23rd Annual Gathering & Convention Recap - Here's What You Need to Know
How can we, as an association of congregations, all work together to help fulfill Christ’s Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations?
617 people from across the association joined together at the Saint Charles Convention Center in St. Charles, Missouri from October 1-4 for Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ’s 23rd Annual Gathering & Convention to figure out just that.
The event, themed “All Hands on Deck”, opened with a worship service on Sunday evening, preached by Sarah Carlstrom, the pastor of New Creation Lutheran Church in Perham, MN.
Morning Bible study was led Monday through Wednesday by Jody Skogen, the pastor of Oasis Church in Marion, Iowa. Daily worship was led by Scott Bowles and the worship team from Joy Community Church in O’Fallon, Missouri.
Monday’s morning session featured a keynote presentation by LCMC Service Coordinator Mike Bradley, followed by a panel discussion with members of the LCMC Board of Trustees.
On Monday afternoon, participants had the opportunity to take part in focus groups to weigh in on some of the challenges that we as an association are facing as we move forward into a new season of doing life and ministry together.
As programming wrapped up for the evening, attendees had the option to attend a fellowship dinner and/or get connected with one of the many districts and fellowships that LCMC has to offer.
Ed Stetzer, Dean of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and Scholar in Residence & Teaching Pastor at Mariners Church, served as keynote speaker on Tuesday morning.
During the afternoon session, Christian Huntley, LCMC’s Coordinator for Leadership and Pastoral Development, took time to recognize those who are serving as leaders within the association. During his presentation, Pastor Erwin Spruth of Colorado Springs, Colorado was recognized for celebrating his 71st anniversary of ordination.
Participants also had the option to attend up to two breakout sessions on topics of their interest as programming concluded for the evening.
On Wednesday, the LCMC Board of Trustees thanked Sue Gunderson and Jon Anderson for their service and welcomed Kurt Hoover (Area 4) and Anna Tucker (Area 2) to the board. Current information for the LCMC Board of Trustees can be found here.
Julie Smith, who serves on the LCMC staff as the coordinator for districts and fellowships, took the stage as the final keynote speaker for the event.
Programming concluded on Wednesday morning with a closing worship service preached by Dave Rispoli, the senior pastor of Joy Community Church in O’Fallon, Missouri.
We hope to see you for our next Annual Gathering & Convention, which takes place September 29 - October 1, 2024 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Marion, Iowa. Be sure to save the date!
Annual Gathering Media
- BOOKS: Digital copies of Annual Gathering books are available on our website under Events > Media > Annual Gathering Books or by clicking here.
- VIDEOS: Videos of our speakers from this event are available for streaming on the Videos & Podcasts page of our website (go to Events > Media > Videos & Podcasts) and in the LCMC mobile app.
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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