CONNECTIONS
News from Converge
MidAtlantic
June 2008
- Vol 2, Issue 2 |
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| Greetings! |
Thanks for your interest and partnership
in
Converge MidAtlantic. May God richly
bless you in
your ministry as the summer season unfolds.
In
Christ,
Dan
Peterson
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LEAD Teams Alive and
Well
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 LEAD Teams are alive and well across our
District Conference! They continue to serve as a key
part of our District strategy for missional expansion and for
providing spiritual community for leaders in our
movement. Seven LEAD Teams are currently meeting
quarterly across our Mid Atlantic region. Each team
engages in a learn, encourage, achieve, and dream component
over a 24 hour period of time. Each of our teams are
seeking to plant at least 1 new church in their area each
year, and also help to mobilize at least 1 already established
church in their area each year.
God is
moving through these teams in powerful ways! Our NC/VA
Team led by Bill Finley and Michael Henderson is involved in
helping to deploy 3 new church planters in this year
alone! Coaches have been trained and each church is
playing a key part in the movement of church planting!
Churches in our Central OH team are also engaged in helping to
start up 3 new churches in their area! Recently, our NE
OH team engaged in strategic training in the area of
mobilization; resourcing one another for increased
effectiveness. Pastor Dave Skelton skillfully shared the
journey of renewal and revitalization that he has led his
church through over the past 3 years. Team members
listened with eager ears and minds, considering how their
ministries can be re-mobilized as well!
Many of these
LEAD Teams have also become a true "band of brothers", in
which team members provide strong spiritual and personal
support for one another through the ups and downs of ministry
and leadership. One team member recently shared, "I
don't know how I would have made it without the strong support
from other members from my LEAD Team". I've personally
seen how pastors have fervently prayed for one other, and I've
seen God provide miraculous answers that have strengthened the
personal, emotional and spiritual fiber of many pastors and
church planters. Ministry spouses are also finding
strong support through LEADNet teams and the relationships
they spawn.
For those who have not become involved in a
LEAD Team in your area, contact Dan or Gary at the Mid
Atlantic office. These teams are truly vital to helping
us stay connected and to igniting a movement of the Holy
Spirit that will transform hearts and communities for
Christ. For those who are involved, please stay
connected with your team this summer. God will bless and
honor your commitment in powerful ways!
For the
movement,
Dan
Peterson
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| Four
New Church Plants |
In early
June, Michael and Joanna Johnson were called to serve as
Converge MidAtlantic church planters to urban Charlotte,
NC. The Johnson family has been living in Charlotte for
the past 2 years, originally coming to this area from
Minneapolis, MN. Michael and Joanna have 5 children, and
are excited to join our Converge church planting movement in
reaching the young urban community in Charlotte. Pray
for this family as they raise their support and develop a
launch team in the months ahead.
 Earlier
this year (April 08), Tommie Carter was called to serve as
Church Planting Intern with Berean Baptist in Mansfield,
OH. Tommie will be partnering with Berean and with
Converge to plant a multi cultural ministry in the urban area
of Mansfield. Already a launch team of 20-25 adults has
been assembled, and plans are in place for Spirit and Truth
Christian Center to publicly launch later this
fall.
 This fall,
New Hope Church of Loudonville, OH will be opening up its 3rd
campus in the city of Ashland, OH. Lead Pastor, Charles
Hill is meeting with the launch team for this ministry and at
least 40 people are already on board! Be watching and
praying for this campus extension outreach of our Loudonville
Church. Praise God for a church with a great vision for
people!
Stanley and Mamie Byrd are in the launch team
gathering stage in Raleigh, NC, and are excited to be
connecting up with Converge MidAtlantic as well. Stan
most recently pastored in the Washington D.C. area, and is
being coached by Pastor John Jenkins of First Baptist,
Glenarden. Be in prayer for this gifted couple as they
reach out to friends, family, and the lost community in and
around Garner,
NC.
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| Branding and a New Missional Name: An Update
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As most
of you know by now, our District voted at our recent Annual
Conference to affirm a change of name for our District to
Converge Mid Atlantic. This is all a part of an effort
led our BGC President, Jerry Sheveland and National leadership
team, to adopt a new missional name (Converge Worldwide) which
will better align our name with who we are and with what we
are about as a movement of churches. During this coming
year of transition, we will begin to use this new name in
print, media, on our website, and in our spoken messages, and
we will seek to work together to fill it with the meaning that
will be most helpful to broaden ownership and commitment to
our movement as a network of churches.
Your help in
this process is valued as well! We'd love to have
leaders in our movement email or call us with ideas, words,
and any suggestions that you think may be helpful in
explaining Converge to our churches and our people. Yes,
we have ideas which we will be sharing with you in the months
ahead. But, your suggestions would be greatly valued as
well. One such idea is the idea that a big part of what
Converge is and does is to connect leaders and churches
together to ignite a Spirit led movement in order to transform
hearts and communities for Jesus Christ. In this sense,
our name is in alignment with what God was doing in the Book
of Acts when people came together, and the Holy Spirit moved
in their midst, and then sent them out to live in and for the
risen Christ. That's what we've always been about, and
its what we're passionate about in this changing and broken
world.
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| Upcoming Events and Opportunities |
October 14-15, 2008 - Next
Steps Conference at Grace Point Church, Newtown, PA. Next
Steps is for church planting leaders that are one year beyond
their launch and pastors and leaders who want to lead their
church to the next level of effectiveness.
October 25, 2008 - Celebrate
Love Lift Ukraine, at First Bapitst Church, New Castle, PA.
This great event is for anyone interested in learning more
about our Ukraine connection and about how you or your church
can become more involved.
April 30-May 1, 2009 - Our
2009 Converge MidAtlantic Annual Leadership Conference at the
Pittsburgh Airport Marriott Hotel. Put these dates on
your calendar now!
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| Prayer
for the Shevelands |
As
most of you know, Dawn Sheveland, wife of Jerry Sheveland,
president of Baptist General Conference, passed away Friday
night, June 6 from pancreatic cancer. Please be in prayer for
Dr. Sheveland and his family during this time of loss. Our
hearts are grieving and also trusting in God's strength and
provisions. |
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| Thank You
for your prayers and your partnership in the work of Christ
through our Converge MidAtlantic ministry. The
involvement of so many in praying, in leading, in giving, and
in caring and serving is what makes this movement of churches
alive and growing for Christ. Our Overseers, Executive Staff,
and support staff, all say thank you for the privilege of
serving Jesus together with you. You remain in our prayers and
thoughts consistently.
Yours in Christ,
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Dan Peterson
Executive Minister, Converge
MidAtlantic
Converge
MidAtlantic
20 E. McKinley Way,
Poland, Ohio 44514 · 330-757-7970 ·
bgcmideast.com
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