Pastors from across the Iowa-Missouri Conference gathered at Camp Heritage last December for a time of special focus on prominent figures of the Protestant Reformation.
The gathering was a culmination of the conference’s year-long emphasis on the pillars of Protestantism, in commemoration of the 500-year anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing of his 95 Thesis to the church door at Wittenberg.
Earlier in the year pastors formed teams and spent several months conducting in-depth research on reformers John Wycliffe, John Huss, Jerome of Prague, Martin Luther and Huldrych Zwingli.
The teams then presented their findings to the larger group during the December gathering.
“Events like this are important not only for the church but for our individual lives,” said Dean Coridan, conference president. “I hope each of the pastors who participated will be able to apply what they learned to their own lives and ministries.”
Jody Dickhaut, pastor of the Bourbon and Sullivan churches in Missouri, said, “This was probably the best meeting of this kind I’ve been a part of during my time in the Iowa-Missouri Conference. I was so blessed by the presentations and discussions.”
Steven Shafer, pastor of the Atlantic, Exira, Fort Dodge, Guthrie Center and Harlan churches in Iowa, stated that he “came away from this project and the discussion with the conviction that the biblical principles that sparked the Protestant Reformation are vitally important for my life and for the Church. God is calling us back to Christ alone, the Bible alone, Faith alone, Grace alone, and to give all the glory to Him alone. He is calling us back to Himself.”
