Dear CNC Pastors and Friends,
Converge North Central partners with influential leaders to help their churches move forward. The reality is we can go farther and be better when we work together. So we partner to build healthy leaders and congregations so they can more effectively share the gospel.
Whether it’s getting started or facing a transition, dealing with an unexpected crisis or getting ready for the next step, we’ve got a wealth of resources and a network of connections to help pastors and churches be better. If you are unaware, here are way we serve the local church.
STARTING CHURCHES
- Church plant startup funds – yes, we give out money
- Church planters assessment center – helping leaders discern their calling
- Coaching – relationships with other pastors matters
- Business resources – 501c3 status and constitutions/bylaws create clarity
- Scholarships assistance – discounted financial help at Trout’s family camp is a blessing
STRENGTHENING CHURCHES
- Board development curriculum – equipping church leaders with essential skills for growth
- Ordination – shepherding the process of welcoming in new pastors into ministry
- Pastoral placement – Chemistry Staffing is a great resource for finding new lead pastors
- Interim leadership – our network helps provide teaching pastors during transitions
- Youth leadership network – there’s nothing better than staying connected with others in ministry
- Financial stewardship – educating pastors and church goers on Who Will Inherit The Mess
- Help hotline – resourcing pastors and churches through the storm
- Expanding churches – when your church needs a loan look to Wesleyan Investment Foundation
- Regional team networks – building stronger connections between local pastors
- Partnerships – Eagle Brook Association and Bethel University help develop leaders in very unique ways
SENDING
- Converge International Missions – helping churches develop mission strategies
- 2:10 Focus – team based, local church process to reach the world
- The Timothy Initiative – a rapid church planting movement around the world
TROUT LAKE CAMPS
- Reaching the next generation for Jesus all while having the best week of the summer!
- Safe, Fun, Gospel
By bringing all the ideas and expertise to the table, we can help churches go farther. Let’s get together and see how we can expand God’s kingdom.
In Christ,
Wick,
Interim Regional President
It’s always hard to believe summer is winding down. Here are a few things you need to know:
- Summer impact: A pastor recently shared that they were doing baptisms and he asked a fourth grader why she wanted to get baptized: “She said because at Trout she put her trust in Jesus and wants to tell the world she is following him!” That’s why we’re here!
- Fall retreats: In the midst of a busy fall season, sometimes you need a break. We’ve got retreats for youth and families, plus our annual women’s retreat. Now is the time to book these weekends and share the events with your families.
- Trout & Bethel: Wear your favorite Trout swag to the Bethel football game on Saturday, Sept. 13 and reconnect with Trout and Bethel alums. High school students can take a tour before the game and get a free stadium meal coupon. Plus free T-shirts and gear while they last, inflatables for the kids, and a mascot competition at halftime.
Thank You
We appreciated your continued support and partnership.
What I Saw at the Church Planter’s Assessment Center
(and why it’s not just for church planters!)
A few weeks ago, I attended a Converge Church Planters Assessment Center. CNC had two candidate couples being assessed, and they did well. Hopefully, we’ll have more of their stories to tell in a few months.
When I attend as an assessor, I’m often given the responsibility of leading one of the “preaching rooms.” In this exercise, each candidate preaches a 10-minute mini-sermon, followed by 10 minutes where they share their call to ministry—specifically, to church planting. The final part of the presentation is a time for assessors to ask questions of the candidate.
When I lead a preaching room, I like to arrive early to make sure it’s set up and ready. On this occasion, some of the rows of tables and chairs were tight, so I spread them out a bit. There was an extra table in the front where the speaker would stand, but it was too low to use as a podium. In the corner, I noticed a lectern, so I grabbed it and moved it to the front of the room.
On top of the lectern was a small sticker.
My first thought was, “What a cool thing to have on a lectern.” That quickly shifted to, “What a powerful reminder for every person who stands here to teach or preach.”
The phrase on the sticker comes from Isaiah 55:11. In context, God says His Word is like rain and snow that water the earth and cause it to bear fruit. It’s His promise that the Word He sends out will accomplish exactly what He intends. His Word is powerful—not empty. It will not return void.
When all the candidates were in the room, I told them about the sticker and reminded them that even though they were about to embark on an assessment exercise, they were sharing the Word of God with the assurance that it will not return void.
And that’s the same encouragement I have for you.
When you share the Word of God, whether it be from a platform on a Sunday, in a circle of chairs in someone’s home, or leaning over the bedside of a friend, it will not return void.
In a suit and tie or a T-shirt and jeans, it will not return void.
A teaching style that is expository or topical, it will not return void.
Whether your convictions lean cessationist or charismatic, it will not return void.
Speaking to 20 or 2,000, it will not return void.
Egalitarian, complementarian, or somewhere in between, it will not return void.
Pastor-led or elder-led, it will not return void. Reading from the NIV or the ESV, it will not return void.
If you sing hymns or choruses, it will not return void.
The promise does not depend on the style, the setting, or the size of the crowd. It depends on the God who says His Word will accomplish what He sent it to do.
Here’s a thought. Go order some stickers like the one I saw on the lectern. Or, let me save you a step. Click here to order a couple and put them where ever you need to serve as reminder of God’s faithful promise.
Joel
Looking for the Simple in the Complex
“There’s a simplicity beyond the complexity which is the power of Jesus Christ.”
I’m not sure when I first heard that phrase. It might have been the summer after my sophomore year of college, when I was preparing for a summer missions trip to Japan. I just know it was a long time ago—and that I’ve revisited the thought many times over the years.
Life—and the ministries that are part of our lives—are anything but simple. What’s your schedule look like right now? For many of us, we’re trying to squeeze in the last pieces of summer while already picking up speed for busy family and ministry calendars. We juggle decisions, deadlines, responsibilities, and relationships, each with its own web of details. In ministry, we strive to bring relevance, thoroughness, freshness, and impact to everything we lead.
It can all feel complicated.
Consider the Apostle Paul. He was bright, driven, and eager to bring clarity to those he taught. He understood complexity. Yet he wrote, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). All that he knew, hoped to accomplish, and wanted to share was distilled into one clear truth.
Jesus put it another way when He told Martha—flustered, worried, and pulled in many directions—that “only one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:42). Martha was tangled in the complexities of many things. Mary chose the one thing. The simple thing. To sit at His feet.
That’s the simplicity beyond the complexity.
I think one reason this phrase has stayed with me for decades is because I’m constantly reminded of its truth. And too often, those reminders come when I’ve gotten lost in the complex—and need to be drawn back to where the real power lies.
Three recent reminders
1. A conversation with a pastor friend
Not long ago, a pastor friend shared some of his hopes and dreams for his next season of ministry. They weren’t flashy—just basic personal growth goals, ministry initiatives, discipleship plans, and ways to serve his community. Honestly, my first reaction was, “That’s pretty plain.” I was hoping for more “wow” factor.
Then the lightbulb came on.
What I thought was plain was actually profound. He wasn’t getting lost in the complicated. He was going back to the foundation—making more and better disciples, being salt and light, and staying rooted in the essentials.
He was living the simplicity beyond the complexity, which is the power of Jesus Christ.
2. A box of Christmas cards
My wife and I (well, mostly my wife) still send Christmas cards every year. A couple of years ago, in a small Tennessee gift shop, I spotted a box of cards and knew instantly—these were it.
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Black ink on white paper. Three lowercase words and a simple sketch. Inside, the same plain black font in a sea of whiteness with just two words: Merry Christmas.
Nothing wrong with ornate fonts, harking angels, cattle lowing, gifts under a tree, or elaborate designs—but I was struck by the simplicity. A reminder not to overcomplicate what is already beautiful: the story of Jesus, born to simple parents in a simple barn, to change the world.
Every December, those cards remind me again—there’s a simplicity beyond the complexity, which is the power of Jesus Christ.
3. A Christmas concert testimony
Over the past few years, my wife and I have made a tradition of attending a Christmas concert by one of our favorite artists. Last year, after a set from some legendary bluegrass musicians, one of the guitarist—Dennis Parker—stayed onstage to share his story.
It was a story of addiction, arrests, homelessness, broken relationships, and finally, redemption. Parker encountered Jesus while incarcerated. His story also includes the persistence of people who refused to give up on him and were used by Jesus.
Following his testimony of running from God, brokenness and finally to redemption, he picked up his guitar and sang his favorite song.
Listen here to Dennis Parker sing it.
A song many of us learned as children, and maybe only hear now when the kids sing it on a Sunday morning. Acoustic guitar, soft accordion in the background. Simple. Yet powerful.
As we ramp up for the fall season—full of hope, plans, and anticipation—let’s remember: there’s a simplicity beyond the complexity, which is the power of Jesus Christ.
What if funding Sunday’s vision was simple?
At WIF, we are your Monday partners who help fund Sunday’s vision. For nearly 80 years, we’ve been providing loans to churches so they can reach their communities for Christ. Whether you’re renovating or building, we’re ready to serve you every step of the way. Learn more about the Wesleyan Investment Foundation.
September 16-18, 2025 Retired Pastors & Missionaries Retreat Trout Lake Camps
October 23-24, 2025 Fix The Finances 2.0 St. Paul, MN
October 29, 2025 Retired Pastors and Missionaries Event at Bethel St. Paul, MN
November 11-13, 2025 S2 West Conference Phoenix, AZ
Lake Sarah Baptist Church Director of Family Life Ministries Slayton, MN (job opening)
Calvary Baptist Church Lead Pastor Madison MN (job opening)
Community of Nations Lead Pastor Roseville MN (job opening)
There is something powerful about praying scripture. May the words from Psalm 63:1-8 provide encouragement to you.
PSALM 63
You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.