Lutheran Week – The Academy

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.   “The Academy: What I Wish I Would Have Learned in Seminary” will be hosted by Pastor Tony Ede with: Pastor Bob Quaintance, Pastor Melinda Jones, Pastor Trina Petersen, and Dr. Gemechis Buba.

Throughout the year, the NALC Renewal Team hosts a free monthly webinar based on expressed needs by NALC Leaders, for NALC Leaders. Instead of joining us virtually, join us live and in-person during Lutheran Week with our regular Panel Q & A format! 

Our panel is excited to share their experience and answer questions connected with practical matters. When rubber meets the road, being a mission driven church focused on Life-to-Life discipleship in everyday life comes with an abundance of practical questions. For example – do I need a streaming license if I want to share worship live on social media? What do I do when a ministry knocks on my door and wants permission to use the building? How do we have an organized and comprehensive vision for our mission work? How does the Lutheran understanding of Baptism connect with Life-to-Life Discipleship, and how do I (in practical terms) bring those two ideas together in my everyday life? How do we find out what the needs in our community are? How do I faithfully shepherd families are are engaged in serious family-system conflict? 

Our panel, hosted by Tony Ede, is here to serve you – bring your questions, stories, challenges, and joy. PS – if you can’t join us in person, join us on the live stream!

Host:

The Rev. Tony Ede graduated from Waldorf College, where he earned an associate of arts in electronic communications and a bachelor of arts in multimedia communications. Graduating from Luther Seminary in 2006, Tony worked as a graduate teaching assistant in the homiletics department, helping to teach classes on using media and technology in worship and preaching.  Pastor Ede has served at Immanuel and Bethany Lutheran Churches in the Danish Village of Kimballton, Iowa; as the teaching pastor at Trinity Lutheran in Webster City, Iowa; and currently serves as the senior pastor at First Evangelical Lutheran in Manchester, Iowa. As part of his commitment to lifelong learning, Tony earned an MBA in 2017 from Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa, with a concentration in organizational development. Following a long family tradition, Tony is a nationally certified firefighter and EMT and has used these skills to serve in the community, as well as in disaster response statewide. Tony was married to LeAnn at Trinity Lutheran Church, New Hampton, Iowa, on August 17th, 2002. They have three sons that keep them busy: Carver, Liam and Burke.

Panelists:

Pastor Trina M. Petersen is founding pastor of A New Thing Christian Church, Lithonia, GA, a ministry entrusted to her by God, focused on the deliverance, healing and wholeness of His people. Pastor Trina was baptized as an infant, confirmed as a teenager and served as an adult in the Lutheran Church prior to becoming an ordained pastor in the NALC. Most recently publishing the book “Irresistible” and the children’s book: “The Adventures of Clayoton,” as well as being a certified coach of the John Maxwell Teaml. Being Kingdom minded, Pastor Petersen serves in the position of pastor, operates with an apostolic anointing, and speaks in a prophetic voice as she helps the people of God heal from their pasts, live in the now, and walk in the power and authority given to them by God!

The Rev. Dr. Gemechis Buba currently serves as Assistant to the Bishop for Mission for the North American Lutheran Church. He is originally from Ethiopia and now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and three children. In addition to academic study and ordained ministry, Dr. Buba participates in multiple international ministries through speaking, leading revivals, leadership development conventions, and evangelical mission events.

Pastor Bob Quaintance graduated from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio and was ordained in 1981. He thoroughly enjoyed serving two different 2-point parishes in South Dakota. And then in 1991, moving to Boardman, Ohio, where his family accepted a call to serve at Good Hope Lutheran Church. At Good Hope, they define a disciple as: “a follower of Jesus who is maturing and multiplying.” Pastor Bob has been very excited and blessed to be a part of the NALC’s Life-To-Life Discipleship Initiative and its original pilot program in Ohio, saying: “our only mission is the Great Commission – to go make disciples.”  His wife Nina works at Youngstown State University and serves as one of Good Hope’s organists, but they truly enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren. We love trout fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities, but our greatest passion in life is sharing the love our heavenly Father has for us and for all people.

Pastor Melinda Jones serves as pastor of Advent Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Charleston, South Carolina. Along with the joy of ordained ministry to Word and Sacrament, Pastor Jones ministers to her parish neighborhood which is in the most urban, economically challenged area of the “Low Country.” Homelessness, alcoholism, drugs, human trafficking and poverty are some of the scars on those to whom Advent witnesses; Pastor Jones works with the sherrif’s office, the attorney general’s Office, and other local agencies to help bring awareness and the hope of combatting the suffering in this environment. Pastor Jones is secretary of the Executive Council of the North American Lutheran Church, which has afforded her opportunities to visit many NALC congregations. For the past nine years, she led and taught annual women’s retreats in Rincon, Georgia, for Lutheran congregations in the NALC, LCMC and ELCA. Pastor Jones and her husband (Jim) of twenty-eight years live in Summerville, SC along with their two teenage sons (Jade and Vasa).

 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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