Looking Ahead to One EFCA

Every month, EFCA President Kevin Kompelien highlights stories, vision and leadership from around the EFCA in his monthly e-newsletter, "Partners with the President." This month, Kevin reflected on 2019 and the topics he focused on throughout the year, and he looked forward to 2020 and his vision for "one EFCA."

As I reflect on 2019, one of the key events I remember is the time we, as a movement, shared together at EFCA One in June. Throughout the conference, I had several people tell me the same thing: “This is so good to be together with our family.”

Hundreds of missionaries, pastors, church leaders and congregants—young and old, retired and active, local and regional, national and international—came together to worship, connect and study God’s Word. During the time we shared, one could sense the breadth of who we are as the EFCA.

What was uniquely beautiful about the conference, too, was how well it tied together all that we’ve been talking about in 2019. The theme of EFCA One was “multiplying disciplemakers”—one of the three main areas of the EFCA Missional Diagram on which we've focused:

• Multiplying disciplemakers. During the 2019 EFCA Theology Conference, we looked at my disciplemaking journey and where it all started at Trinity International University. Pastors West Brazelton and Mark DeMire continued our conversation on disciplemaking in the following months.
  • Registration is now open for the 2020 EFCA Theology Conference. If you’d like to join me there on the topic of “Contending for the Faith—7 Critical Contemporary Doctrinal Challenges,” you can register here.
• Extending gospel ministries. This summer, I spoke with both Rick Burke, ReachGlobal’s unreached people initiative leader, and Randy Discher and Sean McDowell of Constance Free Church, on the topics of “extending gospel ministries” and evangelism, both here and around the world.
• Strengthening, revitalizing and planting churches. In September, I discussed church planting with Andrew Hoffman and Scott Sterner of the EFCA Church Multiplication team; in October, district superintendents Glen Schrieber and Greg Fell shared how they're strengthening churches within their district; and last month, my son, Brent, pastor of New Life EFC in Hastings, Minnesota, and Brian Farone, North Central District superintendent, joined me to walk us through the process of church revitalization.

After unpacking the main elements of the Missional Diagram with you, we’re now left with the question: “How will this actually happen—in churches, throughout our districts, across the country and around the world?” As you’ll see in the video below, this is where we’ll turn our focus in 2020.

Like we saw at EFCA One 2019, this is only going to happen if we do it together. If we want to live out the elements of the Missional Diagram, we need to reflect the idea of one EFCA—local, regional, national and international ministries working together toward common ministry objectives with shared values and trusting relationships. I look forward to exploring the concept of one EFCA further with you in 2020.

What an absolute joy and privilege to work in partnership with you—pastors, missionaries, leaders and congregants so committed to following, proclaiming and, ultimately, glorifying the One whose birth we celebrate.

May God be with you this season. From all of us at the EFCA national office, have a very merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

As you consider your year-end giving, would you keep the EFCA in mind and help us further our mission to glorify God by multiplying transformational churches among all people? Thank you for contributing to the ministry of the EFCA. To give, visit efca.org/give.