Our Postcards from the Midwest Conference are short and encouraging looks at what God is doing in churches across the Midwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church – Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, western Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming. We’re celebrating faithfulness, fresh vision, and the beauty of ministry in all shapes and sizes.
Re-Centering Discipleship
Nydiaris Hernandez-Santos, Trinity Fellowship, Olathe, KS
Claire McClun, Engage Church, Kansas City, MO
Jessica Fick, Engage Church, Overland Park, KS
Dave Fick, InterVarsity, Overland Park, KS
Amanda Braun, Manhattan Covenant Church, Manhattan, KS
Miriam Knight and Molly, Columbia, MO
In September, a group of ministry leaders from across the Midwest Conference attended Leaders Day KC, a one-day event hosted by ‘Iwa Collaborative and devoted to exploring mission, discipleship, and shared leadership in this changing moment for the church.
Speakers included pastors Eun K. Strawser, Josh Hayden, Amy Stott, Ben Atkins, Kyuboem Lee and Darryl Answer (of New Community Church in Kansas City, Mo.).
A few of the participants graciously shared some follow-up thoughts for us all to consider how we’re keeping discipleship at the center of our lives together.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
– Matthew 28:19–20
What’s Still Resonating
You Don’t Have to Choose Between Pastoring and Equipping
One participant named the freedom felt in this simple truth: you can keep your pastoral identity and equip others for ministry. Shared leadership isn’t abandonment – it’s multiplication.
“And the things you have heard me say… entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” – 2 Timothy 2:2
No Leaders, No Spectators
One participant was struck by a statement from Leaders Day organizer Eun Strawser: “The early church began with no leaders and no spectators.” Everyone was invited to participate. Everyone had a part in God’s renewal. What would it look like for our churches – large, small, planted, or inherited – to live like that again?
“All the believers were together… Every day they continued to meet together… and the Lord added to their number daily.” – Acts 2:44–47
Worship Services Are Not Enough
A visual during the workshop showed four desired outcomes of discipleship – intimacy with God, personal wholeness, community fellowship, and neighborhood renewal. All four flow from the worship service, but none are accomplished by the worship service alone. Discipleship can (and must) happen everywhere else, too.
“Remain in me… and you will bear much fruit.” – John 15:4–5
Children Belong in the Center of Discipleship
A key question raised during a session: are our children spectators… or participants? And are we measuring the right things in terms of growth as disciples?
“Let the little children come to me… for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” – Matthew 19:14
Themes and Invitations
1. Re-Center Discipleship
“I think more pastors are just hungry for a different way,” one pastor reflected. A way that leads to transformation – not just attendance, activity, or even theological knowledge, but Christlikeness.
“Do you know how I feel right now, and will feel until Christ’s life becomes visible in your lives? Like a mother in the pain of childbirth.” – Galatians 4:19
2. Integrate Discipleship and Mission
Evangelism and discipleship were never meant to be separated. We know this well as Covenanters who affirm the whole mission of the church – the great Commission and the Great Commandment. Disciples make disciples. Mission is not an optional add-on – it’s built into the very definition of “disciple.”
“Follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.” – Matthew 4:19
3. Learn to Steward Power Like Jesus
The “spirituality of weakness” session invited leaders to ask:
At whose expense are we building ministry? How do we share power? How can we embody humility, collaboration, and spiritual courage?
“He made himself nothing… taking the nature of a servant.” – Philippians 2:5–7
4. Pursue Wholeness – Not Just Activity
The early church’s pattern – intimacy, wholeness, community, renewal – became a hopeful framework for pastors discerning new rhythms of leadership and life.
“Come to me… and you will find rest for your souls.” – Matthew 11:28–29
Confirming, Challenging, and “Aha”
What are some confirming, challenging and aha thoughts the participants took away from Leaders Day KC?
Confirming
- Our family is our first congregation. We can live out the four movements of discipleship at home: intimacy with God, personal wholeness, community fellowship, and neighborhood renewal.
Challenging
- Grappling with power, privilege, and inequity in our systems
- Learning to measure discipleship by transformation, not busyness
- Implementing contextualized models of discipleship
Aha Moments
- “In the blank spaces of your calendar, are you living like Jesus?”
- Accountability sounds like coaching: Where are you celebrating? Where are you stuck?
- Intergenerational discipleship begins with how we walk with our own families.
So… What Is Your Church’s Discipleship Strategy?
Across the Midwest Conference, we’ve been asking the question: What is your discipleship strategy?
Not your programs.
Not your calendar.
Not your attendance metrics.
But your strategy – your intentional, contextual plan to help people live like Jesus in the real world.
Some common threads have emerged:
- Start with the people God has given you.
- Measure fruit by Christlikeness, not busyness.
- Treat kids as participants, not spectators.
- Share leadership; multiply influence.
- Build rhythms of intimacy, wholeness, community, and neighborhood renewal.
- Let discipleship fuel mission – and let mission fuel discipleship.
This is what inside-out renewal looks like.
A Final Word
The Holy Spirit is inviting us into deeper discipleship, gentler power, and renewed imagination.
May we follow Jesus – not only in our pulpits and programs, but in the blank spaces of our calendars and the ordinary places we lead and love.
Book Spotlight
These books helped frame Leaders Day conversations and offer practical ideas for congregations exploring a discipleship-centered future.
You Were Never Meant to Lead Alone – E.K. Strawser
A needed corrective for the myth of the solo heroic pastor. This book offers a biblical, practical framework for shared leadership rooted in APEST (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers). Strawser paints a compelling picture of ministry where gifts are activated across the body and power is stewarded collaboratively – not concentrated.
Why it matters: Churches of every size are exhausted by “pastor-dependency.” This book helps leaders imagine a healthier, more sustainable way forward.
Centering Discipleship – E.K. Strawser
Discipleship belongs at the center, not the margins. Strawser gives leaders a field-tested roadmap for building contextual, mission-shaped pathways that form mature disciples in real life – not just in programs.
Why it matters: Many churches have discipleship aspirations but not discipleship structures. This book offers both vision and tools for making discipleship the organizing core of congregational life.
Remissioning Church – Josh Hayden
A hopeful, hands-on guide for congregations longing to rediscover mission. Hayden shows how churches can experience inside-out renewal through practices of discipleship, neighbor love, and missional presence.
Why it matters: Whether your church is declining, plateaued, or simply longing for vibrancy, this book invites leaders to step into a Spirit-led reimagining of church life – rooted in your actual neighborhood.
