Leadership Development, Pastoral Care, and Church Planting Report
Cal Swenson
2023 Annual Report
2023 has been a year of changes and progress! God is on the move throughout the Northern California and Nevada District! 2023 has seen our churches and pastors experiencing training, connections, encouragement, modifications, and ultimate progress as we have continued to “Build Leaders”.
Here are some of the highlights:
Leadership Development
In 2023 we have launched “We Build Leaders” podcasts. With the progress and innovations in technology, we have seen multiple opportunities to connect and train our pastors in new and creative ways. One of the ways that we have taken advantage of is the ministry available through podcasting.
Just Between Us
JBU is an invaluable ministry of the NCN District. This ministry to our pastor's wives, credentialed women, and widows, led by our Executive wives, Valerie Allen and Linda Huddleston, under the direction of Teri Herndon ministers to hundreds of women yearly. The JBU ministry includes Coffee Connections, Podcasts, personal connections, and their annual retreat. The goal of JBU is to provide ministry to our credentialed women and pastor’s wives to equip them to minister to their chosen areas of ministry.
This past fall, JBU provided a coffee connection at each of our Minister’s Retreats, and at 15 different sites across our district. The retreat was held at Harvest Church in Elk Grove, CA, where our speaker Rev. Cindy Johnson effectively ministered to over 100 of our women ministers.
2023 Ministers Retreat
Our Minister’s Retreats provide a yearly time of refreshing, reconnecting, and ministry. This year we had two Minister’s Retreats that were held in Lake Tahoe, and Las Vegas, with close to 400 in attendance. Our Superintendent, Bret Allen, did a great job ministering at each of our retreats.
Church Planting
Church planting continues to be a big part of the District's plan to reach Northern California and Nevada. We were excited to be able to have new churches start in our District and churches become a part of the Northern California and Nevada District. These new ministries represent a wide spectrum of styles and cultures that continue to enable us to reach the diverse population God has given us! We're excited about the potential of these new churches and the pastors that God is continually calling to our District!
Special Thanks
The AGNCN District is blessed with a great team at our District Resource Center! Special thanks to our District officers - Pastor Bret Allen, Dr. Sam Huddleston, and Dr. Jay Herndon, our ministry teams, our administrative staff, and especially my administrative assistant, Aaron Perez. They have enabled our office to effectively minister to the pastors and churches in our district.
Respectfully Submitted,
Pastor Cal Swenson
Director of Leadership Development,
Pastoral Care and Church Planting