While 2021 was a challenging year across the globe, God continued his work in and through Converge. Together, we started new churches, strengthened established church leaders and sent global workers from increasingly diverse backgrounds to reach an ever-changing world with the never-changing truth of the gospel. It wasn’t easy. It never is. But, for generations, the church has stepped up to every challenge this fallen world may provide. And 2021 was no different.
So, enjoy this look back at God’s work through Converge in 2021 and join us as we trust him for a great future, recognizing that God has blessed us, he designed us for something bigger than ourselves, we are better together and the best is yet to come.
OUR MISSION
Converge is a movement of churches working to help people meet, know and follow Jesus. We do this by starting and strengthening churches together worldwide. For 170 years we’ve helped churches bring life change to communities in the U.S. and around the world through church planting and multiplication, leadership training and global missions.
START
It is difficult to imagine a town in the United States without a gospel-centered, Bible-believing church. But, believe it or not, there are plenty of communities across the country without a church. Every community needs a church, and every person needs to hear the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why Converge is committed to starting missionally minded churches until every people group and community has heard the gospel.
Converge’s 10 districts have committed to deploying 312 church planters before 2026. If each of those planters starts a new congregation that grows to just 200 people, they will impact at least 62,000 people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
STRENGTHEN
Strong churches are led by strong leaders. So, we equip leaders to expand their ministry impact and fulfill the unique calling God has given them. Through assessment, coaching and covering, strategic planning and supportive networks, Converge’s Church Strengthening team helps churches maximize their God-given potential to fulfill their mission.
Converge and its districts provide numerous resources to pastors and churches to help them navigate everything from developing an effective church board to caring for pastors’ emotional health.
Compass
Compass provides support for pastors and helps them through the challenges of leading a church. Unlike a retreat, it is an intensive time that uses effective tools to enable pastors and spouses to better listen to the Holy Spirit as they complete a self-assessment to become more fruitful in ministry and life.
Bridge Network
Converge’s Bridge Network is committed to bridging women across districts. It supports women of different backgrounds and roles – including women in ministry, those who hold professional positions in the marketplace, wives, mothers and others – by providing training, coaching, events and retreats. E-learning courses and podcasts are among the tools women can use to walk alongside one another and encourage and help other women fulfill God’s purpose for their life.
Chaplaincy
Chaplaincy is a specialized ministry in various institutional settings. Converge-endorsed chaplains help care for the spiritual well-being of military members and veterans, as well as the staff, residents and guests of health care and correctional facilities around the world.
SEND
We are asking God for a gospel movement among every least-reached people group – in our generation. This means that we are fully committed to relying on God to reach entire people groups, not just groups of people. Converge International Ministries implements principles, practices and strategies that provide the best possibility for multiplicative movements to take place by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We do most of our work among peoples, religious groups, cities and regions where there are no disciples of Jesus nor churches established. Converge missionaries serve in 31 countries organized into five regions (Africa, Asia, Europe and Mediterranean, Latin America and North America).
Mobilizing workers
The mobilization team connects the right global workers to the right opportunity and equips them with the right tools they can take to the field. The team provides support-raising strategies, training, prayer and encouragement to share the gospel effectively.
Serving churches
The U.S Engagement team works closely with U.S. churches, coaching and training them to become more effective in missions work. In addition, we connect like-minded churches together in consortia to focus on a specific mission field and strengthen global workers to increase impact.
Deaf ministry
The Deaf community is one of the largest unreached and unengaged people groups in the world. Converge’s Deaf ministry is helping churches and believers see and understand that Deaf people, like everyone else, are in desperate need of Jesus. Converge is beginning to invest in sending Deaf global workers and training Deaf leaders from other nations in gospel multiplication. We have become one of the leading Christian ministries in serving the Deaf community and are helping other large ministries as they begin to understand the dire need to reach Deaf communities across the U.S. and around the world with the gospel.
BIBLICAL DIVERSITY
God’s people are multiethnic, multiracial and multicultural. More than one-third of our churches have a constituency of people of color or language ― people of ethnicity.
To reach the entire world for Jesus, biblical diversity is required. The gospel sets the foundation for racial and cultural reconciliation. As we celebrate our human differences, we unite around God’s Word – the final authority on all matters, including cultural and social issues. So, Converge’s Office of Biblical Diversity works alongside our 10 districts to encourage, empower and equip churches to champion biblical diversity in their communities.
Increasing diversity
Our commitment to biblical diversity shows in the growing number of cultural churches that have joined Converge or are recent Converge church plants. Entering 2022, 42.8% of Converge churches are ethnic/language congregations and congregations who declare themselves multicultural, an increase of 19.8% since 2015.
BETTER TOGETHER
Converge now has 1,592 churches in the United States and the Caribbean that believe we are better together and are committed to help people meet, know and follow Jesus. We do this by starting and strengthening churches together worldwide.
We are nowhere near being done. More communities need to be reached and the gospel needs to be preached in the most remote regions of the world. The churches of Converge have stacked hands to be a part of what God is doing across the street and around the world—and he is using us!
Thank you for your heart to see the gospel advance in our communities and in some of the most remote places around the world.
