THE GATHERING- St. Louis, MO

We had a great time gathering in St. Louis! Our hotel was right at the entrance to the Cardinals’ stadium and you could easily walk to the St. Louis Arch or Union Station and enjoy lots of wonderful restaurants.  Here are a few snapshots of our event:

We presented RICHEY awards to two amazing ministry couples. The RICHEYS (John and Louise) were founders of what is now Central Region and Open Bible Churches as well.

Pastors Herb and Jaccie Kenyon were recipients of the FINISHING WELL award as they have retired and moved to the Des Moines area. Jaccie continues serving as the NE Iowa/Minnesota District Director and both of them are available to serve as pulpit supply or interim pastors. They have pastored and led with excellence in every place they have served.

President Randall and Barbara Bach were recipients of the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT award as they have given their lives to serving Open Bible Churches in many capacities, beginning here in Central Region as President of Open Bible College. They continue leading Open Bible Churches and have led with excellence in every assignment the Lord has given them!

Our regional staff presented an update on the key initiative they lead in the region:

Bruce Pfadenhauer     NOW Healthy Churches

Ben & Lola Carlson      NEXT Generation Leaders

Kevin Starkey              NEW Church Plants

Kevin Starkey gave an update on Harvest Bible College since the governance of the school was passed from First Church Des Moines to the region in May of 2022.

Kevin also introduced three new church plants in the region:

Pastor Kyle and Kathy Asp                 Open Bible Church, Sleepy Eye, MN

Pastor Michael & Teya McDougal     Shalom Hill, Richfield, MN

Pastors Shane & Amber Blackledge  Cultivate Church, St. Louis, MO

Kyle and Kathy Asp were not able to be with us as Kathy had just undergone surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Please be praying for Pastor Kyle and Kathy Asp as they persevere through this trial in the midst of planting a new church.

Kevin and I presented the Blackledges and McDougals with their affiliation certificates.

We also featured Developing Great Relationships, a marriage ministry out of Pella, IA with our speaker, Brian Davis, who is on staff at DGR. We have a great opportunity for you to get acquainted with their ministry in a personal way, which will be sent in a separate communication.

Joined with you in NOW Healthy Churches, NEXT Generation Leaders, and NEW Church Plants!

Bruce A. Pfadenhauer, Regional Director