792 Attend 18th Annual Gathering in Des Moines
A total of 792 members of Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ joined together October 7-10 in Des Moines, Iowa for the association’s 18th Annual Gathering and Convention.
The total included 474 delegates, 275 church members, 22 seminarians, 11 guests, and 11 members of the LCMC staff and Board of Trustees.
The event kicked off Sunday evening with dinner followed by an opening worship service preached by LCMC Service Coordinator Mark Vander Tuig.
Dr. Kent Hunter from Church Doctor Ministries took the stage as this year’s keynote speaker. Bible studies were led by Jo Kinnard each morning.
Throughout the four day event, participants also took part in table discussions, fellowship meet-ups, and breakout sessions, plus had the chance to network with one another and to connect with dozens of the mission and ministry vendors present.
Also announced were three upcoming events:
- Our next Three Days of Prayer, January 1-3, 2019
- Our 19th Annual Gathering, September 29-October 2, 2019 in Omaha, NE
- Our next youth event, Called 2: Love, July 21-24, 2020 at Grand View University in Des Moines, IA
During the business session, Jason Eliot (Area 7), Steve Hagler (Area 2), and Jeremey King (Area 1) were newly elected to the LCMC Board of Trustees. Jeff Wold was elected treasurer at large.
Other current board members include Brodie Taphorn (Chair, Area 5), Julie Smith (Vice Chair, Area 3), Darrin Vick (Secretary, Area 6), and Sue Gunderson (Area 4).
The board thanked former board members Laurel Swanson, Enrique Estrada, and Sean Kelly for their service.
The event concluded on Wednesday with a closing worship service preached by Perry Fruhling, LCMC’s Coordinator for Pastoral Ministry.
Just in case you missed the live stream during this year’s event, the LCMC staff plans to have videos of the speakers available in the LCMC App and on our website (under Events > Media) after the new year, so stay tuned! If you’d like to be notified when videos become available, please opt-in for “General” notifications in our mobile app [here’s how] and/or subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter [here’s how].
For a digital edition of this year's book, check out our mobile app or find it on our website under Events > Media.
Just for Fun...
We asked our Facebook followers their favorite thing about attending the Annual Gathering. Here are just a few of the responses:
- "Connecting with friends old and new. Supporting and encouraging one another." – Mona Johnson Glesne
- "I loved the morning Bible studies last year, but I also loved the young adult fellowship table at dinner the second night." – Molly Shofner
- "Seeing old friends and making new ones. Love the new information that motivates your mission back home." – Lisa Wilcox McCormick
- "The building of relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ is foremost for me. The worship music, Bible study, keynote speaker and break-outs are also great. And what about that Mark Vander Tuig? Huge shout-out for always making it fun!" – Deanna Fischer Thaut
- "Worship! Fellowship!!!" – Pablo N. Aymat
Author
Kristy Thomas is a nerd with an affinity for 90s music, collecting antiques, and creating her own Halloween decorations. When she needs to unwind (which is pretty much all of the time), she likes arts & crafts, hiking and camping with her dogs, and playing the ukulele. As Communications & Public Relations Specialist, she is responsible for keeping the people of LCMC informed of what’s going on within the association and for tackling all of the creative-type projects. For the future, she would like to see the congregations of LCMC be proactive in raising up future leaders and for the “20-30 somethings” to be able to make some cool things happen, both within The Church and throughout the world.
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