Thank You!
Thank you for being part of the Loved+Sent Summit.
To every volunteer, participant, attendee, showcase leader, speaker, and behind-the-scenes helper—thank you. Your time, effort, and willingness to serve made this summit possible.
We’re grateful for the ways God worked through each conversation, every act of hospitality, and every moment of encouragement. Because of you, this wasn’t just an event—it was a reminder that we are loved by Jesus and sent with purpose.
Thank you for showing up with open hands and faithful hearts. We’re excited to keep building on what God began here.
Be sure to watch the recap video and check out the updates from our ministry showcases.
Recap
Showcase Ministries Update
The following ministries were selected to be showcased.
Here’s an update of what’s happened with them since the Summit.
Lutheran Mission Society San Diego
Lutheran Mission Society – San Diego cultivates connection and collaboration with missionaries and congregations to fill our region with the love of Christ.
Recap
Hello friends. We are continually grateful to those who organized, supported, and attended the Loved+Sent Summit, to our fellow presenters, and all who engaged in meaningful conversation about our missions. As I told Pastor Voss after my return from the event, it was such a blessing to be among people who, “Get what we are doing.” This was a gathering of people who are encouraging the church to reach outside of its walls and see how it can serve beyond Sunday morning. I was, and continue to be, greatly uplifted by the spirit that was alive in this gathering. The three months since the summit have been exciting times for us at Lutheran Mission Society San Diego. Here are some highlights:
We completed our first LINC Mission Accelerator cohort serving 12 of our missionaries and one guest participant. Through this program these participants gained greater clarity about their missions and learned how to build their teams and engage supporters to help them achieve their mission goals.
We have greatly expanded our communication with our community of supporters.We continue to add stories of our missionaries and their missions on our website and share them through regular e-mails. This has led to a higher level of engagement with our church members and others in the community.
The financial support from individuals and from our partner congregations has grown significantly. In the 4th quarter our congregational support is up at least 60% over the same period last year, with six new congregations pledging support and three others reconfirming their support. Individual support is up nearly 250% over Q4 2024, with multiple individuals responding to year-end messages from Pastor Voss. This has been an incredible blessing and demonstrates just one of the ways that God works in the hearts of his people.
We are in the process of adding a new member to our board of directors, Pastor Quincy Koll. Pastor Koll serves two congregations in our area, one of which is already a partner in one of our missions. He brings a youthful energy and strong desire to build missions to our board. In addition, our existing board members are experiencing a renewed sense of mission responsibility and a rebirth of the excitement that brought our organization into existence in the first place.
The most joyful news is that we can report the first two baptisms within the communities that are being reached by our missions. One comes from a missional community started by one of our missionaries in a Hispanic community. The second is from the work of one of our military outreach missions, a baptism of a convert from Islam. Praise God for the fruits of his work through our missionaries!
Here in the Pacific Southwest District mission societies like ours have become an integral component in the growth and outreach of our churches. We continue to be in contact with the other societies in our district so that we can all learn from each other and help each other to grow and flourish. This is a real blessing to us. One disadvantage of being where we are is that we are far away from most of the people that we met at Loved+Sent, and so our post-summit contacts have been minimal. This is partly a result of Pastor Voss not being able to attend. He is our strong relationship builder, and I am sure the follow-up would have been much different if he had been there.
The $10,000 gift from Loved+Sent has been a blessing for us. First of all, it allowed us to make the trip to the summit, which would have been a more difficult decision otherwise. On an ongoing basis this financial support helps us to continue providing training and enrichment opportunities for our missionaries. This will support the Mission Accelerator program in 2026 as well as taking our teams to Best Practices in Ministry, district church worker conferences, and other events where they can learn and grow.Thank you once again for including us in the Loved+Sent Summit. I look forward to future opportunities to connect and share!
Dave Lindsey,
PresidentLutheran Mission Society San Diego
The Harbor
The purpose of The Harbor Leadership Collective is to raise up young leaders in Christ and send them for service to the church and world. This is a multi congregational effort of Lutheran Churches in St. Louis. Through our partnerships we assist in offering opportunities to young adults seeking to respond to where God may be calling them to serve the church at large.
Recap
The Loved–Sent Summit held in September was a meaningful opportunity to reflect on ministry innovation, collaboration, and discernment around the guiding question, “Who’s next?”. As the representative for The Harbor, it was an honor to participate as one of three showcased ministries and to share the work emerging from St. Louis with a broader community of christian leaders like yourself who traveled from different areas across the U.S.
The primary takeaway from the Summit was the value of intentional networking and relationship-building possible at this event. The conversations that took place revealed strong interest in partnership and collaboration across regions, particularly among those seeking sustainable and responsive approaches to ministry within their context. The Summit created space for thoughtful dialogue regarding how The Harbor might be shared beyond St. Louis. These conversations emphasized clarity and accessibility, recognizing the importance of ensuring the program can be understood and implemented in diverse contexts.
This reflection is being approached with discernment, inviting strong leaders into ongoing conversations around thoughtful growth and strategic planning. As a result of our time together, active conversations are underway with multiple regions that are discerning how The Harbor’s model might be thoughtfully replicated within their own contexts. These discussions center on shared learning and intentional partnership, as regions explore how to implement the vision and practices of The Harbor in ways that are locally rooted while remaining relationally connected.
The generous gift of $10,000 presented at the Summit provided needed financial support. This gift is being stewarded with thoughtful discernment around sustainability, partnerships, and future direction. More specifically these funds are allowing for travel to further explore those opportunities. As we continue to seek sustainable funding, this gift is allowing those hopes to be possible. At this time, the primary additional support received has been relational and collaborative in nature, as ongoing conversations and shared discernment continue to shape the next season of The Harbor’s work through the new networking possibilities.
I remain thankful for the encouragement, relationships, and shared vision that emerged from The Loved–Sent Summit. It was a wonderful reminder that this work is not done in isolation, but as part of a broader movement of faithful leaders seeking to listen, respond, and serve. At The Harbor we will continue to raise up to send out, together.
Leading with purpose,
Pamela Dickerson
Executive Director
The Harbor Leadership Collective
GENCONNECT
This ministry is focused on reaching the 1 1/2 generation immigrant community, consisting of people who came to the United States as children with their parents or who were born here after their parents immigrated to the U.S. These individuals often feel caught between two cultures and struggle to find a place of belonging. We believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we the Body of Christ at St. Michael’s, can offer a place where everyone is welcome and belongs.
RECAP
Our Gen Connect Ministry has been blessed beyond measure by our participation in the inaugural Loved and Sent Summit. Even in the lead up, it prodded us to take a deeper look at where we started and what’s next.
Hunde and Ryan gleaned some profound ideas, especially around congregation collaborations and young adult internships. Since our return, one of our key young adults has stepped into a capital campaign role for the wider congregation. We’ve also had several follow-up conversations with participants and supporters of the summit. We plan to host individuals from Christ Memorial in January as well.
The funds themselves have been utilized for dinners we’ve been hosting once a month for local college students, as well as birthday and other special individual recognitions. This has created additional connection points for our young adult cohort and established St. Michael’s as a welcoming community for that age. We are also working on plans to utilize those funds for training select young adults in creative marketing and stipending the position(s) as internship. We plan talks with The Harbor and others to learn more. We hope this is just the beginning interms of raising the next generation in leaderhip.
Related to the summit, we have also taken a closer look at how to effectively carry out church partnerships with newer immigrant communities. We are working more closely with our Hispanic congregation, seeking ways to provide ESL and integrate Sunday School. We are also in talks with a new Oromo group that is similarly focused on the next generation. The clarity of the summit has led us to more deliberate planning and discussion around these opportunities.
If any individuals or groups are interested to learn more, they can reach out to Pastor Hunde any time.
In Christ,
Pastor Hunde and Pastor Ryan