Hi from the Bozeman, Montana! The Evangelical Church Denomination is starting on Day 2 of our General Conference. Six Conferences from across the country are meeting together for the business of prayer and planning, and inspiration. It’s great to see old friends and meet new ones! Please be praying for our time together and the decisions that are made.

LET’S TALK

Here are few comments made by various people sharing at General Conference (so far):

“Gen Con is a business meeting, but it is also a special time to focus on our heritage, our mission, and a leading of the Holy Spirit. We want to worship, pray, and seek the Lord’s face together.” General Supt. Jay Forseth

“Welcome to the new probationers — You don’t know jack. Put your ears on and learn.” Gen. Supt. Jay Forseth

“More people are coming to Christ worldwide than at any other time in history. More churches are being planted. So we need shepherds trained to rightly divide the word of truth.… Our goal is to raise up more missionaries. The days of sending missionaries are not over. That’s an important part of what we do as evangelicals. It’s such a representation of Christ.” -” Supt. Russ Couwenhoven.

“You can’t keep running the same old plays.” Mike Gammill (Auxanna)

““My dreams used to be in technicolor. Now they are in OLED.” Steve Strutz

“We are spiritually poor. We cannot be good enough; we can’t work harder. We need help outside ourselves, and Jesus promises He will be that guy. …We are prisoners of war, and Jesus came to proclaim liberty, which means we can return home and come back to our Father.” Supt. Corey Engel

“No matter who you are, what you are, where you are —Jesus died for you… that is radically Good News.” Supt. Doug Gilmore

“Let’s learn to trust the gospel because it will do its work…Whether it’s our ways or customs that get in the road, our weaknesses and shortcomings, or the systems of power that cover our earth, none of them can withstand the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Derry Long

“When we remember where we’ve come from, it helps us realize how good the Good News is.” Supt. Cory Engle

“Oh God, help! Give us Your heart. Give us more faith. Give us more favor. Give us more souls.” Supt. Russ Couwenhoven

“We are at a crossroads…This will be the last Gen Con as we know it.” Gen. Supt. Forseth

“5-10% of our energy should be given to change.” Mike Gammill (Auxanna)

“God asked us to be faithful and that’s what we tried to do; just to love people wherever He planted us and allow God to build His church.” David Kochendorfer

“I hear the theme is: We don’t know Jack. We’re trying to train people so that they know more than Jack” – Oklahoma Wesleyan University Representative

“Making disciples and walking in holiness are our markers as the Evangelical Church.” Gen. Supt. Forseth

BEFORE YOU GO

Just to catch you up, it now looks like four of the six conferences will join the Missionary Church. Also, our Evangelical missionaries are in merger conversations with World partners (The Missionary Church Missions). This leaves the Western Conference and us, the Pacific Conference, still deciding on the Missionary Church. Our two conferences are discussing our next steps together as the Evangelical Church. What are your thoughts about the future of our Denomination?