We Weren’t Meant to Do Ministry Alone

There is something different about being around people who just get it. My husband serves in youth ministry, and our family has been involved in youth ministry for more than ten years. I also have the privilege of serving on staff with Converge Great Lakes. Ministry has looked different in different seasons, but one thing has stayed the same: we need other people who get “it”.

We need people who understand why Sunday can be wonderful and exhausting at the same time. We need people who understand that sometimes the thing keeping you awake at night is a conversation no one else even knows you had. We need people who understand how much you love the church while also understanding that ministry can be hard. And sometimes, we simply need someone else to remind us, you are not the only one walking through this. That is one of the reasons I love Foundations.

You Need People Who Get It

Over the summer, my husband has had the opportunity to become more connected with our Converge Great Lakes Youth Network, and I have seen firsthand how valuable that has been. He can join the other youth leaders and talk about what is working, what is not working, what students are struggling with, how they are reaching families, or what challenges are showing up in their ministries.

Sometimes someone else is facing almost the exact same problem. Other times, a pastor who has been doing ministry longer can simply say, “We’ve been there too.” That matters. There is so much encouragement in realizing that the struggle you are experiencing is not necessarily a sign that you are doing something wrong. Sometimes you are simply experiencing a normal part of faithfully serving people.

And that is why connection is so important. Your church is not the only church trying to reach your community with the gospel. You are not the only pastor trying to lead faithfully. You are not the only staff member trying to figure out how to serve people well. You are not the only spouse trying to support someone in ministry while also carrying your own responsibilities. We really are one body with many members (1 Corinthians 12:12–27). Foundations gives us an opportunity to actually experience a little bit of that.

A Conference for the People Who Usually Put on the Conference

This might be one of my favorite things about Foundations. So many of the people coming are normally the ones doing the work. You are planning the event, making sure volunteers know where to go, answering questions, checking the slides, teaching, solving the problem nobody knew existed until five minutes before something started, and making sure everyone else is cared for.

At Foundations, you get to come. You get to sit, listen, have conversations, meet someone new, and learn from someone who has been where you are. Maybe you get to walk away with one idea that makes ministry a little healthier when you return home.

I am helping organize Foundations this year, so I recognize the irony that I will still be doing a little bit of running around! But I love knowing that the purpose behind all of that preparation is to create a place where pastors, ministry staff, volunteers, and spouses can be poured into.

Practical Conversations About Real Ministry

One of the things I am especially excited about this year is our breakout sessions. We are not only asking, What information can we give people? We are asking, What are ministry leaders actually dealing with right now? Here are some of the breakout conversations planned for Foundations 2026 that I think you will love:

• Youth Ministry That Rejects Consumerism and Embraces Maturity — moving beyond simply keeping students entertained and building a culture of discipleship.

• Practical Kid’s Ministry: Ideas That Work — sharing real ideas and learning from what other churches are doing.

• Who Decides? How Decision Clarity Reduces Church Conflict — helping teams understand who decides, who is consulted, and who needs to be informed.

• Pulling Up Before Bailing Out — practical tools for staying grounded and leading with endurance through demanding seasons of ministry.

• Get Clear Before You Burn Out — building a communication strategy that actually connects with people without exhausting your staff and volunteers.

• Letting Them Lead — practical tactics and systems for giving teenagers and young adults meaningful opportunities to lead.

• Preaching Is Not for Wimps! — an interactive conversation about the work, discipline, privilege, and pressure of faithfully preparing and preaching God’s Word.

• The Organic Outpost — exploring ways churches can reach surrounding communities and form disciple-making communities even when resources are limited.

• The Third “S”: Send — learning how churches can participate in the global mission of Converge and help send workers around the world.

But I am also really excited about the peer-to-peer conversations. There will be opportunities for people in similar ministry contexts to sit together—solo pastors, multi-staff churches, women in ministry, youth leaders, board leaders, church planters, and others—and simply talk. Not everything needs to be a presentation. Sometimes the most valuable thing you can hear at a conference is someone across the table saying, “We’re dealing with that too. Here’s what we’re learning.” We cannot support one another if we never know one another.

Our Churches Are Part of Something Bigger

When you are deeply involved in your local church, it can become easy to see ministry through the four walls of your own congregation. But the Church is so much bigger. There are churches across Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula faithfully proclaiming the gospel. There are pastors serving small communities, staff members leading ministries behind the scenes, church planters starting something new, churches sending missionaries across the world, and leaders discipling children, teenagers, young adults, parents, and grandparents.

Different churches. Different communities. Different gifts. One body. One mission. One gospel. God has given each of us gifts to use for the good of His Church (1 Peter 4:10–11), and ultimately, none of this is about building our own little kingdoms. It is about His. It is about faithfully doing what God has called us to do, in the strength that He provides, so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:11). And we need reminders of that.

I Hope You’ll Come

If you are a pastor, ministry staff member, volunteer, or spouse who is constantly pouring into other people, I hope you will consider Foundations 2026, October 8–9. Come learn something. Come meet someone. Come sit with people who understand ministry. Come share what you have learned with someone who needs it. Come be reminded that your congregation is part of a much larger body of believers faithfully trying to make Jesus known.

And maybe come get a little refreshed before you head back home and continue doing the work God has put in front of you. We were not created to do ministry alone. I would genuinely love to see you at Foundations this October—and if we have not met yet, please come find me and introduce yourself. I would love to meet you.

A few Scripture reminders for the road: 1 Corinthians 12:12–27 • Galatians 6:2 • Hebrews 10:24–25 • 1 Peter 4:10–11 • Colossians 3:23–24 • 1 Corinthians 15:58