LEAD Cohorts are online meeting places for small groups of MB pastors and leaders – or anyone interested in learning more about a specific topic or gathering with like-minded people.
LEAD Cohorts are FREE to all participants. The only cost is for books or materials, if recommended by the cohort leader. LEAD Cohorts typically last three months and meet online every two weeks for about an hour.
The next session of LEAD Cohorts is beginning this Fall. Register below for the cohort(s) you would like to join - and tell a friend! If you have additional questions, please email Janae Rempel.
About Nothing for Those Who Want to Talk About Something - Phil Wiebe and Tim Thiessen
In community we can dream of fun possibilities, have a context to handle difficult stuff and celebrate each other’s victories. Out of relationships ministry partnerships happen. This cohort is about building and strengthening relationships through organic conversations – what’s on your mind this week? This cohort is for people looking for friends, real friends who love the Lord and want to build His Kingdom together. No other agendas, please. For male pastors only.
Phil Wiebe is lead pastor of Lakeview Church, a new church plant in Stansbury Park, Utah. Tim Thiessen is lead pastor of Birch Bay Bible Community Church in Blaine, Wash.
Cohort will meet every other Wednesday at 3 p.m. (CDT) beginning Sept. 8
Sept. 8 & 22, Oct. 6 & 20, Nov. 3 & 17, Dec. 1 & 15
About Nothing for Those Who Want to Talk About Something - Brian Wiebe and Curt Vogt
In community we can dream of fun possibilities, have a context to handle difficult stuff and celebrate each other’s victories. Out of relationships ministry partnerships happen. This cohort is about building and strengthening relationships through organic conversations – what’s on your mind this week? This cohort is for people looking for friends, real friends who love the Lord and want to build His Kingdom together. No other agendas, please. For male pastors only.
Brian Wiebe is lead pastor of Bethany Church in Fresno, Calif. Curt Vogt is lead pastor of Buhler MB Church in Buhler, Kan.
Cohort will meet every other Wednesday at 3 p.m. (CDT) beginning Sept. 15
Sept. 15 & 29, Oct. 13 & 27, Nov. 10 & 24, Dec. 8 & 22
Church Planters Chat – Fred Leonard
Are you currently planting a church or interested in becoming a church planter soon? Maybe you just want to talk about reaching your community and seeing the lost saved, then this cohort is for you! This cohort will focus on current church planting issues, delve into vision and church planting strategies and provide opportunities for conversations and prayer with other planters.
Fred Leonard is lead pastor of Mountain View Community Church in Fresno, Calif. Fred has a passion for developing church vision and equipping and releasing men and women into ministry.
Cohort will meet every other Tuesday at 9 a.m. (CDT) beginning Sept. (to be determined)
Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Congolese Pastors and Leaders – Henri Ngolo and Doug Hiebert
Swahili: (Translation coming soon!)
French: (Translation coming soon!)
(English Translation: This cohort will focus on the Missional Leadership Training. MLT seeks to lay a theological foundation for leaders in order to achieve unity and also greater fruitfulness in the mission of God. This cohort will include teaching, discussion, as well as wrestling with cultural issues.)
Henri Ngolo is director and founder of Diaspora Global Resources Ministries, from Kettering, Ohio. Doug Hiebert is a Multiply regional leader for Sub-Saharan Africa and former MB pastor now living in Ontario, Canada, after many years in Burundi.
Cohort dates and time to be determined
Contemplative Conversations – Chandelle Claassen
This cohort will be reflective and interactive within a relaxed setting meant to care for your soul. We will immerse ourselves in various scriptures in a personal way via a spiritual practice called Lectio Divina or "Divine Reading."
Chandelle Claassen is a trained spiritual director and certified life coach and member of the USMB LEAD Coaching team. Chandelle lives in North Newton, Kansas.
Cohort will meet every other Tuesday at 2 p.m. CDT beginning Sept. 7
Sept. 7 & 21, Oct. 5 & 19, Nov. 2, 16 & 30
Conviction & Posture: How to hold strong convictions while having a loving posture – J.L. Martin
Join others for a discussion of Scott Sauls’ book, Jesus Outside the Lines, as we learn how to be united around the most important issues while showing love and respect to one another. Each week we will read selections from the book and discuss questions together. Topics covered include sexuality, politics, life, money, church and many more.
Required reading: Jesus Outside the Lines by Scott Sauls
J.L. Martin is the Pastor of Children and Family at Hesston (Kan.) MB Church where he has been on staff since 2008. J.L. is also our USMB Social Media Coordinator. He enjoys coffee, reading and working out. He and his wife, Bethany, have four children and live in Hesston, Kan.
Cohort will meet every other Wednesday at 10 a.m. (CDT) beginning Sept. 1
Sept. 1 & 15 & 29, Oct. 13 & 27, Nov. 3 & 17, Dec. 1 & 15
Diseñado para liderar II – Daniel Rodriguez
Anteriormente habíamos estudioado este taller con la idea de aprender por qué la iglesia debería ser el centro de liderazgo no solo para la iglesia en sí, sino para todas las áreas en el contexto de la iglesia. Esta Segundo Taller se enfocará en los detalles sobre cómo crear una cultura para el desarrollo del liderazgo a través del discipulado y cómo cambiar algunos de los hábitos que pueden causar que la iglesia no sea efectiva en el desarrollo de líderes saludables que puedan servir a las personas. Nos reuniremos semanalmente durante 8 semanas los lunes a las 8 p.m. hora central.
(English Translation: Designed to Lead, Part 2: Previously, we learned why the church should be the center for leadership, not only for the church itself, but also for all areas in the context of the church. This cohort will focus on how to create a culture for leadership development through discipleship and how to change the habits that can cause the church to be ineffective in developing healthy leaders that can serve people.)
Recommended reading: Designed to Lead: The Church and Leadership Development by Eric Geiger and Kevin Pack
Daniel Rodriguez is lead pastor of Iglesia Agua Viva in Omaha, Neb.
Cohort will meet weekly on Mondays at 8 p.m. (CDT) beginning Sept. 13
Sept. 13, 20 & 27, Oct. 4, 11, 18, & 25, Nov. 1
የኢትዮጵያ ቤተክርስቲያን መጋቢዎችና መሪዎች - ሄኖክ ፀጋዬ – Henock Tsegaye
ይህ ህብረት የኢትዮጵያ አብያተክርስቲያናት መጋቢዎች በጋር በመገናኘት የሚጸልዩበት፣ ቃሉን የሚያጠኑበት፣ ኮቪድ ካለፈ በሃላ ስለሚኖረው የመጋቢነት አገልግሎት የሚወያዩበትና በወሩ የመጨርሻው ማክሰኞ የሚገናኙበት ልዩ የአንድነት ፕሮግራም ነው።
(English Translation: Ethiopian Pastors and Leaders: This cohort is geared for Ethiopian pastors and church leaders who desire connection and community, gathering online on a regular basis to talk about church issues, pastoral ideas for worship and doing church during the COVID-19 pandemic, preaching and teaching, praying together and much more. The discussion will be in Amharic and some English.)
Henock Tsegaye is senior pastor of Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Church in Olathe, Kansas.
Cohort will meet on the last Tuesday of each month at 3 p.m. (CDT) beginning Sept. 28
Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 30, Dec. 28
Intimacy with Jesus – Diane Andrews
Join us for this unique and transformational time together as we discuss the following people's encounters with Jesus, including Peter, Mary and Martha, Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, the Samaritan woman, Mary who anoints Jesus, the thief on the cross and Mary Magdalene. For each cohort session you will need to read a short passage of scripture. “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Intimacy with Jesus will not be taken away from you! For women only.
Diane Andrews is founder and director of R & R Retreats. She and her husband, Pastor Mike Andrews, live in Wolf Point, Mont.
Cohort dates and times to be determined
Leadership Principles for Long-Serving Pastors – Ed Boschman
A safe forum for seasoned pastors to pose nagging questions, offer tentative answers, make bold declarations and discover new insights for life and ministry. An informal, minimally-structured time, where coffee and tea and Dr. Pepper drinkers are welcome. A loose outline will be co-opted from Paul David Tripp’s book LEAD, in which he addresses 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church. As time permits, other topics of interest will be welcomed as well.
Recommended Reading: LEAD by Paul David Tripp
Ed Boschman, former USMB executive director, is a LEAD Coach and member of the ICOMB executive committee. He lives in Lynden, Wash.
Cohort will meet twice monthly on Thursday at 11 a.m. (CDT) beginning Sept 9.
Sept. 9 & 23, Oct. 14 & 28, Nov. 11 & 24, Dec. 9
Leading a 20-minute Corporate Prayer Meeting – Esther Leonard
This cohort will teach you how to structure a 20-minute corporate prayer meeting. Each meeting will have a central kingdom focus, is God centered, Bible based and Spirit led.
Esther Leonard is a prayer ministry pastor at Mountain View Community Church in Fresno, Calif.
Cohort dates and times to be determined
Let’s talk: Conversations with Missionaries – Stephen Humber
There is so much to learn from cross-cultural missionaries. Plus, they're just fun folks! Each time this Cohort meets we will have a one-hour conversation with at least one missionary (different each time) about their life and work with an eye toward what we can learn about ministry in our own contexts.
Stephen Humber serves on the mobilization team of Multiply. He lives in Denver, Colo.
Cohort will meet every other Thursday at 11 a.m. (CDT) beginning Sept. 9.
Sept. 9 & 23, Oct. 7 & 21, Nov. 4 & 18, Dec. 2 & 16
Preaching and Teaching Colossians and Hebrews – Jared Pulliam
While ancient, the letters of Colossians and Hebrews provide persevering truth for today’s contemporary church. In a time when pressures can tempt us to remove Jesus from our lives of faith (Hebrews) or try to add to Jesus’s sufficiency for our lives of faith (Colossians), the messages of these books illuminate the crucial reality that our great and only hope is found in the preeminent glories of Christ. This eight-session cohort is intended to help preachers and teachers consider the context, structure, challenges, and biblical theology of Colossians and Hebrews, promoting and supporting their exposition in our local congregations.
Jared Pulliam is lead pastor of Christ Church Sellwood in Portland, Ore.
Cohort will meet every other Wednesday at Noon (CDT) beginning Sept. 1.
Sept. 1, 15 & 29, Oct. 13 & 27, Nov. 3 & 17, Dec. 1
Youth Ministry Realities – Russ Claassen
Get to know other youth workers as we engage in passionate discussion focused on the realities we face as youth workers. We will explore topics relevant to the group. Sessions may include anything related to youth ministry--from personal leadership development and spiritual growth, to recruiting and training volunteers, parent ministries and talking about Jesus with teens. The possibilities are endless. This cohort is for anyone who works with youth in your local church--volunteers, small group leaders, youth pastors, etc.
Russ Claassen is Southern District Conference youth minister. Russ lives in North Newton, Kansas.
Cohort will meet on the first and third Thursday of the month at 11 a.m. (CDT) beginning Aug. 19
Aug. 19, Sept. 2 & 16, Oct. 7 & 21, Nov. 4 & 18, Dec. 2
PLEASE NOTE:
Dates and/or times on registration forms may not be accurate. The correct information is listed in the descriptions to the left. Once registered, you will be contacted by the cohort leader with more details and information. Thank you.
