North Dakota Church Becomes a Community of Conversation

Although she’s attended AG churches for 40-plus years, Julie K. Funk has never been as excited about Sundays as she is today.

That’s because the North Dakota native enjoys the “conversational model” used at Heartland Community Church in West Fargo.

Lead pastor Ethan M. Zaun opens with a short message before guiding an open discussion of a verse-by-verse exploration of the Scriptural passage. Congregants ask questions, offer scriptural interpretations, or add cross-references to the discussion.

“You can sense God’s Spirit moving,” Funk says. “Everybody’s sharing what the Spirit put inside them. It’s a multi-faceted message. Sometimes it’s raw and unfiltered, but it’s authentic and I love it.”

The son of the founding pastor, Zaun launched this style in 2021. He got the idea from studies with visiting messianic rabbis while serving as Heartland’s youth pastor.

“They did home Bible studies,” says Zaun, 35. “We sat with the rabbi and he’d lead the discussion. I did some of that with our youth group and felt the conversations were always good.”

Soon after becoming lead pastor, Zaun says he sensed the Holy Spirit telling him to pivot from traditional sermons. So he decided to try the model he had witnessed earlier.

The congregation is presently going through Acts after an extended exploration of Matthew.

The first year was pretty rocky, says Zaun, who replaced his father, Kevin, in December of 2020. Now, he says it’s great.

The pastor often hears comments in the community about the spiritual maturity of Heartland’s members. He attributes that to discussions requiring people to be more engaged during services.

“I think the conversational style is more like being in the first-century synagogue,” Zaun says. “Paul said in First Corinthians, When you gather, one of you brings a hymn, another a song, and another a teaching. I think the early church was very community-led.”

After years of being out of church, Jackson T. Schepp returned in 2024 after learning about Heartland from his grandparents. A college track coach, he likes conversing about the Bible.

“I like hearing other people’s thoughts and ideas, and maybe referencing other verses that connect to the main message. I feel it’s a much more enriching experience,” says Schepp, 30.

Anna M. Royce, 40, enjoys Heartland’s style so much that when she visits other churches she finds it difficult to not be allowed to share thoughts about the sermon.

“It’s encouraging to hear what God is doing in other people’s lives and read the Word and think about it,” Royce says. “And to see new Christians who are excited or growing is great.”

Heartland baptized approximately 35 people in 2023 and 2024 and has seen an influx of visitors lately. Attendance has also increased in the past few years from 60 to 100 weekly attendees.

About once a month, Zaun calls on a church leader to oversee discussion. Among his guidelines: thorough preparation, leading instead of allowing the crowd to take charge, and avoiding divisive doctrinal debates.

Zaun says the biggest kickback is from other pastors who fear people abusing the model. However, he said in four years only two people caused a problem. One accepted correction; the other person left the church.

“One of the things I’ve come to realize doing this is, in general, as pastors it’s easy for us to not trust our people or to think they’re incompetent,” Zaun says. “I kind of choose to trust our people and think they’re competent, and they’ve shown they are.”

In addition to promoting deep Scripture study, the conversational model has stimulated more participation in Heartland’s weekly small groups.

The pastor says the unique approach has “flipped everything on its head.” That includes closing the morning with music because leaders want it to be a time of worship and reflection on the scriptures they just discussed together.

“I love it and I think it’s great,” Zaun says. “I’ve seen so many positives from it. You have to be biblical and keep control, so this does take a bit of backbone.”

Funk appreciates this pastoral leadership, especially when Zaun calls people up for prayer. One time he had several members pray for a man suffering from severe anxiety. A few weeks later, the man spoke words of encouragement to the entire congregation.

“Another time Ethan had a couple who was struggling with infertility come up and a year later they brought their baby to be dedicated,” she says. “When everybody shares in an experience like that, everyone gets so encouraged. You want to be part of it.”

Winston G. Titus, superintendent of the North Dakota Ministry Network, thinks the model has considerable potential to reach a younger audience.

“The world is changing,” says Titus, who oversees the state’s 72 AG congregations. “In the day and age we live in, many people are processing their spiritual walk in a different way. I think there’s some real possibilities here. I’m kind of excited to see what comes of this.”

Zaun thinks God may be working to meet the needs of a modern age.

“Today podcasts are all the rage; everyone’s listening to them,” Zaun says. “What are podcasts? Basically, conversations. People long to be in on the conversation and have a voice. Maybe God is setting something up that is made for this next generation.”