Lutheran Week – Plant, Grow, Bloom: New Starts in the NALC

The NALC is committed to the renewal of all our congregations, working to develop and deliver resources that challenge and open the NALC to the work of the Holy Spirit in our ministry and mission.  During Lutheran Week in Indianapolis, the Mission Festival is designed to inspire and serve as a resource to congregations. This includes specific “break out” sessions on a variety of topics.  Pastor Brad Hales and Pastor Tom Hilpert are excited to present the topic: “Plant, Grow, Bloom: New Starts in the NALC.”

In I Corinthians 3:6-8 the Apostle Paul writes, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but God gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to the labor.  For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.“ Planting the church of Jesus Christ is essential for God to make disciples. And that’s what we are all about in the NALC.  Jesus is not outsourcing the work of mission planting to others. Come and learn the basics of how individuals, congregations, and mission districts can easily plant and nurture new mission starts.  God desires to grow the church, and wants to use us to make it happen!

Pastor Brad Hales is the Director of Domestic Mission and the senior pastor at Reformation Lutheran Church in Culpeper, West Virginia.  Previously, Pastor Hales served as the chair of the Renewal Team, New Starts Team, and Dean of the Virginia Mission District of the North American Lutheran Church. Through the power of Jesus, Pastor Hales has helped to renew several older congregations in discipleship, outreach and mission. In 2009, his present congregation was given the “Best Practices Award in Senior Adult Ministry” by the National Council on Aging. Pastor Hales has also authored multiple Bible studies and resources, including, “A Covenant of Aging,” published by Sola Publishing.  

The Rev. Tom Hilpert, a seasoned church planter, received his bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, and his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from the American Lutheran Theological Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He makes his home in the woods of Tennessee near Nashville, with his wife, Kari Hilpert, and children, but he spent his formative years in Papua New Guinea, the son of missionary parents.

Currently, Pastor Tom serves New Joy Fellowship in Tennessee and as the director of Life Together Churches.  A ministry partner of the NALC, Life Together Churches, is a network that supports people hosting worship and congregational life in small group environments, such as: house churches, missional communities, and mission fellowships.

 For more information about schedules, hotel information, or to register today for Lutheran Week – please visit:  2019 Lutheran Week.  For additional information about other breakouts and presenters, please visit:  2019 Mission Festival.

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