As I wrap up my ministry with Converge, I am chagrined to confess that I find myself wondering how I will be remembered. Will I be remembered for a worthy life and ministry?
The self-evaluation is humbling. Not just humbling because it reveals my self-centeredness, or how far I fall short of my aspirations. But humbling because of how often I was tempted to measure my worth by false criteria. Like the size of my church, the number of...
During the months of March, April and May we are inviting all of our churches to meet our new vice presidents Bryan Moak and Danny Parmelee to hear their personal stories, their individual calls to come serve us here in MidAmerica and to begin a process of developing a shared ten year vision (2017-27) for our churches, region and global impact.
Converge MidAmerica has been a grass roots organization for 165 years. Over the next 10 months we...
Great news. Health Reimbursement Arrangements signed into law!
In December, the 21st Century Cures Act was passed that will once again allow churches with less than 50 (full-time equivalent) employees and no group health plan to pay for their pastor’s health insurance.
A QSEHRA is an employer-funded health benefit plan that, after the employee furnishes proof of coverage, reimburses employees for out-of-pocket medical expenses and...
by Danny Parmelee, pastor, Epikos Church
5 Things I Didn't Do So Well first appeared at converge.org.
Last year at the Exponential Conference I shared a few things I learned about leadership development while planting epikos church....
by Danny Parmelee, pastor, Epikos Church
5 Things I Learned About Leadership as a Church Planter first appeared at converge.org.
At the Exponential Conference last year I had the...
by Allison Hurtado
A First-Time Parent's Nightmare first appeared on converge.org.
A prayer for an Arabic-speaking evangelist led to an incredible partnership that proves we are better together.
A prayer for an Arabic-speaking evangelist led...
by Scott Ridout
For the past year, Converge's district and national leadership have been working together on a diversity assessment of our movement. As in everything we do, our objective in this endeavor is to help more people meet, know and follow Jesus. We acknowledge our world, country and communities are changing and our organization needs to make adjustments to more effectively bridge spiritual, social, ethnic and cultural divides so prevalent in our...
by Allison Hurtado
In the picturesque village of Wilmette, Illinois, you’ll find Skokie Valley Baptist Church. Wilmette is a Northshore suburb of Chicago bordering Lake Michigan. There are diverse neighborhoods with vacation homes, commuters into the city and, more recently, large immigrant populations. SVBC began in the 1950s as a Swedish Baptist church with a strong emphasis on supporting missionaries. As the church grew, it built...
By Heather Wilson
The first time I logged on to join an online small group of Pastor’s wives through Leading and Loving It I was nervous. I thought I’d be the only one insecure about my role. I was so intimidated. But I knew I needed support. Our family had just moved away from family and friends in Seattle for my husband to begin a new Pastoral position in Western Illinois. Though we felt confidence and...
by Gary Rohrmayer
After a season of prayer and fasting, God has, through the generosity of our partner churches, provided the funds to hire two exceptional leaders to help us fulfill our vision of starting and strengthening churches throughout our MidAmerica region.
Since doubling our fellowship of churches through aggressive church planting and the Michigan merger, our team of part-time...
