Forefront Church
Drew Tarwater is the pastor of Forefront Church, a congregation in the Front Range region. When Drew got connected with Mission Hills Association as it was forming, Forefront was in a good spot – and still is!
The church is healthy and growing and Drew feels healthy and cared for as a pastor. But the health of Drew’s church didn’t keep him from knowing that MHA would be an invaluable resource.
Forefront’s needs were mostly about refining rather than desperately trying to stay afloat.
While churches or pastors who need help staying afloat are an integral part of the community that MHA is here to serve, we also delight in seeing churches that know the value of maintaining their healthy systems and relationships before the alarm bells ever go off.
How Mission Hills Association Helped
In practice, this meant that Drew joined the first MHA pastor’s cohort and spent 6 months opening himself up to discipleship and relationships with the cohort mentors and fellow members.
Relationships Drew previously had with cohort members grew stronger, and new relationships were formed.
Honest and supportive conversations with the cohort about culture and other pressing ministry issues stand out to Drew as one of the most impactful elements of the cohort.
Pastors uniquely experience ministry concerns through their own observations, staff input, and from knowing their congregations.
The support and camaraderie that comes from sharing questions and struggles with other pastors in the same situations are extremely life-giving – and often not readily available to pastors. Alongside the community aspect, the church strategy that MHA provides resources for is invaluable for Drew and Forefront. Tangible resources like training and learning new systems were helpful, as well as learning how to not only establish mission and vision, but a church foundation.
Drew was able to spend time working through the reasons why Forefront has the mission and vision that they do, which provided clarity and a greater understanding of Forefront as a whole.
The support and connection that Drew found at MHA didn’t end when his 6-month cohort ended. His cohort of pastors is still in contact with and supporting one another today, and the resources available to Forefront through MHA are only increasing over time.
MHA is a resource that will continually allow Forefront to grow while remaining healthy and thriving in every area – pastoral care, ministry development, practical systems, and advice from seasoned ministry leaders.
