March 9, 2016

2016 Annual Meeting
Book your 2016 Annual Meeting lodging in March to ensure reservations
 
The 2016 NWC Annual Meeting will take place April 28-30 at Lakeview Covenant Church, Duluth, MN, and we've got great speakers and events lined up! Consider extending your stay and exploring Duluth and the North Shore ...
 
Lodging Options + Reservation Deadlines
Visit Duluth states that the port city features over 4,600 hotel rooms ... we've helped to narrow your lodging search by reserving blocks of rooms at three great hotels. But don't wait too long. Each hotel block has a reservation deadline. See below:

Country Inn & Suites / Standard Room: $129 / Suite: $149 or $159
4257 Haines Rd. / 218.740.4500 / website
Reservation Deadline: March 28

Edgewater Resort & Waterpark / $149
2400 London Rd. / 800.777.7925 / website
Reservation Deadline: March 28

Hampton Inn / $119 - $159
310 Canal Park Dr. / 218.720.3000 / website
Reservation Deadline: PASSED

Theme: Serve Globally
While correlating to one of the mission priorities of the ECC, our 2016 theme primarily emanates from the historic commitment that NWC churches have had to proclaiming the good news of Jesus around the world. Join us as we celebrate the good things that are being done to do just that through our churches and people!

Speaker: Al Tizon
Al Tizon is Executive Minister of Serve Globally, the international ministries arm of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
 
Registration
For more details as they become available, and to register online, visit our 2016 Annual Meeting page.
 
Youth Ministry 
MOVE: Unsung / April 15-16 
Minnehaha Academy 

In this culture of Instagram fame and Snapchat celebrities, God still uses the average person to do amazing things. Bring your high school students for this incredible life-changing two-day event focused on compassion, justice and service.

Hector Saucedo (remember him from CHIC Basecamp?) is our speaker and Blue Oaks is leading worship. Cost: $30 for students and $20 for adults. Registration materials are online on our MOVE 2016 page.

Children & Family Ministry
NWC Family Go: Serve registration open! 
Saturday, May 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  |  First Covenant Church, St. Paul
 
Dear Northwest Conference families,

Reality #1: Parents have an immense impact on their kids' faith.

Reality #2: Families are busier than ever.

We want to help you manage these two realities by inviting you to NWC Family Go: Serve, a one-day service-minded ministry event for families. Serve and learn together, while making a tremendous impact on your kids' faith development.

Register Now  |  Go:Serve Event Page  |  Go:Serve Promo Video

Schedule
9:30 a.m.  Check-in begins
10 a.m.  Morning worship
11-2 p.m.  Ministry sites and lunch rotation
2 p.m.  Closing worship and debrief at First Covenant Church
3 p.m.  Head home

Register online by May 2, then come with your family vehicle and some spending money for lunch at Hmongtown Marketplace. And also bring an attitude of curiosity and an open mind, expecting that God will do great things.

Joining you in the journey,

Go: Serve team members
Kara Stromberg, Northwest Conference Director of Children & Family Ministry
Amy Long, Redeemer Covenant
Todd Kardell, Redeemer Covenant
Donovan DeGaetano, First Covenant, St. Paul
Kari Jacott, Linwood Covenant
Tina Wallace, Crossroads Church, Woodbury

Chaplain's Connection offers opportunities to connect, listen, encourage, plan

Friday, April 1, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 
Northwest Conference, 3106 47th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN
 
WHAT TO EXPECT: We will have lunch together, receive a message from
NWC Superintendent Mark Stromberg, and then participate in an interactive presentation
by Joel Jueckstock and Kyle Vlach.

The title of their presentation will be: "Claiming a Substantive View of Presence"

RSVP: Please RSVP to Paul Anderson at PRAnderson@Covenantretirement.org
by Monday, March 28

GOALS: Connect - Listen - Encourage - Plan

Solid Rock Discipleship Program names Tyler Menssen new Director

Solid Rock Discipleship Program has named Tyler Menssen as its new director beginning April 4. Menssen will oversee all aspects of the program: scheduling classes, working with faculty, promotion, recruiting students and coordinating churches involved in the ministry.

Solid Rock is a Covenant School of Discipleship operating out of Lake Beauty Bible Camp in Long Prairie, MN. It serves students who have recently graduated high school and are looking to spend nine months in a community learning about God and nurturing their faith. Students can earn 26 college-level academic credits that will transfer to North Park University or select Christian colleges in the upper-Midwest.

"What drew me to this position at Solid Rock was the opportunity to lead a program I feel will provide a pathway for students to have their lives impacted positively by Christ and community," Menssen said. "I am thrilled with the opportunity to be able to walk alongside students and help them build a foundation of faith that will be instrumental regardless of what career path they follow."

Read the full story on our website

Youth Ministry
Adventures in Leadership 2016 promo materials available online
 
AIL 2016 is set for June 18-25. Nominate one or two of your students who have strong leadership traits for a transformational, weeklong leadership development experience.

AIL is for select high school students (completing grades 9-11) and is based at Adventurous Christians camp. It's a powerful time of exploring Christian leadership principles and putting them into practice, all in a guided, challenging environment.
 
Information and materials are available on our AIL 2016 page.


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

Births

Margot Scout Randall

Born: Feb. 29, 2016
Parents: Sam and Annie Randall ( Sam is the Student Ministries Director at Maple Grove Covenant).



Evangelical Covenant Church  
Sawyer to leave Paul Carlson Partnership, Verdoorn to serve as interim director  

Meritt Lohr Sawyer, who has guided Paul Carlson Partnership (PCP) for three years, has resigned her position as executive director of the ECC-affiliated mission organization. Her last day will be March 25.

Read the full story online

Tom Verdoorn, member of First Covenant Church in St. Paul and Minnehaha Academy board member, will serve as interim executive director.  

Evangelical Covenant Church  
It's time to submit your 2015 ECC Attendance Report

Covenant Offices (the ECC) requests churches' assistance in submitting the 2015 Attendance Report. This Attendance Report is a vital tool we use to measure our continued health and growth as a denomination, as well as to assess how best to use the resources entrusted to us. 

Each church should have received a paper form, with online login information, in the mail last October or November. You may login at https://covdb.covchurch.org/database/login and submit your data online. You may also fill out and mail in the paper form to Covenant Offices.

If you need a new form, or have misplaced your login information, please contact Beatrice Radakovich at beatrice.radakovich@covchurch.org or (773) 907-3354. Your assistance in submitting these reports by March 17, 2016 is greatly appreciated.

To see the full NWC Calendar, visit northwestconference.org/events/

March 11-12, 2016
Women Ministries Renewal Conference - Redeemer Covenant Church, Brooklyn Park, MN
 
April 15-16, 2016
MOVE - Minnehaha Academy, South Campus, Minneapolis, MN
 
April 28-29, 2016
Ministerial Association Annual Meeting - Lakeview Covenant Church + First Covenant Church, Duluth, MN
 
April 29-30, 2016
Northwest Conference Annual Meeting - Lakeview Covenant Church, Duluth, MN

May 7, 2016
Go:Serve - First Covenant Church, St. Paul, MN
 
June 18-25, 2016
Adventures in Leadership - Adventurous Christians, Grand Marais, MN
 
August 4-6, 2016
MUUUCE - Crossroads Church, Woodbury, MN

Northwest Conference, 3106 47th Ave. S.  |  612.721.4893  |  northwestconference.org