Dear CNC Leaders,
Summer is here! If your family is like mine, then you try to make the most of summer. When school lets out, my kids immediately start bringing summer energy and summer expectations. Now, we have two teenage drivers, which means summer brings all kinds of new opportunities for adventure.
Let me encourage you this summer – don’t miss it. Too often, vacation bible school, youth mission trips, and a summer sermon series keep us busy all summer long and we miss the opportunity to step into a different pace of summer rest. God now only invites our rest – He commands it! Exodus 20:8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Sabbath can take on many forms – rest, recreation, or simply slowing down to listen to God.
If your summer schedule looks frantic, it isn’t too late to make a change. The health of your soul and the health of your ministry can be greatly impacted when you seek the Lord in a season of rest.
In Christ,
Andy Kumpel
Regional President
Camping
Summer camp is officially underway — our second week just started with over 500 campers!
- Pray with us: Trout is a ‘meeting place with God’ where kids have incredible spiritual encounters that change their lives. This is the whole reason we do this. Pray with us that students would be impacted by the message of Jesus this summer.
- Still time: Yes, camp just started, but if you have families looking for a life-changing summer experience for their kids, we still have select openings. Tell them to register now.
- Fall retreats: Looking ahead to fall, we’ve got retreats for youth, women, and families. Make your plans now and tell your families.
Thank You
We’re so grateful for another year of camp. Thanks for sending your families our way.
Starting
Could Church Planting Be A Part of Your Story? (1 minute read)
The Holy Spirit often works through questions.
Not always through a dramatic calling. Not always through complete clarity. Sometimes it begins with a simple question that lingers longer than expected:
“What about planting a church?”
For some, that question quickly fades. For others, it becomes the beginning of a journey of exploration, discernment, and faithful next steps.
To help spark that conversation, we gathered four perspectives around the topic of church planting: someone who explored church planting but ultimately did not plant, someone who has planted a church, and the director of our church planting movement. Together, we discuss what church planting is, why it matters, common misconceptions, and some of the signs that might indicate God is inviting someone to explore it further.
If you’ve ever wondered whether church planting might be part of your story—or know someone who should consider the question—we invite you to watch the conversation.
Strengthening
“Never waste a funeral” (3 minute read)
It is a quote from English novelist E.M Forster. Pastors, perhaps that phrase could help you process and share the gospel the next time you are caring for or performing a funeral for those grieving. But briefly, let’s allow it to help us reflect upon the life of Dr. Bruce Hopler (Converge VP Strengthening), who went to be with our Lord on May 21, 2026 (a second Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 pm June 25 – at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden – just following the Converge Together Conference).
CNC Pastors and Church Leaders – toward strengthening your ministry:
- Give away opportunities to “try” ministry – even a short-term failure – will have succeeded
- Care for fellow Pastors and their spouses
- Develop and equip your local church Board toward maximizing gospel impact
- Organize ministry tools and tactics and then share them freely for Kingdom building
- Be an example of intentional and casual ongoing personal evangelism
- Disciple people to be disciple-makers of others
- Release ownership and let others “take a shot” at leading as you model and guide them
- Consult, when given the opportunity, with Godly Biblical wisdom
- Give generously to those in need – administering matching funds to churches
- Be a person of prayer and actively engage with others so we might be a movement of God through prayer.
God used “Doc Hop” – he did and lived each of those above – as a model for us to follow.
His impact and legacy within Converge North Central is real. With Dan Carlson, Mark Bjorlo, and Andy Kumpel, Bruce helped each strategize and understand their role and opportunity to influence and impact God’s vehicle, the Church.
The list above is incomplete; the following is even more heavily edited, but if you or your church used or participated with: COMPASS, Board Development, Church Evangelism Institute, 170 Days of Prayer – leading up to next week’s Converge Together Conference – well then Bruce’s life and ministry impacted you (us) perhaps more than you realized.
So, while unexpected, let’s not waste the model of ministry that Dr. Bruce Hopler lived out. As Pastors and leaders within Converge North Central, may we strengthen our congregations and actively invest and give away ministry to the next generation as we lean into God’s grace for the results.
Events & Opportunities
August 6-7 Global Leadership Summit 2026 Bethel University
August 21-23 The NorthStar Retreat Camp Victory
The North Start Retreat is a catalytic opportunity to help connect incoming freshmen to local churches and campus ministries before the busyness of class schedules and college life begins. It’s a chance for students to meet other peers and mentors to establish a Christ-centered community in which their faith will not die but thrive in college and beyond.
September 15-17 Retired Pastors Retreat Trout Lake Camps
Prairie Lakes Church Campus Pastor Cedar Falls, IA (job opening)
Bethel Church Director of Kids Ministry Owatonna, MN (job opening)
City Church Pastor of Student Ministries Minneapolis, MN (job opening)
Prayer
Jesus, we come before You grateful that You are the God who restores. Your Word promises that those who wait on You will renew their strength, that they will rise up on wings like eagles. Thank you for that promise.
Lord, during the summer months quiet the noise around us. Help us to cast our anxious thoughts on you. Remind us that You hold all things in Your hands, and that we can truly rest in Your care. Breathe new life into our souls. Refresh us the way morning rain refreshes dry ground. Where we have grown weary, rekindle our joy. Where we have grown distant, draw us close again. May this summer not merely be an absence of activity, but a deep settling into Your presence.
Amen.
