Covenant Midwinter in Denver
At the end of January I participated in the ECC’s Midwinter conference in Denver, Colorado. Over 700 pastors, chaplains, and ministry leaders gathered for four days of worship, prayer, connection and continued learning. During the entire conference our Serve Globally team hosts a booth where people can stop to talk with us about the Covenant’s global engagements and opportunities for their churches to be connected globally. It’s a special time for me to connect with the wider Serve Globally team in person and to work together intensely for the week. They are an amazing group of dedicated people.
One of the highlights for our Serve Globally team was to be given a full morning session to share. We began with sharing an excellent video made by the team. It really gives a picture of the great work happening in so many places and is a joyful glimpse into the global body of Christ serving together.
For the remainder of the session Regional Coordinators representing Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America were invited to share around the theme of discipleship in the global context. We interacted around questions relating to what we’ve seen and learned with an invitation to our ECC colleagues to be continual learners in our contexts of service and from the global church.
At the end of the session we entered into a powerful time of prayer. Each of us went into the audience and our colleagues surrounded us and prayed for us and the regions we represent. We in turn prayed for the Covenant in North America and the call to follow Jesus faithfully where he has placed us. It was truly an experience of feeling united and encouraged in the Holy Spirit. Following the session there were many meaningful conversations and mutual encouragement. Thanks be to God for his faithfulness to inspire, challenge and equip us as we follow Christ.
Panel discussion on discipleship with Regional Coordinators. (Tip Boonrang- Asia, Pia Restrepo- Latin America, Josef Rasheed-Africa, Hannah Baker- Middle East, North Africa, Grace Shim- Executive Minister Serve Globally)
A portion of our Serve Globally team after sharing in the morning session.
Serve Globally hosted several break out lunches where pastors can engage with our staff and learn more about how they can connect with global partnerships.