ARC
History
Much of what the Lord allows us to accomplish grows out of dreams that He puts in our hearts. But He also uses our failures and disappointments to fulfill His purposes. Starting The Master's Institute grew in part out of our failure to connect effectively with seminary students at Lutheran seminaries. And when we realized that a weekend mission in a congregation was insufficient for bringing renewal, we began to think of other ways to help local churches. We tried doing regional leadership seminars with a grant from Lutheran Brotherhood, but we came to the conclusion that we needed more ongoing contact with pastors and congregations to help them. Paul Anderson went to the Lutheran Renewal Board on September 28, 2000, and a watershed moment took place as the Board gave the go-ahead both for a new leadership training school and a coalition of churches related to Lutheran Renewal.
We sensed that we were in a time of history when God was using networks all around the world to accomplish kingdom advance. At the same time many denominations were struggling at best or on the verge of extinction at worst. We felt that we were being called to be a new wineskin for a new day. We have been careful to make the distinction that we are a network of churches rather than a denomination.
A Formation Team consisting of Paul Anderson, Eric Bluhm, Bob Cottingham, Jeff Dorman, Mark Hultquist, Kevin McClure, Dan Siemens, Denise Siemens, Fred Thoni, and Todd Wallace began to look at the concept of some kind of network. We considered the word “association,” but wanted something stronger, that forged us together in mission. “Alliance” seemed to do that for us. We chose the word “renewal,” because we wanted to make a clear statement about the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. This was not peripheral or negotiable for it; we saw it as mainline Christianity. We used the word “churches” because we were focusing not primarily upon individuals but upon congregations.
We talked together about philosophy and about nuts and bolts. We knew that we were drawn together not only by doctrine but even more by the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. We had heard of networks springing up all around the world. When we spoke with Peter Wagner about these networks, he said that none of them to his knowledge had come out of a denominational framework. He was excited about what we were considering.
Each meeting seemed to expand our horizons. At the 2001 Holy Spirit Conference, held at North Heights Lutheran Church in Arden Hills, Minnesota, Che Ahn burst us out of a provincial national outlook by sharing about the network he was a part of. We saw that God's plans were bigger than our plans. We found it difficult in those early meetings not to fall back on what we knew and had experienced. We understood that God was taking us on a journey to a new place, and the answers from our past would not suffice for our future. We found much freedom in asking questions rather than giving answers. We saw ourselves as children embarking on new adventure, not knowing exactly where we were going but happy to have friends going with us. We found comfort in the Scripture that “by faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Heb. 11:8). At one point on the journey one of the pastors told a friend consulting with the leaders about where the ARC was going, “I feel quite insecure,” to which he responded, “I would be concerned if you didn't.”
In September, 2001 we gathered together with 70 participants, mainly from the upper Midwest but including a few delegates from around the country, at North Heights Lutheran, to once again consider the viability of such an association. After making a presentation on the nature of the ARC, we invited questions. There were none. Participants seemed more prepared to sign on the line than to raise questions. A mandate came from this meeting: “It’s time to build.” Up to that time, we were considering, consulting, dialoging, planning. But after that, the grunt work began.
On June 3-4, 2002, eighty of us met together at North Heights for our Inaugural Gathering. Seven churches joined at this time. We also appointed a Leadership Team consisting of Paul Anderson, Eric Bluhm, Joe Johnson, Graeme Sellers, and Fred Thoni. The Keynote Message urged us to consider the ARC as a servant organization. One important issue arose concerning whether to put an extensive word about the Lutheran Confessions in the ARC Statement of faith, and we decided against this option. We do have a brief statement in the Ministry Plan of this website. Following several meetings with Frank Masserano and his staff, we formally connected with International Ministerial Fellowship in November 2002 for credentialing of seminary students and pastors.
The first Regional Gathering took place October 11 and 12, 2004 at Elmwood Evangelical Free Church in St. Anthony Village, Minnesota. The second Gathering took place the next year on November 18 and 19 at Wonderful Mercy Christian Church in Gilbert, Arizona. A year later a Midwest Gathering was held on October 6 and 7, 2006 at Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Rosemount, Minnesota, and a Southwest Gathering on November 10,11 in Midland, Texas. A national Gathering was held at North Heights with just under one hundred participants in November 2 and 3, 2007. The next national Gathering will take place in June 2008 in Huntington Beach, California.
The ARC Infrastructure Team was formed in October 2003 with Bill Iacoe as the Team Leader. It was made up of Paul Anderson, Bill Iacoe, Kevin McClure, Bill Pratt, Denise Siemens and Fred Thoni. Bill Iacoe was hired by the Leadership Team on January 1, 2004 as the Administrator of the ARC. He served until December 2005. We entered into an agreement with Minister’s Benefit Association to provide a pension plan for ARC ministers and have since switched to Envoy. New ARC offices were installed at 2700 Rice Street and went into service February 1, 2004. The building is owned by North Heights and rented by the ARC, as well as LR and MI. A Prayer Network was launched about the same time with Joy Hallberg serving as its first coordinator. We have also formed an alliance with the Doulos Network, centered in Bergen, Norway, under the leadership of Reidar Paulson.
Much of what the Lord allows us to accomplish grows out of dreams that He puts in our hearts. But He also uses our failures and disappointments to fulfill His purposes. Starting The Master's Institute grew in part out of our failure to connect effectively with seminary students at Lutheran seminaries. And when we realized that a weekend mission in a congregation was insufficient for bringing renewal, we began to think of other ways to help local churches. We tried doing regional leadership seminars with a grant from Lutheran Brotherhood, but we came to the conclusion that we needed more ongoing contact with pastors and congregations to help them. Paul Anderson went to the Lutheran Renewal Board on September 28, 2000, and a watershed moment took place as the Board gave the go-ahead both for a new leadership training school and a coalition of churches related to Lutheran Renewal.
We sensed that we were in a time of history when God was using networks all around the world to accomplish kingdom advance. At the same time many denominations were struggling at best or on the verge of extinction at worst. We felt that we were being called to be a new wineskin for a new day. We have been careful to make the distinction that we are a network of churches rather than a denomination.
A Formation Team consisting of Paul Anderson, Eric Bluhm, Bob Cottingham, Jeff Dorman, Mark Hultquist, Kevin McClure, Dan Siemens, Denise Siemens, Fred Thoni, and Todd Wallace began to look at the concept of some kind of network. We considered the word “association,” but wanted something stronger, that forged us together in mission. “Alliance” seemed to do that for us. We chose the word “renewal,” because we wanted to make a clear statement about the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. This was not peripheral or negotiable for it; we saw it as mainline Christianity. We used the word “churches” because we were focusing not primarily upon individuals but upon congregations.
We talked together about philosophy and about nuts and bolts. We knew that we were drawn together not only by doctrine but even more by the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. We had heard of networks springing up all around the world. When we spoke with Peter Wagner about these networks, he said that none of them to his knowledge had come out of a denominational framework. He was excited about what we were considering.
Each meeting seemed to expand our horizons. At the 2001 Holy Spirit Conference, held at North Heights Lutheran Church in Arden Hills, Minnesota, Che Ahn burst us out of a provincial national outlook by sharing about the network he was a part of. We saw that God's plans were bigger than our plans. We found it difficult in those early meetings not to fall back on what we knew and had experienced. We understood that God was taking us on a journey to a new place, and the answers from our past would not suffice for our future. We found much freedom in asking questions rather than giving answers. We saw ourselves as children embarking on new adventure, not knowing exactly where we were going but happy to have friends going with us. We found comfort in the Scripture that “by faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Heb. 11:8). At one point on the journey one of the pastors told a friend consulting with the leaders about where the ARC was going, “I feel quite insecure,” to which he responded, “I would be concerned if you didn't.”
In September, 2001 we gathered together with 70 participants, mainly from the upper Midwest but including a few delegates from around the country, at North Heights Lutheran, to once again consider the viability of such an association. After making a presentation on the nature of the ARC, we invited questions. There were none. Participants seemed more prepared to sign on the line than to raise questions. A mandate came from this meeting: “It’s time to build.” Up to that time, we were considering, consulting, dialoging, planning. But after that, the grunt work began.
On June 3-4, 2002, eighty of us met together at North Heights for our Inaugural Gathering. Seven churches joined at this time. We also appointed a Leadership Team consisting of Paul Anderson, Eric Bluhm, Joe Johnson, Graeme Sellers, and Fred Thoni. The Keynote Message urged us to consider the ARC as a servant organization. One important issue arose concerning whether to put an extensive word about the Lutheran Confessions in the ARC Statement of faith, and we decided against this option. We do have a brief statement in the Ministry Plan of this website. Following several meetings with Frank Masserano and his staff, we formally connected with International Ministerial Fellowship in November 2002 for credentialing of seminary students and pastors.
The first Regional Gathering took place October 11 and 12, 2004 at Elmwood Evangelical Free Church in St. Anthony Village, Minnesota. The second Gathering took place the next year on November 18 and 19 at Wonderful Mercy Christian Church in Gilbert, Arizona. A year later a Midwest Gathering was held on October 6 and 7, 2006 at Community of Hope Lutheran Church in Rosemount, Minnesota, and a Southwest Gathering on November 10,11 in Midland, Texas. A national Gathering was held at North Heights with just under one hundred participants in November 2 and 3, 2007. The next national Gathering will take place in June 2008 in Huntington Beach, California.
The ARC Infrastructure Team was formed in October 2003 with Bill Iacoe as the Team Leader. It was made up of Paul Anderson, Bill Iacoe, Kevin McClure, Bill Pratt, Denise Siemens and Fred Thoni. Bill Iacoe was hired by the Leadership Team on January 1, 2004 as the Administrator of the ARC. He served until December 2005. We entered into an agreement with Minister’s Benefit Association to provide a pension plan for ARC ministers and have since switched to Envoy. New ARC offices were installed at 2700 Rice Street and went into service February 1, 2004. The building is owned by North Heights and rented by the ARC, as well as LR and MI. A Prayer Network was launched about the same time with Joy Hallberg serving as its first coordinator. We have also formed an alliance with the Doulos Network, centered in Bergen, Norway, under the leadership of Reidar Paulson.