Dakotas Annual Conference 2019 is quickly approaching, and excitement is building as clergy, laity, and friends are looking forward to a time of reunion and worship. Each year at conference we seek to deepen our commitment to our mission of reaching new people and spreading the word of God to all and, in doing so, making new disciples in Christ. This commitment often brings the term, “evangelism” to mind. Evangelism can sometimes carry some negative connotations, stigmas, and stereotypes with it, but Gina Mueller is looking to help clarify what evangelism is and how we can apply it to our faith and our callings.

Gina will present two times in Bismarck. She will present a pre-conference worshop, "Creating a Missional Culture," on, Wednesday, June 5, 2019, 1:30-3:00 p.m., and 3:15-4:45 p.m. In this session, she will share specific strategies to increase missional engagement in your congregation. Come and discover how to move your congregation to have greater influence in your community. Move towards a greater heart for the least, last, and lost. Train everyday people to become effective at reaching their neighbors, friends, and co-workers with the good news. Participants will look at the specific strategy Jesus gave us to imitate and walk away with tools to apply immediately.  

Gina Mueller, 3d Movement. Submitted photo.

Mueller will also be the speaker at the 2019 Laity Session, Thursday, June 6, 2019. The topic is "Living the Ways of Jesus." This session will start with what it means to grow a Jesus-shaped life of 'Up-In-Out." She will give additional focus to out, helping attendees understand and unpack a key strategy—people of peace. You will hear stories and learn steps to take in your own neighborhoods and relationships to make disciples for Jesus.

Mueller is part of the team at 3d Movement (3DM), a decentralized movement with training Hubs in a growing number of different cities across North America and around the world. The mission of these 3DM Hubs is to invest in and raise up leaders who empower everyday people to do the things Jesus did and to transform the world. She has been a part of the 3dm Movement since 2008 and has led in both large church contexts and in church planting. She is currently chair of the national 3dm board and leads the Hub for the Upper Midwest and Northeast regions.

Mueller has a very clear and precise definition of evangelism and what it means for Christians. “Evangelism is showing and telling the Good News of Jesus so more might experience the power of the Kingdom of God both now and for eternity. A key component is hearing the Good News proclaimed, but also experiencing the Good News firsthand. Through proclamation (telling) and demonstration (showing), Jesus was himself the Good News and made the Good News available to be heard and experienced.” Mueller plans to take this definition of evangelism and show us how to apply it to our ministries here in the Dakotas in her presentation scheduled for the first day of conference.

“We're going to get really practical. First, what does it look like to build a life that is truly living the ways of Jesus? In addition to pursuing God with passion and investing in other believers and those closest to us, what does it practically look like to live a life on mission right where we are? We are going to look at the exact strategy Jesus gave his disciples and talk about how we can imitate that today. Through digging into scripture, hearing lots of stories and practical insight, you will walk away with the next steps on what it looks like to be Good News in your neighborhood, with your co-workers, and in your current relationships," Gina says. 

When one looks at the history and the beginning of the Christian faith we find that all of us, aside from those of Jewish heritage, are products of evangelism, which makes it all the more relevant to learn the practice and application of it. “Evangelism is the only way the church re-engages its missional calling —where the everyday people of God are sent into their ordinary lives to bring the power and presence of God,” says Mueller.

We hope you will decide to join us at Annual Conference as we explore this and many other topics throughout our time in Bismarck. In the meantime, perhaps it’s a good time for all of us to reflect on evangelism in terms of what it means to us and how we are (or aren’t) applying it to our faith.

Learn more about Annual Conference 2019 in Bismarck.

Welcome to Bismarck AC2019