NEWS

Happy Thanksgiving from the Regional Synod of Mid-America!  May God give you a grateful heart and reminders of his goodness during this holiday.

The RCA annual Advent resources: The Jesse Tree Toolkit (which could easily be adapted to do online during the pandemic), the Daily Advent Devotions for Young Families, Daily Advent Devotions for Teens and Adults, and Daily Advent Devotions in Spanish are all now available.  

The RCA’s Commission on Nominations is looking for individuals to serve on the RCA’s commissions, agencies, and boards.  Visit www.rca.org/nominations to learn about the work of each commission, agency, and board and to see if one or more fits your skills and interests. Then, download a profile, fill it out, and email it to nominations@rca.org before December 31. You may also send questions to nominations@rca.org. 

The Regional Synod of Mid-America is looking for 2 Corresponding Women Delegates and 1 Corresponding Youth Delegate for General Synod 2021.  These delegates attend all the sessions of General Synod and have the privilege of the floor but do not vote.  There are also a few special opportunities for these delegates at General Synod.  The Corresponding Women Delegates is open to any woman who is a member of an RCA church and the Youth Delegate is open to anyone connected to an RCA church with a sense of call from God to go into ministry.  Usually, these youth delegates are college-aged and discerning a call to ministry in any form.  General Synod 2021 will be held June 10-15, 2021 in Pella, Iowa.  Lodging and food is covered by the RCA and travel will be reimbursed by the RSMA.  Email Chad Schuitema if you know of someone or you yourself are interested in serving in this role.  

RSMA to host Vision 2020 conversations – In January, each classis will be invited to participate in a Zoom online meeting to hear from members of the Vision 2020 Team, RCA Staff, and have an opportunity to discuss the proposals together as a classis.  More information will be coming soon and specific times and dates will be released by your classis.

RSMA Staff to transition to new roles:  Beginning in 2021 Wayne Van Regenmorter will be transitioning to a part time role as the Coordinator for Multi-Ethnic Church Partnerships and Chad Schuitema will be transitioning to the Regional Synod Executive role.  To read more about this transition in a letter from the RSMA President, click HERE.

The RCA Board of Benefits Services (BOBS) is encouraging churches and plants to take a special offering for your pastor and qualify for assistance/prizes. The Thanksgiving or Christmas season is often the perfect time to participate. BOBS would like to join you in blessing our pastors in two ways. First, if you plan on taking a special offering for your pastor, you will be eligible to receive one $250 Amazon gift card for your pastor. (One per church.) To learn how, click here. Second, if the gift to your pastor will go to pay down student loans or medical debt, and if you are already commissioned or ordained in the RCA, BOBS will match that gift, up to $2,000. Visit this page for details. 

The RCA continues to offer free/reduced fee Spiritual Direction (and coaching) during the Pandemic – to learn more, and find a spiritual director, click HERE.  To hear General Synod Vice-President, Phil Assink, share about his experience with spiritual direction, click HERE.

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. 

You can continue to find all of the RCA’s COVID-19 resources HERE.

NEWS FROM CAMP MANITOQUA
WinterBlast will be two separate times in December for kids in 1st-6th grade.  WinterBlast seeks to introduce children to Christ and His message of salvation as well as to provide a setting and community where their lives are enriched through high energy and intentional programming. We hope that during their winter break, your child’s experience is a real blast!  For more information and to sign up, click HERE.

To get the most up to date information, please check out their updates HERE.

Giving Thanks in A Difficult Season – In the midst of a pandemic, our political climate, and many other issues creating a difficult season, it can be difficult to give thanks.  This story from a writer recovering from brain surgery may help us with developing a grateful heart for what God has done for us.

Do Mainline Protestants Need to Be More “Home-Made”?  The Congregational Consulting Group wonders: “as good as we are at some ways of being the church, have we sufficiently prepared believers to be religious at home?”  This article looks at ways that faith formation can primarily happen in the home.  This may be very useful, especially during a pandemic.  Also connected to this is a 2016 article from John Wimberly called Spiritual Formation as the Future of the Church.

Why Leaders Should Run Toward Pressure, Not From Pressure – Most leaders avoid pressure or try to diffuse it when it arises.  This article shows the benefits of embracing pressure and strategies to use it for the benefit of the church and the leader.

Understanding Digital Culture Can Help the Church Disciple Young Millennials and Gen Z –  What does discipleship look like for millennials and Generation Z today? Do young adults even know what discipleship is? How do our churches understand and practice disciple-making so that it is applicable to young people today?  Modeling our discipleship with next generations involves doing the things that Jesus did – now, more than ever. 

The Blessings Of Low-Tech Church During A High-Tech Pandemic – Karl Vaters examines low-tech ways to stay connected with our churches during this pandemic and mixing them in to our high-tech ways.

17 Reasons American Pastors and Church Leaders Are Asking and Answering All the Wrong Questions – Based on the recent Barna study in October titled “We’re Experiencing Another Reformation, and Not in a Good Way”, Brian Dodd examines 3 main issues pastors will have to face to engage this new Reformation.