This month, Dave and Ingrid Schwinghammer announced that they have accepted a call to return to Canada as Dave accepts his new position as Philanthropy & Marketing Director for ADRA Canada. “We love our Oregon Conference family here so much, and it was a difficult decision. But God’s call to serve with ADRA was clear to us,” said Dave, “We’re looking forward to following God’s call back to Canada as we return home where we can serve close to our family in Ontario again.”
Dave first came to the Oregon Conference in July of 2018 from the Ontario Conference and served as vice president for administration here for four years before transitioning to working with local churches as assistant to the president for church ministries and revitalization last year. “We’ve gotten to know so many people in this area,” said Dave. “We’ve enjoyed visiting our churches and being part of it all here, and our prayer is that our churches continue to get stronger and that this conference continues to make a difference not only here, but division-wide and globally. We’re proud to have been part of this team. The journey of revitalizing churches is a process––not always easy, but always rewarding. We have loved being part of it.”
Ingrid came to the Oregon Conference in the fall of 2019 after working with the finance department at ADRA for 13 years, and has been putting her experience to work here at the conference office since 2020, serving as an accounts payable clerk and assistant treasurer.
After pioneering the role of assistant to the president for church ministries and revitalization, Dave says that the intentional effort toward church revitalization will continue on. “We’ve had such good traction from the start,” said Dave. “When I look back and think that I was able to step into this ministry even for a short period of time I count it as an honor. We’ve gotten the ball rolling and churches engaged, and we’re starting to see such amazing things come from this. One of the highlights has been working with this team of dedicated individuals. It’s been a dream and a privilege to work with them. Having our local churches trust us has been an honor. To have them say, ‘We don’t know how to fix this and we want to grow and be healthy, can you come and be part of the conversation with us?’ They’re giving us a lot of trust to take a look under the hood together.
“It has been a special blessing to serve with Dave and Ingrid Schwinghammer in the Oregon Conference these past five years,” said Oregon Conference president, Dan Linrud. “Dave’s infectious love for Jesus and others, his heartfelt worship gifts, and his commitment to his professional roles has had a significant impact across the conference and with the office team as we served together. Ingrid has been a significant team member in our treasury department, always dependable and serving with a warm and humble spirit. They will both be missed by our team and everyone in the field. We wish them God’s abundant blessings as they move to a new area of service for God. We look forward to an eternity together.”
We send our heartfelt thanks to the Schwinghammers for their ministry over the past several years. Though they will miss the friends and church family they’ve made here, the Schwinghammers say they will continue to follow God’s calling wherever it leads.
