Alliance Pathways: Ordination Competencies and Credentialing Framework 

Dr. Nathan Hitchcock's life as a seminary professor shifted dramatically when he helped Sioux Falls Seminary launch a contextualized degree track called Kairos, tripling total enrollment of the school. Since 2018 he has helped denominations and seminaries start contextual, competency-based programs.

His breakout will explain the features of Pathways, the Alliance's innovative approach to ordination for pastors.
Sevensided Consulting

www.sevensided.org

Your Whole Church Engaged in Making Disciples Among Every Nation 

Global Alliance Missions Mobilizer Barbara Yandell will bring her twenty years of training and mobilizing Churches, church leaders, students, businesspersons and missionaries for faithful and fruitful global and local cross cultural missions. She will be joined by Georges Houssney President and founder of Horizons International to resource, send and equip your whole church to engage in evangelism to Muslims in your community or globally. We will also envision you to join Horizons in global partnerships in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Turkey.


The second component of this breakout is an overview of equipping every church member to be involved in missions through the globally renowned Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course.


Go and Tell: Evangelism Workshop 

Jim Halstead lives in Ft. Wayne IN and is the founding director of Go and Tell Ministries. I heard this truth long ago: “As one person, I cannot change the whole world, but I can change

the whole world for one person.” I pray that the Lord will raise workers (beginning with you) for the harvest field from our time together (Matthew 9:35-38).

Go and Tell Ministries is committed to raising workers for the harvest field who delight in God and will be equipped to make disciples who will make disciples. I have learned over the years that Evangelism is Relational. It begins with your relationship withJesus Christ. It spreads within the circle of relationships you have with family, co-workers,neighbors, and others that the Lord has brought into your lives. Evangelism begins not withtalking to others about Jesus but by talking with Jesus about others.

www.goandtellministries.org

Spiritual Formation and Direction (An Introduction)

Bryan Hehr resides in beautiful Colorado Springs and serves as the Executive Director of CURATE Ministries, helping leaders to minister from deeply-rooted life with Christ. As a spiritual director, Bryan comes alongside pastors and missionaries, helping them care for their own souls as they care for others. In his workshop, you will be invited to experientially learn about the vitality of your own spiritual formation and how spiritual direction can serve you to that end. 

curateministries.org

How to Have a Healing Ministry Without Making Your Church Sick 

Tim Vink and Eric Carpenter (team teaching with testimonies), Pam Otten (WI), James Chang (NY), Todd and Carrie Klaassen (MI)

Tim Vink lives in Michigan and serves as a founding Director for the Alliance of Reformed Churches.  But as a pastor and church planting leader in the last 20 years, he has held training in healing and deliverance ministry with over 10,000 people. 

This breakout will focus on Christ-centered, Bible-based, Spirit-led healing ministry in the church today.

Marriage Strengthening:

Miguel has been a pastor since 2004.  As the coordinator of formation programs at Coram Deo, he provides coached-mentoring for pastoral leaders, facilitates courses and learning cohorts, and oversees the Coram Deo ministry formation process.  He and his wife recently celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary and have three wonderful children at home who love the Lord.  He is excited to engage in a conversation around strengthening marriages by focusing on the biblical pattern for marriage as an image of Christ and the Church, and also by thinking about how our union with Christ provides the foundation for mutual love, forgiveness, and crucifixion of the flesh.

Multiply Leaders — Multiply Churches

www.coramdeoassociation.org


Elder and Deacon Development:

Jim Lankheet lives in Michigan and serves as Founder and Executive Director of Coram Deo with a focus on multiplying leaders and multiplying churches.  Prior to starting Coram Deo, Jim planted and served churches in New Jersey , California, Florida, and Michigan.  This break-out will focus on how leaders let difficulties and trials form them for greater ministry fruitfulness.  

Multiply Leaders — Multiply Churches

www.coramdeoassociation.org


The Gospel of the Kingdom: The 7 Distinctives

The Person, Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit 

Eric Carpenter is the pastor of Springs Community Church in Colorado Springs, CO, and a co-host for this Gathering. He is an author and teacher aligned with Jesus’ Big Idea: the gospel of the kingdom of God at hand. Kingdom and Spirit Network for the Alliance which he helps lead emphasizes Kingdom theology, five-fold equipping gifts and the power of the Holy Spirit in ministry today.

Intercessory Prayer – @home, @church, for our country and world. 

Jim Harrison has served internationally as a missionary in the former Soviet Union and Middle East for 25 years. He served on the RCA staff as the Coordinator for Prayer and now serves as the Discipleship and Prayer pastor for Hopkins Community Church in southwest Michigan.


This breakout will amaze you with how listening prayer will change your life and family and intercessory prayer will change the world.

Shaking House Prayer Team for the Alliance and Networks (Acts 4:31) 

Tony De La Rosa lives in Minnesota and serves as a Specialized Pastor at Hope Reformed Church in Montevideo.  In the past 20 years Tony partnered with and led a variety of prayer opportunities; the mantra is pray, listen and obey.  This breakout will focus on connection with the Alliance Shaking House Prayer Team and the development of prayer teams for our Networks, drawing on the various gifts related to prayer ministry.

Pam Otten is the pastor of Renew, a church plant in Sheboygan WI. She also is the Healing Rooms director for her area in Wisconsin and loves to train leaders in the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit.

Disciple Making 101: A California Church Planter’s Story 

John Fiscus lives in California and serves as Pastor of Faith Fighters Church in Tulare, a church plant that he started 3 years ago. In addition to Faith Fighters Tulare, John has helped plant a second California church plant in the Los Angeles area as well as two men’s recovery and discipleship homes.

John is passionate about following Jesus wherever He leads and raising up other healthy

followers of Jesus. He also serves as network staff for The Grow Network as well as a member

of Tulare Community Church church planting staff.

Catalyzing Disciple-Making Leaders with a Multiplication Mindset

Jeff Allen lives in Colorado and is the founder and Lead Coach of the Thrive Coaching Network. Jeff and his team coach disciple-making leaders across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

This breakout will focus on Living the Great CO-Mission - mentoring leaders that deliver a Paradigm Shift in the church from Addition to Multiplication, from Scarcity to Abundance, and from Being Fed to Bearing Fruit

thrive3.org

Spouse Support in Ministry  

Rita, an ordained minister, pastor, disciple maker, and church planter, has been called to bring people close to the heart of God by leading others to know and love the Lord wholeheartedly with obedience to the Master’s calling to go and make disciples of all the nations. She is the Ministry and Project Coordinator with the Alliance of Reformed Churches, and has been involved in ministry since the age of 19. Rita has dedicated her life to serving God by serving His Church and she has a passion for igniting people in their purpose. Over the last two years, Rita has launched a ministry taking people on transformational short-term trips to Africa as they find their true calling by experiencing Kenya in the mission field.

This breakout session will highlight the importance of creating a God-honoring and worship-filled relationship atmosphere where spouses in ministry may feel supported, seen, and loved through the lows, highs, and unknowns of the ministry journey.

Surviving Burnout:  How To Make It Out of Pastoral Ministry Alive 

Vinnie Hanke hails from Idaho as the pastor of Valley Life Community Church in Meridian, ID. He has served churches in southern California and leadership roles in his two previous RCA classis.

Ministry is challenging on lots of levels: spiritual warfare, marshalling large numbers of volunteers, facing down financial limitations of non-profits, long hours and crisis management to name a few. Come and learn how Jesus wants to disciple you for the long haul.

Developing Alliance Hubs and Networks 

Seth Sundstrom is our first Alliance pastor and lives in the Sioux Falls, SD, area and is the Dakota Network Leader. Currently they are serving 80 churches in this Network with at least six more in process. They are also preparing to launch the Upper Mississippi Valley Network in 2023 and already helped with Horizon Network. He gets stuff done.

Russ Siders is the lead pastor of Sunrise Community Church in Tulare, CA, an Alliance congregation that he helped to plant in 1998. Sunrise is an ethnically diverse community that worships and ministers in both English and in Spanish.  Since May, Russ has been coming on board as leader of the Light For the Nations Network and in this breakout, he will be sharing about the process of forming this new and unique Alliance network. Russ also has experience this year in developing a Hub for city transformation in Tulare, CA.

Martín Mora is the Pastor of Community Life at Sunrise Community Church in Tulare, CA.  Since 2000, he has not only led worship at Sunrise, but has also started the Fusion School of Music, raising up over 1,000 church musicians in Central California.  Martín is a recent addition to the Light For the Nations Board and will be sharing about his new role, as well as his work to integrate several Costa Rican congregations into the Alliance.  

Maximizing Logos Bible Study Tools 

For 20 years, Carl DeyArmin pastored local churches in a variety of communities with a strong commitment to help people understand God’s Word. As a National Presenter for Faithlife, Carl introduces people to the premier resource for digging further into Scripture. Carl is also a biblical counselor and—with the help of Logos—is completing a doctorate in biblical counseling. He and his wife, Drea, and their 6 children make their home north of Seattle. Carl consumes inordinate amounts of unsweetened green tea, hikes as often as possible, and enjoys repetitively lifting heavy things and setting them down again.