God’s unique vision for your church isn’t an accident.
It’s how He intended every church to function, as a dynamic and diverse body of interconnected parts working together to reach different people in different ways. He knew His mission to save the world would thrive in our unity, not our uniformity.
But resisting uniformity can be difficult, especially when you feel like you’re on your own. When we first searched for partnerships for our churches, we often felt the pressure to compromise our values or dilute our flavor to secure funding or support.
Until we found Converge.
Our network is a century-old collection of like-hearted churches united in the same mission: to help people meet, know, and follow Jesus by starting and strengthening churches together worldwide.
With Converge PacWest, you can get more of what you need to fulfill your distinct vision and further God’s mission in your unique community.
We take the time to build a relationship with you first because your personhood is more valuable than your pastorship. We help you discern where you’re healthy and where you’re not to form a tailored path for growth.
We infuse your local body with strengthening resources for ministry strategy, capital campaigning, and leadership development so you can reach your full potential. And we help you stay in step with God’s timeless truth while giving you the freedom to be you without prescriptions, mandates, or carbon-copied models.
Ministry is better together, so don’t do it alone.
We’re Converge PacWest.
A diverse family of churches ensuring your unique church is connected, healthy, and making an impact.
- 1852
Gustaf Palmquist baptizes three adults in Rock Island, Illinois, establishing the first Swedish Baptist congregation in the United States.
- 1856
Seven congregations from Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota meet in Rock Island, Illinois, and labe themselves The Swedish Baptist General Conference.
- 1879
With 65 congregations and 3000 baptized believers, the Swedish Baptist General Conference in the United States officially forms.
- 1888
Johanna Anderson becomes the first Converge missionary in Burma.
- 1914
Bethel Seminary relocates to St. Paul, Minnesota. Graduates of Bethel University will come to include Converge pastors like John Piper and Bob Merritt, as well as artists, theologians, business leaders, governmental leaders, and professional athletes.
- 1944-1945
Launch of an independent foreign missions program, initiating significant growth in world missions.
- 1945
As we reach non-Swedish neighbors for the gospel, we diversify, and The Swedish Baptist General Conference of America drops the word “Swedish” from its name.
- 1960s-1970s
Church membership grows from 72,000 to 132,000. Converge begins mission work in Cameroon and Ivory Coast.
- 1980s-1990s
Growth to over 140,000 members in 880 churches. New mission work in the Middle East, France, Bulgaria, Central Asia, Slovakia, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam.
- 2000s
Membership exceeds 140,000 in 1075 churches and church plants. Converge launches missions in Cambodia, Haiti, Nigeria, Senegal, Singapore, and Montreal. Structural changes include Bethel College & Seminary becoming Bethel University.
- 2008
Converge adopts a new missional name, Converge Worldwide.
- 2010s
We refocus on our mission of “starting and strengthening churches together worldwide,” renaming to Converge.
- 2022
As our movement has diversified to include people and leaders of many ethnicities, backgrounds, and expressions of worship, we elect our first African American president, Pastor John Jenkins of First Baptist Church of Glenarden.
- TodayConverge National
Converge is a movement of churches and leaders collaborating on the one thing that matters: Lives changed through Jesus, person by person, worldwide.
Church Planting 101
The fundamentals to start your church planting journey Converge Church Planting 101 is two days of practical training where you will learn the basics of starting a church. This training is a great tool if you’re interested in church planting, starting a church or learning how to start a new campus of an existing church, […]
Church ministries support
Helping your church be all it can be in Christ Converge PacWest provides strategic resources and networks for leaders and churches in a whole arena of specialized ministries. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to help you and your church to be all that it can be in Christ. We are available to travel […]
Interim pastor
Helping you in a time of transition Sometimes the vacuum left by a pastoral vacancy requires special attention because of the length of the previous pastorate or the conflict that necessitated his departure. In such circumstances, Converge PacWest can provide Intentional Interim Pastor recommendations. It is an intentional interim’s aim to maintain or restore a healthy, […]
CEI Cohort
This coming year (kicking off Thursday, February 12th), we will be offering a Church Evangelism Institute cohort led by Pastor Dustin Butler and Pastor Dave Clark. Available to Converge PacWest pastors and planters, our goal in this cohort is “to equip pastors to lead culture change in their congregations, so their churches become conversion communities […]
Converge Together
You’re invited to Converge Together 2026, a three-day celebration for all of Converge to cometogether, receive ministry training designed for a variety of contexts, and hear stories of what Godis doing across our regions and around the world.We’re meeting at First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Washington, D.C., on June 23–25, 2026. All ofConverge is […]
Stay connected
Hear stories from our churches, access our latest resources and events, and stay connected to what God’s doing through Converge PacWest.