Converge Heartland: A Values-Driven Ministry

Sometimes people wonder what the Converge Heartland District Office is and how it serves our churches. First of all, please know we have existed by the will of our district churches for 150 years. Next, we are a district of churches that is growing. It is an exciting and stretching season in Converge Heartland. As such, the district staff and the related services we offer are expanding. Finally, it is important to note that the services we offer and the staff we hire are intentionally aligned with our district’s values as stated in our bylaws. In brief, our enduring values are church health, church starting, evangelism, discipleship, and prayer. The following is a comprehensive overview of our values-driven services.  

If you are interested in any of the following services, please contact us at (833) 285-8488 or info@convergeheartland.org.

Value 1: Healthy churches on God’s mission

We promote the health of local churches through services and events that promote the strength of the church body, pastors, and pastoral couples. We do this through the following services and ministries:

• Church revitalization efforts

• Strategic ministry planning retreats (StratOp and Auxano certified)

• Natural Church Development (NCD certified) resources

• Converge church board development resources

• Financial services for church investments, loans, church-staff retirement, and estate planning

• Regional workshops for pastors and lay ministers

• Regular gatherings of regional pastoral LEAD teams

• Converge National S2 Conferences (S2 means “Start and Strengthen”)

• Converge National Compass ministry for pastoral assessment, direction, and renewal

• Annual RENEW Retreat for Converge Heartland ministers and ministry couples

• Monthly district communications, newsletters, print materials, and administrative services

• Coaching and counseling resources for ministers

• Pastoral search services

• Interim pastoral services and pulpit supply

• Consultation on matters of pastoral compensation and benefits

• Facilitation of church mergers and consolidations

Value 2:  Churches united for resourcing and reproducing healthy churches

We desire to see new churches started, disconnected churches joining our movement, and a pipeline of future ministers developed who will serve and reproduce healthy churches across the Heartland. We do this through the following services and ministries:

• Recruitment from churches, mission fields, seminaries, colleges, and other careers

• Converge Church Planter Assessment Center

• Converge Heartland Residency Program for developing pastors, church planters, and missionaries

• Training for raising donor support

• Receipting and reporting donor-funded residents and church planters

• Church affiliation efforts and district affiliation councils

• Church planter coaching

• Providing church start-up funds

Value 3: Churches that demonstrate God’s love by making disciples of sinners from among all people

Converge and Converge Heartland desires to see conversion growth locally, regionally, and globally. Over the years, our evangelistic and outreach-oriented efforts have increased to include the following:

• Taking Incarcerated Ministries to seven South Dakota incarceration facilities 

• Evangelism equipping and training from the Billy Graham Institute for Evangelism

• Receipting and reporting on donor support for regional missionaries and mission efforts

• Ongoing Ukraine relief, evangelism, and church planting efforts

• Converge International Ministries

• Regional workshops and equipping on evangelism, outreach, and global missions

• Short-term mission trips

Value 4: Churches faithfully using the Bible to call and train disciples of Jesus Christ

Converge Heartland is a theologically conservative district of churches that enjoy a broad alignment around the centrality of God’s word. Our culture is one in which ministers serve as iron that sharpens iron concerning the teaching of sound doctrine and preaching from God’s word. We facilitate this value through the following events and services:

• Annual Cultivate Conference, a church-strengthening conference for church leaders and lay leaders throughout the Heartland

• Regional LEAD Team gatherings of pastors

• Facilitating ordination councils

• Youth camps for middle school and high school students

• A host of development programs and tools such as residency programs and assessments

• Developing partnerships with theological training institutions throughout our region

Value 5:  Churches praying effectively for God’s will, power, and mission

Prayer is more than a value in Converge Heartland. It is truly something that makes us distinct. Our ministers will come together for extended days of prayer, and our congregations broadly practice and celebrate the discipline of prayer. To celebrate this value, we facilitate the following events and services:

• Facilitating special “Prayer Weekends” in local churches

• Regular prayer times during Regional LEAD Team gatherings of pastors

• Annual Prayer Gathering

• Converge International Ministries global ministry initiative consortiums (monthly global prayer support gatherings via Zoom)

• Regular Zoom gatherings of district ministry wives

• Infusing prayer into all we do and promote

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our office and staff. We have a shared vision to see a gospel-centered church bringing transformation to every Heartland community. To this end, the Converge Heartland District Office exists to serve our district family of churches and ministers as we start and strengthen churches together worldwide. 

www.convergeheartland.org
(833) 285-8488 or (833-CULTIV8)
info@convergeheartland.org