Waterslides and Associationalism
NWBC Annual Meeting
Every year we gather at the Great Wolf Lodge in Washington with other pastors and leaders from the Northwest. Here are some dear friends I got to catch up with.
We’re Better Together
Any good pastor knows that the work of being an under-shepherd is not a solo act. Healthy churches plant healthy churches, together. Our annual meeting is a life-giving time to see all those who are laboring along with us across the PNW.
For example, Ryan O’malley (orange hat) is a pastor and the newest addition to the NAMB leadership team. NAMB works to support church planters like us. Warren Davie (gray sweatshirt) is the leader for our area for the Northwest Collegiate Ministries. They strive to equip college students with the Gospel and plug them into local churches. Their evangelistic work is a thrill to participate in. Eduardo (yellow sweater) is bottled joy. He's the pastor to a Hispanic church in Creswell. These folks and many others are just a few with whom it is truly an honor to be working side-by-side in ministry.
We even got to make new friends! Matt and I met Jeremy and his wife Brooke Cook. He’s the pastor at Pioneer Church in Corvallis who is just now after several years of faithfulness landing a permanent building to gather in. I met Kyle Davis from Garden Church, who was rocking the photo video work for the event. We got to have an encouraging chat about the importance of biblical ecclesiology, church membership, and discipline. Their church is in the process of hashing out these details.
Brian Bernard from Redemption Church in Corvallis brought a great message expositing from the demoniac in Luke, charging us to see people the way Christ did. Finally, Adam Groza the president of Gateway Seminary proclaimed the truth that every church matters and is important to the Christ’s work.
These are just the high points, they don’t include all the conversations, flying down a network of tubes in a four person flotation with my 60 pound daughter backwards at the water park (I had to remind myself to be brave for her sake more than once), or the smiles on my wife’s face as she visited with other pastor’s wives.
Being associational means that we are better together. It means that not only can we accomplish more together, but it also means our own ministries will thrive from support. Pastors need other pastors. Churches need other churches. Praise God that His Kingdom is greater than any one individual church.
Prayer Requests
Pray for Rob Walker (and wife Kristen) as he transitions out of his role as church health strategist and back into full-time pastoral ministry in Redmond, Oregon.
Pray for Michael Auayan from First Baptist of Leavenworth as he has recently become the moderator of his local association and has lots of work to do to bring local churches together.
Pray for Jeremy Cook and Pioneer Church as they get to settle down in the neighborhood that they’ve faithfully served and invested in.
Pray for the NWBC, that we can continue to strive together for each church’s good and God’s glory.
Pray for Andrew Nguyen who has been laying groundwork in Idaho for an upcoming church plant, since being sent out this year from his church in Washington.
Don’t miss out on our last interest meeting.
