CE Leadership Summit on Adult Bible Fellowships

The first CE National Leadership Summit on Adult Bible Fellowships started Friday evening, Oct 30, with a welcoming dinner. It ended Saturday afternoon at 1:30 with Bruce Barlow, Lead Pastor of Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, Winona Lake, In., sharing testimonies of changed lives through ABF's.

"I thought it was a very good summit with excellent interaction," said Bruce after the summit was over. "Knute, of course, was just right with his mix of banter and passion about ABFs."

Bruce was referring to Knute Larson, former pastor of The Chapel in Akron, Ohio. Knute was the keynote speaker during the two main sessions. Since Knute was Executive Director of CE National several years ago, he sprinkled his messages with many stories and jokes including teasing about CE National's Russell Center being re-named the Knute Larson Center. But Knute's message of the power of Adult Bible Fellowships in a local church still came through clearly.

"It was a great weekend," said Ed. "Knute was strong in teaching and relating and it was so good to have his wife, Janine, with him."

Others also led during the weekend. Rob Barlow, Assistant Pastor at Grace Brethren Church in Ashland, Oh., gave testimony of the impact of ABF's in his church and was part of a panel discussion. Steve Van, Bruce Barlow, Tom Julien, and Knute were also part of the panel. CE Ambassadors, Sarah Knepper and Stacy Fay, gave away resources throughout the weekend and talked about the importance of discipleship. Ed Lewis led a break-out seminar on using ABFs as discipleship while Tom Julien led one on the Four Laws of Effective Communication.

During lunch, discussion groups were held with various leaders. Topics were "Shepherds vs. Cowboys", "Leadership Development and Coaching", "Transitioning a Church from Sunday School to ABFs" and "Teaching for Results".

Bill Katip, Grace College and Seminary Provost, also explained the value he places in ABF's. Ed Lewis, CE National Executive Director, showed a moving video of a British singer named Susan Boyle. Susan is an older lady who did the unexpected by performing an amazing song during the show "Britain's Got Talent". Ed pointed out that people will often surprise us in their leadership abilities if given the chance.

"It was a great time!" says Steve Kern, Associate Pastor of Spiritual Growth at the Grace Brethren Church in Wooster, Ohio. "You, your staff, and the team did a fantastic job of hosting and presenting! Praise the Lord!"

Audio records for download. Right-click the link and choose to save the file to your computer.

Discussion on curriculum and ideas (1.7 mb).
Ed Lewis on using ABFs as Discipleship (17 mb).
Ken Bickel on Discipleship (1 mb).
Friday night with Knute Larson (12 mb).
Saturday session with Knute Larson (9 mb).
Panel Discussion (9.6 mb).