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THE MIDWEST CONNECTION
October 2023
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“For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
Zephaniah 3:9.
Zephaniah speaks very much of the day of the Lord. Israel had a spiritual resurgence under Josiah but had drifted from that spiritual awakening to become stagnant.
“It will come about at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And I will punish the men Who are stagnant in spirit, Who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil!’ (Zephaniah 1:12).
Judah was warned that God would discipline his children if they continued to ignore him and chase after the idols of the surrounding nations. They had lost their spiritual compass and aligned themselves with the spiritual darkness of the nations around them. God was going to bring the Babylonians to severely discipline His people. God loved them too much to just let them continue to wander off into a dark place. They had stagnated and God was doing everything to provoke His people to return to Him. It is interesting that they were united together but against God’s wishes. The majority had abandoned the heart of God and chased after things to replace God. Being relationally committed is helpful only when we are going in the right direction. Read More
Pastor Brad Little, Regional Executive Director
Venture Church Network Midwest
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Bold Stand
On the morning of September 27th, both middle and high school students all over the world showed up for school early to gather together around the flagpole and pray for their school, the teachers, staff, and classmates. “See you at the Pole” is a global celebration, observed the fourth Wednesday of September every year. It is a simple student-led prayer rally.
I have had my students doing “See you at the pole” for several years, and each time I make the announcement for it, there are many nervous expressions looking back at me. Read More
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Chuck Babbitt, Youth Pastor
Bloomer Baptist Church, Bloomer, WI
VCNMidwest Youth Ministries Director
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Should We Invest
The Church's Cash?
The Question
The church or ministry that is always cash strapped is unlikely to have this question surface, but, when a church is purposely moving toward some financial goals and giving is supporting those goals, then it’s common to feel the freedom that a cash savings balance offers.
Then it’s natural for some good intentioned congregant or staff member to question, “we have all of this cash…but it’s not earning enough interest – wouldn’t it be good stewardship to seek a better return?”
Types of Savings
I want to approach that question from downwind. First, not all savings balances are the same. Three different types of savings balances are common for churches. One recommended reason for having a savings balance is the emergency fund. The emergency fund is normally three to nine months of operating expenses held for emergencies. Read More
Pastor Rob Buhl
First Baptist Church, Whitehall, WI
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Pre-Registration is now open to reserve spots at Artic Advance for your youth group!
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Tuesday, October 31, 9:00am (CT)
with an alternative repeat session
Wednesday, November 1, 3:00pm (CT)
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WATCH FOR YOUR ZOOM INVITE COMING SOON!
The Purpose of ENGAGE is to address gospel and missional critical issues and challenge our thinking related to pastoral ministry, leadership and the purpose of our churches.
The Goal of ENGAGE is to continue to become gospel-centered, grace driven, biblically anchored churches passionately committed to fulfill the mission of Christ.
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VCN is excited to offer a specialized retirement plan option through GuideStone to pastors and staff of churches in the Venture Church Network family. Read More
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Setting Reasonable Compensation
Many people may feel like the only type of unreasonable compensation in churches is unreasonably low compensation. The reason is that many churches feel they cannot afford to pay market rates for the talent needed to lead and maintain their operations, and the idea that churches may set compensation too high seems like a foreign concept. ChurchLaw&Tax
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Pacific Church Network: Footsteps of Paul 2024
Click Here if you would like to learn more about what they will be going.
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An Israel Trip will be offered Oct. 2-13, 2025
(Flying out of ORD Chicago).
Cost: $4959.00
(Deposits due before Oct. 24, 2024 w/ final payment by Dec. 1, 2024)
Price does not include travel to ORD, in-country lunches, souvenirs, passport fees, travel insurance, or other personal expenses.
If you or anyone you know 9is interested, please feel free to contact Pastor Andrew Powell at apowell@gracemahomet.org for more information.
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Venture Church Network Midwest
PASTORAL COHORTS
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Iowa
Tuesday, October 31,12:00 (CT)
Location: Calvary Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids
Jay Jentink, Calvary Baptist Church Cedar Rapids, IA
319-396-3233
office@calvarycr.org
Michigan/Ohio
Thursday, October 19, 2:00 (ET)
Meeting by Zoom
Allen Grover, Ganson Street Baptist Church, Jackson, MI
517-740-8961 pastorallen@gansonstreet.org
Central Minnesota
Monday, October 16, 10:00 (CT)
Leader: Brad Little
Location - River of Life Church, Hastings, MN
Contact: Dan Vesta
651-468-1045
dkvesta@sbcglobal.net
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Southern Minnesota
Tuesday, October 17, 11:30 (CT)
Location: Pizza Ranch,
Jackson, MN
Walt Moser, First Baptist Church, Luverne, MN
605-254-3092
PastorWalt.Moser@gmail.com
Wisconsin
October 19, 11:00am (CT)
Location: To Be Determined
Wade Duroe, Crossroads Church, Chippewa Falls, WI
715-723-1054
wljc12@hotmail.com
VCNMidwest Youth Pastor Collaboration
Tuesday, October 24, 10:00 (CT)
Meeting by Zoom
Chuck Babbitt, Bloomer Baptist Church, Bloomer, WI
515-230-0774
youth@bloomerbaptistchurch.com
To Be Decided
Illinois
Northern Minnesota/North Dakota
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Venture Church Network Midwest
1410 44th Street, Marion, IA 52302
Dr. Brad Little
Regional Executive Director
blittle@vcnmidwest.org
763-350-4263
Administrative Office
Regular Hours: Tues. thru Fri. 8am - 2pm
Gina Perry, Administrative Assistant
gperry@vcnmidwest.org
319-830-6478
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All articles and submissions are the view of the individual writer and are not necessarily the official position of Venture Church Network Midwest. | | | | |
