2026 Fall Leadership Conference
Registration
There are three events at the Fall Leadership Conference which are open to all. These include Monday night’s worship service and two presentations on Tuesday afternoon and evening. Worship is in-person only and the Tuesday presentations are in-person and on Zoom.
Cost: $150 + lodging
Use the yellow button above to register for the Fall Leadership Conference at Lutherdale. If you are attending the Fall Leadership Conference from October 19 -21 you do not need to register below for worship and/or the Tuesday presentations.
No charge for these events
Use the green button above to register for worship and/or the Tuesday afternoon and evening presentations only.
Stewardship and generosity work has evolved as the church has evolved. Traditional and emerging paradigms struggle to speak to one another, and a fresh conversation is waiting to be had. Delving into the discipleship roots of generosity, we’ll explore the theological and practical ways that stewardship enlivens followers of Christ and the whole church, and we’ll reimagine together how that can be lived out in the local congregation.
Tim Brown is a pastor in the ELCA serving parishes in Chicago, IL and Raleigh, NC. He currently serves in the Office of the Presiding Bishop as Director for Congregational Stewardship Support where he creates and curates relationships and resources to help Synods and Congregations fuel their ministries. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife and two sons, and you can usually find him at a coffee shop or brewery reading or writing something he thinks is interesting.
The Presiding Bishop, Yehiel Curry, will be preaching at the opening worship of the Fall Leadership Conference this year.
The Rev. Yehiel Curry is the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Elected at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix, Ariz., on July 30, 2025, Presiding Bishop Curry began this role on Oct. 1, 2025.
Previously, he served as bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod, where he led a synod staff and 160 congregations by providing pastoral care, preaching, teaching, administering sacraments, and overseeing ordinations and installations. He was elected synod bishop in 2019 and reelected in spring 2025. During that time, he chaired the ELCA Conference of Bishops, fostering ecumenical relationships and theological engagement across the Lutheran communion.
Prior to his role as bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, Presiding Bishop Curry served as the mission developer (2007–2012) and pastor (2013–2019) of Shekinah Chapel Lutheran Church in Riverdale, Ill. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He and his wife, LaShonda, are the proud parents of three daughters.
Agenda
Monday, October 19
1:00 pm Registration Opens
2:00 pm Welcome
2:30 pm Session One: Stewardship as Discipleship (Personal Stewardship)
How do we regain an understanding of stewardship as something that is baked into following Jesus, as a discipleship practice? How might we imagine this for ourselves, and for our community?
4:30 pm Free Time
5:30 pm Dinner
7:00 pm Worship and fellowship
Tuesday, October 20
8:00 am Breakfast
8:45 am Morning Prayer
9:00 am Session Two: Stewardship as Congregational Cohesion
Inviting our community members to grow as disciples of Christ is challenging, but stewardship can be a lens through which communal life can be seen and understood differently. How can we inspire and inform our congregations to live more cruciformly?
11:00 am Bishop’s time
12:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm Free time
There will be limited opportunities to sign up for a one-on-one conversation with Tim Brown during this time. The sign up will be available at Lutherdale.
3:00 pm Choose an option
- Open Space Conversations
Topics to be determined by participants
Building a Legacy for the Future
Join GSB Fundraising for a brief introduction to legacy giving and discover how planned gifts can strengthen your congregation’s ministry for generations to come. This session will offer practical insights into helping members connect their faith, values, and generosity with the long-term sustainability of the congregation they love.
5:30 pm Dinner
6:30 pm Congregational Stewardship
*Please note that this session is a repeat of the Session 2 morning workshop. The evening session is a hybrid option and you are encouraged to invite your council members and stewardship team to attend in person or via zoom.
8:00 pm Bonfire and Fellowship
Wednesday, October 21
8:00 am Breakfast
9:00 am Session Three: Stewardship of Call
Jonah had a few calls on his life. So did Peter. So did Mary Magdalene. How do we navigate and steward the call(s) God has put before us as leaders in the church, and how do we help others with this discernment?
11:00 am Sending
