Saying Farewell to Jody Eidnes

With deep gratitude for 22 years of faithful service, the Great Lakes Conference announces the retirement of Conference Administrator, Jody Eidnes.

As all who have observed her in action know well, Jody has been more than just an administrator; she has been a minister of the Gospel. Everything she has done for the past 22 years in her role as Conference Administrator has been geared toward helping our 74 churches strengthen their ministry, develop their leaders, improve their outreach through ministries of evangelism, compassion, mercy & justice, and combine their resources to start new churches.  She has done so by investing time, energy, and passion in people and tasks in order to advance the Mission of God in the Great Lakes Region.

Some highlights of Jody’s impact during her tenure:

Credentialing of Clergy: In any given year, some 40 pastors in the GLC are working to fulfill requirements toward a permanent ministry credential with the ECC, a process which can take as long as 8 years depending on multiple factors.  For the past 22 years Jody has been at the epicenter of their journey, helping them stay on target with forms, interviews, theological papers, and meetings they are required to attend in order to fulfill the requirements. Meanwhile, Jody provided much-needed logistical support to the GLC Committee on Ministerial Standing which conducts the necessary interviews and oversight  along the way. Over her 22 years in the role of Administrator Jody helped 89 Pastors in the GLC get ordained or commissioned. She did so with excellence and with passion because she cares deeply about our pastors and because she wants our local churches to have fully prepared pastors serving them.

Planting Churches: Jody worked tirelessly behind the scenes on countless administrative details to help prospective church planters get assessed, approved planters get trained, church plants get started, and called planters get credentialed.  She cared deeply about each planter and each church plant (sometimes described in comparison to a mother hen caring for her very vulnerable chicks). 17 of our 74 churches (almost 25%) were planted during Jody’s tenure.

Equipping Leaders: Jody gave thoughtful strategic planning input and careful event preparation to create the numerous training and equipping experiences offered to pastors and lay leaders multiple times each year through workshops at Annual Celebrations, Leadership Connection gatherings, and in on-line training modules. During Jody’s tenure, hundreds of Church Chairs, Pastors, Children’s Ministry Leaders, Youth Ministry Leaders, Financial Officers, Treasurers, and Property Committee Leaders received quality leadership training and our churches ultimately benefited.

Event Planning: The GLC Fall Pastor’s Retreat and the Spring Annual Celebration require massive preparation and attention to detail. (The same can be said for Conference Board Meetings and for Leadership Connection events.) For 22 years Jody oversaw or directly managed all contract arrangements, administrative details, planning and registration processes for these events so that all participants needed to do was show up, engage, celebrate what God had done in the past year through GLC ministries and experience God at work in their midst.

Equipping for Outreach: Jody was instrumental in creating and overseeing the Lego City Ministry, which many GLC Churches have used for evangelism and discipleship of children in Vacation Bible School or on Sunday mornings; she was a key leader in the oversight of the North American Japanese Outreach ministry; she championed the use of MissionInsite so churches could understand the people in their neighborhood; and she was passionate about churches engaging in the ECC’s annual evangelism priority, whether it was called “Bringing My World to Christ”, “One Step Closer”, “Ask the Lord of the Harvest” or the current title, “B.L.E.S.S”.

Jody pursued excellence in every dimension of her work and leaves a solid administrative infrastructure for the Conference to build on,” said Garth McGrath, Superintendent.  “We are grateful for her years of service and wish her well as she transitions to retirement.”

The Great Lakes Conference, the Conference churches, pastors and so many more – are so thankful for all Jody has done!