Affinity Groups for Ministry Leaders
Network with Other Ministry Leaders through an On-Site Conference Affinity Group! Or Meet with Your Own Team to Enhance Your Experience!

One of the best things about coming to the LifeServe National Conference 2010 is that you will have elite access to hundreds of other ministry workers from all over the nation who are involved in a ministry just like yours. To help you take advantage of this unique networking opportunity, we’re creating FREE Affinity Groups of like-minded attendees.

As a participant in an Affinity Group, you’ll:

• have unique opportunities meet and greet with ministry leaders from all over the nation
• be able to share stories, advice, and prayer with other leaders who know what you’re going through – and know how to help
• enjoy the camaraderie and encouragement of a circle of friends who – like you – are out to change the world for Christ through the ministry of a local church
• get caught up to date on what God is doing in churches across the nation
• make new friends to keep in touch throughout the year

We encourage you to look through this list of Affinity Groups and find one that looks just right for you. And if you don’t see the right group, let us know! We may be able to add a new group that fits your needs at the conference.

Are you new to the area of volunteer equipping? Are you looking to connect with others who are excited and passionate about equipping people for ministry, yet feel a little overwhelmed about how to make it all happen? You’re not alone. Join forces with others who are feeling the same way. Be prepared to be encouraged and energized to stay true to your calling – without burning out.

Challenged Champions
Led by:  Tim Webster

No one promised your job would be easy – but you can take heart in knowing you are not alone either. This group is about creating a safe place where others know your pain, recognize your scars, and journey together toward healing, restoration, and renewal. Take the first step in climbing toward wellness by creating a workable plan for dealing with difficult ministry experiences.

Children’s Ministry Leaders
Led by:  Jennifer Ward

If people at your church start running when they see you coming to ask for help in ministry to kids — then this Affinity Group is for you! We’ll share best practices for inviting volunteers to serve, keeping them, and making sure your programs are safe. Connect with other children’s ministry leaders to exchange ideas, get new ones, or just hear what God’s doing in other ministries around the country.

Home Team
Led by:   You! (or someone from your group)

If you’re bringing several people from your church or organization to the conference, then you can take time during your getaway to compare notes and talk specifics about how what you’re learning applies to your situation. Create an Affinity Group with your own team attending the conference. Use the scheduled group times to debrief, plan, retreat, or build community with the people conferencing together from your church.

Large Church Leaders
Led by:  Darell Hailey

Serving in a church with hundreds of volunteers carries with it unique challenges and circumstances. In this Affinity Group, we’ll connect with others who are on the same path, hiking to the summit. There are others at the Church Volunteer Central National Conference 2010 who have gone through, or are going through, whatever it is you’re facing as a large church leader. Come to this Affinity Group to connect, swap ideas, and discuss the unique obstacles and opportunities of ministering in a church your size.

Multi-Hat Leaders
Led by:   Patti Mitschke

Is your hair getting thin on top from wearing multiple ministry hats? Are you juggling several balls and spinning lots of plates? This Affinity Group will unite all “one-man bands” who are trying to champion equipping…plus run ministry programs, responsibilities, and all kinds of other duties! We’ll look at how to go beyond surviving to thriving, while achieving balance in your church position, identity, and home life.

Pastors
Led by:   Matthew Burton

Pastors are important culture carriers to wave the banner of volunteer involvement. It’s not all on your shoulders, but sometimes it feels like it. If you’re trying to make the shift from “me” to “we” this Affinity Group is for you. We’ll learn from each other, share stories, ideas, insights, tips, challenges and more. The Spirit is speaking—let’s encourage each other to listen.

Small Church Leaders
Led by:   Ken Mitschke

If your church has 150 or fewer members, you know the unique challenges of engaging volunteers to keep programs functioning without burning out the people who are serving. (Is Mrs. Smith really your Sunday school superintendent, youth counselor, nursery coordinator, and bus driver?) Small church settings accomplish big things for the Kingdom, often with fewer resources. Join this Affinity Group as we listen, share, cry, laugh, pray, eat….and climb higher up the mountain of ministry together.

Unpaid Leaders
Led by:  Roger Heins

Are you an unpaid servant at your church? Are you leading a ministry area as a volunteer staff member? This group will unpack the challenges you face as you serve your church from outside the inner circle of paid staff. Explore how to maintain healthy relationships with paid staff, balance your time and commitments, influence other volunteers, and still enjoy doing what you’re doing.

Urban Church Leaders
Led by:   Eva Hawkins

We work in the city, often in some of the poorest and most depressed communities that America has to offer. It can be tremendously rewarding…and it can also wear us down. Since we live in the ever-changing world known as “urban,” we are best qualified to help each other thrive. Join us for sharing best practices, highlighting relevant resources, and telling each other our stories of hope and God’s power.

Veteran Equippers
Led by:   Joe Cookston

This Affinity Group is for those who have been in equipping/discipleship/volunteer leadership for five years or more, and who feel they’ve moved beyond the “nuts and bolts” of ministry. Are you ready to climb to the next level? This network will help you connect with those who have “been there, done that” and who now want to transition toward the passionate pursuit of health for their church, their community, and themselves.

Youth Leaders
Led by:  Jeremy Tackett

Matthew Burton is in his eleventh year as senior pastor of Central United Methodist Church in Monroe, NC. He completed his doctorate at United Theological Seminary in 2007 with an emphasis on spiritual gifts and equipping ministry. Central is in its 5^th year of the equipping ministry process, and is making huge strides in preparing, equipping, and releasing God’s people for ministry beyond the walls of the church. Matthew currently conducts many workshops and training sessions for equipping ministry in the Western North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

 

Joe Cookston currently serves as executive pastor at Salem Church of God in Dayton, OH. Joe is a trainer for equipping ministry team development among congregational, national, and international networks. He's an Equipping Institute graduate and adjunct faculty at United Theological Seminary in Dayton. He contributes to curriculum publishing and coaching efforts toward congreational renewal.  

Darell Hailey serve's as one of the Five Peak Pastors of Timberline Church, Fort Collins, CO. The Five Peaks of Timberline are essentially the Five Purposes of an equipping church. Darell’s area of responsibility is "Love Releases" – which is helping all believers at Timberline find the place where their passion can meet God’s purpose in ministry involvement! He formerly served as children’s pastor at First Assembly of God in Grand Junction, CO.

Eva Hawkins is a native of Cincinnati, OH and a member of Tryed Stone New Beginning Church. She is a core team member and coordinator of equipping ministry. Eva is an instructor of the Destiny Class which is a discovery path to ministry purpose. She is passionate about equipping God’s people for service. Her life’s motto is—purpose without passion is no purpose at all. 

Roger Heins has been an unpaid church volunteer all his life, starting as a young teenager teaching children's Sunday School. Since then he's continued his Christian service in the church and externally as a Scoutmaster, Keynote Speaker, Youth Mentor/Teacher, Adult Teacher/Trainer, Deacon, Elder, Equipping Team Coach, Small Group Leader, Worship Liturgist, and an Executive Coach. He's an Equipping Institute graduate and has recently retired to spend more time with family. At First Presbyterian Church in Ft. Collins, CO, he stays active teaching adult spiritual gifting and small group classes, coaching Christians, serving as a Liturgist, and as a member of the Equipping Team.

Jim Laverty is the Pastor of Equipping & Discipleship at Souderton Mennonite Church, located in the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia, PA.  Jim also serves as the TeamCVC regional coach for the southeastern Pennsylvania equipping network. Prior to serving at Souderton Mennonite Church, Jim launched the Philadelphia Access Center, a community-based crisis center that matches people in need with local church support. He also served for ten years as team leader with International Teams in Spain, where he helped establish two church plants in Madrid and Zaragoza.

Ken Mitschke lives in Schertz, a suburb of San Antonio, TX, and serves as senior pastor of Word of Life Fellowship. After serving in multi-staff churches for 11 years, he felt a call to start a mission congregation from scratch. Word of Life Fellowship is planning to purchase land this year. In addition to serving an awesome church that connects people to Christ, Ken mentors other pastors from the Pastoral Leadership Institute.

Patti Mitschke is the San Antonio Center Director for the Accelerated Degree Program of Concordia University Texas. She enjoys helping adults achieve their dream of a college degree. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, speaking, and leading retreats. Her husband, Ken, is a mission planter in Schertz, TX. Patti and Ken share many of the ministry responsibilities, and work together as a team to nurture and develop their young congregation, Word of Life Fellowship.

Tim Nations joined the staff at Pleasant Ridge, Arlington, TX, in May 2006. His primary responsibility is the oversight of small group ministry including inviting, training, and coaching leaders; curriculum development; and ministry growth. Before coming to Pleasant Ridge, Tim spent a decade in youth ministry and worship leading in Fort Worth and Wichita Falls, TX.  Tim is certified as a Natural Church Development Consultant, Results-based Conversations Facilitator and Trainer, and Christian Coach. Tim also serves as executive director of Vision to Lead, an independent ministry that equips churches and other organizations to cultivate environments for growing leaders.  

Krista Petty is the co-founder of Backyard Impact, an organization dedicated to connecting and resourcing non-profit and faith leaders to transform their communities. Through innovative facilitation, she builds capacity for mobilizing volunteers and collaborating with others for community impact. She is a certified Results-Based Conversations facilitator, columnist for Church Volunteer Central, coach for the Externally Focused Network, and serves as the volunteer leader for community involvement at Concord Christian Church, Concord, NC.

Tricia Richardson is senior advisor and co-founder of Backyard Impact. She specializes in equipping for externally focused ministry, volunteer involvement processes, team building, and collaboration for greater effectiveness. Tricia served as the Involvement Director for LifeBridge Christian Church, Longmont, CO, helping to equip and engage thousands in service including work with over 40 community partnerships. She has over 20 years of volunteer service with American Red Cross, Girls Scouts of America, and The Externally Focused Network. She currently serves as the Community Involvement Director at North Trenholm Baptist Church, Columbia, SC.

Jeremy Tackett  currently serves as the Director of Family Ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Pikeville, KY. He has served in youth ministry for the last seven years in both professional and volunteer roles. An integral part of his passion for ministry is the recruitment and equipping of volunteer leaders and developing the ‘life group’ model in ministry, with which he is involved.

Rick Valore had worked with Project 1.27 Adoptions in Colorado for the past two years and now serves as its executive director. Prior experience includes being an assistant pastor at Colorado Community Church and the Smoky Hill Vineyard where he served as children’s pastor, the Alpha Course leader, men’s pastor and adult education director. Rick holds a bachelors degree in business from Southern Methodist University and has 14 years experience in sales and real estate.

Jennifer Ward serves in children's ministry at Parkside Christian Church, Cincinnati, OH, where she oversees children's worship for K-3rd graders. She has been involved in children's ministry for over 10 years. She's also a pastor's wife, mother of three, and a REAL Ambassador for Group Publishing where she leads leadership and curriculum workshops.

Tom Webster is the senior pastor at First Christian Church in Loveland, CO. He is also a Certified Christ-Centered Life Coach and Seminar Director for Prepare/Enrich. He serves on numerous church and community boards including Loveland Police Chaplains, the Minister's Board of the Larimer County Detention Center, the Institutional Review Board for Banner Health, and currently serves as Community Spiritual Director for the Northern Colorado Walk to Emmaus Community.