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Joel Christenson / Lutheran Brethren Seminary
Can we make the REACH conference an annual gathering for our LB family of churches? REACH fills a training, equipping and convening gap in our wider church body that no other regularly scheduled event is currently able to fill. Here’s why.
Our First REACH Conference
Brandon Pangman / North American Mission
REACH wrapped up on Sunday, September 20. It was a powerful weekend of believers coming together to become better and more comfortable in an uncomfortable calling.
REACH Conference Reflection
Jordan Spina | North American Mission
A conference cannot do anything… but Jesus can. This weekend God stirred the affections of many for their neighbors. He reminded us that what we need is not a love for something of this world but a love for those God loves.
CLB History of North American Mission
In 1954, delegates at the annual convention in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, approved a landmark constitutional amendment that dissolved the long-standing CLB Mission Board and replaced it with two new independent boards: a Board of Foreign Missions and a Board of Home Missions.
The Journey to Disciple Making
North American Mission has a history of coming alongside churches and assisting to lead our denomination in three ministry areas: youth and young adults, church planting, and church vitality.
A Legacy of Disciple Making
I’ve been involved with leading weekly Sunday worship gatherings in some capacity since 2007. But my calling to worship ministry began about three years before that, when I was thirteen years old.
Investing in Young Adults
As the Church of the Lutheran Brethren, we are committed to being a disciple-making movement. A vital part of that mission is developing and equipping the next generation to not only be part of the Church, but to take ownership within it.
Rooted Ministry Update
The Rooted Gap Year program is quickly coming to the close of its second year, and it’s an interesting time, living in three different years. We pour our hearts into this year’s students; we interact with the students who inquire about next year; and finally, we stay connected with last year’s students, hearing how God is continuing to grow and shape them.
God’s Faithfulness in Lincoln, ND
The Rooted Gap Year program is quickly coming to the close of its second year, and it’s an interesting time, living in three different years. We pour our hearts into this year’s students; we interact with the students who inquire about next year; and finally, we stay connected with last year’s students, hearing how God is continuing to grow and shape them.
Japanese Ministry Partnership
The diverse experiences of our community of foreigners mirror what many missionaries will experience abroad―especially those going to Japan. They will forever be foreigners in that land. And many of the people in our church know, in their own ways, what that’s like.
Our Plans vs. God’s Plans
This past June, our Grace Hill team began planning for public worship services. In East Boston, buildings with enough public space to host a service are few and far between.
Youth Ministry Curriculum
While many of us might prefer to write the studies ourselves, there are likely times when we use purchased or borrowed curriculum instead. One of the frequent questions I get when speaking to youth workers on the phone is “is there any curriculum that you would recommend?”
God Is at Work in Red Deer
We had heard about how God was at work in Red Deer, and we wanted to see it for ourselves. We also wanted to be part of what God is doing, but we did not know how that might happen.
Church Planting & Childlike Faith
This past July, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a church plant, The River, in Red Deer, Alberta, with a group of people from my home church, Good Shepherd, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. God softened my heart through these children and opened my eyes to see what childlike faith looks like.
I Didn’t Want to Go, But Then I Did
Of the 6,000 people at Exponential, 100 came from our denomination. We were there to learn, to be equipped, and to step more fully into this mission we’ve been given together…What a beautiful sight: generations of leaders making a difference. Ready to go.
Rooted is Making a Difference!
Later that day I left for the airport, thinking to myself, and now sharing with you, “Rooted is more than great; it’s special.”
From One Generation to the Next
Throughout history God’s spokespeople have proclaimed the works of God in order that his chosen would continue to place their trust in him. Our own history, both distant and recent, is set on a biblical foundation that calls for the activity of one generation to influence another for the furtherance of faith development.
The Gospel’s Glory in Every Generation
It’s beautiful to see a congregation sharing and celebrating the gospel across generations! A family who adopts an older couple with no kids as “grandparents,” gives the couple and their kids the opportunity to do life together. Families who welcome college students and newcomers to the community, give them a place to belong.
Jesus: God with Skin On
But Christmas is also a time for reflection on what Jesus actually did, in giving up his heavenly throne and becoming human: Jesus was God “with skin on!” As his kinfolk, can we follow his example in this season? Where do we see incarnational ministry―God’s love with skin on?
Rooted Gap-Year Begins
The Rooted Gap Year program is off and running and I couldn’t be more thankful for the way things have started. We have eight incredible young adults from all over the country who have come to be discipled, to live in community, and to serve the Lord.