“Leadership, if you don't give it away, dies with you,” declared Pr Roger Hernandez, director of ministerial and evangelism at the Southern Union Conference. “So we are here at EC3, helping pastors and church leaders to be able to mentor and be mentored.”
EC3 is an annual conference that is organized and hosted by the Southern Union Conference. This year, the event took place November 5-7 at Hamilton Community Seventh-day Adventist Church in Chattanooga, TN.
The primary area of learning during the weekend for pastors and lay people was in evangelism especially as it relates to the digital space. The scope of training included hands-on tech labs, preaching labs, general sessions and networking opportunities. Many of the sessions delved into strategies and techniques on how to use technology for mission.
According to Pr Josue Murillo, ministerial director at Gulf States Conference, EC3, is “essential for pastors to come and attend and get trained for their horizons to broaden and for them to see different perspectives on things.
We have had awesome presenters that have encouraged us to seek for mentoring and also to be mentors to others to leave a legacy behind, not based on buildings, but focusing on people to make a difference in our local churches, the people we know the families that we minister to and this has been an amazing, inspiring event.
I'm excited because our pastors are going back into their churches with this new perspective and this new emphasis that, as a matter of fact, we've been pushing for a while in our conference. So this is perfect, and we're so excited to be part of it.”
As Richie Halverson, director of church growth & revitalization for the Southern Union explained EC3 is “the place where pastors and lay people are coached to maximize their impact and evangelism in the digital sphere.” And, it provides the opportunity to “network with other pastors to hear about their experiences and how God is blessing them in their areas.”