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The Missional Café is a gathering of missional leaders in the CRC & RCA. We are meeting at Christ Community Church (13400 Bell Road, Lemont, IL) on October 17, 2015 from 9 AM – 3 PM. LUNCH will be provided. The goal of this event is to gather missional leaders in the Chicagoland (including Northwest Indiana) region to spark momentum for church planting and church transformation.
The Missional Café is an intentionally designed time for people to engage in conversation with other leaders by gathering passionate missional leaders who are committed to leading churches that are gospel-centered, grow evangelistically and engage and impact their communities in redemptive ways. We want to help with discipleship, evangelism and initiative for churches. You will have plenty to take back to your church!
Dr. Soong-Chan Rah will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Rah is associate professor of church growth and evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. The American church is at a crossroads. Like the early church in Acts 15, we are faced with the challenge of prioritizing the gospel message over our own culture. Dr. Rah will talk about today’s culture and the current realities facing our churches. Dr. Rah spoke at a conference of RCA leaders in Phoenix in January of this year and also at General Synod in June.
2016 Wisconsin Council of Churches Winter Forum: 20/20 Vision to Mend the Gaps
A Pastoral & Political Challenge with Sister Simone Campbell. Sr. Simone will bring a hopeful, visionary message to the 2016 Winter Forum as she addresses what it means to be a prophetic witness to the Gospel in today’s political environment, both for individual Christians and for congregations.
February 26 – 27, 2016
Bethlehem Lutheran Church
W8267 Highway 33 East, Portage
Sister Simone Campbell has served as Executive Director of NETWORK since 2004. She is a religious leader, attorney and poet with extensive experience in public policy and advocacy for systemic change. In Washington, she lobbies on issues of peace-building, immigration reform, healthcare and economic justice. Around the country, she is a noted speaker and educator on these public policy issues.
She has led three cross-country Nuns on the Bus trips, focused on economic justice, comprehensive immigration reform, and (most recently) voter turnout.
She has received numerous awards, including a “Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award” and the “Defender of Democracy Award” from the international Parliamentarians for Global Action. In addition, she has been the keynote or featured speaker at numerous large gatherings.
Early bird registration (includes Friday night dinner and Saturday lunch): $150. After February 1, 2015: $175. Other meals and lodging are not included and must be arranged separately.
http://www.wichurches.org/calendar/2014-winter-forum/
The Newest Issue of the RCA Today with stories from our region can be viewed HERE.
The RSMA Salary Schedule, Rules, and Guidelines have been published and are available for your information HERE. Each classis sets its own guidelines, using ours as a recommendation.
Members of RCA churches are encouraged to serve on different commissions within the denomination. To be eligible, you need to have filled out a Profile form. The Profile form is available on the RCA website at http://www.rca.org/profile. (Also available at that address is a document entitled Commissions and Agencies Descriptions which contains brief descriptions of the various RCA commissions, agencies, and boards.) To guarantee consideration in this year’s process, the form should be submitted by November 27, 2015. This will provide adequate time to prepare materials for consideration at the Commission on Nomination’s January meeting.
News from Camp Manitoqua
Camp Manitoqua & Retreat Center is now hiring cooks, kitchen assistants and part-time housekeeping staff. Cooks must have food service experience; sanitation license preferred. Call 815-469-2319 for an application or contact salli@manitoqua.org for kitchen positions and don@manitoqua.org for housekeeping.
Storm the base, capture the flag, and win the game! Camp Manitoqua and Retreat Center invites you out to one of the most epic days of paintball you will ever experience on October 24 from 10am – 4pm! Come play a full day of paintball on our wooded course. Space is limited; registration processed on first come first serve basis. Cost is $36 (includes gun and mask rental, 1000 paintballs, and a box lunch). Register online at www.manitoqua.org/events by RSVP by October 19. Ages: 7th grade and older. Questions: call the office at 815. 469.2319.
Camp Manitoqua & Retreat Center’s fall retreat season has begun. At this time, we are offering groups a 15% discount on any retreat booked for December 2015 or January 2016. Please contact Ken at 815.469.2319, or at ken@manitoqua.org for availability.
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October Schedule
12: Travel Day
13: Wisconsin Classis Meeting/Emmanuel Reformed Church/Waupun, WI; Meeting/Beecher, IL
14: Meeting/Cedar Lake, IN; Coaching
15: Travel to Florida for Meetings in Venice, FL
16: Consistory/Quarterly Goal Evaluation/Reformed Community Church/Venice, FL
17: Missional Cafe/Christ Community Church/Lemont, IL
18: Sunday Worship
19: KEZ Conference Call
20: Illinois Classis Meeting/Community Reformed Church/Clinton, IA
21: Coaching; Conference Call
22: Faithwalking 202 Leadership Course Google Hangout
22-24: GSC Meetings/Grand Rapids, MI
25: Travel Day for Meetings in Orlando/Korean Choong Hyun Church of Orlando
Wayne’s contact information:
10088 Prairie Knoll Ct.
St. John, IN 46373
Mobile: (941) 302-1281
Email: wregen@rsmam.org |
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| The following are some links you may find helpful…
Community Matters: Resourcing Transformational Small Groups – Content is important. Intensely important. Choose the wrong thing for the content and the group can devolve very quickly into something that doesn’t matter. It can become a movie-watching party, a dinner party, a group counseling session—but it won’t be a biblical, transformational group.
Church Revitalization – must begin by recognizing the church’s relationship to the culture in terms of a missionary encounter. In other words, to see that in a post-Christendom context the church once again exists within an alien world. The mission field is no longer located somewhere else; instead it surrounds us on every side. There is no final answer or perfect solution to transitioning the existing, dying church in a healthy direction. But if there was one—a silver bullet—it would be the formation of every church member into a missionary, and the numerous implications that has on the way we think and the way we live.
How to Build a Gospel-Fluent Community – Teaching people is a worthwhile endeavor, but what if we train people to be Gospel-fluent in all that they do? This happens is personal interactions, but also in our Sunday services. How can we bring our Sunday services into alignment with our disciple-making vision and practices?
October Schedule:
12: History and Heritage Day (Columbus Day) – Office Closed
13: Wisconsin Classis/Emmanuel Reformed Church, Waupun, WI
14: Office
15: Meeting/DeMotte, IN
16: Vacation
19: Office
20: Illinois Classis/Community Reformed Church, Clinton, IA
21: Clergy Peer Community Conference/Techny, IL
22: Clergy Peer Community Conference/Techny, IL
23: Vacation
Chad’s Contact Information:
2104 Campbell Street
Valparaiso, IN 46383
Office: (815) 464-9181
Mobile: (765) 237-7678
Email: chad@rsmam.org |
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| Ben Ingebretson has been facilitating the church planting movement since 2013.
Ben’s Contact Information:
765 Eastridge Dr. NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
Mobile: (616) 481-7566
Email: beningebretson@gmail.com |
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