There are many reasons our church operates at the level that it does week after week. The warm and inviting greeters, the energetic and patient Grace Kids team, the tech-savvy sound booth, all serving together to make the Sunday experience the best it can possibly be. Behind all these great teams, are strong leaders working behind the scenes. Our tradition to honor these leaders is to take one weekend out of the year and dedicate it to them.

Leadership Weekend 2023 kicked off with a powerful worship session, followed by Pastor Chris guiding us through a vision of what the future of the church may be, and why having strong leaders through that process will be more important now than ever.

Pastor Chris wasn’t the only one who had the opportunity to share his wisdom. The leaders were surprised by a video of the late Tim Keller who recorded a message for his own church just days before he passed away. The video and Chris’ teaching went hand in hand. How can we lead well when the world around us is changing so rapidly?

So many takeaways and challenges were presented throughout the day to give leaders the tools they need to better equip their teams. Especially as we move into our brand new space this summer, things will be changing, and we have to prepare for it together. Because only together can we put into action the unimaginable plans God has in store for this city.

One leader who attended the events on Saturday said, “even though we’re all serving the same church, we don’t often get to see or spend time with one another because of our individual tasks. But getting to share meals and bonding activities together made me feel a whole lot more connected to the other great leaders doing outstanding work for our community.”

A game that bonded everyone the most was a Hoboken Grace themed Family Feud, where groups went on stage to test their many years of Hoboken Grace’s history and inside jokes. The teams almost got a perfect score on “Top Things Pastor Chris Says Every Sunday.”

Like previous years, Sunday services went completely online this weekend to give the leaders a well deserved break.

One weekend is the least we could do to show appreciation for what our leaders pour into Hoboken Grace, but that’s what’s so great about them. None of them do it for the thanks, praise or attention. They lead because they are called by God to use their gifts to better His kingdom.