The History of Aaron Ministries Network

Often, when God plans to do something new, He plants a vision in one person's heart and gives that person the responsibility to ponder and pray, to nurture and network, to work and wait. Case in point: Dwight Habermehl and Aaron Ministries Network.

During prayer walks during 2000, God began to speak to Dwight about a ministry to pastoral leaders and, through them, to the churches of Atlantic Canada. The vision? Churches working together across denominational lines, building one another up, experiencing new health and vitality, and increasing the harvest. Strangely, there was a period of silence until, at the end of that year, God gave one word: Go

After hearing that word several times, Dwight went, in faith, and spent the next year meeting with pastoral leaders. Three common threads emerged as he listened to their joys and pain in ministry:

• The desire to experience the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their own lives and in the lives of those they led.
• The reality that engaging in ministry meant engaging in spiritual warfare.
• The challenge to lead the church into the harvest.

In 2002, Dwight invited leaders to come together and to develop a vision that would address those areas. A leadership team was chosen and, in 2003, "The Well" was born.

"The Well" became a place for mutual encouragement. Each month a different pastor spoke to the issues of church leadership from his or her own journey, from the triumphs and failures, from God's unique lesson plan. A time of teaching was followed by small groups discussions, seeking ways to personalize those lessons.

Attendance grew as they met in different venues each month. At first, leaders came from churches throughout Halifax, then from other regions in the province. Leaders came expectantly and returned home built up and strengthened.
In Spring, 2005, a council was formed and the vision and mission sharpened and clarified:

HEALTHY LEADERS LEADING HEALTHY CHURCHES
THAT TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES

Together...encouraged, focused and equipped for harvest!

A second "Well" was started in the Middleton area. Overall, during those years, more than 150 pastoral leaders from 20+ denominations participated.

God wasn't finished yet. In 2008, the council began to discuss Ephesians 4:1-16, with special emphasis on 4:11 and the five gifted leaders or graces given to build the church into health and unity. "What," they asked, "might those characteristics look like in the church today?" Late in the year, a draft concerning "E4C" (Ephesians 4 Community) was shared, further discussions were held and greater opportunities to network ensued.

As a result of God's continued activity, teams are being raised up to provide local churches with a process to help them re-focus and re-tool themselves as God's sent ones for greater transformational impact in their communities.

Aaron Ministries Network continues in its journey of development while living out its passion for healthy leaders and healthy churches that have a transformational impact on the communities they serve.