News, stories and blog | Converge North Central

Bright Lights and Bugs

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.

Aug 14 2024

Church planting & multiplication

Church Planting Assessment Center

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.

Aug 14 2024

Church planting & multiplication

Empowering Converge North Central Churches: A Unique Opportunity for Church Planting

At Converge North Central, we are dedicated to fostering growth, renewal, and outreach among our churches. We understand that momentum is key to achieving our spiritual goals, and one of the most impactful ways to create this momentum is through church planting. To help you multiply your efforts and build momentum, we are thrilled to introduce the Church Planting Escrow Program, a special opportunity for all Converge North Central churches.

Oct 16 2023

Church planting & multiplication

Community & Belonging in modern Society

Sebastian Junger's book "Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging" offers a unique perspective on the importance of community and belonging in modern society.

May 12 2023

Church planting & multiplication

Church Planting in Rural Areas

We need to focus on methods of discipleship that impact our next generation. It is easy in today’s church planting culture to see greater value in planting churches in large cities or urban areas. While that is important, Jesus said he came that "none" should perish. To reach all those people Christ is after we must look to the "hill country" as well. The areas that may be less attractive, and have less glitter in the eyes of some.

Apr 18 2023

Church planting & multiplication

A church plant differs from an established church in many ways.

A new church offers a way that you get to know people well. This beginning allows you to have a unique closeness with unbelievers. As you build something from nothing, it forces you to dive deep into relationships and personal discipleship. I had that opportunity with one such person at our Iron Ridge Church. His name was DJ Scholtes.

Nov 14 2022

Church planting & multiplication

3 Takeaways from October's Assessment Center in Prosper, Texas

We need to focus on methods of discipleship that impact our next generation. We can no longer assume we are making disciples. Current models of church planting focus heavily on “How” to church plant and often assume discipleship happens. If we are to see this next generation rise and expand God’s Kingdom, we need to focus our resources on discipleship. Several years ago, I remember seeing a well-known pastor/speaker at Exponential who traveled with a group of young leaders from his church.

Oct 19 2022

Church planting & multiplication

On the Lookout for Church Planters

This is a personal invitation for you to come visit a Converge Church Planters Assessment Center (CPAC). If you want to jump start your ability to identify and work with church planters, taking part in an assessment center would be the best way. Besides that, winter is just around the corner and many of our assessments are in warm and sunny locations.

Sep 9 2022

God's Place in Your Perspective

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?

Aug 5 2022

Missions

First Peoples Initiative

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.

Jul 11 2022

Church planting & multiplication

Looking strategically to summer

Here are four simple things to look for in potential church planters when you meet people and have those casual summer conversations:

Jun 15 2022

Part 3: Getting past "like”

When it comes to hiring staff, it is critical that we look past our initial feelings about a potential hire and look into skill sets and what a candidate is bringing.

Mar 7 2022

Church planting & multiplication

Church Planting Weekend

What if your church did not exist? For that matter, what if there were not Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching churches in your community? Who would build relationships and share God’s love? How would people’s trajectory’s be changed from death to life?

Mar 15 2021

Church planting & multiplication

Engaging Every Church in Church Planting

In communicating the overall ministries of Converge North Central, you might often hear us speak of Starting, Strengthening, Sending, and Camping.

Mar 15 2021

Church planting & multiplication

Converge Church Planting Weekend is Coming!

The weekend of June 6th, Converge churches across the country will be talking about and receiving an offering for church planting. The churches of CNC are invited and encouraged to participate.

Feb 12 2021

Past, Present & Your Churches Future Church Planting

Prior to his retirement from Temple Baptist Church (now Communitas Church) in Brainerd, MN, Bob Evan was researching historical documents for the church’s 130th anniversary. He came upon a number of “newsletters” and meeting minutes from the origins of the church. The newsletters were written by and to, other Swedish immigrants in the Brainerd area. And, they were written in Swedish.

Feb 12 2021

CNC Church plant partners with local business to keep it running while owner in hospital with COVID

Like many church plants, when Pursuit Community Church launched in the fall of 2018 in Mounds View, MN, they had no office space. At the time, there were only two staff members. “We used to work out of coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, anywhere that had free Wi-Fi and cozy space. That all changed the day I walked into the Winkin Rooster.” said Lead Pastor Mark Allen.

Nov 17 2020

Churches helping feed hungry communities

Truckfulls of food provided by USDA allow CNC churches to serve their communities.

Oct 21 2020

Elevate: A Youth Ministry for the City

Believing God was calling the church to be “in the city, for the good of the city,” it became obvious that Elevate needed the building so serve as a youth group for the city.

Sep 22 2020

Rebuild Relief – Redistributed

In May 2020, Converge North Central was the epicenter of all that has come from George Floyd's death. Amid that devastation, God's Spirit poured out as people came to Christ and were baptized. Converge from across the country supported the Rebuild Relief fund with donations totaling over $25,000. Thank You! These gifts from God have been redistributed and initially were used for some short term clean-up and meeting needs from the neighborhoods. As additional funds came in, God continues to use His resources and people toward long-term Kingdom building flowing directly out of that initial turmoil. God is at work! Converge North Central is thankful for our many Pastors and churches who stepped up and demonstrated mercy, grace, and being the hands and feet of Jesus through this challenging time.

Jul 9 2020

Church planting & multiplication

What does a church produce?

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

Feb 28 2020

Discipleship & spiritual formation

My little gods

Normally we associate idols with stuff or things. But there are more ambiguous idols that at first glance don’t seem like bad things at all.

Sep 22 2015

Church planting & multiplication

Free agent for God

“For us this has really been a story of endurance. If at any time in the process we focused on the storm instead of on Christ, we would’ve given up a long time ago."

Mar 24 2015

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