2023 Church Planting Board Report
The Central District Church Planting Board is grateful to the Lord for how we have seen Him at work in 2022. It is a joy to see how God is actively multiplying churches among us. Here are a few highlights from the last year:
Above all, we praise God for how He has used the ministry of our District Staff in the work of church multiplication. We express our deep appreciation to Todd Brooks, Mark Farran, and Brad Wos for this work. We encourage you to read their reports to see how God has used them in our District in the last year. Among their other responsibilities and duties in 2022, these men gave themselves to offering wisdom, encouragement, and guidance to various church multiplication efforts. In 2022, these men worked closely with the following church multiplication efforts:
- Anchor Church; Hot Springs Village, Arkansas
- First Evangelical Free Church; Sioux Falls, South Dakota (looking to multiply)
- Anamosa, IA (Cornerstone Church of Marion, Iowa looking to plant here)
- Harvest City; Coralville, IA (nearing full membership in the Central District)
- Charles, MO church plant
- Greenbelt Church; Clive, IA (nearing full membership in the Central District)
- Northwest Iowa ‘Gospel initiative’ (praying for a planter in this area)
- Afghan refugee Gospel partnerships
As a Church Planting Board, we once again prioritized getting together for a team-retreat in August of 2022. We were all able to gather in the Kansas City area for a couple days of vision-casting, dreaming, prayer, and organizing our thoughts around the mission we have been called to. This was a very valuable time for us as a team. We left those days excited to see the Lord raise up “Life-Giving Churches” who are ready to join the work of church multiplication!
As the Board met in 2022, we deepened our focus on prayer. We prayed for the multiplication works listed above, and for the Lord to raise up new efforts. In 2022, we also spent time reviewing our Board manual and discussing/making valuable changes.
We as a Board want to thank our District Superintendent Mike Shields, who helps brings vision and encouragement to our Board meetings. We believe that Mike’s passion to help raise up Life-Giving churches will result in an active church multiplication endeavor throughout the Central District!
Finally, I want to thank the members of the Church Planting Board in 2022: Laura Calys, Bruce Boehmer, Ken Sidey, Mary Lou McDowell, and the District Staff members. We appreciate how these individuals gave of their time and served the District this past year!
May the Lord continue to develop Life-Giving Churches among us…that have a vision and passion to multiply!
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Brant
New Life EFC, Tama/Toledo, Iowa
Church Planting Board Chairman
This year due to COVID we will not be providing a printed booklet... all of the information you need is in the conference Mobile App. Download it now!