By Nathan Peshl
Associate Pastor at Grace Community Church in Detroit, Michigan
I joined the staff of Grace Community Church in Detroit, Michigan, almost two years ago. As someone new to the NAB, the Year of Equipping was a great exposure to the heart and mission of our conference. It was intentionally led and organized around 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession . . .” (ESV). More than a high impact event or weekend, the cohort was an intentional, formative process I consider to be a milestone of my ministry development. We read and discussed books, we sat before compelling authors and professors, and we dwelt together in God’s Word on a regular basis.
When the cohort began, leaders from the West Coast and Canada seemed so far away from myself, in distance and in culture. But after sharing the past year together, what once seemed so distant became so much closer and shared. I credit the year-long cohort model for this experience. We ate together, traveled together, learned together, and on the night of our last in-person meeting, we prayed together.
One of my key takeaways from our time in Chicago was about creating mutual spaces for the living presence of Christ. As a discipleship pastor, I interpret this to be less programmatic and more relational in my approach to discipleship. This will influence my approach to ministry in exciting, new ways. The topic of faithful presence was so clearly communicated and presented, and we were all encouraged to be more attentive to the presence of God in all our relationships.
I want to thank Cam Roxburgh, Wayne Stapleton, Deb Judas, and David Williams for their time and influence in our lives and ministries. And thank you to the NAB for Year of Equipping and your heart for young leaders. I strongly encourage participation in this movement of developing younger leaders in our conference.
If you are a leader in your 20s or 30s at an NAB church who is interested in applying to the Year of Equipping: Year 2, you can fill out the application at the link below. Applications close June 20.
Apply for Year of Equipping: Year 2
From the Missional Initiatives Team comes the Taster Table, an online gathering intended to create space for those in church leadership to look at a different way of being God’s people amid seismic cultural shifts.
As Christian leaders, we are called to participate with the Spirit in calling forth and forming new communities of hope that address these shifts. During our time around the table, we will work together to name what is happening and look at different ways of being God’s people in the contexts we find ourselves in.
Interested? Here’s a sample-size taste of the kinds topics that might be discussed:
- Where are we, and what has happened?
- What is the Spirit of God saying?
- How is God calling us to join with Jesus in our neighborhoods?
- What practices will guide us?
- What kind of leaders will we need to become?
The Taster Table will convene across the four Wednesdays in June: (4, 11, 18, and 25). Participants are invited to attend all four weeks.
For more information, simply email Deb Judas (djudas@nabconf.org), and to sign up to receive the link when it becomes available, follow the link below.
Every three months, NAB international missionaries share news from through their various mission fields. These quarterly newsletters are just small snapshots of what God is up to in and through the NAB around the globe.
You can find the most recent newsletters at the link below, full of updates, prayer requests, praise reports, and photos. You can also sign up to receive the quarterly missionary newsletter email, sent out every February, May, August, and November.