Great Lakes Conference Annual Celebration April 19-21, 2012
Theme: Blessed to Be a Blessing: Sent into All the World
Act 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Place: First Covenant Church
1933 Tremont Blvd
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Phone: 616-453-6346
Schedule
Friday, April 20, 2012
8:30-5:00pm GLC Annual Celebration Registration
1:00pm-2:15pm Workshops
2:30-3:45pm Workshops
5:30pm-6:30pm Banquet
6:30pm Award Presentations
7:30pm-9:00pm Worship
Saturday, April 21, 2012
7:00am-8:00am GLC Annual Celebration Registration
8:00am-1:00pm GLC Business Meeting/Annual Meeting
1:00pm Boxed Lunch
Workshops
Covenant World Mission 101
Led by Curt Peterson, Executive Minister of Covenant World Mission
Covenant World Missionhas more than one hundred twenty-five long-term, project and short-term missionaries working in a wide variety of vocations in twenty-three countries around the globe. We have an additional fifteen partnerships with sister churches and international ministries. The department currently is partnering with:
¨churches and international ministries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America;
¨hundreds of Covenant churches throughout the U.S. and Canada working together to proclaim the gospel internationally and in their local communities;
¨local churches connecting mission teams with projects around the world; and
¨Covenant people from around the world joining together to pray, celebrate, and work together in response to the movement of God.
Short-term Mission Trips - from Prep to Follow-up
Led by Karen Hallberg, Director of Mission Mobilization and Connection for Covenant World Mission
When it is time for you, your church, or your small group to engage in God’s work around the world in a more personal way, what is your next step? How do you prepare a team to serve in a cross-cultural setting? What does team-building and personal discipleship have to do with short-term mission trips? Karen Hallberg, Director of Mission Moblization & Connection for CWM, will walk through the "how-to's" of short-term mission trips to help you and your local church prepare for long-term impact.
ACloser Look at Human Trafficking Globally and Locally & How to be a Civilian First Responder
Led by Julie Redmer, Women at Risk, International
This workshop will speak to the issue of how womenbecome trafficking victims in particular regions around the world, including here in theU.S. Also information specific to trafficking in the Great Lakes Conference will also be sharedalong with practical tips for identifying, engaging and reporting possibletrafficking victims you may encounter in your personal or professional life.
Teaching the Word, Reaching the World, in Dearborn Through ESL (English as a Second Language)
Placed providentially in the heartland of Islam in America, Dearborn Covenant Church reaches out not only to their Arab Americans neighbors but also to a variety of ethnicities that call Dearborn home. They have witnessed new birth and have seen the mighty power of God renewing individuals and communities even in the midst of great cultural diversity by keeping God’s Word front and center. Using the Bible as the foundational text for their English as a Second Language program the people of Dearborn Covenant Church are “setting forth the truth plainly, commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” As the students learn and practice English, they are taking in not only God’s Word but God’s love through His people. Now some of the students are looking to Dearborn Covenant Church to help them with language programs in their home countries and communities that will share not only language but Christ.
Come to the workshop and hear about this ESL program as well as hear the transformational stories of a few of the new believers at Dearborn Covenant Church.
"I Will Not Leave You as Orphans....." Global Orphan Care
Led by Dawn Choate, Executive Director, Healing Orphans and member of Four Rivers Church, Paducah, KY
Throughout the Scriptures, we are urged to care for orphans.James 1:27states, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look afterorphans and widows in their distress..." (NIV)
This workshop will address the unique needs of children around the world who have been abandoned, neglected, or institutionalized and how the Body of Christ can best address those needs through holistic care, community development, and strategic partnerships. We will also discuss why orphan care is often strategic to a larger missional goal. You will leave with a deeper understanding of why we areallcalled to care for the orphan, and steps to help individuals, churches, and organizations get involved in caring for "the least of these".
BREAKING THE CHAINS: How You Can Free the Largest Group of Slaves on Planet Earth—and How It Will Change You and Your Community
Led by Noel & Kyle Bechetti, Truth Seekers International
With all of the focus on illegal human trafficking, we may not be aware that there is a legal slave system operating right now…and tens of millions of people are caught in its grip. It’s called the Caste System, and is alive and well in India.
The good news is that the Good News is beginning to break the chains of the Caste System in India. Sunil Sardar and the Truthseekers International movement is bringing the truth of the Gospel to bear against this system of oppression. And there is good news for you as well:
1.You can help to break the chains of the slaves of India
2.What you learn will change your life and the life of your community
In this fast-paced, interactive workshop, you’ll learn the story of the Truthseekers movement in India. You’ll hear how the Gospel has been effectively contextualized to reach India’s low-caste Hindus, how that Gospel is changing them, both individually and collectively, and how that change is impacting the nation of India. You’ll also hear how you can play a crucial part in bringing this Gospel to India’s lower-caste Hindus…as you become Jesus’ hands and feet—literally—washing the feet of India’s oppressed men, women, and children in Jesus’ name.
To see/download the GLC Annual Celebration Brochure or to register on-line go to
GLC Ministerial Association Meeting & Continuing Education
Thursday, April 19, 2012
2:00pm-5:00pm Ministerial AssociationMeeting
6:00pm Minister’s Dinner
7:30pm-9:00pm Minister’s Worship Service
Friday, April 20, 2012
9:00am-12:45pm Minister’s Continuing Ed. & Lunch
Continuing Education Presentation: The Church Must do Justice! How Can the Church DO Justice?
What happens when the local church tackles the nitty-gritty of doing justice? What are the fundamentals involved? What are the pitfalls? What obstacles are we virtually certain to face? What does “success” look like? How can we persevere in what could be the most controversial aspect of our ministry?
We intend to present the work of Truthseekers International as a case study, hoping to use TSI’s experiences as a springboard to help us frame how we might tackle the justice issues that God has put in our midst. We want this to be an interactive experience that has us all offering our perspectives, experiences, and ideas. TSI is young, a justice-centered ministry, founded and led by Indian nationals, developing, and learning…and discovering principles for how justice can be done that we believe are transferable for Christ followers and churches anywhere, including here in the West.
Presenters:Noel and Kyle Becchetti - Truthseekers International
To see/download the registration and information form for the GLC Ministerial Association Meeting and Continuing Education go to:
Women Ministries Annual Spring Celebration
When: Friday April 20, 2012 at 9:00 AM
Where: Covenant Village of the Great Lakes
2510 Lake Michigan Dr. NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
What:
- Seminars
AVA (Advocate for Victims of Abuse) presented by Tina Hooper
Ministry Coaching- Presented by Phyllis Van - Business Meeting
You will learn about Fall Retreats at Mission Meadows and Portage Lake, Special Interest Missionaries, Triennial, Our Projects and the Budget. - Speaker
Anny Donewald, founder of Eve’s Angel’s has a ministry in Detroit, Chicago and Grand Rapids working with women in strip clubs and showing them that Jesus loves them. - Lunch
- Open Mike Discussion
To see/download the registration and information form for the GLC Women Ministries Annual Spring Celebration go to: