We all know the mandate of the church is to make disciples, but sometimes it can be a struggle to know how best to accomplish this goal. Without a clear strategy for how to live out the Great Commission motivated by the Great Commandment we tend to default to managing a slate of programs without a clear sense for how each contributes to the goal of discipleship. A better approach is to move from managing programs to a strategic path.

In this workshop you will learn why having a Discipleship Path is so important and receive all the tools you need to build and implement a custom-designed Discipleship Path or strategy for your church or area of ministry. In addition, participants in this workshop can receive additional coaching to help ensure you are successful to build a Path that is just right for your ministry setting.

The cities, towns, and neighborhoods we inhabit can feel like daunting places to bear witness to the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Let’s discuss practical ways we can help empower everyday believers to do just that where we live, work, and play.

We’ll look at examples from my hometown of Portland, OR and elsewhere, and we’ll leave with fresh hope and some practical tools to engage with. The Gospel is still changing lives!

Transformational Ministries Pastor, Calvary Church, St Peters, MO

Created by The Table Group (Patrick Lencioni), Working Genius offers a simple, practical, fast way to unlock your team's collaborative potential. 

In this workshop, Dan will explain the Working Genius paradigm, teach you how to lead your team using the available tools, and send you back into ministry equipped for the best team-training you'll have all year (and keep talking about afterward)!

Learn more about Working Genius here: https://www.workinggenius.com/

Bonus points if you take the $25 assessment before this workshop!

Through GlobalFingerprints, your church can partner with a specific church or network of churches in a particular region of the world, building prayerful relationships and engaging in mutual encouragement, equipping, and learning across cultures and contexts.

Join us to explore how your church can play a transformational role in the lives of vulnerable children and the growth of gospel-centered churches around the world. GlobalFingerprints—ReachGlobal’s child sponsorship ministry—is far more than sponsorship alone. U.S. churches partner with international churches in difficult regions where the gospel is little known and struggles to grow, leading to transformation not just for children, but for families, churches, and entire communities.

Through GlobalFingerprints, your church can build a meaningful relationship with an international church, minister to vulnerable children, and help strengthen, revitalize, or plant healthy, gospel-driven congregations.

Craig Ott will join GlobalFingerprints leaders to share the missiology of church planting and transformation, and how GlobalFingerprints can be a catalyst for this work. You’ll also hear practical strategies for mobilizing your whole church in global ministry—along with resources such as children’s curriculum, prayer tools, and ways to foster ongoing, relational church-to-church partnership through child sponsorship.

Through GlobalFingerprints, your congregation can walk alongside a specific church or network of churches around the world, building prayerful, mutually encouraging relationships that advance the gospel and strengthen Christ’s church.

Presenters:

Craig Ott is professor of mission and intercultural studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he also earned his PhD. Prior to joining TEDS he served for 21 years in Germany with ReachGlobal where he planted several churches and trained missionaries. He has also taught or consulted in over 40 countries.  He is the author of numerous articles and books including The Church on Mission: A Biblical Vision for Transformation among All People.

Dave Clarke is the Operations Manager for GlobalFingerprints with a background in ministry, finance, and engineering management. Before GlobalFingerprints, he served as the Executive Pastor at an EFCA church in Dubuque, IA where he lives with his wife. Through his role as Executive Pastor, Dave helped to nurture a partnership with a church in Panama and has gotten to experience first-hand the power of partnering with an international church through GlobalFingerprints. For the past 4 years, his church has sponsored children and come alongside a church to witness church revitalization and real-life change in children and families. Seeing this impact has given him a real passion for sharing this global outreach ministry with other church leaders.

Tom Pankratz is the Director of Church Engagement for GlobalFingerprints. Involved with the organization since its start in 2006, Tom retired from a business career three years ago to serve fulltime with Global Fingerprints. He is passionate about connecting U.S. churches with churches and church planters that GlobalFingerprints equips to help meet the needs of vulnerable children and families.  Tom is excited about strengthening both the ministry in the field and the church at home.

What’s at the heart of gender confusion? What fuels your thoughts regarding gender and sexuality? What drives your response to those who think or live differently? 

God created with purpose and order, with each person made in His image and lavished with His love. Join in this discussion-oriented intensive to look at how God’s Word defines our understanding and our response on issues of gender and sexuality.

(Part 2 - offered on Tuesday - will move us into common but difficult questions or situations we may experience related to gender and sexuality. You may go to one without the other.)

Being a pastor’s wife isn’t just a title; it’s a shared calling that carries its own set of rhythms and responsibilities. This breakout session is a dedicated space for us to gather and discuss the situations unique to our lives in ministry. Featuring a  panel of Central District Pastor's wives, we will explore how to thrive in our personal walks and our marriages while serving the body of Christ. Come for the insight, stay for the sisterhood, and leave strengthened for the journey ahead.

Older men are often overlooked in church life, yet they carry deep wisdom, influence, and untapped purpose. This workshop introduces ReGroup, a proven relational men’s ministry model designed specifically for men in the third-third of life.

Participants will learn how to create meaningful spaces where older men reconnect with God, build authentic friendships, and rediscover purpose. You’ll explore what makes ministry to older men unique, why traditional approaches often fall short, and practical tools for launching and sustaining a thriving older men’s group.

Ideal for pastors and ministry leaders who want to help men move from isolation to impact—and finish life well.

Vernon Delpesce retired in 2016 after a 38-year career as a nonprofit executive, but retirement didn’t slow him down—it clarified his calling. After retiring, he served six years on the staff of Valley Church before retiring again. He continues to lead ReGroup and serves on the leadership and speaking team of CrossTrainers.

Through years of leading men’s groups in retirement, Vernon has seen firsthand that this season of life is not about winding down but stepping into purpose. Again and again, he has watched men rediscover meaning, contribution, and faith—insights that inspired this book.

Paul reminds us that God has put the treasure of the gospel in “jars of clay” or “cracked pots” to display that the power comes from Him and not from us. In fact, Christ’s grace and power are made perfect in our weakness. For this reason, Peter instructs us pastors and shepherds to “lead by example.” If we are to lead our flocks in surrender to Christ and experiencing gospel transformation through a relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit, we must vulnerably display that gospel work as an example to our flocks. 

In this session, we will explore the biblical imperative for ministry leaders to lead by example with vulnerability and transparency in order to magnify Christ. We will discover the connection to vulnerable leadership with spiritual maturity. We will also discuss the dangers leading and preaching without vulnerability. We will practically explore when and how to appropriately share with vulnerability in preaching, small groups, and other leadership moments such that it serves the flock and glorifies Christ. Finally, we will discuss how to grow in a lifestyle of humility and vulnerability as gospel leaders.

Scott and his wife Jane have been married for 22 years. They have two sons, Ian (19) and Xander (17). Scott has southern roots but lived in Nebraska for most of his life before heading to Bethel Seminary in Minnesota in 2008. Professionally, Scott served as a Licensed Professional Counselor providing family therapy in Nebraska for 3 years and he served as Lead Pastor at Grace Community Church (EFC) in Worthington, Mn for nearly 14 years. Scott is an active guy who enjoys being in the outdoors with his family, walks with his wife, playing sports, weightlifting, roasting coffee, making salsa and hot sauce, smoking tasty meats, watching college football (Go Big Red and Roll Tide), and having deep conversations on theology, leadership, congregational systems, gospel transformation and multiplication.

We will be looking at trends in religion impacting missions/evangelism and demographic shifts in the USA and the role of immigrants in the USA. I will also give an update on what is happening in the Middle East.

Rev Roy Oksnevad, PhD, has been an urban pioneer church planter, cross-cultural missionary in Belgium, bring over 40 years of ministry to Muslims in multiple contexts. He was founder and director of the National COMMA Network (Coalition of Ministries to Muslims in N. America), served as Director of Muslim Ministry at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College for 20 years and author/editor of 4 books about ministry to Muslims.

Biblical church leadership requires more than just management and stewardship. How can you become the healthiest Elder Board you can be? What kind of Elder leadership will effectively guide gospel-centered churches through both peace and turmoil? What “prime directives” create a healthy gospel culture for Elder Boards? This workshop provides pastors and church leaders with practical, hands-on, straight-forward principles that assure an Elder Board is focused where it aspires, shepherds where it is needed, works together where called, and lightens the weight of leadership so that no one stands alone

Dr. Paul Utnage has recently served two EFCA churches in the Central District as the Interim Lead Pastor. In past years he was a Youth Pastor for 14 years, Senior Pastor for 12 years, followed by the Executive Pastor role for two decades. He has been involved in national associations for executive church leaders since 2002. He served in churches of all sizes—small, medium, large, and megachurch—in regions as diverse as Alaska, Missouri, Texas, and Montana. He served for many years as a trainer-teacher to international pastors in limited-access regions of the world; his teaching and pastoral roles have taken him to international settings in Russia, Africa, Vietnam, and China. He also served on two international media arms—Insight for Living with Chuck Swindoll and Unlimited Grace Media with Bryan Chapell, while working with both men in church. He enjoys equipping leaders, boards, and teams from the perspective of gospel-directed transformational leadership to bring about health and growth in creative and enthusiastic ways. His personal passion is for “healthy leaders, healthy teams, healthy churches, and healthy impact for Christ.”

The number of future ministry leaders coming from seminaries is declining due to school closures and less interest among young adults. Churches will need to shift to focusing more on training leaders within their own communities using the Biblical models of the New Testament. This will ensure new leaders share the church’s values and vision.

Urban Impact Ministries (UIM) in inner city New Orleans has developed most of its leaders internally for over 37 years. UIM’s approach includes identifying, mentoring, empowering and releasing leaders from a group that is often overlooked. This approach has enabled development of our future executive director, new ministry leaders among 20 somethings and even other leaders who have served in our community as nurses, assistant principals, non-profit leaders, Pastors, successful HVAC, home builders and other trades.

This workshop will look at the 4 C’s of leadership, how to identify leaders, helping potential leaders find their power spot, the key principle of giving emerging leaders space to lead, make mistakes and improve. Pastor Tyrone will share his journey from going to camp with UIM in Middle School to being the Executive Director designee.

Complementarity is God’s design for his male and female image bearers to fill out and mutually support one another in their relationships, family, jobs, and church for their individual and corporate flourishing. Complementarity affirms three principles: equal dignity, significant differentiation, and flourishing interdependence; it is not about complementarianism and male and female roles. This breakout session will present the excellencies of complementarity, examples of complementarity, and exhortations to complementarity.

Are you a pastor who sees retirement on the horizon? You are not alone. In fact, close to 20% of our EFCA pastors will consider retiring in the next 5-7 years. This looming reality brings many questions to mind:

• How do I know when I should consider stepping away from my lead pastor role?
• What financial resources do I need to have in place for my post-retirement years? 
• How should I approach my elder team with my thoughts about this transition? 
• What factors will help me finish well and get ready for a new season of life?  
• How do I prepare my church for my retirement, so it can thrive and not just survive?
• What thoughts do my spouse and family have regarding my retirement?  
• Where can I find meaningful ministry and purpose for the years ahead?
• What will my relationship be like with the new pastor of my church? 
• Where will I worship and find community in my season of life? 

Training pastors to train other pastors to have Gospel Humility in the third world.

Pastors, our brothers overseas need what you have. Learn what God is doing overseas and how your skills, gifts, and talents can play an important part.

In this workshop, we will:

• Review the shift in blessings in the Old Testament to the New Testament from the concrete to the spiritual and how that relates to Gospel Humility.
• Receive a 6-session intro to Bible study on the book of Jonah from ReachGlobal that you can use in your churches to catalyze Gospel Humility through the church.
• Learn about what God is doing overseas and how you can build into fellow pastors in the third world.

Presenter: Steve Hudson pastored in the Des Moines area for 18 years and was called to join ReachGlobal to train pastors overseas who do not have access to training.  Steve has served with Global Equipping and the Pathways team for ten years and leads a team of 21 missionaries who train in over 55 countries.  He has been married to Diana for 35 years, and they have five adult children and nine grandchildren.

Living in the world but not of the world is difficult … no doubt about that … but praise God, He has given us His Word, His Spirit, His example, and His mind to share and exhibit His winsome love. Join in this discussion oriented intensive as we seek to respond to specific gender and sexuality questions or situations with Christ-like compassion, questions, grace and truth.

As you all know, this year did not go as expected for our EFCA Central team. With Mike Shields’ medical leave, our team had to step up and carry a larger load. It was so encouraging to see everyone on the EFCA Central rise to the occasion. It was a testament to God’s grace in our lives as well as Mike’s leadership to prepare are team for the unexpected. We were blessed by how the Lord carried us through this year and restored Mike to health. 

In this busy year, my role took on more responsibilities. In addition to overseeing pastoral placement, working with church planting, DBOMS, and ongoing work with church leaders, I was required to step into the Acting Superintendent role for five months. Alongside the faithful leadership of our District Board of Directors, we were able to keep striving towards the vision of seeing a life-giving church in every community. 

In working with church leadership teams, this year my colleague Mike Coffman and I developed a couple equipping times for elder teams. One of these times is for elder teams to work through conflict case studies as a way to prepare for the future. The second equipping time, entitled Life-Giving Elder Teams, is to help an elder team self-evaluate what building blocks of a Life-Giving Elder Team they feel they need to grow in this year. Both of these equipping sessions have been encouraging to be a part of as we starting hosting them across EFCA Central. 

In the area of church planting, we were blessed to have a new plant this year in Sioux Rapids, IA. It was exciting to see God bring this work to fruition. Also, we saw two more churches take steps towards planting a church in the near future. Lord willing, we will see at least two new church plants in 2026 and another two in 2027. We are excited to see more churches embrace the vision of being a church that expands the Gospel into communities around them through church planting. 

Thank you all so much for your prayers and partnership in EFCA Central ministry. We are better together! 

Having begun my role on March 1, 2023, it officially ends on April 30, 2026 with the transition of leaders to Samantha Frykholm.  It has been my honor and privilege to serve in this role for the past three years.  I have enjoyed the part that God has called me to play in elevating the role of women in EFCA Central.  During these three years, my team and I have seen God at the heart of this ministry as we’ve focused on our mission – “to equip women in ministry leadership or those preparing to serve in ministry leadership to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ: reproducing disciples, growing as leaders, and developing their spiritual gifts.” 

 God has gifted me with a team of dedicated leaders who serve not only in their own churches, but also on the equipping team— planning, leading, teaching, and speaking.  We are a very diverse team of women in several seasons of life, marital status, family make-up, and ministry vocations.  The current team is:  Samantha Frykholm, Judie Colyer, Sue Daugherty, Emma Harms, Coco Janzen, Laura Rife, and Laura Santiamagro.  

Over the past year, our annual event cycle has become more standardized and we have added two workshops in 2026.

2025 events:

• The District Conference – we hosted the Women in Ministry Leadership luncheon and two intensives.  The Equipping Team spoke at the Monday afternoon intensive on “Your Compassion Calling,” including affinity tables.  Tuesday morning, Laura Santiamagro and Steph Stephenson facilitated a workshop for children’s ministry leaders and their work with adults.  
• Two Zoom calls inviting all our contacts.  Our topics included cliques in the church and expanding those groups and “Engaging the Disengaged” – getting women involved who are standing on the sidelines.   
• Fall Equipping workshop on establishing women in their faith.  It was held at Hidden Acres in September.  More than 40 women attended this workshop held before the annual women’s retreat.  
• In addition, the Equipping Team as well as other women in EFCA Central are involved in several different EFCA courses as well as credentialing.  This includes  two who completed Gateway, several Pathways workshops, and three who completed Prepared.  Several women from EFCA Central are coaching students in the Prepared program all over the country.  

Goals for 2026

• Expand our social media to include Instagram.
• Begin connection with women in other EFCA district leadership positions as well as strengthen our relationship with Keri Early, the new Director of Equipping for Women and Director of Prepared.
• February 21 winter workshop with two sessions repeated from the Fall 2025 workshop 
• Host Women in Ministry Leadership luncheon at EFCA Central Leadership Conference as well as two intensives. 
• Two Zoom calls, beginning to record them for expanded distribution
• Summer equipping workshop for Children’s Ministry leaders
• Fall Equipping workshop in Ankeny focused on equipping new believers for service within the church.

I have been so grateful for the support of the EFCA Central staff.  The equipping team knows how appreciative the women of the EFCA Central churches are for the resources that have been made available to them.  I look forward to seeing how this ministry will be growing, developing, and flourishing with God’s provision and Samantha’s leadership in coming years.  

Mary Lou McDowell

Director of Women in Ministry Leadership

The EFCA Central team has been working tirelessly in this past year to serve our churches, pastors, and lay leaders. Our desire is “to see a Life-Giving Church within driving distance” for every person who lives in the four-state area we are blessed to serve. 

Life-Giving churches consist of four gospel traits:

Gospel Clarity: If we don’t get the gospel right, we can’t even call ourselves a church. Truth matters. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ must be understood from the Scriptures and taught accurately in our churches. Truth must never be compromised. Truth must always lead the way filled with grace. The Scriptures command us to “Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15). 

Gospel Boldness: Evangelistic boldness flows from the accurate teaching of the Scriptures. We must be willing to share the good news of Jesus in the communities we have been called to serve. If evangelism isn’t one or two on our list of priorities, it likely isn’t even on the list. The Great Commission “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations,” (Matt. 28:19) is at the center of the mission of the Church. We must support mission work around the world, for sure, while never neglecting to share the truth of the gospel in our own backyard. Both are essential to a life-giving church. 

Gospel Compassion: Biblical compassion flows from the life changing work of the gospel in our own hearts. As the Holy Spirit indwells, we are empowered to love others in the same way that we have been loved by our God. A gospel-centered church is a compassionate church. Where compassion is lacking, the gospel impact is greatly diminished. We are reminded in Psalm 103:8 that “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.” 

Gospel Humility: When we start to think highly of ourselves instead of living humbly before our Lord, our impact for the kingdom is impacted in a negative way. There is no room for pride in local church leadership. In James 4:10 we read “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” Also, Philippians 2 instructs us to live humbly according to the example set by our Lord Jesus. 

We continue to focus on these four areas of church life and health because we are seeing the kingdom difference that can be made when the focus is on the gospel saturating every aspect of life in the church and leadership. Our team prayerfully commits to this focus and seeks the help of the Holy Spirit to serve our churches and leaders in a way that keeps this life-giving focus at the forefront of ministry life in our churches. 

EFCA Central Ministries: (Please ask our team about the following list and tell us how we can help you and your church). 

• Church Planting (including Hispanic Church Planting)
• Hidden Acres 
• Leadership Training
• Women in Ministry Leadership
• Reach Students Central District (RSCD)
• Credentialing to include ordination and ministry license
• Pastoral transition and succession
• Executive pastor/Director of Operations functions
• Crisis Assistance Ministry
• Conflict Resolution
• Pastor Cohorts
• EFCA Central Leadership Conference
• Latino Family Camp
• Westhaven Home in Boone

When we ask our leaders in EFCA Central to gather, we want to be certain that it is for the building up of the body of Christ and for His glory. Our gatherings must edify, encourage, strengthen, uplift, and prepare our leaders for gospel ministry in the local church. We at EFCA Central don’t exist for ourselves, we exist for the local church and are ready to come alongside you as you lift our Lord Jesus and His glorious gospel before a hurting world.

Finally, I want to share a word of thank you for your prayers and encouragement over these last several months. I’m praising God for the opportunity to heal from a heart attack and subsequent heart bypass surgery. Many of you have been a great source of encouragement on this journey. Mark Farran led so well in the interim season, and I want to be sure that all of you know what that meant to me. He is a dear brother and his work on behalf of all of you was a true blessing. Our entire staff is the best there is and all of them stepped up to fill in the gaps in my absence, giving me the opportunity to heal. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart! 

I love serving Jesus with all of you,

Mike Shields

EFCA Central, District Superintendent

Hello from Hidden Acres! If you are new to EFCA Central, we are the district’s summer camp and retreat center. We are located in Dayton, IA, which is about an hour north of Des Moines. We reach roughly 3,500 children annual with our summer camp program, and the rest of the year we cater to around 23,000 retreat guests. You can find out more about our ministry at www.hacamps.org.

As I ponder this year’s conference theme, “Gospel Humility,” I think about how Hidden Acres is “a place set apart to encounter Jesus.” We can follow Jesus anywhere, but we appreciate that our camp is quiet and tucked away in the countryside, the perfect place for a respite from the world. It’s a wonderful place to get away from your normal routine, renew your faith, and focus on serving Christ and serving others. Behind the scenes, we also strive to serve and guide our full-time staff, summer staff, gap-year students, and master’s program students. Please enjoy the following updates on our ministry.

Summer Camp Review

Each June and July we hold week-long overnight camps for grades K-12. We write our own curriculum, and our high school and college-aged counselors use these lessons to teach Bible concepts to campers. Each summer has a fun, interactive theme, and free time includes fun games and camp activities.

In 2025, our theme was Wilderness, and we focused on teaching campers about the Israelites’ journey after the Exodus. We hired 189 young adults to serve as counselors and specialists (cooks, barn wranglers, maintenance staff, etc.). Over the course of two months, we welcomed 3,381 overnight campers (as well as 162 campers at special off-site Day Camp programs). Counselors gained experience evangelizing and teaching and specialists learned how to humbly serve others. By summer’s end, we heard 179 campers ring the Salvation Bell, and make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ!

We are now busy planning Summer Camp 2026, and our new theme is Treasure (2 Cor 4:6-7). Our aim is to teach campers to hope in the uncrushable treasure of Jesus Christ. It’s the end of January as I write this report, and to date we have 1,369 campers registered, which is nearly 400 ahead of this time last year. Some specialized camp programs, like horse camps, are already full. Over 170 summer staff contracts have been sent out, and more students are navigating the application process. Our current big needs are Senior Counselor (college-aged) and kitchen staff. If you know someone who might be a good fit for our summer staff, encourage them to apply. If you have any questions, please reach out to our Summer Camp Director, Josh Constant at [email protected]. 

Education Programs 

This year we have eleven students in Project Path, our gap year program. Some students are taking online classes through Emmaus University and all are learning to serve in the different departments at Hidden Acres. We also have new program leaders this year in Matt & Kristi Candlish. The Candlishes came to us from Indiana, and they have a heart for helping and encouraging others to grow in their relationship with God. If you have questions about the educational opportunities at Hidden Acres, please email Matt at [email protected]. 

Major Projects around Camp

In 2025, we completed two major infrastructure projects. First, we renovated our indoor swimming pool, adding a new deck surface and new pump room equipment. We have heard so many great comments from guests, and the system is now much easier to maintain. Second, we added a five-acre sewage lagoon. The original one-acre pond was too small to support the recent growth of Hidden Acres, and the new pond should serve our guests for many years to come. I’m happy to report that both of these projects were completed on time and on budget. Praise the Lord!

Our major project for the start of 2026 is “Pave the Way to Camp.” At Labor Day Family Camp in 2025, we announced plans to asphalt the 1.6 miles of roadway into Hidden Acres. I have been working with Webster County for two years on this joint endeavor. Though having a smooth driving surface will be nice, the biggest reason for choosing this project was safety. Heavy traffic causes dust clouds that severely impair visibility for summer camp parents and retreat guests. 

We signed a contract with Webster County, and the project is slated to start in early spring. The new road should be ready by Memorial Day Family Camp in late May. Our portion of the cost is $500,000, and the county is footing the rest of the bill. We have also chosen to raise an additional $150,000 so the asphalt company will continue onto our property and pave part of the main road and a few main parking lots. It has been incredible to watch financial support pour in for this project via our Giving Tuesday Telethon and the year-end giving season.

Please prayerfully consider the ways you might partner with the ministry of Hidden Acres. You could volunteer, become a monthly donor, attend Hidden Acres events, or participate in fundraising events. You could also have your church promote our events in their bulletin or consider recognizing Hidden Acres as part of your missionary team.

Three Year Succession Plan

I turned 67 years old on January 13.. Yes, I had fun with my grandkids letting them know Papa is 6-7!

I told the camp board and Mike Shields that I desired to leave camp well one day. How do you do that? We decided a three-year succession plan would be appropriate, so my last day at Hidden Acres will be December 31, 2028. Thirteen days later I will turn 70. 

The first phase of this process started in January 2026. With the full approval of the camp board, district board, and Mike Shields, we introduced a new leadership structure to the Hidden Acres full-time staff. I will continue as the Executive Director, but under me will be two Senior Directors guiding all other staff. Ryan Graden is now the Senior Director of Operations, and Mandy Stenberg is the Senior Director of Staff Development and Guest Experiences. The board and I have full confidence in their leadership.

Please pray as we navigate through these next three years. I desire to hand off leadership very smoothly to the next executive director, leaving Hidden Acres spiritually healthy (focusing on Jesus), physically healthy (keeping facilities and grounds well maintained), and financially healthy (operational stability). Thank you again for your friendship and support of Hidden Acres. Please stop by our booth at the conference to get some delicious cookies and other treats. Our staff is present to answer any questions you have about the ministry of Hidden Acres. It’s a pleasure to serve you and EFCA Central!

Westhaven Community, "A Ministry of the Evangelical Free Church," strives to be a premier Christ-centered facility with an emphasis on each individual's spiritual care. Westhaven Community is dedicated to providing our residents the highest practicable quality care and services that allows each individual to feel loved and comfortable in a clean, homelike environment. We offer a holistic approach in which each resident will be treated with dignity, respect and sensitivity to his/her individual needs as a whole person. 

Our story began in 1912 with the construction of a small two-story building. The Free Church in Boone donated the site, the local chamber of commerce contributed $5,000 and money was gathered from our churches. Today, over 100 years later, we are a thriving retirement community with a 100-bed nursing facility, an assisted living facility, and independent living apartments.

In review, this past year brought about several changes. The most impactful change was the partnership between Westhaven Community and Cassia. Cassia is a faith based senior living organization that operates and manages over 30 Minnesota locations, with 13 more locations across Iowa, North Dakota, Colorado, and Florida. Cassia’s mission statement is that “Cassia is a faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering fullness of life for older adults in the spirit of Christ’s love”. Cassia is guided by the principles of compassion, integrity, excellence, innovation, stewardship, unity, and respect. The Board of Directors associated with the Central District EFCA still maintains overall control of the organization, but effective October 15, 2025 Cassia took over day-to-day management services for Westhaven Community. With Cassia’s help we are looking at ways we can provide better services to our residents and ways to improve employee support and benefits. 

Westhaven Community continues to employ a full-time chaplain on-site in Bryan Latchaw. We remain dedicated to not only the physical health of our residents, but also their spiritual health. Every Sunday our chapel is full with not only residents, but also with staff and families. Our residents also enjoy the routine visits from Bryan and his dog Riley.

Here at Westhaven Community we take great pride in providing the best quality of care to our residents and their families. We have developed a great reputation for high standards of care, and we look to maintain and improve upon that within our local community. With God guiding us we will continue our mission and vision into the future. 

I’ve been on the EFCA Central team for a year and a half, and it has been a joy to connect with our pastors, church elders and staff members. It’s also been neat to see how our team specializes in different areas.  Here are some of the ways the Lord is helping me serve our churches. 

1.Pastoral Residencies

Our team has completed the foundation and steps to help churches set up pastoral residencies in their churches, so as to raise up and train leaders for pastoral ministry and church planting. I am grateful to many of our pastors who have shared their own experiences in becoming a pastor to help us put this together. In the near future I am connecting with pastors who have indicated an interest in starting a residency in their church.  

2.Staffing, Structures & Systems

There are 3 key areas in the church that pastors have responsibility for: teaching, shepherding & administration. Most of our pastors are gifted highest in teaching and shepherding and not as much in administration. I’ve enjoyed helping pastors with administrative areas such as staffing needs, running staff meetings, one on one meetings, 5-year planning, moving to two services, leadership training, finances, safety teams, etc.

3.Conflict Management

One of the classes I enjoyed most in school was on managing conflict. I have had several opportunities to serve our churches in this area. Conflict is unavoidable due to our sinful nature.  James 4:1 says, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” How to manage conflict can be confusing as it’s a spiritual battle within. Sometimes we just need another person to come alongside us to listen and seek the Lord together for the next step in restoring broken relationships. 

4.Reach Global Crisis Response

• January Sonlife ministry strategy training in St. Augustine, FL; 
• RSCD Gatherings and Five regional monthly youth pastor network meetings (NW Iowa, North Iowa, Central Iowa, East Iowa, St. Louis), 
• September Youth Pastor CO-Mission Retreat, 
• October Ancient Pathways Training Retreat in Texas), 
• November RENEWAL Youth Pastor and Spouse getaway in Florida 

• RSCD high school IMPACT Conference at the Coralville Hyatt in January (800 attendees), thanks to JD Abell and his championship team.
• Three RSCD middle school Winter Blast retreats in January/February at Hidden Acres (1,000 attendees), thanks to Joe Budish and his all-star team.
• RSCD Young Adults Retreat in the fall at Hidden Acres (80 attendees), thanks to JD Abell and his ninja team.
• Youth ministry consultation and diagnostic services.

• Expansion of youth pastor networks. We increased the accessibility of supportive peer and professional youth leader networks throughout the district by adding a St. Louis network
• Improvement of youth gatherings. We continued to improve and refine annual youth gatherings (middle school Winter Blast Retreats; high school January Impact Conference; Young Adults Retreat). We heightened the quality of speakers, musicians, and teachers.
• Structural reorganization of RSCD. We restructured ongoing ministries of RSCD in order to increase the local and regional influence of local youth pastors in their disciple making mission. Rob Sanders has expanded his role in RSCD. Leaders of Regional youth pastor networks have been recruited and trained. 
• Vetted and committed to Biblical and strategic ministry training models (Sonlife, Ancient Pathways, Decision Point)
• Provided more youth leader training opportunities.

As 2026 begins, I remain grateful to be part of the EFCA Central team as we serve our churches and watch and pray for the places where the Lord is opening new opportunities for the fruitful extension of the Great Commission. I believe we get to see this as our churches live out their call to be Life-Giving congregations. 

• Establishing New Congregations

I want to highlight some plants that have taken significant steps in the past year and encourage prayer as they journey toward future membership in EFCA Central: 

This year, we have seen the launch of Hope Alive Church in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. This is a daughter church of Village Bible Church, also in Hot Springs Village. The plant is led by Levan Hubbard. They began public worship in May of 2025 and celebrated their first baptisms in late summer.

Columbia Mission Church, Columbia, MO, a Burmese congregation led by Pastor George Tluanga, continues to move toward membership in EFCA Central. The leaders have decided the time is right to pursue membership. Their hope is to make substantial progress on this through the winter and early spring, and then to be received as a member church when the process is complete. The church continues to focus on reaching the next generation, beginning with the children of Myanmar immigrants. Pastor George has received his EFCA Ministry license and continues to progress toward future EFCA credentials. Ambassador City Church, St. Louis, MO, led by Brad Wos, continues to assemble a team of international leaders focused on the many new arrivals in the St. Louis metro area. Over the past year, the church has emphasized ministry training and intentional engagement with international students at higher education institutions across St. Louis.

We will have the privilege at the Leadership conference to vote to receive Chatham Bible Church, Hazelwood, MO, as a full member church of EFCA Central. This congregation is already a wonderful partner in St. Louis and beyond, and it will be my joy to officially welcome them as a member church. We have another Congregation in the St. Louis area that is considering pursuing membership as an EFCA Central church. 

While it is too early to provide more details at this time, I am hopeful that by the time of the Leadership Conference, there will be an update. (This process could move quickly if they decide to pursue it.) Also, continue to pray for a central Missouri congregation that desires to affiliate at the leadership level and needs to bring the congregation along with careful wisdom. 

• Raising up future planters

We held our first EFCA Central Planter assessment retreat in late September. It was a wonderful experience for the candidates and the team of assessors from various EFCA Central churches. We were all encouraged by the opportunity to participate in this important time of helping the candidates discern their call and prepare for their future planting opportunities. I have the amazing privilege of leading two of these new planters in the Multiply Planter Training Cohort. We began in January, and from our first interactions, it is clear that the Lord is knitting us together to support one another in the church planting endeavor. 

I continue to represent EFCA Central through ReachNetwork is the EFCA’s church-planting ministry. This team is made up of multiplication leaders from across the EFCA to encourage and empower church planting across America. Some of my responsibilities include leading the ReachNetwork grant process, which awards matching grants to EFCA church plants. We had our second EFCA Central plant successfully pursue one of these grants. I plan to be part of the ReachNetwork team, providing a planting workshop at this summer’s Challenge youth conference in July.

• Serving our congregations

I continue to work closely with Jamie Farran as we lead our EFCA credentialing systems alongside the DBOMS members. We continue to see strong interest among pastors and other ministry leaders in pursuing an EFCA credential. 

In our work assisting congregations with their pastor search process, we are thrilled to celebrate three new lead pastor hires in the southern part of EFCA Central. Currently, we have four active lead pastor searches underway. I continue to enjoy serving our churches during these important transitions in this area.

We saw high participation at both of our “Pastors and Wives” retreats. I am so thankful for the willingness of Steve and Samantha Frykholm and Todd and Carrie Hessel to bring their gifts and experiences to encourage our ministry couples at these retreats.

I am grateful for the opportunity to take a six-week sabbatical this past summer. I appreciate EFCA Central's commitment to my health in ministry. It is a blessing to serve in this role, helping provide care for our pastors, encouraging the multiplication of our congregations, and working toward Life-Giving Churches within driving distance of every person in EFCA Central.

Grace & Peace,

Todd Brooks