About Us

Our tagline says it best: Developing leaders. Thriving churches.

The Northwest Conference (NWC) is a mission region of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). It is comprised of approximately 140 churches in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Beyond local churches, the ministry of the NWC is also bolstered by five Bible camps and Minnehaha Academy, a Pre-K through 12th grade school on two campuses in Minneapolis where Christian faith and learning are integrated.

The Vision of the NWC is that it will be comprised of an ever-growing number of healthy missional churches that are helping to establish a vibrant healthy missional church culture within the region. These churches will be receiving intentional and ongoing encouragement and support from NWC leadership. In turn, our region will see increased vitality and growth within existing churches, the accelerated development of local, regional, and global outreach arising out of these churches, and both parenting and partnering relationships giving birth to new healthy missional churches.

The Mission of the NWC is to engage, empower and equip healthy missional leaders, as we believe that this is an essential component in growing healthy missional churches. Therefore, NWC leadership is committed to establishing a healthy missional leadership culture in which pastoral and lay leaders are identified, developed, resourced, and supported. In all we do, we will seek to serve pastoral and lay leaders, helping them to become godly and effective in their leadership roles.

Our Ministry Priorities are:

Congregational Vitality

Healthy missional churches are churches that pursue Jesus Christ and His priorities in the world. Everything else emanates from this priority of singular importance. When churches exhibit vitality, they have the capacity to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. And the fruitfulness of congregations correlates directly with the presence of godly and effective pastoral and lay leaders. Learn More.

Church Planting

Healthy missional churches participate in the development of new churches in order to further the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Further, new churches are an essential evangelistic component within the life of the NWC.

The effectiveness of new churches rises and falls on godly and effective leadership. Learn More.

Children, Youth & Family

While many of us are the Church of yesterday and today, young people are the Church of today and tomorrow.

Further, the effectiveness of ministry to children, youth and families is dependent on the effectiveness of local leadership, whether it be staff-based or through the efforts of volunteers, to foster spiritual formation and growth. Learn More.

Our denomination can be described as:

  • Evangelical, but not exclusive
  • Biblical, but not doctrinaire
  • Traditional, but not rigid
  • Congregational, but not independent