DAY OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Breakout Sessions
Pastor/Elder
Supporting the Seriously Ill
B.J. Van Kalsbeek
Have you ever struggled with how to help those dealing with major illness? What do you say when one has been given a terminal diagnosis? Ever experienced good intentions actually making the situation worse? Get a hospital chaplain's perspective on how one may best support those dealing with serious illness while gaining an appreciation for these often incredibly authentic ministry encounters.
Caring for Your Pastor
Norm Thomasma
In this session we will explore some obvious and some surprising approaches to caring for your pastor(s). How might “care” encourage and invigorate? How might “care” discourage or confuse? In this session we will explore various facets of caring for your pastor(s) while considering creative and new strategies that some have tried.
The Calling Process
Norm Thomasma
Is calling a pastor mostly a “pray and point” exercise or is it an elaborate process of exploration, consultation, conversation, reference checking, and prayerful selection? In this session we will look at key aspects to the pastoral search process and how they might be adjusted for your congregation and situation.
Maximizing Your Effectiveness
Loren Veldhuizen
In this session we will discuss some planning and organizational practices that will help you as a church leader become more effective and efficient. How do you develop a ministry-focused agenda and empower leadership? We will also dialog about how to effectively chair a council meeting.
Deacon
Outreach and Integration – Bringing Church to Community
Rick Droog
How can we equip ourselves to effectively minister to our churches, communities, and culture in a relevant way? How do we know if the things that we are doing as a church actually make a difference? What are the pressing needs of our community? What could we be doing in your community? In this session we will dialog about the passion and practices of missional churches. We will reflect on some keys to more effective ministry, increased discipleship, more active outreach, and integration.
Stewardship Trends – The New Reality
Rick Droog
There has been much discussion in the nonprofit world about change in the economic environment and its impact on stewardship. Churches, along with all Christian ministries, have exhibited a keen interest in resulting stewardship developments. In this session we will discuss what ways we have experienced changes in the competitive environment for our church in our community. What are some of the ways our church has changed as the times have changed? What does the leadership need to be thinking about and preparing for over the next few years in area of financial stewardship?
Forum: Supporting Those in Financial Distress
Eric Rankin
Panelists from lay leadership and professional experience will participate in an open forum to discuss practical ways that the church can support people who are experiencing financial distress. The panel will discuss the resources available and experiences they have had in dealing with individuals with financial need. We will also discuss how to avoid hurting people who need help. Come to this forum with your questions.
Diversity
God or Allah? Similarities and Differences Between Christianity and Islam
Bill Thornburg
Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity and is growing at a faster rate than any other religion. In the United States, Muslims make up between 0.5 and 2% of the population, and the percentage is growing. We’ll look at some of the basic beliefs and practices of Islam and learn why loving Muslims is biblical.
Hispanics in Our Churches
Dallas Apol
How can churches work effectively with Hispanics to bring them to faith in Jesus Christ and incorporate them into the life of the church?
Youth
Youth Ministry Round Table Discussion
Kandace Brands
Keeping our Youth Engaged in the Church
Lee De Groot
There's good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first? The good news is that the youth of today who are being raised in the church are serious about their religious faith. I've heard it over and over again that they want to be a part of their church. Our youth want to be encouraged and heard. The bad news is that nearly half of our college-aged students are leaving the church that they were once a part of. In this workshop we will discuss ideas that can help parents and leaders keep our youth engaged in the church.
The Coming Revolution in Student Missions
Jerry Meadows
For several decades churches have been sending teenagers out on short-term mission trips hoping this would impact their life and the world in significant ways. Beyond a nominal, short-lived enthusiasm, are we really seeing the transformation that is hoped for? We’ll look at a few primary criticisms of student missions and how God is moving His people to adjust the course of student missions to a broader and deeper level of inclusion.
Church Programming
Music in Worship
Keith Getty
This session will focus on music in a worship setting and is geared toward worship committee members and those responsible for music in local congregations.
To Screen or not to Screen, That is the Question
Karen DeMol
Many churches have overhead screens on which songs, Scripture, and other parts of the liturgy can be projected. The range of uses of such projection technology in worship is dazzling. But not everything that is possible is appropriate; not everything that can be done, should be done. This session will present principles and guidelines, explore the interaction of liturgical and pastoral concerns, and present examples, with time provided for discussion, of ideas and dilemmas.
A Worship Planning Checklist
Tom Wolthuis
This session will give insight on how to practically make sure our worship services are theological, redemptive, Scriptural, cultural, communal, formative, and missional.
More than Memorization: Teaching the Heidelberg Catechism in 2012
Todd Zuidema
You remember sitting in catechism class when you were younger. For many of us, we remember it like we remember taking a spoonful of medicine. It was good for you, but you didn't like it. Now you've been asked to teach catechism and you're the one dishing out the medicine. This session is aimed at giving practical advice about catechetical teaching, suggesting resources, and thinking of new ideas about how to bring the Heidelberg Catechism alive for both students and teachers.
Church Outreach
Are Missionaries Still Needed?
Steve Van Zanen
In many countries the number of Christians has grown dramatically. In recent years non-Western missionaries have also increased. Meanwhile, U.S. church members hunger for a personal engagement in mission. This workshop considers how these changes should impact how North American churches and agencies go about the task of mission in the 21st century.
Enriching Rural Ministry
Jack Gray
Rural ministry is serving Christ in communities of 15,000 residents or fewer in an agricultural region. This is the setting of many who come to the Day of Encouragement. Six factors enrich ministry among those whose mindset is conditioned by agriculture even if their lives are not directly related to farming. We will discuss these together to help us serve one another better in rural/small town churches and communities.
When Helping Hurts
Kurt Rietema
The book When Helping Hurts has recently taken on required reading status for Reformed churches that want to think critically about how to help the poor. Our engagement with vulnerable people and communities demands more than good intentions and a desire to help others. In this session we'll explore how this new paradigm is taking shape in various communities and wrestle with the emotional and theological barriers that prevent some from taking this posture towards the poor.
Personal Growth
Healing 101: Following Jesus the Healer
Tim Vink
Come explore the surprising truth about the life of Jesus on the way to the cross. Good news: he healed multitudes of people from every disease and sickness, in 70 to 80 passages of Scripture. Reliably, predictably, and consistently, he healed them all. Then he started transferring his ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit to ordinary people like you and me. Jesus is our example of effective kingdom ministry to others. We follow him!
Healing 201: Clash of Kingdoms
Tim Vink
Learn some more advanced healing ministry truths as we study the Scripture and find eight places to land biblically when healing doesn't come right away, or at all, with the hands-on ministry we do in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are ambassadors of the already-here-but-not-yet-fully-here kingdom of God. And there is a spiritual war being waged with people caught in the middle as both the battleground and the prize.
Healing 301: Deliverance Ministry
Tim Vink
About 25 percent of the time when Jesus heals a person in the Bible he has to drive out an evil spirit to see that result. What does that imply for our healing ministry today? How do we grow in effectiveness for our Ephesians 6 battle with all kinds of fallen angelic beings? Let me share from 25 years of deliverance ministry experience some cues and clues for more victories.
Healing 401: Activation and Empowerment in Healing Ministry
Tim Vink
The point of being equipped for ministry (as we see in Ephesians 4:11) is for the sake of others you will directly minister to. We want to be “doers” of the Word and not hearers only. This session will summarize three keys that will help your healing ministry become more effective today. And activation/impartation is part of this session for each participant.
Lectio Divina
Thomas Wolthuis
We are often told to read Scripture and to do devotions, but we are not always shown how to do this in a meaningful way. This session will explore and practice the ancient practice of Lectio Divina, the meditative devotional reading of Scripture, with the goal of finding greater meaning and pleasure in reading Scripture.
Sexual Purity and Your Family Destiny
Fred Stoeker
We know what happens to a man's Christian destiny when he drives a stake into the ground and wins the battle for sexual purity. What happens in a family when everyone gets on board with him and fights the battle together?
We Grieve Because Love Never Dies
Aldon Kuiper
Few events in life are as devastating as the death of someone dearly loved. From his own experience in the tragic loss of a grandchild, and from stories gathered from more than 40 families who have grieved the loss of a child, a pastor shares his experience of finding hope and healing in the heart of God. Scripture often suggests that our grief is a reflection of the Father's unfailing love for his lost children. He grieves for them, and will do anything to rescue them so that they will not perish.
Advance Directives for Healthcare
B.J. Van Kalsbeek
Have you ever been in the incredibly difficult position of making major health care decisions for a loved one and not known what your loved one would want? Have you discussed with your loved ones the kind of care you want when you can’t speak for your self? Do yourself and your loved ones a favor by learning about the options available to you in the form of advance directives (Living Will, Medical Power of Attorney), get a copy of the latest form, and ask your questions about this important topic.
