The Holy Spirit is moving throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania.

God has great dreams for our community and our world. How can we, as Lutherans in Southeastern Pennsylvania, be more effective in helping those dreams come true? We'll start figuring this out together at the 2008 Mission Fair. Our time will be practical, interactive, and spiritual as we explore what we can do to connect God's reign with our time and the specific places in which our congregations have been planted. The goal is to give you "try this at home" ideas to move from theory to action.

This Mission Fair will be about much more than information. With practical ideas, theological reflection on your ministry context, and interactive learning, you'll leave not just smarter but more effective in participating in God's dream for your church and community. We'll even help to connect you with partners who can walk with you in engaging God's mission in your context.

 

Learn more!

 

• Keynote presenter
• About the mission fair
• Schedule
• Program details/workshop descriptions
• Speakers
• Downloads

 

Keynote presenter:

Dave Daubert
A Renewal Enterprise
Author, of "Living Lutheran: Renewing Your Congregation"

 

 

 

About the Mission Fair:

Who should attend? This Mission Fair event is designed to help pastors and congregational leaders to ignite their own passionate spirituality in order to pass it to others, and to become more effective at engaging God's dream for the people among whom they have been planted.

Our host: St. Matthew's Lutheran Church. St. Matthew's, Springfield, is pleased to host the 2008 Mission Fair. St. Matt's is conveniently located near Baltimore Pike, Route 1 and Route 476 (the Blue Route). The church is located at 400 Lynbrooke Road, Springfield, PA 19064. For driving directions see the church website.

How much? Advance registration is $25 per person including lunch. For groups of 5 or more individuals from the same synod congregation, the advance registration rate is $15 per person. After Sept. 22, registration is $35. Scholarship assistance is offered; for information contact Joanne Carlson, 610.383.7112 or .

Register early! Last year's Mission Fair sold out. Space is limited and workshops may fill up quickly. Use the attached registration form, one form per person. Photocopy the form as needed.

 

Schedule:

8:30 a.m.	Registration and coffee
Morning:	Welcome -- Bishop Burkat
	Worship/Bible study
	Keynote: Pursuing God's Dream: Let's Get Serious! (Dave Daubert)
	Workshops A: Falling in Love with God (Again) (Brian Metke) or B: Falling in Love with Our Neighbors (Dave Daubert)
	Lunch
Afternoon:	Keynote: God Has a Dream: How We Can Begin to Dream It, Too (Daubert)
	Workshops C: Discipleship as a Way of Life: Putting Legs on God’s Dream (Metke) or D: Missional Planning: Keeping the World in God's Dream (Daubert)
	Wrap-up
3:20 p.m.	Sending

 

For more information contact Registrar Ginny Bailey, 610.278.7337 or .

 

The program:

Morning Keynote: Pursuing God's Dream: Let's Get Serious!

Presenter: Dave Daubert
God has a dream for the world and for your community - and you're God's plan for making that dream come true! Joining God's mission to bless and heal and save your community requires us to tune in to our neighbors and what God is already doing among them. We'll explore Scripture and passionate spirituality as paths to discern God's call to us right here, right now, and equip you with tools to effectively join God in mission.

Workshop A: Falling in Love with God (Again)

Presenter: Brian Metke
Lutherans know that everything starts with God. It is the core of our theology. And so we also know that the starting point for renewal in the church and a revitalized sense of missional focus will come from our connection to God and to paying attention to God with some intentionality. This workshop will look at how congregations can renew their sense that God is alive and at work. It will also share practical ways that congregational leaders can revitalize their congregation's spiritual lives and enhance the power and energy that they have available for outreach and as agents of God's mission in the world.

Workshop B: Falling in Love with our Neighbors

Presenter: Dave Daubert
Look inside a typical congregation and you will find that almost everyone who attends regularly spends most of their time out in the world - with family, in their neighborhood, at work and in all sorts of places. This workshop will look at practical ways to reconnect with our context - taking the relationships we have with others seriously and renewing them as a source of renewal for the church. If you want to get connected to the world then you have to build the bridges! This workshop will begin to show you how.

Afternoon Keynote: God has a Dream: How We Can Begin to Dream it Too

Presenter: Dave Daubert
Vision is a difficult topic. Everyone builds images in their minds with the tools and images they have. Since many of these come from our experiences that means that some of us have trouble seeing new things. Others can only rearrange their past to try to guess the future. Here we will begin to explore how to see what God is doing and how to see the world in a new way that allows leaders and others to help more people see God at work and to see more clearly what that means for our ministry.

Workshop C: Discipleship as a Way of Life: Putting Legs on God's Dream

Presenter: Brian Metke
Effective leaders know that Christianity is not first and foremost a religion - it is a way of life grounded in following Jesus. Moving toward discipleship is a key step in revitalizing the church. This workshop will look at discipleship practices and lay out both a model and practical steps to help congregational leaders begin to move more fully into the kind of congregation that can equip people to live out their faith in meaningful and helpful ways - both in the congregation and in their daily lives

Workshop D: Missional Planning: Keeping the World in God's Dream

Presenter: Dave Daubert
Often people dream up something and nothing happens (it appears that almost 90% of all plans in the church, as in much of life, are never carried out!). In addition, we often plan for ourselves and wonder why new people never seem to get involved. This workshop will share a clear and helpful model for planning in a way that keeps God's work in the forefront, involves many participants from the congregation (to get ownership) and includes people from our context (to stay connected and relevant). Missional planning that is grounded in what God, neighbor and we are doing is the best way to make plans that happen (and why plan for something unless it is going to happen?).

 

 

Speakers:

Dave Daubert (D.Min., Ph.D.)

is an exceptional teacher and seasoned administrator who is widely regarded for his systemic approach and clear thinking. He brings his experiences as an engineer, parish pastor, and denominational executive to his work in organizational renewal. Dave has published several books and articles including the best-selling "Living Lutheran: Renewing Your Congregation" (Augsburg Fortress, 2007). He is a frequent keynote speaker across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Read his full bio at the ARE website.

 

Rev. Brian D. Metke

brings hope for small struggling congregations through innovative parish ministry. Brian has served the same congregation for 25 years, where he was called to revitalize Trinity Church, a mission congregation. At Trinity his emphasis has been on Biblical education, evangelism, equipping the saints, raising up leaders and pastors from within the congregation, making disciples who live their faith in daily life and who take on ministries to help people make a positive life-changing connection with Jesus Christ. Trinity has been recognized by the ELCA as the "Best in Class" in the area of adult discipleship. Brian is a frequent workshop leader for the South Central Synod of Wisconsin and for Region 5 "First Call" Theological Education. He is an instructor for The Bethel Bible Series training seminars and has recently completed the Beeson Institute for Advanced Church Leadership. Website: www.TrinityChurchfamily.com

 

Downloads

• Event brochure (PDF, 180K)
• Registration form (PDF, 25K)