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RENDEZVOUS

How Are You Preserving Your Church For The Next Generation?

Layperson or pastor, are you salt and light? Is your salt peppy or pooped? Is your light dramatic or dim? Need a lift? Good news: it's time for the 10th annual Rocky Mountain Shepherds' Conference. It will be held April 28-29 at the Val-U Inn, 3001 Brooks Street, in Missoula. This annual event is sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Bible Mission whose goal is to reach rural people with the gospel, whether by frontline evangelism or as a supportive resource.

Dr. Bruce Ware serves as Professor of Christian Theology and the Senior Associate Dean for the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Previously, Dr. Ware has taught at Bethel Theological Seminary, Western Conservative Baptist Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Dr. Ware's passion is for the knowledge and glory of God. He has co-edited Still Sovereign (Baker Books), a volume that extols the greatness and grace of our sovereign God. He has written both God's Lesser Glory and Their God is Too Small (both from Crossway Books) to demonstrate the true glory of God in contrast to the harmful contemporary view of God advocated in what is called “open theism.” He loves God and loves to teach about God. Bruce grew up in Spokane, Washington. His wife, Jodi, is from Portland, Oregon. They have been married 25 years, and they have two daughters, Bethany (sophomore at Moody Bible Institute) and Rachel (junior in high school).

In 1982 Ken Hewett was ordained as a minister of the Gospel. Since that time he has worked with Worldwide Discipleship Association, beginning a ministry on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, starting a similar work in Seoul, South Korea, and currently directing WDA's International Ministry.

The ministry of WDA revolves around the command Jesus gave in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey [put into practice] everything I have commanded you.”

WDA helps churches transition to a disciple building structure by introducing a strategy of disciple building (called the Five Phases of Disciple Building) modeled after Jesus' ministry taken from a harmony of the Gospels. Seminars have been taught in fifteen countries, influencing the ministries of pastors from thirty countries.