ABOUT US

MinistryConnect - who we are and how we started

WhatsNew:

New Approach, Same Purpose

January 1, 2011

Thank you for visiting our new web site. It is our hope that the new look and the presentation of our ministry is appealing to you. We invite you to comment on our web site and any part of our ministry by going to our contact page and leaving a comment.

Our ministry, coaching churches, has not changed. We have made some adjustments in how we go about approaching church coaching. demo We have prioritized three coaching areas--preparation (a move toward leadership readiness), leadership (a move toward the search and calling of a pastor), and ministry (a move toward church health). These priorities are the result of the experiences with dozens of churches and pastors.

Current News:

Church Health--Natural Church Development

January 10, 2011

We are excited about what God is doing world-wide in developing healthy churches. The materials have now been translated in over 40 languages and are or have been used in over 50,000 churches world-wide and 30,000 churches in the US. It is the most widely implemented process in the world.

MinistryConnect is drawing together some pastors from mid-Missouri for an orientation to Natural Church Development, Tuesday, January 18. These pastors represent various faith traditions. Furthermore, you are invited to bring along another pastor from your local community who you think might be interested.

You will be provided a complimentary lunch and a paperback copy of the ABCs of Natural Church Development. We will be meeting in a central location, Room 508, of First Baptist Church, 301 E. Capitol Avenue, Jefferson City.

RecentEvents:

Memorial Calls Senior Pastor

November 14, 2010

Memorial Baptist Church of Columbia, Missouri, called Kevin Glenn as Senior Pastor.

demo MinistryConnect had the privilege of serving as coach to the Pastor Search Committee through the entire process. God has blessed the church with a warm and gifted pastor and we are grateful for the privilege of serving the church.

About Us

What is MinistryConnect?

MinistryConnect helps churches prepare for new leadership.
We believe that not all churches are ready to call a pastor. Surveys or interviews might be needed to evaluate the need for Intentional Interim, conflict resolution, unrealistic expectations, etc.

MinistryConnect helps churches with the calling process.
Our "theory" is that most people have not had an opportunity to serve on a search committee for any minister for their church. We want to provide a clear process and materials for the calling of a pastor.

MinistryConnect helps churches and ministers find the right match.
We believe that churches and ministers become healthier when they are successfully matched in as many areas as possible: doctrine, ethics, issues affecting the church, marital and family issues, temperament, leadership style, gifts and values, financial understandings among others. This is not about just placement, but matching.

MinistryConnect helps churches with church health.
We believe that churches can learn what the Scriptures and research show to be the characteristics of healthy churches that produce fruit. Natural Church Development provides the basis for helping churches become healthy.

The Growing Years:

MinistryConnect LLC is a limited liability company formed in 2000 by Roger Hatfield and Verlyn Bergen. Our experiences over the past 30 plus years with hundreds of churches and pastors throughout the Midwest led us to believe there was a better process for churches to fulfill God's purpose for church leadership than was being experienced. Over and over we would hear statements from pastors and churches like "if I/we had only known." We began to believe that God was leading us to try to do something about these issues. MinistryConnect was formed.

Where we're going:

To date we have worked with dozens of churches and hundreds of pastors from various faith traditions and those experiences have allowed our ministry to take shape and to evaluate and change our approaches and materials. However, they are essentially unchanged because we have experienced wonderful acceptance affirmations from almost every experience. We still believe there is much work to be done and many churches and pastors that need our coaching ministry.

Team Bio:

	Roger Hatfield, PhD, University of Missouri, has ministered in a variety of settings including pastor, worship leader and educator. For 18 years he has led the Missouri Baptist Convention in small groups and congregational vitality.
	Verlyn Bergen, DMin, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has ministered in a variety of settings including pastor, student minister and educator. For 24 years he led the Missouri Baptist Convention in small groups, church growth and leadership development.
	Roger and Verlyn have a combined 80+ years experience in ministry – judicatory leadership, pastoring, teaching, coaching and mentoring ministers and churches.