The Refocus Congregational Team Training Retreat was held Nov 6-7, 2009, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Des Plaines.
Five congregations participated in the Team Training Retreat …
- Faith, Lake Forest
- Good Shepherd, Des Plaines
- St. John, Northbrook
- St. Paul, Skokie
- St. Peter, Pingree Grove
A total of 46 leaders from the five congregations gathered to be trained to implement the Refocus process in their congregations.
Congregation leaders working on their personal calling statement. Who would have guessed it would be 70 degrees in November. We enjoyed the lake adjacent to Good Shepherd.

Dr. Steve Christopher, Interim Associate Director, 
A few years ago the Hispanic population passed the African-American population as the largest ethnic group in the U.S. A new survey by The Barna Group indicates that Hispanics are assimilating the faith of the Caucasian population faster than anyone would have predicted, essentially mirroring the faith of the nation’s white population. Barna found many similarities with the general American public, but also points out the differences in the faith of American Hispanics. From the Barna report: