NEWS

Vision 2020 Team Presses On – The Vision 2020 Team recently met in Chicago to continue their work discerning the future of the RCA.  You can read more about that meeting and the emerging option still being worked out by clicking HERE.

The Ministerial Excellence Fund of the RCA is again taking applications (for February only) to help reduce or eliminate clergy debt.  This grant is an opportunity to begin or continue your journey towards financial health. To read more about this opportunity, and to apply, visit the Ministerial Excellence Fund website.  

2020 RSMA Directory of Minsters and Ministries is now available to download by clicking HERE.  We appreciate the assistance of all who help keep this directory as up to date and accurate as possible.  

Free Christian Counseling for Pastors and Church Employees – The RCA’s Board of Benefits Services Employee Assistance Program provides free, confidential Christian counseling either at at an outpatient clinic in your area or via an online telehealth session.  Up to 3 sessions per issue are provided at no cost to any employee of an RCA church.  Some common issues addressed are depression, anxiety, work-related problems, marital issues, family issues, substance abuse, and others.  The 24 hour hotline number is (833) 244-2490.  For more information click HERE. 

*Also available is the recommended guide Mental Health: A Guide for Faith Leaders from Pathways to Promise.  

NEWS FROM CAMP MANITOQUA
Registration for ‘Summer Camp 2020’ begins TODAY, February 3, 2020 at 5am. Remember to register early for preferred dates. Visit Manitoqua.org for additional information and registration. Call our office at 815.469.2319 if you need any assistance.

Looking for some fun winter activities?  Camp Manitoqua & Retreat Center is hosting family game nights.  The game nights will include rotations based on age and activities (1st grade through adults).  Cost is $5 per person per child each date (parents are free).  Dates & times are Feb 10, 17 & 24 from 6:00pm – 7:30pm.  To register online, visit Manitoqua.org or call 815.469.2319. Payment can be submitted upon arrival.  Space is limited so RSVP soon!

Summer Staff: Camp Manitoqua is looking for ministry-minded college aged students to work on staff for summer 2020 at Camp Manitoqua & Retreat Center.  Starting in November, applications for 2020 summer staff at Camp Manitoqua are available online at Manitoqua.org/jobs.  

Stand Out Youth Leadership Retreat – Stand Out seeks to help answer questions about what it means to lead like Jesus did as a youth. During this high school leadership retreat, we will be focusing on many leadership topics with an emphasis on becoming a successful Christian leader.  For more information, go to https://www.manitoqua.org/standout

1. IT’S UNAVOIDABLE!  Scott Peck starts his famous book, The Road Less Traveled, with this sentence: “Life is difficult.”  Whether because of loss, crises, loneliness, or emptiness, at times in our faith journey we struggle with God.  It‘s not wrong to be angry, as long as we let God work with us!
2. GOD INITIATES IT!  Just like Jacob, God desires relationship with us, and even insists on it.  At times on the road to peace, it’s as if He’s standing in the way, saying, “Deal with me first!”  
3. GOD BLESSES THROUGH IT!  The self-serving, self-hating Jacob had to die for a new Jacob (Israel) to be born.  He was given the blessing already granted to his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham.  But now he realized that the blessing was his through God’s grace, not through his own crafty swindling.    

Why We Need Networks – This article with Dave Fergusen is part of a series and in this article he details the blessings of becoming a part of, and or starting networks of pastors and churches.     

5 Ways Large Churches Can Proactively Help Reluctant Small Churches – The world is full of bigger is better and other ways to separate and exclude.  This even happens regarding sizes of churches.  This article shows ways for larger churches to participate in the work and bless smaller churches for the mutual benefit of God’s Kingdom.

Church Leadership Trends for the 2020s –  With more than 30 years of coaching and consulting with churches, Bob Whitesel makes some predictions (observations?) for church leadership as we enter a new decade.  Some may surprise you. 

Are Churches Counting What Counts? – This question has begun to be asked more and more over the last decade and continues to cause us to pause, especially during this time of consistorial reports.  What does your church value?  This article by Nathan Kirkpatrick may help you reexamine your metrics.

Five Ways to Embrace Mission and Revitalize the Church – Rawee Bunupuradah is an RCA missionary and writes beautifully about his own story of encountering mission and the revitalization it has brought to congregations.