Dr. Crowder shared the following in a letter to future Living Waters Region Clergy on Thursday, July 2, 2026.

Growing the Table: The Future Living Waters Region

Beloved Colleagues,

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin is entering a new chapter. Beginning January 1, 2027, the Living Waters Region will become a covenant community connected and committed to helping congregations flourish, leaders thrive, and communities experience the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

As Disciples, we proclaim that the Lord’s Table is open to ALL because it belongs to Christ, not to us. For us, “Growing the Table” is not simply about increasing attendance or membership. It is about extending Christ’s welcome to ALL people, creating deeper discipleship, and embodying the ministry of Jesus in every community we serve.

We are called to widen that welcome through our witness, our service, and our love and I believe the table grows in three interconnected ways: Work, Wellness, and Worship.

Work: Joining God’s Mission

Work is more than what happens inside the walls of the church. It is our participation in God’s mission of justice, compassion, reconciliation, and hope.

Across Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, our congregations feed the hungry, advocate for justice, mentor young people, strengthen neighborhoods, plant new ministries, support pastors, and partner with schools, nonprofit organizations, and local municipalities. We believe every congregation, regardless of size, has a unique mission field.

As a Region, we will equip congregations to become centers of community transformation. We will encourage innovation, foster partnerships, develop new leaders, and invest in ministries that meet both spiritual and human needs. We will create space where more people discover that they belong, that they are loved by God, and that they are invited to the table to participate in God’s work of renewing the world.

Wellness: Caring for the Whole Person

Healthy churches begin with healthy people. For too long, many clergy and church leaders have carried tremendous emotional, spiritual, and physical burdens while caring for others. I believe wellness is not a luxury; it is faithful stewardship.

I believe a commitment to wellness embraces the whole person:

Physical wellness by encouraging healthy lifestyles, rest, and Sabbath.
Emotional wellness by fostering supportive relationships and healthy boundaries.
Mental wellness by reducing stigma, encouraging counseling, and providing resources for resilience.
Spiritual wellness through prayer, Scripture, retreat, discernment, and lifelong formation.

Jesus cared for the whole person. He healed bodies, restored relationships, forgave sins, calmed anxious hearts, and invited weary people to find rest in him. We seek to follow that same model.

When pastors are healthy, congregations become healthier. When congregations are healthy, communities experience hope. When chaplains are healthy, the communities they serve become healthier.

Worship: A Way of Life

Worship is much more than what happens on Sunday morning.

Corporate worship gathers us around Word and Table, but true worship continues long after the benediction. Worship is how we live and serve from Monday through Saturday.

Every act of kindness becomes worship. Every pursuit of justice becomes worship. Every meal shared with a neighbor becomes worship. Every word of encouragement, every act of forgiveness, every effort toward reconciliation reflects our worship of God.

Sunday prepares us to live faithfully throughout the week. Worship shapes our character, informs our decisions, and sends us into the world as ambassadors of Christ. Our churches gather to be renewed, but we are sent to serve.

A Growing Table

Growing the Table means making room for ALL. It means making room for young adults asking questions and seeking purpose, older adults sharing wisdom, children discovering faith, families searching for community, and neighbors longing to know they are seen, valued, and loved.

It means building congregations where diversity is celebrated, every generation serves together, and every person recognizes they have gifts to offer to make the world a better place.

The Living Waters Region is not simply preparing for a new organizational structure. We are embracing a renewed way of being the Church.

As your Regional Minister (Pastor), my vision is to come alongside our congregations, chaplains, clergy, and lay leaders through Work, Wellness, and Worship.

Work calls us to join God’s mission by serving our communities, pursuing justice, and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

Wellness reminds us that faithful ministry begins with healthy leaders and healthy congregations—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Worship extends beyond Sunday morning. It is the way we live from Monday through Saturday, reflecting Christ in our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities.

Together, I believe, God is inviting us to grow Christ’s Table so that more people may experience grace, discover hope, and participate in God’s transforming mission.

My commitment is to walk alongside you, encouraging, equipping, and supporting every congregation as we become a Region where all are welcomed, disciples are formed, leaders are strengthened, and communities are transformed by the living water of Jesus Christ.

The table is growing, Beloved Colleagues. Let us faithfully answer God’s invitation together.

As Jesus declared, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” May the Living Waters Region become a place where thirsty souls find living water, congregations discover renewed purpose, and God’s table continues to grow for generations to come.

Amen. Ase’.

Rev. Dr. William E. Crowder, Jr.

A Word from Dr. Crowder: Growing the Table- The Future Living Waters Region

Dr. Crowder shared the following in a letter to future Living Waters Region Clergy on Thursday, July 2, 2026.

Growing the Table: The Future Living Waters Region

Beloved Colleagues,

We are called to widen that welcome through our witness, our service, and our love and I believe the table grows in three interconnected ways: Work, Wellness, and Worship.

Work: Joining God’s Mission

Work is more than what happens inside the walls of the church. It is our participation in God’s mission of justice, compassion, reconciliation, and hope.

Wellness: Caring for the Whole Person

Healthy churches begin with healthy people. For too long, many clergy and church leaders have carried tremendous emotional, spiritual, and physical burdens while caring for others. I believe wellness is not a luxury; it is faithful stewardship.

I believe a commitment to wellness embraces the whole person:

Physical wellness by encouraging healthy lifestyles, rest, and Sabbath.

Emotional wellness by fostering supportive relationships and healthy boundaries.

Mental wellness by reducing stigma, encouraging counseling, and providing resources for resilience.

Spiritual wellness through prayer, Scripture, retreat, discernment, and lifelong formation.

Jesus cared for the whole person. He healed bodies, restored relationships, forgave sins, calmed anxious hearts, and invited weary people to find rest in him. We seek to follow that same model.

When pastors are healthy, congregations become healthier. When congregations are healthy, communities experience hope. When chaplains are healthy, the communities they serve become healthier.

Worship: A Way of Life

Worship is much more than what happens on Sunday morning.

Corporate worship gathers us around Word and Table, but true worship continues long after the benediction. Worship is how we live and serve from Monday through Saturday.

Every act of kindness becomes worship. Every pursuit of justice becomes worship. Every meal shared with a neighbor becomes worship. Every word of encouragement, every act of forgiveness, every effort toward reconciliation reflects our worship of God.

Sunday prepares us to live faithfully throughout the week. Worship shapes our character, informs our decisions, and sends us into the world as ambassadors of Christ. Our churches gather to be renewed, but we are sent to serve.

A Growing Table

Growing the Table means making room for ALL. It means making room for young adults asking questions and seeking purpose, older adults sharing wisdom, children discovering faith, families searching for community, and neighbors longing to know they are seen, valued, and loved.

It means building congregations where diversity is celebrated, every generation serves together, and every person recognizes they have gifts to offer to make the world a better place.

The Living Waters Region is not simply preparing for a new organizational structure. We are embracing a renewed way of being the Church.

As your Regional Minister (Pastor), my vision is to come alongside our congregations, chaplains, clergy, and lay leaders through Work, Wellness, and Worship.

Work calls us to join God’s mission by serving our communities, pursuing justice, and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

Wellness reminds us that faithful ministry begins with healthy leaders and healthy congregations—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Worship extends beyond Sunday morning. It is the way we live from Monday through Saturday, reflecting Christ in our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities.

Together, I believe, God is inviting us to grow Christ’s Table so that more people may experience grace, discover hope, and participate in God’s transforming mission.

My commitment is to walk alongside you, encouraging, equipping, and supporting every congregation as we become a Region where all are welcomed, disciples are formed, leaders are strengthened, and communities are transformed by the living water of Jesus Christ.

The table is growing, Beloved Colleagues. Let us faithfully answer God’s invitation together.

As Jesus declared, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” May the Living Waters Region become a place where thirsty souls find living water, congregations discover renewed purpose, and God’s table continues to grow for generations to come.

Amen. Ase’.

Rev. Dr. William E. Crowder, Jr.