Prairie Farming & Discipleship: The Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference’s Five-Year Mission Framework
At the heart of the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference’s five-year mission framework is the imagery of a vibrant prairie field where seeds of faith are planted, cared for, and harvested.
During the July 2023 Camp Meeting at Camp Whitesand, the Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference introduced a mission framework aimed at developing a thriving culture of discipleship and healthy churches by 2028.
The framework was developed through extensive collaboration between pastors, local church leaders, and conference administrators. It provides local churches, schools, and care homes with the necessary tools and resources to foster a culture of discipleship, resulting in healthy churches that connect people in their communities to Jesus.
During the Conference Camp Meeting at Camp Whitesand, Pastor Charles interviewed Ron Hetland about the similarities between prairie farming and discipleship.
Ron Hetland, an elder at Quill Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church and a generational farmer, says: “Establishing a disciple-making church and farming in the prairies requires a special combination calculated risks, patience, persistence, a deep understanding of growth processes, unwavering faith, and plenty of prayers. Just as a farmer doesn’t grow crops to store the grain in bins but rather puts the proceeds of the grain to good use, so should the church strive to create more than mere pew-sitters; it should aim to produce disciples.” Ron played a crucial role in developing the mission framework.
The Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference comprises many small churches, making up 73% of the total. Despite their limited resources, these churches benefit from a structured framework that guides their discipleship process, provides focused resources, and tailors their local mission strategy to the specific needs of their communities.
“One of the framework’s objectives is to help small churches and small schools create an environment for every participant to grow in Jesus and contribute to fulfilling the local mission,” said Pastor Charles Ed II Aguilar, conference president. “The framework is flexible enough to create contextual strategies and creative solutions to local mission challenges in their local communities.”
Pastor Melvin Bartley, the new pastor for two small churches in Swift Current and Maple Creek, echoed this sentiment, “I believe that this framework will not only deepen our local congregation’s faith in Jesus but also foster meaningful and intentional relationships within our community.”
The five-year strategic framework, beginning in January 2024, will focus on pivotal stages of discipleship, mirroring the stages of prairie farming.
2024: Year of Community Service – Preparing the soil of the heart through community services.
2025: Year of Friendship Evangelism – Planting seeds of God’s Word in hearts, sparking spiritual interest.
2026: Year of Christ-Centred Bible Studies – Nurturing growing spiritual interest through ongoing Bible studies.
2027: Year of Public Evangelism – Reaping a harvest of spiritual decisions and leading people to Christ.
2028: Year of Exploring Spiritual Gifts – Identifying and training new disciples to engage in discipleship.
Our commitment to this framework is unwavering, and we are actively working on developing a monitoring and evaluation system. This system will help us hold ourselves accountable and learn from our efforts. Its goal is to provide local congregations with tangible feedback to support their mission journey. With this system, congregations can adapt their strategies to suit their specific context and carry out each step of the discipleship process with intentional prayer.
We invite you to join us on this journey of renewal and faith cultivation in our region. Together, we can make a difference and create a bountiful field of faith.
