Central Plains Classis Meeting
There is excitement in the Synod of the Heartland! On July 21-24 the Central Plains Classis met in Omaha, Nebraska for a powerful and unique meeting. Central Plains has long been one of the smallest Classis in the Synod, but now, in just a few short years, it has become the largest!
At their 2017 annual meeting, Central Plains felt led by God to begin a season of growth. They decided they wanted to grow from the current 13 churches to become a vibrant group of 25 ministries by the year 2025. With that, they launched their 25 by 25 campaign. Now, in 2022 they have already far surpassed that goal. They are currently a group of 41 ministries!… and still GROWING!
The 2022 meeting was a great celebration of the blessing and growth that God has provided in the Central Plains. Ministries include a number of house churches led by dynamic individuals. Many are currently seeking to become commissioned pastors in the RCA.
One of the new ministries is a place where college students attending secular universities can live together in a Christian community setting in order to become leaders actively engaged as Christ’s presence in the world. But the scope of new ministries goes far beyond this. It outside the perceived geographical borders of Central Plains. There are ministries in New York and Connecticut that have joined and much work is being done as far away as Argentina and other South American countries that want to partner with Central Plains.
The meeting was a great time of sharing, learning and fellowship with the many representatives that were able to attend. The major challenge came in the language difference between the American and Hispanic ministries. Translation needed to occur every step of the way and instead of being an obstacle, it was a joyful expression of learning to serve and worship God in a global atmosphere. Rick Clark did an outstanding job of providing translations during much of the meeting times.
RCA General Secretary Eddy Alemán, as also in attendance. He spoke briefly on the exciting things happening in the Central Plains Classis and across the RCA. There is much fruit being cultivated in several other classes in the denomination.
The meeting closed with a time of worship and celebration as 3 individuals were brought into the classis…one as an ordained pastor and two others as commissioned pastors. Classis Clerk, Charlotte Foreman, was honored for all her service and organizational skills that helped to make the meeting a success.
Everyone is looking forward to the next year’s gathering to see just how much more growth God has planned for the Central Plains Classis.