Peacemakers Help Churches Prepare for Storms of Conflict

Hurricanes were what Executive Director Ken Sande of Peacemaker Ministries likened to conflicts within churches during the opening of the annual convention of the conflict-absolving ministry.

Hurricanes were what the head of Peacemaker Ministries likened to conflicts within churches during the opening of the annual convention of the conflict-absolving ministry.

Churches so often ignore tell-tale signs of conflict and hope that they won't get hit by a big one, said Executive Director Ken Sande. The churches need to prepare for the inevitable hurricanes - the storms of conflict in their churches.

Peacemaker Ministries closed their thee-day convention in Dallas on Saturday with a turn-out of more than 700 leaders. The annual event had doubled from the previous year.

The dream for the conflict resolution ministry is to become smaller and ultimately one that is not needed. Until then, their goal is to provide church leaders and pastors with tools for biblical peacemaking.

"We don’t want to become bigger as a ministry, but the idea is to have the churches become bigger and handle it themselves, to help the people in their church," said Fred Barthel, communication coordinator.

To help churches take a more active role in resolving conflicts in the church, whether related to the pastor, a family, or individuals, $32,000 were raised during the convention making it possible for Leaders' PeacePacks, a pack of eight informational items, to be donated to 400 churches for their pastors and other leaders.

The conference marked the debut of a new line of products as well as the philosophy called The Peacemaker Church. Three separate packs - one for individuals, one for leaders, and one for entire churches - represented a culmination of Ken Sande's 23 years of ministry experience. PeacePacks equipped churches with ways to diagnose and solve a conflict.

A Peacemaker Church track was one of five tracks available during the weekend. Another track focused on conflict coaching. Nearly 120 people spent the entire weekend on in-depth training to help friends, colleagues, and children work through conflict.

"If someone is in a conflict, you have an option of helping that person, and that's a foundational skill," said Barthel.

Personal peacemaking was another track. Corlette Sande, wife of Ken Sande, taught a session, "Women Breathing Grace," which sought to help women realize the power of their words.

"The idea is that breathing grace, giving grace and sharing the Gospel should come as easy as breathing," said Barthel.

As president of Peacemaker Ministries, Ken Sande used biblical principles to help resolve thousands of conflicts, including business, employment, and family disputes; church divisions; and complex lawsuits. Sande is a certified Christian Conciliator and is the author of The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict and (Baker Books, 2nd ed. 1997) and Peacemaking for Families (Tyndale, 2002).

Other speakers included Alfred Pourier, chairman of the Board of Peacemaker Ministries and senior pastor of Rocky Mountain Community Church, PCA in Billings, Mont.; and Frank Thomas, CEO of Hope for Life International, Inc. and senior pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Memphis, Tenn.

The conference ended Saturday with a Christmas-themed banquet. Dallas-area band, i55, played carols with messages of forgiveness and peace. The team also led worship for the conference's general sessions.