Pastors who serve long and well cultivate healthy habits: regularly scheduled time away from ministry responsibilities, a commitment to build their marriages, accountability with peers and other practices that meet their personal spiritual needs. In essence, healthy pastors minister from the overflow of their relationship with God, and they value that relationship as their number one priority.
Serving Our Pastors
PASTOR CLUSTER MEETINGS
Pastors are encouraged to regularly meet together for growth and encouragement. Clusters groups are arranged geographically around the district and set their own meeting schedule and format. Contact the NPD office for a current list of cluster meeting times and locations..
THE EFCA NETWORK
The EFCA Network is open to all leaders in the EFCA and is the new embodiment of the EFCA Ministerial. The network is all about synergy. It is about bringing pastors and leaders together to encourage and support one another in pursuit of our common mission.
The Network Blog is for you! It is a place to find resources and opportunities from other leaders and districts. And it is a place to share your ideas, documents, policies and best practices with the rest of us.
SABBATICAL PREP AND COACHING
A sabbatical can be a period of refreshment and growth n the life of a pastor, but planning one can feel like a daunting task. Having someone to walk with you up to and even through a Sabbatical can be helpful. A good place to start in our district sabbatical policy which was created as template for churches to use.
PASTOR AND WIVES RETREATS
Each year we offer a pastors and wives retreat as pre-conference event connected to the annual NPD district conference. This includes time for connection, relationship building and time to grow together as an NPD family.
Cooperstown Bible Camp also offers a yearly retreat to pastors and their families. This is FREE of charge to NPD pastors!
Speaking of Cooperstown Bible Camp, they also have a very nice guest apartment that is available for pastors and their families to use for personal retreats or family getaways free of charge. Contact CBC for more information.
EFCA THEOLOGY CONFERENCE
The EFCA hosts an annual Theology Conference on the campus of Trinity International University in Chicago. You can listen to past sessions the the EFCA Theology Blog.
CARE AND SUPPORT
Our district staff is here to listen. We want you to contact us anytime you need someone to share with or just help talking something through. We are not professional counselors but bring biblical counsel and years of pastoral experience into the situations you may be facing. We are also fully aware that some situations require professional expertise and we are willing to refer if needed.
PURE DESIRE MINISTRY
This is a ministry that provides support, healing & restoration to those dealing with sexual sin. Their resources deal with prevention as well as intervention. A number of their individual and group materials for men and women are available for check out at the district office.
PREACHING
Need someone to fill the pulpit? Give us a call. We can continue a sermon series or provide pastoral care focused messages to your church, messages that increase their awareness of your needs and how they can better care for you. We can also provide a list of qualified individual to do pulpit supply for you.
FCMM BENEFITS AND RETIREMENT
FCMM exists to enable pastors, staff members, and missionaries to serve Christ throughout their lives by assisting employing ministry organizations in providing retirement and other benefits.
The FCMM Retirement Plan enables ministry staff to develop a successful retirement life plan with a reliable source of retirement savings and income from money deposited by employing ministry organizations.
FCMM Benefits serves ministry staff, in partnership with employing ministry organizations, by providing benefits that promote financial and personal wellness at an excellent value. Benefits available include:
Benefit Plan for Long Term Disability and Life/AD&D Insurance
Group Health Insurance
Long Term Care Insurance
Payroll Service: FCMM Benefits and Retirement offers a Payroll processing service which is bundled with the FCMM Benefit Plan (Long Term Disability and Life/Accidental Death & Dismemberment) benefit. We offer a cost-effective service that enables a church of any size to administer worry-free payroll and tax reporting through a provider that understands church staff compensation and benefits.