Held at First Baptist Church of Muncie, Ind., Equipping Disciples for the 21st Century brought together church leaders from five American Baptist regions, mostly Midwestern, for three days of training in discipleship and educational ministries at the end of February. National Ministries was instrumental in funding, as well as co-sponsoring the conference, which included leaders from 22 churches throughout the regions.

“While most regions emphasize church transformation by focusing all the attention on the pastor and other church leaders, we wanted a transformative emphasis for anyone who has responsibility in their local church for educational and discipleship ministries,” explained Rev. Jim Walter, resource minister with Northwest Area Churches and Youth Ministry, American Baptist Churches of Indiana-Kentucky.

Walter’s is one of ten regions belonging to the Central Sectional Team — American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin, Great Rivers, Metro Chicago, Indiana-Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Cleveland and Indianapolis, as well as the West Virginia Baptist Convention and Philadelphia Baptist Association. Staff from regions on the team have met semi-annually for more than 15 years to discuss how they do educational and discipleship ministry. As a team that can coordinate these ministries regionally, members have resourced one another through semi-annual meetings that regularly include a continuing education component. In the past few years, their collaboration led to the idea of jointly organizing an event for those responsible for educational and discipleship ministries in their local churches.

Staff from the West Virginia Baptist Convention and American Baptist Churches of Ohio, Cleveland, Michigan and Indiana-Kentucky, along with National Ministries’ Christian education coordinator, Rev. Yvonne Carter, planned Equipping Disciples.

“By partnering with National Ministries we were able to do a high quality event for all of our churches,” said Walter. “We hope to use this model again. This kind of event has lasting impact on congregations in our regions, as the information and things learned are shared again and again.”

The keynote speaker for Equipping Disciples was Rev. Dr. Steve Gerali, associate professor of youth ministry and practical theology at Haggard School of Theology, Azusa, Calif. His entire teaching ministry has been focused on growth through discipleship. At the conference, Gerali spoke about basic areas where the youth counterculture clashes with a corporation-oriented mentality in 21st century life. He emphasized that today’s youth see care for people as a stronger incentive for life in community than corporate profit-earning goals.

After hearing Gerali’s presentation, Rev. Chuck Armstrong, National Ministries’ associate executive director for strategic relationships, said, “Youth today are interested in mystery instead of the predictability of the culture of industrialization.” Armstrong served for 24 years as area minister in Ohio and Michigan, and worked extensively with the Central Sectional Team before joining National Ministries in 2003.

With workshops on topics such as “Coaching for Discipleship,” “Equipping Families to be Disciple-Makers” and “Spiritual Formation for All,” the conference succeeded in its purpose, as reflected in feedback from people who attended. Tammy Brothers from Bethel Baptist Church in Fillmore, Ind., said, “I thought the conference was outstanding. Of course Steve was great, but the workshops I attended were excellent. ... I only wish we could have had more people from our church who were able to attend.” Others also commented on how helpful and timely this learning experience was for them in their ministries.

By sponsoring one educational event each year to resource regional staff members, the Central Sectional Team is seeking to provide training for pastors and lay church leaders. “When a cluster of regions comes together, everyone benefits without anyone being overburdened. It's a great networking opportunity and goes a long way toward building inter-region relationships,” commented Carter. Her presence on the Central Sectional Team fosters vital connections between National Ministries and regional staff.

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