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About 200 church leaders from as far away as Manitoba and the state of Washington enjoyed the two days of information and inspiration. Each participant came from a unique context and brought a unique set of needs and expectations. For me at this time, inspiration was the greater need. That need was wonderfully met, as God used the worship times led by associate pastor Wayne Loewen, and the mainframe messages by senior pastor Vern Heidebrecht.
Heidebrecht began by suggesting that a vital, growing relationship with God should be the starting point for the conference and the foundation for effective leadership. In his first session, he talked about the various ways in which God speaks to us (through the Bible, teachers, pain, the Holy Spirit) and how we can learn to receive personal direction from God. It was suggested that four steps--withdrawing, waiting, watching and worshipping--were vital in hearing God's voice in our lives.
From this beginning, Heidebrecht went on to talk about things such as "What can we do to assure that our church is a place where real needs are met and genuine growth is sustained?" In this session, the importance of vision, a mission statement and core values were discussed.
The next mainframe centred on identification of the church's target audience and strategizing to effectively meet the needs of that audience.
The concluding session dealt with the issue of ministering out of brokenness. The conclusion was that it is only as we acknowledge and even embrace our weaknesses and frailties that God can use us to the fullest extent. This is a hard, but vital lesson.
The workshops and discussion times offered a lot of practical information. Topics included "How to develop a dynamic vision for your church", "Recruiting and training of volunteers" and "Effective ministry to children and teens".
It struck me that we sometimes have the mindset that a person's expertise is directly proportionate to the distance from which we bring him. That thought may also have occurred to some in the Abbotsford area when they saw that all the input was presented by the Northview staff. However, a combination of thorough preparation and an attitude of "We're learning with you" gave the presenters a solid platform from which to speak. We, the attendees, felt drawn into the team while gleaning heaps of useful insights and information.
A community like Abbotsford, with more than a dozen Mennonite Brethren churches (besides all the other denominations), could easily be a hotbed for a spirit of competition among the churches. Events such as this leadership conference are important ingredients in uniting the various local congregations of the Body of Christ into a dynamic force that will have a transforming effect on our communities.
Most of the pastoral staff of our church were able to take in this conference. It was great to be there as a group, and to be able to support our sister church.
"On Line With God's Website" reminded us that while we live and minister in the late '90s and our message needs to be understood by this generation, our message must continue to be "The old, old story of Jesus and His love".
Dave Harder
Dave Harder is an associate pastor at Central Heights MB Church in Abbotsford, B.C.
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