The 2021 MWC Annual Ministry Celebration (AMC) will be held virtually, allowing for broader participation, on Saturday, April 24, 11 am-3 pm CT (10 am-2 pm MT). Churches, please be sure to submit the credential card identifying your church's delegates by April 1. While churches are allotted a designated number of voting delegates to give voice to business carried out at the meeting, all are welcome to attend as a general conferee to celebrate in our ongoing ministry!
REGISTER BY APRIL 10 to be entered to win a $200 Amazon gift card and other prizes throughout the meeting!
Register Online
Download Registration Form
Download the 2021 Credential Card for churches
Download the 2021 Credential Card for partner ministries
2021 Ministerial Association Meeting
Pastors, the MWC Ministerium will hold their annual meeting on April 24, 9:30-10:45 am CT (8:30-9:45 am MT).* Join us for connection, updates, and carrying out important business.
*Note change to previously published time.
BLESS 2021
This year, BLESS has a virtual option! When hosting your BLESS Sunday, you can invite your church to fill out the Virtual BLESS Prayer Card with the names of 1-5 people in your life whom you would like to pray for this year. Please mail any physical prayer cards to the conference office by April 10.
Because we received such a positive response to January's Day of Prayer, we are offering another Day of Prayer on April 14 from 11 am-2 pm CT. You are welcome to join the Zoom call at any time throughout the event to engage in prayer with leaders from across the region. If you are unable to join the call, we encourage you to set aside time to pray individually.
Sharing Jesus in South KC 
On March 1, co-pastors Alexia Lang and Jason Sivewright signed their Covenant Agreement, making Engage South KC Covenant the Midwest Conference's newest church. Engage South KC is focused on sharing Jesus with the Waldo area of Kansas City, MO. Alexia and Jason and their spouses have gathered a launch team of 30+ adults who are currently gathering online through Engage Groups. You may also view their first online preview event here. Pray for Engage South KC as they continue to prepare for a fall launch.
Re-launch Cohort Prepares for
Post-COVID Ministry
Nearly 40 leaders from 24 MWC churches have been journeying together in a “Relaunch Cohort” as we seek to prepare for ministry in the post-COVID world. The cohort includes five breakout groups where leaders from similar contexts are able to contextualize and think through the changes facing the church today. Here is what leaders are saying about the cohort:
- We aren't alone! This is a great opportunity to connect with church leaders in different settings around the Conference, ask good questions that help clarify our situation, and sharpen each other as we plan and work on relaunching stronger in 2021!
- A wonderful experience to hear from the younger generation and solid experts. Our breakout group has developed into seven close friends of diverse churches, sharing about ministry and life.
- The MWC Relaunch Cohort has richly blessed me ... time spent in conversation and fellowship with ministry colleagues has been reassuring that I am not the only one concerned and wondering about what congregational gathering and ministry will look like in a post-pandemic culture.
While the pandemic has accelerated changes already impacting our churches, the cohort provides weekly space for processing, peer-learning, and planning as we explore our assumptions and pay attention to the complex cultural and generational shifts that are shaping our communities.
If you are interested in participating in a similar cohort, please contact Brian Johnson at mwcbrian@gmail.com.
Northern Colorado Cohort Explores Biblical Justice
Our Northern Colorado cohort around biblical justice held its first gathering on February 5-6. This particular cohort will meet four times throughout the year, and our main purpose is to gather and discuss justice and mercy within a biblical framework. Last year introduced many people to the rising tide of pockets of injustice around the country. We are called to respond to these revelations in love and mercy as the scriptures bear witness.
Dominique Gilliard, Director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation for the ECC's Love Mercy Do Justice ministry priority, joined us as our guest presenter. Together with five ECC churches along the Colorado front range, we explore and report back to our cohort the findings from meetings and conversations with civic leaders.
One of the biggest benefits of the cohort is the investigation and fact-finding of justice issues on a local level. Often, we only think of injustice being present in under-resourced neighborhoods. Or where communities have experienced deep depression, leaving a clear distinction between the rich and the poor. In actuality, injustice can be seen anywhere—in our housing demographics, work force, ageism, sexism and access to education and healthcare.
This cohort provides practical next steps for the church to get involved in pursing biblical justice right where they live. The current cohort has three more gatherings on the calendar. Currently, all are done on Zoom, but we look forward to the time where we can exchange and share in person how our churches can become Christ in the flesh!
Connecting with Female Leaders
During Women's History Month
Our desire to connect is even stronger than our resistance to yet another Zoom meeting, as evidenced by over 35 women gathering for a time of fellowship on March 11. These women serve the MWC as worship leaders, lead pastors, children’s directors, Equip students, connection directors, associate pastors, and in other various ministry roles. We enjoyed a time of introduction, laughter, sharing and prayer, as well as hearing from our superintendent and friend, Tammy. We also heard great news about progress the MWC is making towards its 10-year goals of at least 30% of our credentialed clergy and 15% of lead/co-lead pastors being female.
Meghan Bruggeman, Associate Pastor of Spiritual Formation at Renew Covenant in Carroll, IA, and an Equip student, says, “It was great to connect with so many of my female colleagues for conversation, laughter, and prayer! Grateful for our superintendent and the Midwest Conference leadership for providing creative options for us to see and encourage each other!” A special thank you to our Called, Gifted, and Here to Stay leadership team: Lynn Black, Julie Chamberlin, Nicole Guthrie, Stephanie Nelson, and Tracy Welker for putting together our lunchtime event. The gathering fell in the middle of Women's History Month—the perfect time to connect and celebrate the ongoing ministry of female leaders in our conference.
We experienced a rich time together and we look forward to more connections in the future. In fact, our next gathering will be a preaching workshop with Lisa Cressman of Backstory Preaching and other MWC pastors on April 29 from 1-3 pm CT. If you are a female leader in the MWC, we hope you can join us! Register here.
Church Partners with Ministry to
Survivors of Sex Trafficking
In joyful partnership with The Homestead, First Covenant in Salina, KS, will begin ministering to women survivors of the sex trafficking industry at a Salina location beginning in April. The Homestead is a voluntary, long-term, faith-based transitory care program that brings people together in cooperation and partnership, with the awareness that both God's people and the needed professional services are indispensable agents in the healing and recovery process of a life ravaged by human sex trafficking.
 Homestead Ministries provides a network of professional holistic services and support for each survivor. Homesteaders also enroll in school or participate in a job apprenticeship, continue with support and recovery work, and begin to move from being under a 100% supervisory program to 100% independence.
The Homestead has been ministering to women in Manhattan, KS, for 10 years and had been praying to start other chapters in the state. First Covenant is providing a residential group home in Salina for The Homestead to minister to up to 6 women at a time in the home, as well as volunteers to minister to the women survivors.
Homestead has been such a huge blessing to me in so many ways. The spiritual growth, the amazing healing through trauma therapy, the developed sisterhood between us all, and the many opportunities to better ourselves and our lives – to become the women God intended for us to be! – Former Homesteader
 If you'd like to learn more about how you can respond to the sex trafficking industry and care for survivors in your midst, we invite you to explore FREE, an anti-sex trafficking initiative recently launched by the ECC's Love Mercey Do Justice and Serve Globally ministry priorities. FREE calls the global church to Pray, Learn, Give, and Act to oppose the evil of sex-trafficking both domestically and globally.
To learn more or donate to The Homestead, visit homesteadministry.org or contact Executive Director Deb Kluttz at (785) 313-1425 or homesteadmhkdirector@gmail.com.
As we celebrate the contributions and achievements of women throughout history this March, we are especially grateful for the contributions and ministries of women as they live into their calling and take the love of Jesus into their communities. In a recent letter to his church, Pastor Guy McCaslin of Applewood Community Church in Golden, CO, wrote, "In our world of patriarchal dominance, women are constantly viewed as inferior ... they are demeaned, used, abused, unappreciated, neglected, forgotten ... just because they are women! Sisters and brothers in Christ, especially brothers, let’s be people who stand for all women everywhere! Let’s bring Kingdom of God values to our male female relationships. Women are gifts from God, co-equal with men, worthy of honor and esteem no matter their age, skin color or culture!" Well said, Pastor Guy!
To learn more about women's contributions to the Church, check out some of the articles below from the ECC's Love Mercy Do Justice team:
Be sure to check out additional resources at the end of each article!
Did you know...?
A lot is happening in the Midwest Conference. Catch up on recent changes and events below!
Staff Transitions
Welcome to Linda Perez, the new Executive Director at Covenant Living of Colorado!
We celebrate with those transitioning to new roles within the conference:
- Alexia Lang and Jason Sivewright are serving as Co-pastors of Engage South KC, a new church plant in Kansas City, MO.
- At Life House Cov in Longmont, CO, Tracy Welker is now serving as Lead Pastor and Win Houwen as Pastor Emeritus.
We are grateful to the following for their service to the conference and pray God's blessing over them as they transition out of their roles:
- Katie Snyder, Children's Director, Council Tree Cov, Fort Collins, CO
- Janie Tyler, Director of Connections, Hillcrest Cov, Prairie Village, KS
- Peter Milbourn, Executive Director, Covenant Living of Colorado, Westminster, CO
- Chad McDaniel, Lead Pastor, Arvada Cov, Arvada, CO
- Gary Brndiar, Chaplain, Longmont Hospital, Longmont, CO
- RJ Coburn, Youth Pastor, Bethlehem Cov, Waverly, NE
- Dori Brown, Soul Care Pastor, Hillcrest Cov, Prairie Village, KS. Congratulations to Dori on her retirement!
Passing
 Former ECC pastor Michael Blevins died Sunday, February 14. Michael served Covenant churches in Salina, KS, and Decorah, IA, before leaving congregational ministry to practice law. We are grateful for Michael's ministry and the legacy he leaves. Read full obituary
Do you have big news to share? Contact office@midwestcovenant.org to have your important event published in the e-News.
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