Speaker: Eric Fadel, CTS Field Education Administrative Coordinator

Sponsored by: Student Life

Whether you are leading or participating, you can help to make meetings more fruitful and helpful in your work or ministry setting. Instead of being a dreaded part of your week, meetings could be a highlight. After studying meetings for the last few years, Eric has a few takeaways to share with you about how to redeem the practice of meetings in small groups, sessions, staff teams, families, counseling rooms, classrooms, committees, youth groups, or anywhere else where people and ideas converge. Desserts and drinks provided (no lunch).

Speaker: Dr. Abram Van Engen, Professor of English and Executive Director of The Carver Project, Washington University in St. Louis

Most people never read poetry, even though the Bible and church services are filled with it. In this talk, Wash U English professor and Carver Project Executive Director Abram Van Engen will explain why church-goers (and ministry leaders) should read poetry of all kinds regularly and what it can offer to our devotional lives. We will think through theology with poetry and ask what difference poetry makes to the way we do ministry. Lastly, we'll take a look at a few simple ways to begin reading poetry and understanding it. Lunch provided.

You can get a taste of Dr. Van Engen's work and our upcoming conversation here.

Sponsored by: The Common Table (student magazine)

Speaker: Richard, a missionary who has been working with Persians for decades, will discuss the challenges of ministry and will encourage students to engage in difficult ministries. Lunch provided.

Speaker: Jim Hatch, Church Planter Development Director, MTW

What are some of the challenges, tensions, and rewards of playing “second fiddle”: being an assistant or associate pastor or functioning in a subordinate role in any ministry? How can you succeed in that capacity?

Most of Jim Hatch’s ministry has NOT been in a lead role. Come find out how you can survive and thrive in this capacity. Lunch provided.

Speaker: Aaron Jones, Youth Program Manager, Harambee Youth Training

Harambee is a ministry of New City Fellowship church. We are a discipleship and job training program and we focus on teaching tuckpointing and masonry to middle and high school age students in the North St. Louis area. Our mission is to see young people come to know God through experiencing the dignity of work and through developing relationships with our staff and other students in the program. Every summer we hire 15 seasonal staff to directly oversee and disciple our youth. Come and hear more about what we do.

Lunch provided.

Speakers: Nelson Hall, Emma Cooper, Karen Kallberg, and Rachel Vining of FirstLight St. Louis

The mission of FirstLight is to help men and women see their sexuality in light of God’s word and recognize that through Jesus Christ, there is hope and healing for anyone caught in patterns of sexual sin. Join us to find out more about our ministry and how you can help. Lunch provided.

Planning to attend? RSVP to office@firstlightstlouis.org

Speaker: Rev. Mike Park, US Director, Radstock Ministries

Radstock is a missions organization that specializes in networking with churches and believers from around world who desire to advance the gospel work through church planting and prayer. Come find out more about us and how you might be part of it all. Lunch provided.

Speaker: George Stulac, InterVarsity

George is a CTS graduate and a PCA pastor now working with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. IVCF is now seeing a remarkable flourishing of ministry to faculty on campuses in the St. Louis area and is looking for additional staff to hire for this ministry. Maybe you? Come and hear the story of what’s happening and learn about the opportunity for mission that it offers. Lunch provided.

RSVP to George Stulac if you would like to attend: george.stulac@intervarsity.org

Speaker: Ted Powers, Director, Midwest Alliance (PCA)

Join Ted Powers for an hour of vision-casting for and practical knowledge of church planting. Find out how you can do some things even now to test whether church planting is something you should be considering for the future. Ted has decades of church planting experience, including leading church planting initiatives in both the Midwest and North America for Mission to North America (PCA). This hour will inform, encourage, and equip you to think more concretely and accurately about church planting. We hope you’ll come!

Lunch provided.

Speaker: Michael Gordon, Assistant  Coordinator, RUF

RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) is the PCA denominational campus ministry. We’ll be at Covenant on March 8 to share how God has been at work on college campuses through the ministry of RUF and what opportunities exist to work with RUF. Join our staff for a one-to-one conversation, lunch on campus from Bandana’s Barbecue, and a causal evening gathering at Cobalt Smoke & Sea Restaurant (12643 Olive Blvd., 5:30 – 7:30 p.m). Please feel free to bring your spouse and any other friends who might want to know more about college ministry.

RSVP here for LUNCH and the evening MEET & GREET.

RSVP here for 30-minute one-to-one appointments.

Interested in doing RUF Campus Minister Assessment? Find out more here.

If you can’t join us but would like to know more, please follow us on social media or contact us at recruiting@ruf.org.

Speakers: Youth Ministry Interns and staff from Covenant Presbyterian Church, St. Louis, MO

This event will highlight the need for and importance of relationally oriented discipleship to the next generation. Lunch provided.

Speaker: Travis Vaughn, Metro Atlanta Collective

Metro Atlanta Collective exists to cultivate a network of leaders who plant, strengthen, and renew churches throughout Atlanta. Atlanta is a global city with a metro population of more than 6 million people. If you are thinking about church planting, whether in Atlanta or somewhere else in North America, come hear about what it looks like to be a part of a church planting network in a large U.S. city with a huge need for more church planters. Lunch provided.

Speaker: Book Robinson, InsideOUT Prison Ministries

Those in jail or prison and those who have never been in jail or prison are often reduced to being less than human. Come hear how you can partner with God through InsideOUT Prison Ministries to help identify and right this wrong.

Lunch provided.

Speaker: Michelle Hopping, Director of Mobilzation, Serge

What happens after your time at Covenant? Exploring calling is a hot topic, and we want to walk with you during this hour to unpack the intersection of your skills, interests, and the ways God is leading you. We’ll talk about how to explore and articulate your calling, as well as brainstorm how it could align with cross-cultural ministry. Michelle Hopping, who spent 17 years in graduate-level career management in two universities before joining Serge in 2020, will facilitate this informal discussion. Lunch provided.

Serge is a Reformed, grace-based missions sending agency with teams in 25+ countries doing all types of work, including counseling, church planting, youth ministry, pastoral care, business, art, medicine, and more.

Unable to come to the ministry lunch, or just want to connect further? Join us for a casual evening gathering! Bring your spouse, a friend, or just yourself.

• Evening Meet & Greet – Tues., Feb. 1, 5:30–7:30pm at Urban Chestnut, 4465 Manchester Ave

Questions? Email lknapp@serge.org.