“Don’t take the ARC for granted. I would love to have this kind of atmosphere and these kinds of relationships in the group I’m a part of.” 

So said one leader who attended the 2014 Midwest ARC Gathering in early November. Leaders and members of ARC and LCMC churches made up one of the best-attended Midwest gatherings in years. They came from across the United States, from Canada, and as far away as Bolivia.

Sweet, peaceful, gentle yet powerful—these were oft-repeated adjectives used to describe what people experienced in the atmosphere at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fridley, MN. The air was filled with the sweet, peaceful, gentle, yet powerful presence of God as the Lord soaked us with his love and power. His presence was tangible as we worshipped and prayed together, as our speakers and workshop presenters instructed and exhorted us, and as we sat with one another nurturing existing relationships and building new ones.

Keynote speakers Greg Boyd, Grace Johnson, and Danny Mullins were off the charts good. Worship leaders Chris Barrett and Joel Bidderman didn’t just lead us in worship, they and their teams did worship and invited us to join in. And our workshop presents helped practically equip us in ways that we could go home and practically impact people with God’s scandalous love. Some words of testimony sent to me after the Gathering included the following:


Pastor Cory Illingworth of Celebration Lutheran Church in Regina, Saskatchewan sent me a note following the gathering and in it he wrote: “The theme for the Midwest Gathering was Scandalous Love. I knew what the theme was about. What I did not expect to experience at the Gathering was the love I would feel from the people of the ARC. I have attended countless retreats, gatherings, conferences and seminars for those who are in ministry. I have never attended a gathering where I saw so much love for ‘one another’.”

Steve Perkins, pastor of Northgate Church in Ramsey, MN wrote: "The Midwest Gathering was a Spirit-filled fusion of word and worship. I left encouraged and ready to take on the world!" Pastor Grace Johnson from Hope Church in Glendale, AZ said: “The ARC gathering is a place where normal people with normal issues gather. There are no ‘pastors,’ ‘international speakers,’ and ‘church-goers.’ There are just human beings who want to encounter more of Jesus.” Omar Herrea who came all the way from Santa Cruz, Bolivia echoed Grace’s sentiments when he told us that one thing he liked about our network is that there “are no heroes, just ordinary people.”

It was particularly interesting to receive Omar’s testimony as we had already been prayerfully considering hosting two gatherings again next summer, one in the Southwest and one in the Midwest on the theme Ordinary People, Extraordinary God. The Southwest Gathering is scheduled for July 16-18 in Huntington Beach, CA and the Midwest Gathering will be held on August 13-15 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. A teen track will be included for both of these events.

 I would encourage every ARC leader to put these events on your own personal calendar, and begin making plans now to bring leaders from your congregation and congregational members. If you do, you will probably be taking home a different group of people. They’ll have the same names, but they won’t be the same. They’ll go home with a healthy disrespect for the impossible because they’ll know more clearly than ever that though we are but an ordinary people, we love and serve and extraordinary God.