND

Jan. 5, 2016

PC&D Mini-Retreat: "Practical Tools for Learning, Leading, and Liberating" - Christos Center for Spiritual Formation, Lino Lakes, MN

Jan. 9, 2016

Recharge - Twin Cities, MN

Jan. 16, 2016

Recharge - Duluth, MN

Jan. 23, 2016

Recharge - Fargo, ND

Feb. 27, 2016

Dr. Mark Yarhouse workshop - Location TBD

March 11-12, 2016

Women Ministries Renewal Conference - Redeemer Covenant Church, Brooklyn Park, MN

April 15-16, 2016

MOVE - Twin Cities

April 28-29, 2016

Ministerial Association Annual Meeting - Lakeview Covenant Church, Duluth, MN

April 29-30, 2016

Northwest Conference Annual Meeting - Lakeview Covenant Church, Duluth, MN

June 18-25, 2016

Adventures in Leadership - Adventurous Christians, Grand Marais, MN

August 4-6, 2016

MUUUCE - Crossroads Church, Woodbury, MN

NWC Job Postings Page

Pastors and ministry leaders, if you have people in your congregation who are exploring ministry, on a part- or full-time basis, please refer them to our job postings page.