For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
The last two years have been extremely challenging. First, the impact of the pandemic was devastating. Many people died, and it brought with it many challenges. We are experiencing a financial crisis that is affecting many countries. Inflation rates have doubled in 37 out of 44 advanced economies over the past two years, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. The country where inflation has grown the fastest is Israel, with a 25-fold increase.
Churches around the world have been navigating these crises, hoping to stay relevant and vibrant as they minister under extreme circumstances. A few months ago, when Pastor Roy Gruber from Washington Heights Church in Ogden, Utah, and I were discussing the theme for this year’s One80 Pastoral Conference in Guatemala, we came up with the theme: “Leading in times of crisis.”
We had 17 leaders from El Salvador and Guatemala at the conference. Pastor Roy presented for two full days. Some of the teachings were on: leadership tendencies for the future, Habits that pastors abandoned during the pandemic, characteristics of churches that were successful during the pandemic, Signs that we have learned the lessons from the last crisis, how to plan for the next crisis, values of leadership for the next crisis, and other challenging teachings.
We were able to have great discussions on how to minister during these difficult times, and together we learned how important it is to lead when we are going through so many changes and when today’s culture is so different.
As a cutting-edge organization that focuses on empowering leaders, I am so thankful to partners like Washington Heights Church that invested time and money to make this happen.
Please help us pray for those 17 pastors and many others that were not able to make it that are in the trenches ministering to people in need and transforming communities with the gospel of Jesus.
In His Mission.
Thank you for your faithful support and your prayers for us. On a journey together to transform communities with the Gospel of Jesus, one life at a time.