More than 100 attendees gathered at Bethesda Church in Huron, South Dakota, Nov. 6-8 for the 115th annual Central District Conference convention.
Over the course of three days, 69 delegates representing 26 churches welcomed a new church to district membership, engaged in three worship sessions and two business sessions, attended workshops and celebrated the annual Church Planting and Renewal banquet.
Welcoming a new church into membership
Delegates welcome Medhanialem Ethiopian Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, into district membership with applause and prayer.
Captain Addisu “Ed” Fetene said the congregation’s search for a conference partner spanned a few years, and Samuel Hailemariam, lead pastor of Grace International Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, suggested the Central District.
The church started in 1996 and today has an average attendance of 90, including 30 youth. Services are held in Amharic and English, and five elders lead the church. Church ministries include outreach, prayer, next generation, Bible study and marriage and parenting. The congregation is renting two buildings and raising money to purchase its own.
Stephen Stout, Faith and Life Committee chair, said the congregation seeks fellowship through this partnership and is committed to contributing financially to the Central District and willing to travel.
Business reports
The convention included two business sessions in which delegates heard reports and voted on the budget and nomination slate.
In his report, CDC Minister Daniel Rodriguez shared a video highlighting district baptisms, mentioning the goal for the year of 165 salvations and baptisms. Administrative assistant Rhonda Swiers reported 89 new believers and 76 baptisms to date.
Rodriguez reaffirmed the district’s mission to strengthen churches, plant new congregations, provide leadership development and focus on disciple-making. He emphasized the importance of pastoral support and encouraged attendance at the district’s weekend retreat. Rodriguez also advertised a January 2026 cohort on church renewal.
In his written report, Rodriguez highlighted the district’s partnership with Tabor College and the Southern District in the Graduate Studies in Ministry initiative.
Delegates also heard reports from conference committee and board representatives:
- Lynn Schneider, outgoing Executive Board chair, expressed thanks for the members of the executive board and encouraged listeners to diligently do God’s work until he returns. Later, representing the Nominating Committee, Schneider presented the proposed ballot.
- Stephen Stout, Faith and Life Committee chair, provided an update on the committee’s work, including a pastors’ retreat, the ordination of District Minister Daniel Rodriguez and licensing six new pastors.
- Christian Kohs, Church Planting and Renewal Committee chair, reported on Stony Brook Church’s Springfield campus, New Jerusalem Temple’s new building in Sioux Falls, S.D., the five baptisms and two memberships at Renewal MB Church, and district internships.
- Jon Annin, Youth Committee chair, shared about the Fall Youth Conference, youth leader retreat and the youth summer camp scholarship fund. New this past summer, the district offered camp scholarships to 58 youth from nine district churches.
- John Quiring, Trustee chair, with Richard Walter, treasurer, and Eden Baer, bookkeeper, noted a $40,000 mid-year increase to the 2024-25 church planting and renewal budget to help fund Stony Brook’s Springfield campus. The trustees have placed a cap at withdrawing 6% or less from investments, and with Lincoln Hills Bible Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, paying off its district loan, the district took less than 5% from MB Foundation investments.
Budget and nominee approval
In the closing session, delegates affirmed the 2025-26 budget of $447,491, an increase over the 2024-25 budget of $398,622, which was adjusted mid-year to $438,622 with an additional $40,000 for Springfield as noted above.
In discussion prior to the vote, Quiring noted an addition of $12,000 from USMB toward the Springfield project, the availability of one more mentorship, a $10,000 line item to send people to a leadership conference in Mexico, Redemption Church in Owatonna, Minnesota, again on subsidy as it seeks an associate pastor, and a $7,000 line item to provide scholarships for district students involved in Tabor’s Graduate Studies in Ministry initiative. Additional discussion included a new $3,600 line item for shepherd investment, indicating the Faith and Life Committee’s desire to encourage and support district pastors.
Delegates also approved the slate of nominees. Rodriguez expressed appreciation for outgoing board members and prayed for incoming district leadership.
Worship sessions focus on preaching the gospel
Three worship sessions supported the convention theme of “Empowered to Preach the Gospel” based on Acts 1:8.
During Thursday’s Session 1, Aaron Garza, senior pastor at Bethesda, shared a message titled, “Pentecost: The Baptism of the Spirit for all who believe” based on Acts 2:1-13.
“What would happen at Pentecost on this day has significance for how we worship, how we think, how we think about missions (and) everything that we’re going to do over the next few days,” Garza said, calling Pentecost a “hinge moment” in salvation history in which the Spirit is no longer just for priests and prophets but for all who call on the name of the Lord.
Because Christians receive the Spirit, believers are called to be humble, Garza said, adding that the Spirit’s presence is also an encouragement. Garza encouraged pastors to remain faithful when facing opposition.
“If you have the Spirit within you, you have all that you need for the ministry God has called you to be on,” Garza said. “He’s equipped you.”
Logan Nyquist, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Gettysburg, S.D., spoke Friday morning during Session 2 on the theme “Unashamed Witness” from Acts 4:5-31. In this passage, Peter and John are jailed for a miraculous healing.
“God empowers ordinary people to bear extraordinary witness to Christ,” Nyquist said.
Spirit-empowered speech is direct, and it proclaims Christ with courage, he said, even if earthly authorities stand in opposition.
“An unashamed witness does not primarily pray to escape opposition but the courage to proclaim Christ through it,” Nyquist said. “An unashamed witness is one who prays to speak the word confidently.”
Nyquist encouraged listeners to rise in confidence.
“The greatest danger the church faces is not outside threats; it’s inside silence,” he said. “It’s not the hostility of the world, but it’s the hesitancy of believers. When the church prays, shame fades and witness rises, so rise today and pray that God would give you the confidence to speak boldly.”
Worship sessions concluded Saturday morning with the third session.
Wendell Loewen, director of constituent and alumni development at Tabor College, referenced Acts 13:1-3 for the theme, “To the Ends of the Earth.”
Loewen shared four beats characterizing the rhythm of a gospel-driven church and corresponding invitations.
First, the church responds to God’s story. The Antioch church saw God at work and was receptive to God’s call despite persecution, just as the church today needs an awareness to see beyond the chaos and confusion of the current moment to see God at work, Loewen said.
“God is always at work in our world,” he said. “His purposes, his spirit, the gospel of redemption, is all around us. The question isn’t whether God is moving or the gospel is spreading. The question is, ‘Are we tuned in?’”
Secondly, the call is rooted in God’s people. Community is seen throughout the text, Loewen said, wondering if the church of today has lost its sense of corporate calling.
“The church has too often forgot that sending is not something that individuals do,” he said. “It’s what we do together as the body of Christ.”
Thirdly, the sent ones are released in God’s power. The church in Antioch laid hands on Barnabas and Saul to commission them, and the gospel mission was and is sustained by God’s power, Loewen said, inviting pastors to be a sending church.
“God’s mission isn’t always safe, but it is secure because those who are sent do not go alone,” he said.
Finally, the gospel is reaching to God’s places. The “ends of the earth” is both here and there, he said.
“The question isn’t, ‘How far are we willing to go?’” Loewen said. “The question is, ‘How faithful are we willing to be with the gospel right where we are?’”
Loewen invited pastors to think globally and act locally, preaching the gospel where they are and meeting the needs of the local community.
“Like the church in Antioch, may we be people whose rhythm is set by the gospel,” Loewen said.
In addition to hearing from speakers, delegates heard agency reports from:
- USMB and Christian Leader
- Center for MB Studies
- MB Foundation
- Multiply
- Tabor College, including the new Graduate Studies in Ministry initiative
- Mennonite Central Committee
Stuart Curry, pastor of Salem MB Church in Bridgewater, South Dakota, introduced his 25-day Advent devotional, “Keepers of the Light.”
Church Planting and Renewal Banquet
The Church Planting and Renewal Banquet Friday evening celebrated various district initiatives.
Jason Starinieri, associate pastor at Stony Brook and campus pastor in Springfield, thanked the district for its support of the new Springfield campus launching on Christmas Eve.
Jose Guerra and Yanira Lopez, pastoral couple at Iglesia Manantial de Agua Viva, thanked the district for financial support of Guerra’s continued education. He said he intends to complete his studies at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in December.
Attendees heard updates about two Ethiopian congregations. Bethel Fellowship Church in Sioux Falls has a new pastor. Meanwhile, Hunegnaw Bekele, pastor of International Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Church and Jon Annin, pastor of Stony Brook Church, have completed a year-long mentorship with Natinael Ayalew, who senses a call to ministry.
Jose “Beto” Gonzales, Iglesia Agua Viva (IAV), has joined the mentorship program and will work with IAV pastor Tony Contreras.
New Jerusalem Temple (NJT), a Congolese congregation in Sioux Falls, recently purchased a building, raising $50,000 toward a down payment on the project with the district pledging the remainder and giving a guarantee to secure a loan through MB Foundation. The district also gave NJT a $5,000 grant plus $4,100 from matching donor gifts to help the congregation purchase equipment.
An offering of $3,408.62 was collected for an upcoming outreach evangelism training in Omaha, Neb.
A worship team from Bethesda led attendees in singing at the banquet.
Workshops
Friday afternoon workshop topics included:
- “Discipleship in a small town community” by Jason Starinieri, associate pastor of Stony Brook Church
- “Youth and discipleship” by Jon Annin, pastor of Stony Brook Church
- “Faith in action: Discipling kids” by Stuart Curry, pastor of Salem MB Church
- “The Nicene Creed and its importance for today” by Aaron Garza, senior pastor of Bethesda Church
- “Discipleship and agriculture in Africa” by Kyle and Danae Schmidt, Multiply workers in Uganda
A Great Commission charge
Worship teams from Bethesda and Bethel led attendees in singing during the convention.
The conference offering totaled $5,220.
Near the end of the convention, Tabor College president David Janzen prayed for district pastors.
Rodriguez closed with prayer, charging attendees to return to their churches and encourage people to make disciples.
“I hope that you were encouraged but also that you were challenged in accomplishing the mission,” he said. “Let’s go and make disciples.”
With files from CDC secretary Melissa Hanna.
Janae Rempel Shafer is the Christian Leader associate editor and joined the CL staff in 2017. Shafer is an award-winning writer, receiving multiple awards from the Kansas Press Association and Evangelical Press Association. A Tabor graduate with a degree in communications and religious studies, she and her husband, Austin, attend Ridgepoint Church in Wichita, Kansas.
