ELCA Leadership Conference to be held in Houston

"Have you ever considered getting the presidents of area congregations together for brainstorming and collaboration? I bet we'd find we have a lot in common?" she asked me between services.
"As a matter of fact, we have three such gatherings coming up in the next two months," I was delighted to reply, including one in Houston. The theme is "Walking the Way..." and its coming to a church near you September 10-11 at Zion, Houston, Texas
Friday is for church staff. This is where we discuss challenges and expectations of being a church professional. Saturday is for key lay leaders in the church.
There will be workshops for presidents and treasurers, evangelism, worship, children's ministry, youth and family ministry and more. It's a great time to get to know others who are doing similar things in neighboring congregations, and to compare notes. Networking and collaboration make this event work.
Ministry is challenging these days. Fewer Americans attend church each year. Mainline denominations have been losing numbers for several decades. The economy has been a huge struggle for government, business and non-profits.
When the going gets rough, leaders kick into gear. They love a challenge. But the work can be exhausting. We need each other. We need to know others are in the game with us. We need to hear about their wins and losses, so we can learn from one another.
You can register at: http://gulfcoastsynod.org/Events.html
I encourage you to make this a priority. We have intentionally set prices so that smaller congregations can afford to come. The cost is on a sliding scale based on worship attendance, and there is one price for as many as you want to bring. The more people you have invested in the life of the church, and sharpening their tools, the more energy will be generated.
Come, and help us together to be a network of growing, Christ-centered, outwardly focused congregations passing the faith to the next generation.
- Bishop Mike Rinehart