Everyone has a story to share, yet too often we don’t feel like it’s important enough to tell. Henri Nouwen speaks about the Wounded Healer, and how we can walk best with others because of our shared journeys and painful experiences. But how can we, if we never share the stories of our journeys? This track will help ministry leaders claim their stories of triumph and tragedy, learn how to invite others to do the same, and provide resources for self-care and building your ministry. We are not on this journey alone, and we sometimes need to learn how to hold space for hearing another’s story, and also telling our own, so that the body of Christ can more fully walk the journey arm in arm together.
Too often we cringe at the word “evangelical” with its deep ties to colonization, conversion, and condescension. How do we reconcile those connotations with our identity as Evangelical Lutherans and our call to go and make disciples, spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth? How do we teach our children and youth to share their joy and faith in Jesus if they see our fear of how we might be received? This track shares refreshing ways of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who have been hurt by the church or who just haven’t seen us live out the gospel in ways that remind us that the Word is enough, and that rooted in the Word, they are already enough, and we are ENOUGH! Evangelism isn’t about butts in the pews but building genuine relationships filled with the love of Christ. For ministry leaders who are “on fire'' and want to share, but are afraid and/or don’t know how to, this track will give direction and examples of how to evangelize in an approachable, relational and practical way with grace enough for all.