Regional Gathering, East

Regional Gatherings are events for the EMCC family of pastors, leaders and global workers. With one event in the East and the other in the West, these twin events are held between General Assemblies. 

It is a time for inspiration, celebrating what God is doing in our midst, learning, connecting, and facilitating family conversations.

• Click the button to preview a digital copy of the Regional Gathering East schedule.
  EAST SCHEDULE PDF

Friday, April 19
2:00 PM	Registration – on site
3:00 PM	Living & Leading Unstuck – Craig Sider InFOCUS Leadership, author of Beyond Your Box (2023)
4:00 PM	Navigating Grief – Randall Rehkopf & Pam Hicks EMCC Pastor at Wilmot Centre EMC, World Partners Administrative Assistant and Refugee Sponsorship Coordinator
5:00 PM	Dinner – off site
7:00 PM	Collective Impact, Engaged Together in His Good Work – Kevin Mast, Libby Peters, John Cressman The public is invited to join us for this EMCC Worship Service
9:00 PM	Fellowship Gathering – Join your friends and colleagues for a time of fellowship
Saturday, April 20
8:00 AM	Prayer Breakfast – Together in Prayer – on site
9:30 AM	Break – on site
9:45 AM	Networking with Peers    Engage & Connect with EMCC Pastors and Leaders
10:30 AM	Tentmakers: Combining Work and Faith – James Watson Research Fellow with the Canadian Institute for Empirical Church Research, Wycliffe College at University of Toronto Growing Young(er): Why Prioritizing Next Gen Ministry is Essential to Revitalizing Your Church! – Gen Epp M.A. in Leadership and Evangelism from Wheaton College and Member of the EMCC National Next Gen Team
11:30 PM	Lunch – on site
12:30 PM	Mobilizing the Local Church for Mission Engagement – Nicole Jones Qandah Director of EMCC World Partners
1:30 PM	EMCC Matters EMCC National Board & EMCC President
3:00 PM	Closing

Workshops

• Living and Leading Unstuck – Craig Sider
  
  Our world churns with constant change, forcing us to navigate through a barrage of shifting realities, uncertainties, challenges, and setbacks. As followers of Christ and hope-filled people, we are not sheltered from moments or seasons of knowing deep inside that we are in a holding pattern. We will learn about different kinds of limitations, how to get to the root of the issue, and then the keys to taking action, all the while being authentic to the person God has called us and gifted us to be. You will leave with a renewed sense of purpose, equipped with actionable strategies to navigate challenges, inspire change, and lead yourself and others toward a freer future.

• Navigating Grief – Randall Rehkopf & Pam Hicks
  
  In ministry, leaders often find themselves comforting the grieving, helping others through their times of loss and pain. So, where do the caregivers turn when they themselves suffer similar sorrow? How and where does God meet us and lead us? In this workshop, Randall and Pam will be sharing from their personal experiences of parting with their closest loved ones, followed by time for table discussion.
  
  Randall is the Lead Pastor at Wilmot Centre Church, just west of Kitchener. He has been an EMCC pastor for about 30 years. His first wife, Terrina, went to be with Jesus in August 2019. Pam Hicks is World Partners Administrative Assistant and Refugee Sponsorship Coordinator. She has been part of the EMCC National Team for about 15 years. Her mother, Wanda, went to be with Jesus in February, 2021. 
  
  
• Tentmakers: Combining Work and Faith – James Watson
  
  What makes work faith-full? Tentmakers or pastors who are multi-vocational, bi-vocational, or co-vocational have offered their insights into what makes their combinations of employment meaningful. Research with Canadian leaders provides an opportunity to reflect on how the pieces can fit together and what this may mean for the future of the church in Canada. If you would like to read about the research, there is a report on the research (canadianmultivocationalministry.ca/report) and a recently published book (Tentmakers: Multi Vocational Ministry in Western Society). Your questions are welcome. Come join the conversation.
  
  

• Growing Young(er): Why Prioritizing Next Gen Ministry is Essential to Revitalizing Your Church! – Genevive Epp, EMCC Next Gen Team Member

  This is a workshop that's crucial for the future of our churches: we need to be Growing Young(er). It's not just a catchy phrase; it's a call to action that carries immense importance for the vitality and sustainability of our EMCC family. This interactive session will explore the work of Fuller Youth Institute, “Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church” by Kara Powell, Jake Mulder and Brad Griffin, to help us think more holistically about how to revitalize and innovate in our individual context. This is for any church leader who understands that their church needs to be growing younger but isn't sure how to get there. Join the EMCC Next Gen team as we dive into these six core commitments that your church needs to grow young! All churches grow old... but strategic churches are growing young!

• Mobilizing the Local Church for Mission Engagement – Nicole Jones Qandah 

  Wondering how to connect with your changing neighbourhood? Curious about the shifting global mission landscape? This workshop will give you a greater idea of the consultations World Partners staff are happy to offer as a service to you as members of EMCC. We would love to help you engage in mission strategically. Our heart would be that these consultations help EMCC, and each of you, sense your part in a larger story of theglobal church on the move.

Registering for the EAST Regional Gathering:

*Note: Click the 'Add Attendee' button to register for yourself and any additional attendees and fill in the required fields. Contact communications@emcc.ca if you have any questions. 

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• For more details on registration fees and accomodations, click here.
• To register for the Ethos course in the East, click here.
• To register for our West gathering, click here.