This fall, the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches hosted four appreciation dinners to honor 170 leaders within the FEC family. In an effort to reach as many neighboring FEC churches as possible, the office organized dinners in Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, and Indiana within a two-week period.
At the start of each dinner, FEC president Rocky Rocholl shared his gratitude for the dozens of vocational pastors, missionaries, and lay leaders (e.g. elders, treasurers, etc.) in attendance. A locally catered meal commenced, followed by a time of fellowship and, most importantly, connection, says Nate Hamblin, Executive Director of Ministry Resourcing. “Our best resource is each other. When leaders know each other, that’s the win.”
It takes a healthy church to reproduce, and you can’t have a healthy church without healthy leaders. FEC takes many steps to ensure pastors and leaders have support like Soul Care retreats, counseling resources, and regular moments of intentional, authentic relationship building, whether it’s at orientation, meetings, or an appreciation dinner.
One of the most palpable things to come out of the dinners, Nate says, was the “genuine encouragement happening through prayer.” He witnessed large groups of leaders who didn’t know each other before that evening huddled together, sharing heart-felt struggles and praying for one another.
This is an event Nate says the FEC team plans to repeat. He is especially grateful for the host churches who invested great care and time with many helping hands to set up a lovely, inviting, comfortable environment for these leaders to enjoy.
