A Child Shall Lead Them: Confirmation and High School Youth Ministry Partnerships in MCS        

Presenter: MCS Youth Leaders

Please join us for a panel discussion featuring youth ministry (grades 6-12) leaders from across the synod. Participants will share about their ministries, partnerships in their contexts, and about their experiences as participants in synod-wide youth ministry monthly leader meetings and youth events. You will learn about the joys/struggles of youth ministry leaders in the synod as well as ways that partnerships at the congregation/conference and synod levels are making our youth ministries stronger and benefiting our youth.

Facing Reality: Ministry After the Pandemic

Presenter: Pastor Kathy Nolte, MCS associate to the bishop

Faithful volunteers are tired and either quitting or cutting back. No one has filled the gap for years. Tried and true Christian education methods are bearing little fruit. The new digital reality is both off-putting and conflicts with our ideas about community. While congregational ministry was shifting rapidly beforehand, the pandemic broke open the fault lines with no chance of going back to the way it was. Yet, there are signs of hope for congregations that face the reality of what has changed and lean into the opportunities that have opened.

Faithful Together in a Fractured World

Presenter: Pastor Brian Wise, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Naperville

In a time marked by division, fear, and deep mistrust, this session invites church leaders into an ecumenical conversation rooted in shared discipleship and love of neighbor. Together, we will reflect on how Lutheran and ecumenical partners can bear a faithful public witness by seeing one another as partners in God’s healing work, grounded in grace, humility, and hope for the world God so loves.

How do you grow your church?

Presenter: Pastor Carla Thompson Powell, MCS associate to the bishop/DEM

Often, we ask this question from a mindset of scarcity, anxiety, and desperation for our congregation as an institution. We want more dollars in the plate and more people in the pews. However, these measurements center on institutional survival, not Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

While there is no silver bullet toward church growth and many of the strategies from previous generations do not serve us today, sustainable growth in the church ALWAYS happens by deepening relationships with God and neighbor. Faithful church evangelism and mission may—or may not—lead to larger and more financially vibrant institutions. Participants will reflect on ways to share their faith, consider how their congregational culture supports or hinders invitation, and explore practical ways to develop neighborhood relationships to further God’s mission in their community.

Journeying Toward Intersectional LGBTQIA+ Welcome and Belonging

Presenter: Aubrey Thornvold, Reconciling Works executive director

This interactive workshop equips faith communities to deepen their welcome, inclusion, celebration, and advocacy of LGBTQIA+ people through an intersectional lens. Together we will explore how intersectionality shapes the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people in our congregations and communities. Participants will gain practical tools for building authentic belonging, addressing barriers to participation, and cultivating a reconciling and liberating ministry grounded in the Gospel’s call to love our neighbor.

Kingdom Connections: Building God-Honoring Networks & Partnerships

Presenters: Pastors Sandra & Walter Gillespie, Chosen Bethel

Workshop purpose:

To equip church leaders and members to: 

  – Build biblical, purposeful relationships 

  – Discern God-aligned partnerships

  – Collaborate effectively for kingdom impact  

“Two are better than one… for if they fall, one will lift up his companion.”

— Ecclesiastes 4:9–10

Neighbors and Networks: The Secret Sauce to Successful Property Stewardship

Presenter: Pastor Sarah Lyn Jones, Church Property Resource Hub

There are many new ideas and models for creative property stewardship, from space-sharing to real estate development, to anchor tenants, to social enterprises. The common ingredient in all these models is strong collaborative relationships with community leaders and aligned organizations. It’s also the component churches most often overlook.

In this session, led by the new Church Property Resource Hub, participants will learn how to develop and strengthen community relationships that support the continued use, management, and financing of their church’s land and buildings. The session will include examples of real-life congregations which were able to leverage community assets and enthusiasm to increase their church’s mission and sustainability. Participants will walk away with tools and resources to generate new relationships between their church and their community, and new ideas for how to use those relationships to strengthen their property stewardship strategies.

New and Re-newed: What’s Possible When Paths Intersect.

Presenter: Pastor Kyle Johnson, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Lansing

Our Saviour Lutheran Church (Lansing) and Trinity Lutheran Church (Park Forest) are two congregations whose distinct journeys of change and discernment ultimately intersected. This convergence has opened new opportunities and renewed energy for mission, ministry, and mutual support. Our shared story offers an example of how taking risks for the sake of the gospel can become catalysts for new life.

Solidaridad: Nutriendo Esperanza

Presenter: Pastor Maria Rojas-Banda, MCS LatinX Strategy coodinator

Un taller interactivo de la Estrategia Latinx del Sínodo Metropolitano de Chicago que reflexiona sobre la solidaridad de Dios con la humanidad y nos invita a prácticas concretas de solidaridad que nutren esperanza en nuestras comunidades.

Sunday Isn’t Their First Visit

Presenter: Pastor Darryl Thompson Powell, Resurrection Lutheran Church, Chicago

This practical workshop helps congregations recognize a simple reality: most people encounter your church long before they ever attend worship. Websites, social media, Google searches, and livestreams now serve as the church’s front door, shaping first impressions and influencing whether someone feels welcome or curious enough to take the next step. Participants will receive tools to help them identify digital blind spots, remove unintentional barriers, and align their online presence with their values and mission. It’s not about marketing trends; it’s about hospitality, clarity, and faithful evangelism in a digital world.

Why Do Good Ideas Fail? A Hands-On Tool for the Problems That Keep Coming Back

Presenter: Pastor Sunitha Mortha, MCS associate to the bishop

You’ve tried new programs, reshuffled committees, made announcements until you’re blue in the face, and somehow the same problems keep showing up. Whether it’s volunteer burnout, budget stress, or struggling to connect with your neighborhood, it’s not that people aren’t trying. Something else is going on.

This hands-on workshop introduces systems thinking, a practical way to see beneath the surface of any challenge. You’ll learn to spot the hidden patterns and assumptions that keep things stuck and see what it looks like to solve a problem at a deeper level.

Bring a challenge. Leave ready to do something different.