Intro Thoughts
I want to share some random
thoughts about our vision as a movement for the coming years – some of the
things that I know will define and continue to be a part of this region’s
ministry well into the future!
It’s been an amazing privilege to
serve Jesus here as Executive Minister for Converge MidAtlantic. I’ve said many times that the Pastors, and
Leaders, and Churches in this family of churches are THE BEST I’ve ever seen!
TRANSITION into Our Vision and My Story
Some of you know my story! I grew up in a church planter’s home in that State
up North as folk in OH say! Mom and Dad and our family of 5 kids traveled
around the State of MI and planted about 15 churches over a 20 plus year period
of time. We all helped dad set up the schools and meeting places for
worship. We handed out bulletins, we did
the music, we took up the offering, and
we all saw these little church plants reach and disciple people and grow to be
strong churches for the Gospel. While I
didn’t realize it at the time, I later came to see first hand that planting of
new churches is a huge part of God’s plan to reach people for Christ; that
starting up Gospel lighthouses, is what the Apostle Paul did, and what Jesus
has called us to continue. From my early
days, I grew to have a deep love for the
church, and came to see the local church as the only hope for our world.
I had the opportunity to study at Bethel College and Bethel Seminary, along
with my brothers Dave and Doug, and sisters Deb and Dee. In fact, mom and dad had the unenviable
privilege of helping to send 5 kids through Bethel University, and then one way
or the other, helping send each of them or their spouses through Bethel
Seminary as well. There at Bethel I came to see the message of the Gospel for
what it is – the Good News about Jesus, about his mission to bring the reign of
God here to planet earth, about his death on the cross, his powerful
resurrection, and the hope of heaven He came to offer. Over the years, I’ve tried in my preaching
and leadership to keep the main thing the main thing – the keep the message of
the Good News at the core of what Converge and Converge churches teach and
preach, so that while we may disagree on some of the minors, and have differing
convictions about certain understandings of Bible, it’s the mission and message
of Jesus, crucified, buried, risen, and coming again, that unites us together.
I’m confident this message will be
central to our vision and ministry as a movement of churches for years to come.
And I do want to challenge each pastor to keep the main thing the main thing.
Focus on the Good News of Jesus. Invite
people to enter into a relationship with the living Christ, and to grow in
their love and obedience to Jesus. In
your preaching, ensure that text of Scripture is your authority. Let’s all make sure we live under the
authority of Christ and His Word. My vision for our future is that the message
and story of Jesus will be what fuels our movement; that our love for Christ
will run deep in us and through us as leaders and as churches.
I had
the wonderful privilege of planting my first church at age 25 out in Portland,
OR. Then, 8 years later, our family
moved to Houston, TX where we planted 2 more churches for the BGC/Converge. Those 9 years in TX were really difficult. In some ways, that was my desert experience.
We were outside of any Converge District Conference. My wife, Lynnea, who grew up in a dairy farm
in southern MN, struggled in the 4th largest city of the U.S. I learned that I would rarely if ever recommend
pioneer church planting to any of my friends.
It was really a tough time of ministry. But through that desert experience, God shaped
by heart in a big way! He brought
another leader into my life, an African American church planter, who the BGC
had sent to Houston to also plant a church. Junnus Clay and I literally became
soul brothers. We spent a lot of time
together. We learnied about each other’s
stories. We helped each other out in each other’s ministries. We became a salt and pepper team as it
were. We beat each other up every week
on the racket ball court. Later on, God
sent a Latino leader to join our TX team. And through that 9 years of desert experience,
God gave me a big heart for diversity – for reaching and working together with
the mosaic of people who are a part of the cities and towns all across our
country.
And while Converge MidAtlantic is
currently about 33% non Anglo, I know that the future vision for our regional
movement will be increasingly diverse. The picture in my mind is of a growing
movement that becomes even more diverse, that reaches into more and more and
more of the cultures and ethnic groups across our region, that models unity in
the midst of diversity, that breaks down racial divides that hinder the
church’s witness to the world. You all, we can do this. We can lead the way in biblical diversity for
the whole Converge movement.
For 23 years, God blessed me with a beautiful and talented ministry
partner. She’s the mother of a wonderful daughter, Anne Marie. She was a servant, and had a pure heart for
God. When the Lord took her home to
heaven in 1998, the loss and sadness was crazy tough. But as Reggie McNeal says
in his book, A Work of Heart, God does some of his best heart shaping out of
loss. It was out of that loss and pain,
that God taught me reliance on him and on others. As a struggling widower, one day we received 5
huge boxes of packaged meals from Calvary Church in State College – meals that
would last our struggling family for about month. Pastor TL Rogers came up to me one day, and
said, Brother Dan you need a makeover.
Let’s go shopping for some new clothes.
After a full afternoon of shopping in the men’s stores out in MD, I came
home with 3 or 4 new suits, shirts, ties, all at Pastor Rogers expense. I learned the power of community. During this time, God also widened my
bandwidth for ministry as my story connected with so many others who were or
are experiencing pain and loss.
It was out of this horrible loss
that I discovered the beauty and wonder of God’s grace, as He brought another
fantastic life partner into my life. She was a Christ follower who had also lost
her sweetheart spouse, an awesome lady who had learned to trust God as a widow,
while having the responsibility of caring for a handicapped daughter. Sandi and I will celebrate 17 years of marriage this
summer. 
I’m convinced that my story of
loss and pain and of God’s goodness shapes who Converge is at its core. We value
people. We value personal and emotional
health. We value healthy marriages in
ministry. We’re family. We minister
together. We work as a team. We’re
better together. So I do want to
challenge every Converge MidAtlantic member church to value their part and to
take responsibility for their part! We
need the engagement of every leader and of every church! I’ve been challenging our churches to move
toward the 3% level in their giving to our District ministry! I’m telling you, if every church would
partner at this level, the vision of Converge MidAtlantic could move to a whole
new level of impact across our region.
It’s a team effort. We all need
to be players in the ministry of this movement! Many are moving forward on that journey, and
I am very grateful for that!
I want to challenge every member
Converge church to actually consider Converge first! Consider supporting Converge missionaries and
mission projects first! We have one of
the finest global mission organizations that is making a huge kingdom
impact. Consider Converge Conferences
and training opportunities first when you plan your calendar of
conferences. Consider the Converge
network of Pastors/your LEAD Team brothers first. Not that we’re exclusive. No,
we’re Kingdom minded, but we are engaged meaningfully with Our Tribe, with our
Family. I want to challenge every one of us to be a player in this
movement. We are better together!
3) Closing Comments - With Gratitude and Thanks
Thanks to
our Converge MidAtlantic office team for their support and leadership in so
many ways. This includes Anna Rolland,
Executive Assistant, Liz Heavener our Bookkeeper, Steve Lowe, our Event and
Marketing Coordinator, Bethany Paterson, our Social Media Coordinator, and Dave
Scull, Director of Camp Burton. Thanks
to our Strategic Multiplication Leadership Team including Pastor Rod Hairston,
Pastor Dan Nold, Pastor Derek Sanford, Pastor Rob Paterson, and Pastor Jeremy
Copeland who have been a great resource this past year. Thanks to the Board of
Overseers, for their leadership and support as well.
I want to also take this opportunity to thank my dear wife
Sandi for her fantastic support and encouragement over the past 17 years as we
have served the Lord together in this role.
She has been an absolutely fantastic ministry partner. She has traveled with me to Ukraine 6 times,
serving in orphanages and women’s institutions, and ministering to the poor and
needy in amazing ways. She has connected
up with many of our pastors’ wives over the years through LeadNet Teams,
through our Impact Pastors and spouses events, and she has had a personal
ministry of prayer and encouragement to many of them. She has traveled with me across the 8 state
MidAtlantic region on many weekends as we have preached, celebrated special occasions,
and served our churches in various ways together. She has been vitally involved in the Converge
District Executive Ministers’ and wives network, traveling with other Converge
leaders to locations all across the U.S. and around the world. This has included ministry in Thailand, Mexico, Honduras, and in organizing at least
3 major Converge Leadership Team retreats in locations in our MidAtlantic
District. Probably most challenging has
been her patience and perseverance in putting up with me, and the ups and downs
of leading a regional movement, of major travel demands, and the overall
concern for the churches of our region.
She has stood with me and partnered with me, while all the time,
overseeing the care and support services of our daughter Monica, who requires
24/7 care. She has been and continues to
be an amazing life and ministry partner, and I am deeply indebted to her and
grateful to God for her and what she means to me.
We both want
to say Thanks to you all, and Thanks to God for the privilege of serving Jesus
here in the MidAtlantic. It is a real
privilege for which we are very grateful.
Action/response – Becoming movement players!
I will PRAY faithfully _____/week for our Converge MidAtlantic
multiplication movement.
I will engage in Developing _____ new leaders that can be sent out into the harvest over the next 10
years
I will play a part in helping to Multiply _____ new congregations that are expanding the impact of the Gospel in
our region over the next 10 years
I will seek to lead our church to move toward giving 3% of our annual
offering income to the Converge MidAtlantic movement to help fuel this movement
over the next 10 years.
I will pray and lead our church to
be involved in compassion and global
mission engagement over the next 10 years, by _____ (identify your next
action steps).
