NE Regional Update

TERRY SHANAHAN, NE REGIONAL MINISTER

What, then, shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us,Who can be against us?”
Romans 8:31

I [recently attended] our Annual Gathering in Pittsburgh, PA and I am still feeling energized and excited from the moving of the Holy Spirit. If you weren’t with us, you were missed. There was such a sense of joy and family as we gathered to worship and fellowship.

I had the opportunity to report to the gathered assembly how the ministry in the Northeast is thriving because of the concentration and focus on our three ministry priorities of Conference Care, Church Multiplication and Church Development.

In the area of Conference Care we have had a higher than normal amount of conflict in the Northeast this past year. We’ve seen disunity in the church, loss of fellowship, declining numbers in conflicted congregations, three churches on the verge of closure, several churches in transition, some of them in turmoil during that transition. I thank the Lord for our ministry of Conference Care as we are now able to come along side our churches and pastors in these situations.

The Conferences’ new initiative called Turning Point involves next steps for struggling churches and I have already had the opportunity to utilize these tools in assessing and offering care for a church.  We don’t always have a prescription for what the solutions are but more and more we can have a presence as we come alongside to help in the struggle.

We have formed additional Community Pastors groups that provide fellowship, offer preventative care and become a place for pastors to live life on life. If you are not part of a Community Pastors group, make that a priority for this year!  The groups I am a part of look forward to our meetings, sharing how supported they feel in ministry.  Our Conference Care Committee consist of the Conference Care Director, Peter Wood and the Regional Pastors and we meet regularly on Fuze with Conference Minister Ron Hamilton to discuss what’s happening in our regions.

Church Multiplication in the Northeast has a well-established hub that I am excited to be a part of. Church Multiplication Director Rob O’Neal has made multiple trips out our way this year and we have some exciting church planting projects under way. Not only has the Northeast had these ongoing projects but we also have the greatest potential for growth in this area.

Church Development in the Northeast is being more fully formed.  We have some churches that Church Development Director John Kimball and his team are working with – going through the Lifeflow process. We have other churches who have opted to go through a similar process with other programs. Still other of our churches are working with a para-church ministry called Overseed that seeks to bring revitalization to churches in mainline traditional settings.    

The ministry of the CCCC is strong in the northeast primarily due to our articulated mission and vision. When non CCCC pastors and churches are presented with the CCCC way of life, including our Passion, our Pathways and our Priorities, they respond enthusiastically.  There continue to be those who want to join with us and partner in Kingdom work. I am so blessed to serve this Conference in this region at a time like this.