Leadership Conference, Day 1

In addition to an opening devotion and an evening worship service, Day 1 consisted of 3 plenary presentations. Below is a just a glimpse.

Serving together: A closer look at the relationship between Lay People & Called Workers | Mr. John Tappe &  Pastor Joel Heckendorf

Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. — William Arthur Ward

Write down a name of a person you trust and why. Seriously, think about this. 

Who is someone you don’t trust? Why?

Food for thought: How can the pastor build trust with the people of the church? How can the people of the church build trust with the pastor? Two answers: embrace being vulnerable and be an encourager.

So, you who are reading this: 

In what way can you build trust with someone this week?

Whom can you encourage?

FINDING OUR VOICE | Pastor Jonathan Schroeder

The people weren’t able to live in their home. They were in a strange place, among people who didn’t believe the same things they did, didn’t live the same way, under rulers who didn’t have their best in mind. The people from Jerusalem were now in Babylon. And God said to them through Jeremiah the prophet:

4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

In a sense, Christians today are in the same situation. We don’t live in a “Christian” nation. We’re not in our forever home. 

But we are here. 

And just as God made Jeremiah his voice to the people of Israel, and he made the people from Jerusalem his voice to the people of Babylon, he has made you his voice to the people of Rock Hill, or Tega Cay, or Fort Mill, or Lancaster, or York, or wherever you live. To the people on your street.

So embrace your neighbors. Your community. Your town. Seek the peace and prosperity of the place in which you live, no matter what it’s like. 

Be God’s voice in your world.. 

Better Together: Men & Women Embracing Interdependence in Ministry | Mrs. Jenn Nobui & Pastor Kurt Wetzel

Men and women are both:

    • created in God’s image

    • equally sinful

    • equally loved by God and restored in Christ.

    • have complementary, interdependent roles that bless us as we live as Christian siblings

    • have God-given gifts that are to be utilized to bless others in the home, church, and world.

Men & Women are unique and different, and are both well-equipped to serve their Lord. Embrace that fact!

Pastor Nathan

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