Welcome to the 20th Annual Conference of the Dakotas Conference!
June 6-8, 2013
Bismarck, North Dakota
To those who are called, loved by God and kept safe by Jesus Christ. May you have more and more mercy, peace and love. Jude 1b-2
Char and I are eagerly looking forward to our first Dakotas Annual Conference session in Bismarck, North Dakota. We thank you for the hospitality you have extended to us and anticipate the many Holy Spirit breakthroughs God has in store for us together in our kingdom work.
The Extended Cabinet and I have identified four strategic pathways to guide our work of walking alongside the congregations of the Dakotas Conference as we seek to more fully and robustly “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” These pathways are:
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Developing bold, spiritual, missional leaders,
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Equipping vital, missional congregations,
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Extending our missional impact throughout our communities and the world, and
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Generating new missional resources.
Each of these pathways will be explored at one of the annual conference sessions during this quadrennium.
Our theme this year is Unleashed: Bold, Spirit Leaders. I have asked the Reverend Sue Nilson Kibbey to be our conference speaker. Sue is a gifted and highly respected teacher and practitioner in the area of developing missional leaders. As a part of developing our theme, I also invite the conference members to join with me in an Unleashing New Life Prayer movement.
There will also be much to celebrate at this annual conference session:
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the miraculous outpouring of God’s abundant grace through the $100,000 offering for The Oil Rush Ministry;
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the faithful ministries of our retiring pastors and those who have joined the communion of saints;
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those coming to be commissioned and ordained as new leaders and covenant partners.
I can’t wait to see you in Bismarck as we gather for a season of holy conferencing!
Bishop Bruce R. Ough
Dakotas-Minnesota Area