When I was in seminary, I worked at a big church in the Twin Cities. It wasn’t just a great place to learn about ministry—it was a place where I got to see how it’s done in real life. It was the perfect complement to all the stuff I was learning in class.

Recently, the Converge Church Planter Assessment Center took place in Converge North Central, hosted by Renovation Church in Blaine, MN. Nine couples from all over the U.S. (including four from CNC) came together for a jam-packed four-day event with trained assessors. During this time, they got to preach, share their visions, work in team settings, and meet with counselors and assessors. This assessment gives a personalized and thorough look at a candidate's readiness to plant a church successfully.

Perhaps now more than ever, your resiliency is being tested. Getting up after being knocked down by adversity is harder. Recovering from crisis and disruption takes longer. Personal resiliency is needed to navigate and effectively serve your churches. But how?

In his book, White Man's Gospel, Craig Smith, a Chippewa himself, brings to light the Puritan efforts to "colonize" the First Peoples. It was common for the young children of Native American families to be stolen from their homes and be taken to "boarding schools," where they were not allowed to wear their tribal clothes or speak their tribal language.

What does a church produce? More and better disciples of course! But that’s an incomplete answer.