Pastoral Support | Northwest Conference

Head Image:

We care deeply about our pastors.

The conference staff provides coaching, training seminars, and timely resources for our pastors and other ministry personnel. In addition we provide support for our clergy families when needed.

We want to have pastors who are delighted with God and cannot wait to share this delight with their congregations. Our pastors are continually upheld in prayer. We are committed to help them be the faithful spiritual leaders that God has called them to be.

Ministry Development Network

The Covenant church works closely with the Ministry Development Network. Their mission is to "care for persons in ministry." The counselors at Ministry Development Network provide a variety of development programs that can help an individual pastor understand and develop their call to ministry. Pastors contact the Superintendent for a referral. For more information, visit www.midwestministry.org.

Sustaining Pastoral Excellence

The Sustaining Pastoral Excellence initiative exists to connect pastor, missionaries and chaplains in the Evangelical Covenant Church with the resources necessary to sustain them throughout their ministerial journey.

We define Pastoral Excellence as, "a grace-filled, relational journey that involves holistic Christ-centered character development, lifelong, vocational and Biblical formation, and regular occasions of renewal and re-visioning that sustain healthy enduring ministry."

This program provides grants in the areas of: Character, Competence and Constancy.

Grants are available to Covenant ministers with at least two years of experience and who are currently active in full-time pastoral, chaplaincy or mission ministry through the Evangelical Covenant Church. In addition, ministers must hold one of the following Covenant credentials:

Ordained to Word and Sacrament
Ordained to Specialized Ministry
Commissioned Staff Minister
Consecrated Missionary
Ministry License
World Mission License

All ministerial association dues must be current for the last two years.

This initiative is made possible through generous grants provided by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. and financial support from The Covenant Ministerial Association, Regional Conferences and individual donors. Contact SPE Director Dan Pietrzyk for more information.

Spritual Direction

"How goes your walk with Christ?" "Are you yet alive in Christ?" These are questions that have been with our denomination since its founding. Our seminary, North Park, has a Center for Spiritual Direction where pastors can receive training. We have several certified Spiritual Directors in the Northwest Conference that are available to minister to our pastors, including:

Alan Johnson, Karmel Covenant in Princeton
Dawn Burnett, Prairie Hills Covenant, Sioux Falls, SD
Jan Bros, Abbey Way, Minneapolis
Jim Oberg, Owatonna
Ted Nordlund, Minneapolis
Neil Bonkoski
Renee Franzen

Call the NWC office, or email Renee Franzen, for more information. SPE grants are available to help you begin your journey with a Spiritual Director.

Clergy Care

The NWC and the denomination are committed to providing spiritual and emotional support to our pastors. Our conference staff is available to listen, counsel and encourage our pastors. We assist pastors with issues of insurance and compensation, as well as provide guidance to them and our congregations in the placement process. The conference Superintendent is a member of the Denominational Pastoral Relations Committee.

We are pleased to refer pastors to the North Central Ministry Development Center.