Blog

Pastor Paul Schmidlin and Tracy Schmidlin demonstrated a meaningful tool for team training which is in the form of a large rainbow-themed puzzle.  The pieces of the puzzle represent the activities throughout a VDC weekend (e.g., sendoff, reception, meditations, rollos, etc.) with each day having a unique color of the rainbow.  A training session begins with the “Come Holy Spirit” prayer followed by a short devotional message.  Then the puzzle pieces are attached to the...

Following the conclusion of the business meeting, NLS President Brian Comeno addressed the VDC community, expressing his love of our movement and thanking people for their support.  He called for the movement to be innovative and think “outside the box” to reach people today.  The VDC can learn from the example of the Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) movement where Truth and Authenticity help build relationships and draw each other closer to Christ.  These young people...

NLS President Brian Comeno called the meeting back to order and Pastor Karl Gaston began with a prayer asking for God’s help and guidance.  Treasurer Jerry Gray resumed his presentation of the proposed 2026 budget and other financial statements.  There were two minor budget amendments approved to add an expense line item for the scholarship payment and a $1000 increase in the Annual Gathering expense line based on recent experience with the 2025 AG.  The...

The Ways to Pray session was less an “exchange of ideas” and more of an experiential opportunity. Lissa Roseman and Karen Weires led the group through some prayerful exercises. Participants were encouraged to first prayerfully “empty” themselves of anything that would impede their getting close to God. They were given the opportunity to write down anything weighing on them – sins, hurts, worries – on rice paper, which was then dissolved in water, freeing them...

Pastor Scott ElliottSpirit of Joy, Weddington, NC Pastor of Family and Youth The young people in our culture are still out there. To reach them, we need to transform the way we think about ministry. NOT the message. The Gospel does not need to be updated or repackaged. We need to think outside the box. Just like Jesus did, we need to meet people where they are.  This starts earlier than some students. It starts with...

Carolyn Witham VP of Administration led an exchange of ideas (EOI) discussion for those interested in, discerning, or making plans for hosting a future Annual Gathering.  Carolyn emphasized that hosting a meeting is an Honorable SERVICE.  It is a lot of work, but it will also be a blessing to the host community.  Randy Poisel agreed commenting that from hosting 2 years ago that it “helped INKY regain momentum” in their VDC community. Carolyn shared...

Pastor Karl Gaston led a group discussion of the role of Lay Spiritual Directors (SDs).  There are often not enough ordained clergy to serve on VDC weekends.  Some areas of the country have no ordained SDs available willing to serve on weekends.  Secretariats sometimes can pull in SDs from out of state and sometime use non-Lutheran pastors from among our ecumenical partners.  Increasingly Lay SDs are serving as the #2 or #3 SD position on...

The “3-Day Movement Synergy EOI” presented by David Deeds was attended by twenty 2025 AG participants.  In this audience, Becky Rogers has served on Teens Encounter Christ (TEC), Via de Cristo (VdC), and Kairos Outside Weekends.  Three others had served on TEC and VdC Weekends and David serves on VdC and Kairos Weekends.  This EOI explored possibilities of increasing the dialog between the Movements as a means of increasing Team member participation across the Movements. ...

Business Meeting #1 (Friday) in Ketner Auditorium at Queens University, Charlotte NC Following an opening prayer by Pastor Karl Gaston, Secretary Suzanne Bathe conducted a Delegate Roll Call to confirm that the meeting quorum was met.  Pastor Karl then commissioned the delegates and President Brian Comeno called the business meeting to order.  After some opening remarks, Bob Lewis, the Nomination Committee Chair, came forward and presented the following candidates for the NLS board positions that...

Jerry Gray, NLS Treasurer, led an exchange of ideas discussion and answered budget questions. The main topics include the 2026 budget, fundraising, and sharing best practices among Via de Cristo communities. Jerry reported that the NLS board is working on website improvements while minimizing software and website costs. Communication between Secretariats, Regional Coordinators, and the NLS board is inefficient, affecting dues collection, Palanca sharing, and information exchange. It was noted that the draft 2026 budget...

Led by Pastor Karl Gaston  Spiritual Director Participation & Recruitment  Practical Support for Clergy Involvement  Tech and Communication Improvements  Clergy Video Project  Personal Stories & Reflections Several attendees shared powerful and diverse personal stories:  Challenges & Concerns Reported by Donovan & Andrea Douglas

Alexa Roseman The goal is to connect with people from different areas and discuss church health – to get different perspectives. This can spark follow up discussions over the rest of the weekend to get ideas on how to improve and take those ideas back to local church leaders. Alexa reviewed a list of scripture references and discussed how those scriptures could point to ways to improve our church health. Each table discussed these and...