Early Bird Registration Now Open!
Summit 2011 with Tim Keller and Bishop Todd Hunter is January 25-27, 2011 in Plano, Texas.
You are invited to come to Summit 2011! Sign up now for our Early Bird rate of $150/person.
More information about Summit 2011 and a Registration Link after the jump ...
Posted September 2, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
Colin Hansen has a great piece up on the Gospel Coalition website on Gospel Integrity and Pastoral Succession. He begins with the stark reality that “History tells sad stories of good churches that calcified as monuments to former pastors.” He notes that, “Many large, thriving churches today have been blessed by God with gifted preachers whose ministry spans the globe. As those preachers approach the end of their pulpit ministry, however, local churches face difficult questions about how they should prepare for life after their leader leaves.” In a bold diagnosis of this problem, Hansen writes:
Senior leaders don’t want to let go. They realize too late that they’re slowing down, a process that begins in many cases around age 60. Various aspects of the church’s vision become neglected, and the church stagnates. The senior leader’s gifting and experience mask underlying structural weaknesses, as in the case of Spurgeon. Meanwhile, younger leaders don’t want to wait around to take charge. Many capable young leaders know the long odds of a successful succession. So they prefer to plant their own churches or invest in smaller ones they can grow by God’s grace. ... Even before the senior pastor steps down, generational tension may be evident as a warning sign that succession will be a struggle. The senior pastor with a long tenure may surround himself with leaders around his same age. Preaching load, administrative tasks, writing commitments, and even personality traits may inhibit him and his colleagues from investing in younger leaders who can eventually take their place. Conscious or not, Hezekiah syndrome sets in, and older leaders leave major problems for the next generation to tackle. “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?” (2 Kings 20:19)
In a refreshing exception to this trend, he profiles the Succession without a Successor plan underway at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan under Tim Keller’s leadership. (Shameless plug - Tim Keller is one of the plenary speakers at the 2011 Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit ... Register here today for early bird rates! ... end of commercial) Since it is always difficult for a successor to follow a tremendously gifted leader, Redeemer isn’t even going to try it! Instead, they announced this past June a decentralization plan to “eventually divide into four distinct but networked congregations, each of which will try to plant another church. Redeemer leaders selected four pastors—David Bisgrove, John Lin, Scott Sauls, and Leo Schuster—to lead these neighborhood-based congregations. But for now these men will share preaching and leadership responsibilities with Keller, who will mentor them closely.” Tim Keller said: “My ‘successors’ are a new generation of a half-dozen to a dozen pastors ... The difficulty is that to even talk of this as a ‘succession plan’ gives the impression I’m stepping out of my job and retiring soon, but I’m not. I’m 59, and we expect the transition to take eight to ten years. So we don’t call it a succession plan, but that’s what it ultimately is, among other things.”
How is your church preparing for pastoral succession?
Is their intentional mentoring and leadership development?
What are your thoughts on this?
Posted September 7, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Posted September 2, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
Every day we are hearing from prospective church planters, hearing about congregations that have started, and learning about plans that are bubbling up across the US and Canada!
We want to help catalog these churches and tell their stories. We want to know why they were planted, who is planting them, and who are they reaching. We want you to see what is possible and to connect with them if you are looking for a place to plug in.
We have been listing each of these new congregations individually, but we have just released a plant finder, as well. This will help to give a visual of the flurry of planting and help you find a plant near you!
If you are planting a church and want to be listed under our latest plants or on our plant finder, we want to connect to you! E-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so that we can pray for you, encourage you, and tell your story.
Click here to see the new Plant Finder!
Posted September 2, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
By: The Rev. Canon Ron McCrary
I’m so excited about all of the upcoming regional church planting events this fall that Anglican 1000 is helping provide across North America. We’ve been working behind the scenes this summer in partnership with Anglican church planting leaders in about a dozen cities to create events that will encourage and equip people who want to be on the frontline of Anglican church planting. The enthusiasm of leaders across Canada and the United States for starting new Anglican churches is staggering. Bishops, rectors and regional leaders are eager to work together to plant churches everywhere we go. Planters are ready to gather with one another to share what’s working and learn from one another how to deal with the inevitable challenges of planting. And there’s so much to celebrate, because new churches are launching everywhere almost very week.
Why is Anglican 1000 coming to you? Because all church planting is local. If that seems too self-evident, remember Einstein said that genius is the ability to scrutinize the obvious. Think about it for a moment All church planting ultimately begins in the heart of God and flows from the local church. Church planters come from local churches and local ministries, who lead them to faith in Christ and help shape them as disciples who are ready to answer the Lord’s prayer for more workers. People like you and churches like yours are our focus at Anglican 1000. You don’t exist to serve our needs and agenda. Instead, Anglican 1000 exists to be a catalyst for you to plant Anglican congregations and communities of faith across North America. Anglican 1000 doesn’t plant churches; you do. That’s why we are so eager to come to you and support your church planting dreams and work through these regional events. Information about individual regional events, after the jump ...
Posted September 1, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Brett McCracken has just released a new book called Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide
It makes the problem of individualism worse
It alienates people
It fosters pride and vanity
It’s too much about rebellion
For another snapshot, you can check out McCracken’s Wall Street Journal Article “The Perils of ‘Wannabe Cool’ Christianity.” He reminds us of the work of David Wells, who says:
The born-again, marketing church has calculated that unless it makes deep, serious cultural adaptations, it will go out of business, especially with the younger generations. What it has not considered carefully enough is that it may well be putting itself out of business with God. And the further irony is that the younger generations who are less impressed by whiz-bang technology, who often see through what is slick and glitzy, and who have been on the receiving end of enough marketing to nauseate them, are as likely to walk away from these oh-so-relevant churches as to walk into them.
I have a close friend that has been involved with Anglican Church Planting for the last few years. He contends that he has seen many Anglican plants go out of their way to be cool in an attempt to attract people to the church. After watching this play out for awhile, he has come to the conclusion that Anglicans are not cool - being cool or “hip” is not compatible with Anglican identity and ethos.
What do you think? Can Anglicans be cool? Should they be?
Posted August 30, 2010 · 7 comments · Read more...
The New Scorecard: Measuring a Church Multiplication Movement
With the variety of models available for church planting, it is clear that the type of model isn’t actually as important as an emphasis on multiplication.
With an emphasis on multiplication, the wiring of the planter and the context of their mission field drive the type of model. This shift away from “one-size fits all” illustrates that we need commitment to a new scorecard in order to see a church multiplication movement occur. The most important shift is from addition to multiplication. Ed has adapted the elements of a church planting movement as defined by David Garrison to illustrate what these essentials would look like for a western industrial democratized context like North America. The marks are: Prayer; Intentionality of Multiplication; Sacrifice; Reproducibility; Theological Integrity; Incarnational Ministry; Empowerment of God’s People; Charitability in Appreciating Other Models; Scalability; & Holism in Overall Approach.
So, what are the obstacles?
One, would simply be the institutionalization of the church with the correlating loss of mission and outward focus. Furthermore, the phenomena of cultural Christianity often sets us up against those we are trying to reach. Unfortunately, there is a prior expectation that churches have paid clergy, buildings, and other resources that can be inherent barriers to multiplication. Part of this ecclesiological reality is that ministry has been outsourced to the professionals. We overly rely on clergy and are hesitant to give laypersons permission to begin congregations. In reality, there is an unhealthy codependency between most clergy and their congregations in regards to the current division of ministry labor. Biblically, clergy are called to equip the saints for the work of ministry, but most find themselves doing (more than their share of) the ministry. This robs laypersons of their calling to serve in ministry and produces fatigue and dysfunction among the professionals. Several other barriers include the lack of intentional personal evangelism and drifts towards theological bankruptcy.
So, if those are the marks of a church multiplication in the West alongside potential barriers, what is the new scorecard for seeing a church multiplication movement take root?
We have to focus on fervent prayer, aggressive evangelism, empowerment of the laity, intentionality in church planting, and theological robustness. Furthermore, “discipleship and church multiplication must be seen as both-and rather than either-or.” We need to stop focusing on survival or addition, and shift the emphasis to multiplication in everything we do. After all, “North America does not need to be the only continent where the overall church is not growing.”
Posted August 23, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
By: Nate Beasley
“That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you” (John 17:21). How Jesus must have been rejoicing as he saw a packed room of church-planting leaders, representing 32 organizations and 23 denominations gather together to share visions, ideas, and strategies the last few days together in Nashville, TN! Ed Stetzer (speaker at the last Anglican 1000 conference) organized top church-planting Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostals, Wesleyans, and other denominations at the Church Planting Leadership Fellowship (CPLF) to dialogue about how to raise up, by the power of the Holy Spirit, a church-planting movement in North America. Among other great speakers and teachers, Ed Stetzer asked Father (both by ordination, and well… he’s also my Dad) William Beasley to speak on Monday night about how the Anglican Church is raising up lay leaders from the harvest to plant congregations. If anyone knows Fr. William – this was a soft ball.
As Fr. William shared the Spirit-filled story of the East African Revival and the East and West African Anglican Church’s rapid growth through lay-catechists and evangelists from the harvest planting churches connected to ordained clergy, he envisioned what it would look like for the American Church to contextually follow suit. Of course, he not only shared it in vision, but by the example of what the Lord is doing right now in the Upper Midwest with the expansion of Anglican congregations. These Church-Leaders were truly blown away by Fr. William’s words. They were both encouraged and challenged: encouraged to see what the Lord is doing in the Anglican church by restoring orthodoxy, raising up leaders from the harvest to plant, and seeing an example of how multiplication of the Church and the Historic Order are not at odds; and yet challenged to think through new models they had never before considered.
In fact, Ed Stetzer added an extra Q & A session in the conference for Fr. William because these leaders of church planters hungered to learn more about what the Lord is doing through Anglican 1000. The questions for Fr. William ran the gamut of “How do you credential potential lay-church planters” to “Why is it that so many people are moving toward the Anglican Church”? On the latter question, not only did Fr. William answer, but Rick Warren decided to chime in on how the Anglican Church is so important to reaching our generation. I’ll write that again. At a multi-denominational church-planting gathering of leaders, Rick Warren spent about 5 minutes explaining why Anglicanism is essential to reaching North America today. Brothers and Sisters, the Anglican 1000 initiative is being noticed as a work of the Spirit by the greater church of America. The Lord is moving. Keep praying. Pray both for Anglican 1000 and all the other church-planting movements of faithful denominations. May we support each other, united together on common mission by multiplying churches bearing much fruit and so giving glory to God (John 15:8)!
“Glory to God, whose power working in us can do more than we can ask for or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21)!
Twenty year-old Nate Beasley is a junior at University of Illinois, majoring in Communication. An active leader in Campus Crusade for Christ, he served six weeks this summer with them in East Asia. Last summer he ministered 4 weeks in Idaho, helping a new Anglican Church plant. When not out-of-state on missions or in school, Nate runs a small business, performing with Catch This! Juggling, to earn money for college.
UPDATE: Details about the event and downloads from the various presentations are now available on Ed Stetzer’s Blog. Click here to access the info!
Posted August 20, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
(HT: RM) A Roman Catholic Priest in Hungary has become a You Tube sensation recently. In an effort to reach the youth of his mission field, he has started skateboarding - in cassock! Check it out below! By the way, how are you reaching out to youth in your community?
Posted August 18, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
I am spending this week at a church planting bootcamp here in Plano, TX with some fellow Anglican1000/Christ Church Plano planters. Hosted by the UMC North Texas Conference, it is being presented by the Griffith Coaching Network. The lead teacher, Jim Griffith, helped to plant Willow Creek and has been a tremendous coach and resource for planters for the last 15-20 years here in North America. Jim has written a wonderful little book with Bill Easum called Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by Church Starts
1) Pursuing the Great Commission to the Peril of Ignoring the Greatest Commandment
2) Failure to Take Opposition Seriously
3) Love Affair with Innovation and Ideology without Considering the Mission Field
4) Premature Launch with too Few People
5) Evangelism & Outreach Stop After Public Launch
6) No Plan for the Other Six Days of the Week
7) Fear of Talking about Money (until it’s too late)
8) Failure of Church to Act its Age and Size
9) Formalizing Leadership Too Quickly
10) Blindly Taking the Advice of Experts
#10 was particularly poignant. Jim recommended that everyone read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the collective wisdom and advice of the church planting community. But, to be aware of the danger of blindly taking the advice of experts - not because the advice is bad, but because you must understand your particular context and mission field. The church planter is at heart a missionary and missionaries come up with indigenous solutions to problems - they don’t import solutions!
Posted August 18, 2010 · 4 comments · Read more...
Coaching 101 Training set for September 23-24, 2010
Coaching 101, basic coach training for ministry leaders, will be presented at St. Stephen’s Church, Sewickley, PA, Thursday evening and all day Friday, September 23-24. The fifth annual training is part of a cooperative effort between the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh and the coach certification arm of the Titus Institute for Church Planting.
“Coaching is a highly valuable leadership tool in church planting and in all forms of ministry,” notes Jenni Bartling, certified coach and Pittsburgh’s diocesan congregational developer for church multiplication. “I have seen leaders, when engaged in a coaching relationship, accelerate their progress, and reach their goals more quickly,”
Titus Executive Director Tom Herrick adds, “Coaching is the most effective way I know to develop and reproduce new leaders. It is an investment that pays huge dividends by helping them to clarify their goals and expectations, shape their planning and reflection process, and encourage follow through on their ministry strategies. It is the key to unlocking growth in every congregation.”
The cost of the course is $45 for clergy, church staff, lay leaders and seminarians; a discounted $30-per-person rate is available for groups of three or more. The registration fee covers materials (including the Coaching 101 book by Dr. Bob Logan and Sherilyn Carlton) and snacks; a variety of eating establishments are within walking distance of St. Stephen’s.
Bartling hopes parishes throughout the province will take advantage of the group rate, and send several staff members and lay leaders to the training. “Coaching is a unique gift we can offer our leaders. Its principles allow people to think outside the box, and discover solutions they’d never considered before. With the help of the Holy Spirit, coaching can help us to discover what God wants us—and our congregations—to do, and then do it!”
Participation in Coaching 101 is not limited to those pursuing Coach Certification, although a maximum of 15 applicants will be accepted into the Titus’s Coach Certification program for an added cost, which encompasses additional study, field-work, assessment and engagement in a coach-mentor relationship. Coaching 101 is a pre-requisite for the certification process.
Bartling directs the Coach Certification Process for the Titus Institute for Church Planting, a resource for the Anglican Church in North America. She is a certified ministry coach who has trained more than 300 others to empower their ministry leaders, and provides coaching to a number of priests and church planters in and outside the Pittsburgh diocese. She and her husband Stephan attend St. Stephen’s Church, Sewickley, with their son Benjamin.
You can download a registration form or get more information here.
Posted August 16, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
(HT: CH) During the month of August, you can download an audio version of Tim Keller’s book Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road for FREE! Click here to visit Christian Audio and download your copy.
Here’s a description of this great (and FREE!) resource:
Why would someone risk his safety, destroy his schedule, and become dirty and bloody to help a needy person of another race and social class? And why would Jesus tell us “Go and do likewise”? Like the wounded man on the Jericho road, there are needy people in our path—the widow next door, the family strapped with medical bills, the homeless man outside our place of worship. God calls us to be ministers of mercy to people in need of shelter, assistance, medical care, or just friendship.
Posted August 12, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Funding: Partnerships Matter
It goes without saying that a church multiplication movement will be fueled by a variety of resources – including money. Leadership Network has found that just over 25% of protestant churches in the United States have been involved in helping to fund a church plant (or planter) in the last year. Some of the most aggressive churches “tithe” to church planting through assigning 10%+ of their overall budget to domestic church planting. Also, most church planters do receive some denominational funding, but more money from a national denomination/agency actually results in less money from churches at the local level. In fact, most denominations are spending more time in recruiting parent churches to support church planting directly, rather than in direct fundraising. These parent churches are giving more money to church planting, but the most aggressive are giving that money to more planters. Rather than large investments in just a few places, aggressive churches seed many projects to help church plants start alongside denominational funds, personal fundraising and tithing by the planter and church planting team. One church, Hill Country Bible Church, takes the approach of providing a paid residency for church planters and then encouraging the planter to enlist 10-12 families as “missionaries” to help start the new church with a commitment to fund the new work through their tithes. Across the board, “a multi-stream approach to securing income for the church plant seems to be the most effective.” Research indicates that agencies and denominations should provide well-trained planters with a modest funding package over a short period of time. This will help the church plant get started, but will encourage the planter to aggressively develop the church without becoming overly dependent on outside funding.
Posted August 9, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Bishop Philip Jones to Relocate, Lead Church Plant
By: The Rev. Canon David Roseberry
I am delighted to make this exciting announcement to the parish family of Christ Church Plano and to our extended Anglican family around the country.
We are about to plant our fourth “daughter church”, this time in the Park Cities area in the heart of Dallas. Furthermore, Bishop Philip Jones of the Anglican Mission has accepted the call to lead this new congregation. For the past nine months, Fr. Ron McCrary and I have been meeting with one of our Small Groups who live in the Park Cities and surrounding Dallas neighborhoods. They have loved Christ Church and some have been members for over a dozen years. Yet, there has always been a hope and a dream that something like Christ Church could be planted in order to reach people in the heart of Dallas. In recent months this Small Group became more serious about the idea. We began a search process for a church planter and secured financial pledges to underwrite a clergy salary and other expenses for the first five months.
Last week, after a season of prayer, consultation, and interviews, the group and I concluded that Bishop Philip Jones would be the best candidate we could imagine. Indeed, he had also expressed a strong call to this work. The call was made and accepted, and soon Bishop Jones, his wife, Claudia, and two of the children, will relocate to Dallas to begin the new church. He will maintain his standing and role as our Bishop in the Little Rock Network of the AMiA (Anglican Mission in the Americas).
I had known for some months that this Small Group meeting in the heart of Dallas had the potential to become its own church. It is great to see it teamed up with a great bishop of the Anglican Church. Bishop Jones is a natural fit for this exciting call in many ways. He and Claudia are both from the Dallas area. His family (two children of seven are in high school and the rest are grown) all felt a call. Bishop Jones and I have been friends and colleagues for many years, and I am delighted to welcome him and his family to the area.
Christ Church turns 25 years old this year. This new church plant is fully consistent with our stated mission to make disciples and teach them to obey the commands of Christ. Over the years, we have had the great privilege sending church planters from our church into the mission field to begin new congregations in Allen, Frisco, Addison, and now Dallas. Over the next few years, I envision even more new congregations and communities of faith arising from the wonderful and vibrant life of Christ Church.
Posted August 6, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Recently, Tim Keller wrote a blog post about Ministry Movements. You can check out the post: here. Here is how he defines a ministry movement:
A movement is marked by an attractive, clear, unifying vision for the future together with a strong set of values or beliefs. The content of the vision must be compelling and clear so that others can grasp it readily. It must not be so esoteric or difficult that only a handful of people can articulate it. Instead, it must be something that all members of the movement can understand and pass along to others. By contrast, “institutionalized” organizations are held together by rules, regulations, and procedures, not by a shared vision. This unifying vision is so compelling that it takes pride of place.
He goes on to list 4 features of the type of vision required for ministry movements:
1) The vision leads to sacrificial commitment.
2) The vision leads to generous flexibility.
3) The vision leads to innovativeness.
4) A movement is marked by spontaneous generativity.
After unpacking these four points, he goes on to make a striking statement about the (perceived) distinction between movements and institutions:
David Hurst, a Harvard scholar, summed up how movements become institutions this way - vision becomes strategy, roles become tasks, teams become structure, networks become organizations, recognition becomes compensation. It is wrong, however, to draw such a hard line between the two forms. It is typical in the Christian movement literature to be highly critical of “institutionalism,” for good reason. But the impression is left that all authority, central control, and formal processes are bad for ministry. The reality is more complex.
It is natural for new churches and ministries to try very hard to stay informal, non-codified, and non-centralized. But part of what makes a movement dynamic is a unified vision, and that always requires some codification and control. As time goes on, to maintain the main engine of movement-dynamics - a unified vision - a ministry must adopt some of the aspects of institutions. A strong movement, then, occupies the difficult space between being a free-wheeling organism and a disciplined organization. A movement that refuses to take on some organizational characteristics - authority, tradition, unity of belief, and quality control - will fragment and dissipate. A movement that does not also resist the inevitable tendency toward complete institutionalization will lose its vitality and effectiveness as well. The job of the movement leader is to steer the ship safely between these two opposite perils.
Again, you can check out the full article on the Redeemer City to City Blog. Did I mention how excited we are to have Tim Keller as the featured speaker at our next Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit?!? Save the Date: January 25-27, 2011.
Posted August 3, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Recently, Archdeacon Julian Dobbs promoted the ministry of Anglican 1000 to the CANA Executive Committee and also to the CANA Council. The Anglican 1000 initiative was received with much enthusiasm,energy and commitment. Of course, we have already seen CANA be very active in church planting. (For example, check out a few of their new works: Winchester Anglican Church, Restoration Anglican Church, and St. Paul’s Anglican Church under the Latest Plants section of the website). Bishop Martyn Minns personally committed to the vision of Anglican 1000. Archbishop Duncan also mentioned Anglican 1000 in his sermon at the festal eucharist and ordinations at CANA Council. Finally, the CANA Council endorsed the following resolution!
RESOLVED, that the annual Council of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (“CANA”), in accordance with Section 5.3 of the Bylaws of CANA, hereby gives thanks to God for the vision of Archbishop Robert Duncan for the planting of 1,000 new Anglican churches across North America within the next 5 years. This Council also gives thanks for the leadership of the Rev’d Canon David Roseberry, Chair of the Anglican 1000 Steering Committee. This Council expresses its full support for the ministry of Anglican 1000 and encourages the congregations and clergy under CANA’s jurisdiction to pray and plan for their own participation in this exciting work of God.
Posted July 30, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Guest Post by Carol Childress
For three decades, Carol Childress has helped faith-based and non-profit leaders “connect the dots” and understand the context of 21st century culture and its implications for mission and ministry. She served as an information broker for Leadership Network from 1991-2004. Prior to Leadership Network she served on the staff of a regional judicatory and was also involved in city management and community development in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Contact Carol via .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). This article is reprinted with permission from Leadership Network Advance, a free twice-monthly newsletter about church innovation. Click here for more information about Leadership Network Advance.
In the current atmosphere of concern and even fear about changes in the American economic system and resulting way of life, the waging of war and peace in a fragile world, and the interdependence wrought by the realities of globalization, many people find it difficult to be optimistic about the future. Not Joel Kotkin. In seven chapters and 125 points of expanded narrative, Kotkin provides a sweeping glimpse of his take on the future of America over the next 40 years in The Next Hundred Million: America by 2050 (Penguin Press, 2010). The title references the addition of another 100 million American residents by the year 2050. A prolific author and social geographer, Kotkin address four significant areas of change: demography, ethnicity, the expansion of suburbia, and the growth of the heartland states. .....
Posted July 28, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
As churches and pastors think and pray about becoming part of the Anglican 1000 movement - of helping to raise up 1000 new congregations and communities of faith - one of the most effective ways they can help is by shaping the next generation of leaders. We have the responsibility and privilege of passing on “the faith once delivered.” In many contexts, this will look like an internship program or even a church planting residency program. For example, at the Falls Church, the Timothy Program effectively trains new church planters for effective ministry!
The Anglican Diocese of New England under the leadership of Bishop Bill Murdoch offers a Boston Fellows Program and are starting Ministry Houses. Check out more about these ministries on their website: click here. There are numerous creative training models bubbling up. Some require a large amount of resources. Others don’t. Either way, every church in the Anglican Church in North America and all of the Ministry Partner congregations should be thinking strategically about leadership development - particularly, for church planting.
As we think about this, there is a wonderful guest post on Ed Stetzer’s blog from Ray Chang about Creating a Culture of Internship in the Church. You should check it out on his site.
How are you intentionally raising up new leaders?
If you are a young leader, how have you been trained?
Are you looking for an opportunity?
Posted July 27, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Since the Anglican 1000 website went live about 6 months ago, we have been thinking through how the On the Move Blog can best serve church planters and the Anglican Church Planting Community. We have had lots of great feedback, but heard some frustration about the blog commenting policy. Essentially, one had to sign up for an account on the Anglican 1000 website. Then, they needed to be logged in to the site in order to comment on a post. We have had almost 1000 users sign up for an account with the site, so far! However, we heard from some that they would rather simply drop in and leave a comment without signing up for an account or logging into a profile. So, we have heard you and made a few changes! Now, you can comment in one of two ways:
1) Set up an account, log in to your profile, and leave a comment - just as you have been doing.
2) Simply scroll down in an individual post to the comments section. You will be asked to leave your name and fill out a Captcha to prevent some of the junk that is out there. Then, voila! Your comment can be posted live on the blog without ever having to log in or set up an account!
Hopefully, this new commenting policy will encourage more discussion and sharing on the blog!
In Christ,
Daniel+
Posted July 21, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Rapid Growth, but Still No Reproduction
Leadership Network found three common factors of fast-growing church plants: 1) they start larger; 2) they are contemporary in worship style; and 3) they invest outwardly in outreach and evangelism. So what is the relationship between fast-growing churches (including mega churches) and multiplication? In other words, is it wrong to focus on growing bigger rather than replicating? According to Ed and Warren, “simple, small replicable units are how the kingdom is best advanced.” But, this does not mean that mega churches are a hindrance to multiplication. Rather, churches often grow by doing small better. So, to avoid missional lethargy, mega churches must be intentional in celebrating and making heroes out of the small units (often small groups) that are advancing the kingdom. Mega churches are resource-rich and have the capacity to fuel and resource church multiplication. But, if big becomes anti-small, then that church will not be advancing the kingdom in its community and will become a barrier to multiplication. So long as large churches remain focused on mission, rather than maintenance, they will be key to producing a church multiplication movement. In fact, multiplication can serve as a vital means of revitalizing mission in churches that have moved into maintenance mode.
Posted July 20, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Guest Post from Bishop (and Church Planter!) Ron Ferris
The Church of the Ascension, Langley, British Columbia is one of the first Anglican 1000 parishes. Regular services began in the fall of 2009. We began as a “cold start” brand new initiative. Leading up to the start of services was a Bible Study group, four summer services, and a few public meetings. One year later we average about 40 people per Sunday and offer a rich program of discipleship and outreach. Our learnings from the first year are as follows:
1. God always goes before us! After permission was received from the bishop to start a new church, we learned that a bible study group had been meeting for a year and praying for just such a development.
2. All that you really need for a church you can carry in two filing boxes; a bible, altarware, candles, cross, linens, service sheets, children’s bible, offering envelopes, and register.
3. About 25% of new parishioners came from invitations to friends and family, about 25% from newspaper ads, about 24% from postcard household mail, 13% by referral from friends, agencies and churches beyond our parish, and about 13% just showed up on their own.
4. A relatively few personal invitations are most effective when compared to the thousands of ads and household mailers. That said, tasteful ads are extremely important!
5. Now that our website is active we are gaining increasing contacts from our site and that of our Diocese.
6. The major challenge of our first year was finding public meeting space that was affordable, attractive, accessible and permanent. After studying 40 sites we finally found just two that were suitable. Space was found in a recreation centre with a patio, air conditioning, caretaking on site, and unlimited parking!
7. Rental space liberates a parish from the worries of maintaining a property 24/7. The energy normally devoted to property committees and fundraising can be turned toward discipleship and community building.
8. Program needs to be carefully blended and spaced so as not to exhaust the energies of a relatively small congregation. Outreach receives high priority and many of our members support Christian projects and efforts in Africa, China, India, Haiti and locally. Another parish priority is to help to train the next generation of church leaders.
The first year has been a time of building friendships, building trust and putting the key structures in place that will help us grow in the future. Our congregation has been reliable, loyal and unflappable. There is a gracious and determined calm over the whole enterprise. Part of the excitement has been to place mission over maintenance, people over property, and discipleship over governance. Starting afresh can be a wonderful and God given opportunity to strike new priorities.
What have you learned about church planting since Archbishop Duncan’s astonishing call?
What are some of the victories and challenges you have experienced?
Posted July 19, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
Recently, we had the chance to sit down with Jed Roseberry and the team from Restoration Anglican Church in Addison, TX. This is a church plant that is just about a year old and is seeing great results using the Alpha Course as part of their planting strategy. Check out what they have learned and what God is doing through this church!
Posted July 9, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
By: Daniel Adkinson
It has been almost a year since Archbishop Duncan’s call to raise up 1,000 Anglican congregations and communities of faith during his 5 year ministry. It has been remarkable to see what the Lord has done in this first year as Anglicans across North America have responded to that call.
The Anglican Church in North America began with 703 congregations. Now, there are 607 congregations plus 231 ministry partner congregations across the United States and Canada. That is an increase of 135 Anglican congregations that have been added or planted in North America! (Almost 40 of these are profiled on the Anglican 1000 website under the latest plants section.)
While this is fantastic, there is still a lot of work to be done! It is incredibly encouraging to see how many church planters the Lord is raising up! Since the Anglican 1000 website went live about 6 months ago, we have been contacted by 142 individuals who say that they would like to become a planter! Currently, we are averaging about one a day! Please, be praying for these individuals and for us as we help them connect and begin the process of raising up a new congregation. Also, as we see such interest in planting Anglican congregations, we are asking Anglican church leaders - rectors, bishops, network leaders, and others to begin looking around. To start turning over every stone and see the leaders in their congregations and areas who they can identify, train, and deploy to plant new congregations. We are asking these leaders to prayerfully and strategically work together to raise up new congregations in their regions and are excited to see the cooperation and eagerness all around North America for planting churches and reaching those who are lost!
If you are feeling called to this work as a church planter, a sending church, or as part of a strategic regional initiative, please contact us here.
Posted July 9, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
Multisite Strategy: A Fast-Growing Trend that Affects Planting If the house church is a growing model that needs to be embraced as part of the variety of models being used to plant churches, it is clear that multi-site is a new and widespread phenomena that must be addressed. In fact, many multi-site churches plan on using new and additional sites as the seed of future church plants. However, there is concern that some churches that were formerly focused on church planting are becoming exclusively focused on being multi-site. There are also concerns about the ability of multi-site campuses to adequately contextualize to its local community. Today, there are many churches “developing a growing multisite base and also a parallel church planting network.” Also, categorizing new campuses verses new churches is difficult. For Ed and Warren, “if your new campus has a vision, budget, leader, or board that’s not part of the sending campus, then” you’ve planted a new church. Some advantages of multisite include: accountability, shared resources, the infusion of trained workers, shared DNA, prayer support, a network for problem solving, and no need to “reinvent the wheel.” Of course, many churches are strategically starting multi-site campuses with the goal that they would eventually develop their own vision, budget, and leadership. But, the question remains, when should you plant a church verses launch a campus? A great way to answer that depends on who will be leading the new work. Some leaders are wired to be church planters. Some are wired to lead campuses. Ideally, churches who are pursuing multisite are also planting churches – either through their satellite congregations or a parallel strategy.
What does multisite strategy have to do with Anglican church planting?
How does multisite fit with traditional diocesan or cathedral models?
Posted July 8, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Justyn Terry, Dean and President, of Trinity School for Ministry, is doing a fantastic job! Recently, he was at Christ Church Plano (where I serve) as a guest preacher. He delivered a fantastic evangelistic sermon that God used mightily in the lives of many. People came forward for prayer - including some who came forward to receive Christ for the first time! I also had the opportunity to spend time with Justyn talking about church planting and how Trinity is intentionally raising up planters. He showed me the recent graduating class and pointed out graduate after graduate who is leaving Trinity (some two by two) to raise up a new congregation! I have asked him to provide a guest post for us about all the work going on at Trinity. Enjoy! ~ Daniel Adkinson
Training Church Planters at Trinity School for Ministry
By: Justyn Terry
Training church planters has become one of the primary occupations of Trinity School for Ministry. We have just sent off two church planters to Troy, NY, two to San Antonio, TX, one to St Louis, MO, another is about to go to Virginia, and so the list goes on.
Many graduates who are not currently planting have that in mind for the near future and most of our residential students are considering planting when they graduate. Church planting is in our blood. I was delighted to hear a Bishop say recently, ‘I know that if I drop off a Trinity grad in a cornfield, I’ll have a congregation there within two years’. We love that reputation.
Trinity is committed to training both lay and ordained leaders for church planting in a variety of different venues. Our motto is, ‘Don’t cut the training down – but by all means spread it out.’ There is the MA in Mission (Church Planting Track) for lay leaders and those seeking ordination, which can be completed on-line and in intensives without relocating to Pittsburgh. There are also the MDiv (Church Planting Track) and DMin (Church Planting Track) for clergy. We have just started a bi-annual Church Planting Roundtable, the first of which was held this June and was a great success, bringing together many of the leading Anglican church planters in North America and nearly one hundred of those who are – or soon will be – planting churches.
The first Dean/President of the School was a missionary church planter and we remain missionary church planters to this day. Nine of the eleven full-time teaching faculty have been involved with church planting or restarts. We love both the theory and the practice of church planting and want to do all we can to train and resource those planting churches. To find out more, go to our website.
Posted July 2, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
William Beasley is the leader of the Greenhouse Movement, which is working to raise up a connected regional and missional church in the Midwest dedicated to spontaneous expansion and equipping lay leaders for ministry. Passionate about developing the Midwest Region, as a leader in the Anglican 1000 movement he is helping other regions around North America to develop a regional vision and strategy to begin raising up new congregations in their own contexts. Recently, he attended the Alpha Americas conference and was able to sit down with Tom Herrick of the Titus Church Planting Institute and Bishop Todd Hunter who leads the Churches for the Sake of Others Network as part of the Anglican Mission in the Americas to talk about using the Alpha Course in church planting.
Posted June 29, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
House Churches: Separating Reality from Fiction
It is clear that house churches (also known as organic or simple churches) are on the rise, but the percentage participating in house churches is still small. Furthermore, global church planting movements look more like the house churches in the United States: they “are generally unencumbered by buildings, paid clergy, and denomination credentialing.” Much of the house church literature today deals with whether the house church is better than the existing models of church. Rather than engage that debate, Ed and Warren suggest that we need all of the existing models and more to begin realizing a church multiplication movement. We need traditional churches, house churches, mega churches, micro churches, and everything in between to replicate in order to see a Gospel movement take place. As we give permission for more models of church planting, it is likely that organic or house church networks with a strong DNA of multiplication will be involved. Neil Cole, a champion of this movement, says, “we must lower the bar of how we do church and raise the bar on what it means to be a disciple.” Of course, the simpler the approach, the quicker it can be reproduced, which is why this has potential to fuel a church multiplication movement. Here, Ed and Warren take a quick aside to talk about ecclesiology. It is clear that like house churches, churches do not require buildings, programs, and budgets. But, there does seem to be clear marks which include things like “biblical leadership, covenant community, [and] practicing the ordinances ...” As Ed Stetzer has studied the planters associated with Church Multiplication Associates (Neil Cole’s organization), it is clear that they are actually starting new house churches, that training is taking place, and that discipleship is central. However, there is a dangerous tendency to be inward-focused.
Should we be looking to start Anglican house churches?
What challenges do house churches pose to Anglican ethos and identity?
Can churches be planted without buildings and paid clergy? Is it wise?
Posted June 29, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
By: The Rev. Daniel Adkinson
The Acts 29 Network is at the forefront of church planting in North America. Their visionary, Mark Driscoll, is a rock star in the world of church planting with hordes of fanboys and almost as many critics. The director of the Acts 29 Network, Scott Thomas, is prolific. He produces fantastic resources for planters, church planting churches, and those who lead and coach them. In fact, you should be following @acts29 on Twitter for leads on everything he produces. (While you’re at it, you should be following @anglican1000, as well!) If you are unfamiliar with Acts 29, check out this page on their website to understand their vision, values, and methods. Acts 29 is one of the “big boys” in church planting. They are incredibly well-resourced with visible, influential leaders and a cadre of potential planters knocking on their door everyday to become part of the Acts 29 “Band of Brothers.” Believe it or not, they even have an Acts 29 app with information about their network, a church finder, and media resources.
Yesterday, I went to the AT&T store and picked up my pre-ordered iPhone4. I have had a Blackberry that likes to turn itself off for the last two years. So, this is a real treat! The phone - it’s gorgeous! My 4 year old son, Noah, is already in love with the Lightsaber App. I had my first Face Time call last night with @DHRoseberry (which puts Skype to shame). I also downloaded the Acts 29 App. It’s cool ... really cool ... but I was struck by the description of Acts 29 on the App:
Acts 29 Network exists to start churches that plant churches. God is using out network to influence and shape the church planting culture through both solid theology and contextualizing the gospel. We will not waver on either of these commitments. We won’d water down our theology to reach more people and we won’t attack the culture in the name of Christianity. We are planting churches that are missionaries in their respective communities sent by Christ with the gospel (John 20:21). It is our desire to plant 1,000 new churches in the next 10 years. We desire to make your dream of planting a gospel-driven church come true. We count it an honor to partner with you and to serve you.
Did you catch that? Acts 29, one of the leaders in church planting across denominations, has a goal of 1,000 churches in the next 10 years! In fact, over the past 10 years, they have planted over 200 churches with a total of over 300 congregations in their network. In other words, one of the biggest of the big boys set a goal of planting 1,000 churches in the next 10 years. They have a goal of planting the same number of churches as Anglican 1000, but are giving themselves twice the amount of time! Furthermore, in the last 10 years they have only planted twice as many congregations as the Anglican Church in North America and Ministry Partners have added in the last year! Now, I understand that Acts 29 “grows them big” and that their churches far outstrip us in terms of ASA, budget, buildings, etc. Furthermore, I think they are doing fantastic work and pray that they reach their goal of 1,000 churches in 10 years. I hope they keep planning fantastic boot camps and publishing church planting resources for the benefit of the wider church. However, seeing their goal of 1,000 churches in 10 years in light of our own target of 1,000 churches in 5 years fascinated me.
We are not known as one of “the big boys.” We are not well-known for being church planters, at all. We’re not as good at it as they are. We are not well-resourced - many are still involved in litigation. We are definitely not as cool as Acts 29 or on the bleeding edge of culture like they are. We don’t have big names like Mark Driscoll. We don’t even have a 10 year track record of successful planting like they do. So, what makes us think we can plant 1,000 churches in 5 years? We serve the same God. We are ambassadors of the same Gospel - indwelled and empowered for mission by the same Spirit. Furthermore, we have been humbled and are utterly dependent on God to bless our work. We do have incredibly faithful men and women, faithful leaders, and faithful churches who have stood for truth and are now willing to learn and embrace the call to plant new congregations. We have our own quirkiness and structural challenges as a new work in North America, but - we are firmly committed to planting, faithful to God’s call, and grateful for the vision and leadership of Archbishop Duncan to call for 1,000 new congregations and communities of faith in the first 5 years of the Anglican Church in North America.
What do Anglican 1000 and Acts 29 have in common?
Anglican 1000 and Acts 29 are both trying to plant 1,000 churches and neither one will do it without a sovereign move of God. May God bless the work of church planters and may God continue to give Anglican 1000 and Acts 29 the grace, favor, and courage to both raise up 1,000 new congregations that will faithfully proclaim the gospel to the glory of God for the sake of others..
Posted June 25, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
By: William Beasley
The week of June 14 I had the privilege of joining Ron McCrary, Tom Herrick, John McDonald and Jenni Bartling in Pittsburgh to teach a course on church multiplication at Trinity School for Ministry for their June Intensive. Later in the week Archbishop Duncan, Phil Harrold, Tory Baucum, and Mike Wurshmidt joined us for a TSM’s annual Roundtable which focused on church planting and catechesis.
Monday night began with a workshop at St. Stephen’s Church in Sewickley that 65 local leaders and potential planters attended. Jenni Bartling works for the Diocese of Pittsburgh as Congregational Developer for Church Multiplication. (What a great job title!) She describes the Monday night event:
The energy in that room was palpable. For years we have heard about the African model of church multiplication, but it was a challenge for many in the diocese to wrap their brains around the concept of a lay pastor-led congregation. By the end of Monday night, however, the I-get-it light had been turned on. Lay people CAN begin and multiply new congregations.
My message was simple: The Holy Spirit gives gifts to all his people. The church needs everyone’s gifts. Clergy play a key role to help identify, empower, connect, and give oversight to lay people for leadership roles in church multiplication. Jennifer wrote me about what a student at Trinity School for Ministry and a member of Trinity Church in Washington, Will Burrows, had to say about the workshop:
I was excited by the possibilities of the model for church growth that Beasley presented: a regional parish church with multiple satellite congregations led by lay catechists. I was especially encouraged by the idea that people could start congregations before being trained as catechists. If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll never move forward. We might wonder about the orthodoxy of untrained teachers, but as long as people are reading the Bible together, they will be transformed by it, and this has worked in Africa. I also appreciated the method he suggested for celebrating the Eucharist – that the elements would be consecrated at the parish church and then taken to the satellite congregations to be distributed by lay Eucharistic ministers.
I appreciated how under the leadership of John McDonald Trinity partnered with local churches for their growth and development in practice not just in theory. Students canvassed the communities of Ambridge and Beaver Falls to help gather data that existing churches and a new church plant will use to help them set up their ministries for this fall.
Posted June 23, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Michael Hyatt, the CEO and Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, has a great post out on The Leadership Strategy of Jesus.
Noting that most Christian leaders define success by their ability to reach as many people as possible - Breadth vs. Depth - he argues for a return to the leadership strategy of Jesus which focused on four things that resulted in lasting success:
1. He taught the multitudes - this was the public ministry of Jesus.
2. He mobilized the seventy - this involved a high degree of commitment; Jesus frequently assigned tasks to this group.
3. He trained the twelve - Jesus intentionally invested in the twelve; He lived life with them and replicated himself through them.
4. He confided in the three - Jesus shared his life with, confided in, and was supported by the three.
For a detailed look at these stages, take a look at Hyatt’s post here.
Posted June 21, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Thriving: New Church Survival Rates
A common anecdotal statistic in the church planting community is that “only 20% of church plants survive.” Happily, this daunting stat is no longer accurate – if it ever was. Today, most new churches survive with 92% of new churches surviving after two years, 81% after three years, and 68% into their fourth year. In terms of financial viability, 30% of these churches become self-sufficient in their first year with the percentage increasing incrementally to 70% attaining self-sufficiency by year five. It is undeniable that most church plants that grow larger rapidly benefit from the head start of up-front funding and staffing. So, church plant survivability is far higher than most people think! Furthermore, some of the key factors that contribute to survivability are: realistic expectations, leadership development, proactive stewardship development, and a church planting peer group. Incidentally, a mindset that focuses on addition will focus on surviving. Now that surviving doesn’t seem so unlikely, we need to shift our focus to thriving multiplication!
Posted June 17, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Posted June 14, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Redeemer City to City focuses on church planting for the renewal of global cities and content resources for leaders who want to bring the power of the gospel to every part of life. This ministry of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, NY seeks to catalyze and serve a global movement of leaders who create new churches, new ventures, and new expressions of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the common good. Earlier this Spring, they hosted a North American Network Gathering in Miami, Florida. The audio from this conference is now available on iTunes. There are three key talks:
1) The Challenge of North American Cities by Tim Keller
2) Global Ecosystems by Tim Keller
3) Spiritual Life of a Church-Planter by Chuck DeGroat
You can download these audio files on iTunes using this link. Enjoy!
Posted June 14, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
By: Ron McCrary
Is Archbishop Duncan Serious About Planting Churches?
I am not being disrespectful when I ask the reality-check question: is Archbishop Duncan for real about his bold call for the planting of 1,000 new Anglican congregations and communities of faith in Canada and the United States by 2014? Furthermore, is the leadership of the Anglican Church in North America getting focused in practical ways on planting new churches across North America?
Yes to both questions! Having just attended the Anglican Church in North America’s annual Provincial Council, I have great news to report about where our Province is headed! Perhaps these few highlights will also give you a sense of great hope for the Anglican movement on this continent:
Posted June 11, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Predictors of Success: Recruitment, Assessment, and Deployment
The Leadership Network study on The State of Church Planting U.S.A. took an extensive look at the type and impact of the current modes of assessment, training, and coaching. The study found that assessment is the new normal with 73% of regional denomination agencies reporting that they have formalized church planter assessment systems in place. Secondly, assessment, training, and coaching result in church plants that reach more unchurched persons with a greater potential for survivability. More and more training is moving online. Internships are still few and far between. Thus, it appears clear that there is a need for proper assessment and training. Across the United States, this is being provided in a variety of ways. One of the most popular ways is still a church planting boot camp. There is a more-concentrated variation on this called turbo training (usually a two-day intensive). There are longer training classes that could last for several weeks or months to prepare church planters or provide “just in time” training for new church planters. There are internships and apprenticeships, which is enabling personalized mentoring. Finally, some churches and networks are providing church planting residency programs. These residency programs are very effective, but highly resource-intensive. Almost all of these assume that a church planter assessment has taken place. Assessments help individuals understand more about themselves and their call – including areas for growth. They can also help identify what type of church planting effort best “fits” the potential planner, while averting potential disasters.
What type of assessment and training are you looking for?
What type of assessment and training do you think is the most helpful?
What other predictors of success would you identify?
Posted June 8, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
Archbishop Robert Duncan spoke June 8 to the Annual Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America. Here is his address:
ARCHBISHOP’S ADDRESS
Annual Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America
for the Year of Our Lord 2010
All Saints Pro-Cathedral and Ministry Center
Amesbury, Massachusetts
8th June 2010
Unless the Lord builds the House, their labor is in vain who build it. [Ps 127.1]
It was fifty weeks ago that we gathered to constitute the Anglican Church in North America.
At that time we understood the mission God had for us: “To reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ.“ Knowing what you are sent to do is a great starting point, indeed, it is the necessary starting point for the Christian.
Fifty weeks ago we also understood that it was time for orthodox Anglicanism to come together in North America. One hundred forty years of splintering and dividing – forty years in earnest – needed mending, for Christ’s sake, for the kingdom’s sake, and for our own souls’ sake. The coming together formalized at Bedford, Texas, was no less than a sovereign act of God (done in a people who were willing) for which we ought continually to give thanks and for the strengthening of which we must continually labor.
Posted June 8, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Have you ever wondered what a 21st century version of the Apostle Peter would look like?
Probably, a lot like Michael Bedford. Over the weekend, Michael Bedford, a fisherman and a surfer in Australia was attacked by a large shark. However, the shark didn’t kill him. Instead, despite sustaining serious injuries, he fought the shark off with a well-placed punch, hopped back on his surfboard, and then caught a wave back in to the shore!
For more on this story, check out this article. Happy Monday!
Posted June 7, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
By: Ron McCrary
This time of year my mind can lazily drift into “summertime and the living is easy”; sort of a lullaby time of year. Not at Anglican 1000! Here’s just a glimpse of a few of Anglican 1000’s investments in being a catalyst for raising up 1000 Anglican congregations and communities of faith in North America.
Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America - June 9-10, 2010 in Amesbury, MA: The Council will highlight the work of church planting as the focal work of the Anglican Church in North America. Ron McCrary and William Beasley, on behalf of Anglican 1000, will make two plenary presentations to the assembly.
Church Planting Presentation for the Anglican Diocese of New England - June 10, 2010: William Beasley with Ron McCrary will be making this presentation on behalf of Anglican 1000.
Trinity School for Ministry, June Term on Church Planting - June 14-16, 2010: On behalf of Anglican 1000, Ron McCrary will be one of the faculty for this intensive course.
Church Planting Presentation for Pittsburgh Leaders - June 14, 2010: William Beasley with Ron McCrary will be leading a church planting workshop at St. Stephen’s Church, Sewickley. More details about the event can be found on the Diocese of Pittsburgh Website.
A Roundtable on Church Planting and Catechesis - June 17-18, 2010: Representing Anglican 1000, Ron McCrary will be presenting a paper - Anglican Riches for a New Day. More details about this event and a chance for church planters to receive a $150 Book Voucher can be found here.
Anglican Meet-Up at 2010 Alpha Americas Conference - June 22-23, 2010 in Naperville, IL: William Beasley, Amy Waggoner, and Jed Roseberry will host a gathering for Anglicans especially focused on using Alpha as a church planting tool. Details about this event and the meet up are found here.
The Cascadia Diocese in Formation Synod - June 24-25, 2010 near Seattle, WA: Ron McCrary will be the keynote speaker and present workshops on church planting, evangelism, and spiritual formation.
Anglican Way Institute - July 7-11, 2010 in Dallas, TX: On behalf of Anglican 1000, Daniel Adkinson will be presenting a workshop on Incarnation and Mission: What we can learn (about church planting) from Roland Allen at this Young Adult conference. More information about this event can be found here.
Coast Camp - July 26-30, 2010 in Panama City, FL: As a representative of Anglican 1000, Daniel Adkinson will serve as the camp priest for this Anglican Youth Camp. Details about this camp can be found here.
Planning in Progress - We are also busy this summer planning the 2011 Church Planting Summit, which will feature Tim Keller as the keynote speaker, and regional events across North America to encourage churches to become church planting churches.
Finally, please continue to pray for David Roseberry, our chairman of Anglican 1000. David is continuing to recuperate from successful back surgery. Please pray for healing, rest and patience during this time of very restricted activity, which is so unaccustomed for him.
Posted June 5, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Posted June 4, 2010 · 6 comments · Read more...
The Alpha Course is a phenomenal tool that has been widely used by Anglicans in North America. Many church planters are utilizing the Alpha Course in extremely creative ways to start new congregations and bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, this year’s national Alpha Conference will feature a church planting track to discuss ways to use the Alpha Course in church planting. The conference is June 22-23, 2010 at Calvary Church in Naperville, IL. Many Anglican leaders and church planters are planning to be there. What about you?
Are you going to the National Alpha Conference?
Have you used the Alpha Course in the past? What do you think of it?
How could the Alpha Course be utilized in Church Planting?
Posted June 3, 2010 · 4 comments · Read more...
Kingdom Cooperation: Church Planters Learning Together
With church planting enjoying an elevated status in North American Christianity, it is interesting to note that cooperation is at an all time high. Church planting centers are crossing denominational lines and best practices are being shared widely from a “kingdom mentality” in the church planting community. For example, the Redeemer Church Planting Center in NYC under the leadership of Tim Keller, “provides resources, including financing, mentoring, leadership, and ministers for church plants by Redeemer and by many other churches and denominations.” Redeemer measures its success using three metrics: 1) Are churches reproducing? → if in any given year 10 percent are planting, then the movement is doubling every seven years. 2) Do they have the Gospel DNA? 3) Is the city around the churches improving such that the churches are beneficial to their neighborhoods? These are some of the new metrics that kingdom-minded, aggressive local church and network leaders are using to measure the kind of success that could result in a God-honoring, church multiplication movement. Partnerships are essential to church planting and are currently being realized at the denominational level, intra/inter-denominationally, by local churches, and within the context of apostolic churches. These networks form around common goals and common needs.
How do you think “success” should be measured in church planting?
What are the appropriate metrics?
Are you working with local or regional networks to plant congregations?
Posted June 1, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Many of you have been praying for Ray David, Rhonda, and Matthew Glenn. We asked for your prayers earlier this month here on this blog. Yesterday, May 26, 2010 at one o’clock in the afternoon, Rhonda went to be with her Lord.
Details about the Funeral Service and Visitation can be found on the St. George’s Anglican Church website. Please, continue to pray for Ray David and Matthew and thank God for the way in which this amazing woman died well and glorified the Savior even in the midst of her passing.
Also, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rhonda Lynn Glenn Trust, in support of Matthew’s education and would be greatly appreciated by the family.
Posted May 27, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Check out this article about how Illinois minister Darrel Brandon decides what to put on the church sign each week!
Posted May 24, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
New Planters: Aggressive Local Churches and Church Planting Networks
It is very interesting to note that the leaders in church planting are no longer denominations. Instead aggressive local churches and networks (often attached to such churches) are at the forefront of church planting. Locally, churches and networks are providing the majority of the training and funding for new church plants. By the way, churches who sponsor church plants benefit from it, as well. Research shows that the parent churches are seeing a 22% increase in worship attendance for the five years after sponsoring a plant alongside a 48% increase in financial giving. Currently, church planting is a top priority in North America. However, around the world, church planting movements are taking off. According to missiologist David Garrison, a church planting movement “is a rapid and multiplicative increase of indigenous churches planting churches within a given people group or population segment.” The United States has only seen one true church planting movement when between 1795 and 1810 the Methodists and Baptists combined to start three thousand churches in a fifteen-year span. What do church planting movements have in common? A vital ingredient is “lay empowerment.” According to Ed and Warren, in order for a church multiplication movement to occur today, there must be simple ways to train laypersons that are given permission to begin new congregations. It is clear that aggressive local churches are at the forefront of this kind of training and empowerment. In fact, denominations who are focusing on church planting, are often doing so by leveraging and networking together aggressive local churches and leaders that will birth new churches from their existing congregations.
Do you think it is possible for lay leaders to plant new congregations?
What are the challenges?
How do we effectively train and equip them?
Posted May 24, 2010 · 3 comments · Read more...
A few weeks ago, I was in Pittsburgh and was able to have breakfast with Dean Justyn Terry of Trinity School for Ministry. Trinity School for Ministry, of course, is a leader in training Anglicans along with Nashotah House and several others. The seminaries have been doing some fantastic thinking about how they partner with and support Anglican 1000 as they prepare leaders for Anglican ministry.
I was excited to hear about some of the new emphases at Trinity along with a Roundtable on Church Planting and Catechesis that they are hosting this summer. After the jump find out more about the curriculum review at Trinity, the Roundtable Event, and a way for church planters to get a $150 Book Voucher this summer ...
Posted May 19, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit 2011 will be held January 25-27, 2011 in Plano, Texas. We are excited to announce that Tim Keller will be the featured speaker! The author of numerous books including The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, and Counterfeit Gods, Tim is noted for his ability to win skeptical New Yorkers to faith and partnering with other churches for mercy ministry and church planting. He is the senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and also helps to lead Redeemer City to City (formerly Redeemer Church Planting Center) - an organization which exists to focus on church planting for the renewal of global cities and content resources for leaders who want to bring the power of the gospel to every part of life in order to catalyze and serve a global movement of leaders who create new churches, new ventures, and new expressions of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the common good. Make sure to save the date for this event - more details, including online registration, will be available soon.
Posted May 18, 2010 · 3 comments · Read more...
I am convinced that one of the greatest dangers of the church today is a pervasive bankruptcy of imagination. We are dangerously unable to aid people in courting the realm of possibility. Now, hear me through on this one. I am not saying that we lack ingenuity. If anything, the modern church (particularly in America) has been nothing less than “ingenious” in its seeming omni-ability to change into whatever the culture demands. The upshot, however, has been a state of affairs in which the church has a weakened prophetic voice and presence and thereby flounders in witnessing to another way of living, a way marked by humility, service, and Truth…a way that is truly “good news” to those who encounter it. The culture at large has us “nailed down” and “figured out” and expects that we will not be surprising them anytime soon. I know this because this was my belief regarding the church, that is, until I encountered Wellspring…a place that specializes in imagination.
I began attending Wellspring Anglican Church as a seminary student in the summer of 2007. I was quickly pulled in by the undertow that we call the pastoral staff, and soon began serving as the Director of Outreach, and later as the Missions Pastor. If I had more time and space I would tell you about Jerry (the ex-drug dealer that is now bringing in his old “clients” to meet Jesus), or Marlene (an ex-prostitute who now serves in a park ministering to 80 homeless people weekly), or Wendy (the single mom who came to know Jesus through one of our block parties and helped launch our food bank ministry that now feeds nearly 100 people every week and provides them with groceries, counseling, career support, etc.). But like I said, I don’t have the time or space for that.
You see, as always, God is still up to building his Kingdom, and we at Wellspring have gotten caught up in his mission to Denver. Our leadership knew we would be a “church-planting church,” but this commitment took on new life as we grew from 30 people to about 300, with a “curious” spike in graduates and students from a nearby seminary. To make a long story short, our vision for planting churches grew from a “let’s plant a few churches around Denver” mentality to a “let’s participate in a city-transformation movement” mentality. In other words, we moved from asking what we could “feasibly do” to focusing on what God could do if we allowed him to grow a “Kingdom imagination” within us. The next thing you know, we were committed to CITY TRANSFORMATION 2020, which is our prayerful goal to plant 20 churches in the next 10 years.
We believe this will happen through “three key vitamins.” Kingdom-centered prayer is primary because we firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is the engine of the Church. Fervent disciple-making is foundational because this is our main task as stewards of the Kingdom. Finally, leadership development is crucial because we have been blessed with a significant number of people wanting to pursue pastoral ministry (at least 15). Our goal is to plant churches that are pregnant with other church plants/planters, and we have already begun our first church plant, which is set to launch between Advent and Easter 2011. (check out the plant site). We invite you to pray for us as we seek to imagine a possible world where, imagine this, God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. We also ask for you to pray for God to spark your Kingdom imagination, and who knows…maybe, just maybe, we will be able to bring “good news” to our neighbors after all.
So, what about you? Does your church have a vision for planting new congregations?
Posted May 18, 2010 · 9 comments · Read more...
Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series)
To understand what can be done, take a look at the ministry of Ralph Moore. Since the early 70’s, Moore has planted two churches that have in turn directly multiplied over 70 new churches. However, because those 70 continued to reproduce, his impact now spans 700 churches on six continents, representing more than 100,000 people. In fact, now the movement itself is largely out of his control! Strategically, Moore focuses on discipling his staff. As he develops the leaders on his staff, they disciple volunteer leaders of what he calls MiniChurches. These volunteer leaders, have apprentices who they are discipling. Thus, these MiniChurches make up the training ground for new leaders and are often the foundations of new churches. He points out that congregations and pastors typically use growth as a barometer of health. Moore prefers to measure whether people are learning to reproduce themselves. His focus on discipleship/leadership development is what has produced such fruit in his ministry.
Ed and Warren admit that this paradigm begs a key question: “how long does it take to disciple a person?” When are they ready to lead? If a church multiplication movement is going to occur, then our disciple-making strategy must be strategic, intentional, and full of faith. We must realize that no one is going to be 100 percent ready to start a new congregation. Instead, we must trust that God will guide them in the process after adequate formation.
What do you think? How do you determine when someone is ready to lead?
Posted May 17, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Church planting necessitates creativity and collaboration - particularly when it comes to traditional program areas, such as children’s ministry, youth ministry, college and young adult ministry, etc. How does a new congregation provide for children’s ministry? (Hint: I would start with discipling parents who can intern disciple their children.) What about youth ministry? One congregation in Atlanta has taken the creative approach of partnering with Young Life in their area. So, they go to Young Life camp together as a group with the pastor. In this scenario, the pastor is discipling the students in the congregation, they are going to a top notch summer camp, and the congregation isn’t overextending itself. If you are a planter, looking for these kinds of opportunities, I want to let you know about an Anglican youth camp and an Anglican Young Adult Conference taking place this summer that you can send your people to after the jump ...
Posted May 11, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series)
While the addition of churches yielded fruit, there was not an intentionality to build replication or multiplication into the DNA of the church plant. If new church plants truly are more effective at evangelism (which is backed up by research measured by adult converts), then we need to stop thinking about starting one church and start thinking about starting lots and lots and lots of churches through multiplication. So, Wagner’s famous quote can be improved by acknowledging that “the single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches who in turn reproduce themselves.”
Those called to this kind of work are apostolic leaders. Apostolic leaders don’t want to plant an individual church and be its pastor; they want to ignite movements. Ed and Warren are certain that “God is raising up some who are anointed with a leadership gift, ability to teach and passion for multiplication” to be the apostolic leadership of a church planting movement in the U. S.
What do you think?
In your experience, has church planting led to conversion growth?
What is God doing in your city or region?
Does a church or leader have a call to begin a multiplication movement in your area?
Posted May 10, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
Posted May 7, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
I want to introduce you to Fr. Charles Myers. Charles+ is the assisting priest at St. David’s Church in North Hollywood, CA while also planting a church. He is passionate about Urban Church Planting and ministry in cross cultural contexts.
After the jump, check out his guest post Moses: the Cross Cultural Liturgical Church Planter.
Also, if you are a church planter who would like to contribute to the blog, please let .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)know!
Posted May 7, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series)
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Leadership Network recently conducted internal study of church planting. This study provides the foundation for the statistical research found in Viral Churches. A summary of the study itself entitled State of Church Planting U.S. A., is available as a free download. One of the most surprising findings of the study is that after decades of net decline, there are more U. S. churches being started each year than being closed! Furthermore, it appears that the greatest rate of church planting is occurring through networks and secondarily through denominations. In fact, with this shift, Ed and Warren believe that “we are on the edge of seeing an exponential multiplication movement in the United States.” Ed and Warren define a church multiplication movement as “a rapid reproduction of churches planting churches, measured by a reproduction rate of 50 percent through the third generation of churches, with new churches having 50 percent new converts.” Based on current research, such a movement could occur, but hasn’t yet. In order for it to occur, leaders must begin thinking beyond one-off church plants and start thinking of beginning networks and movements of new churches. Put another way, we need to be starting churches that birth multiple churches, which will plant multiple churches. Church planting churches should be planting multiple churches that will plant multiple churches, rather than starting one-off church plants.
What do you think? What is the difference in church planting and church multiplication? Which one do you think Anglicanism is better suited for? Why?
Posted May 4, 2010 · 5 comments · Read more...
In April, we introduced you to Ray David Glenn. Now, I want to ask for your prayers for him, his wife Rhonda, and their son Matty. This week, Rhonda was hospitalized when doctors detected a tumor in her brain. A biopsy was performed yesterday, but the results are still out. There are daily updates on St. George’s website. Please, lift up the Glenn family, and all those who are leading the charge to raise up Anglican congregations and communities of faith.
Heavenly Father, giver of life and health: Comfort and relieve your sick servant Rhonda, and give your power of healing to those who minister to her needs, that she may be strengthened in her weakness and have confidence in your loving care; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Posted May 1, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
As Ron has pointed out, prayer is vital to the work of Anglican 1000! We ask you to join us in praying that God would raise up Anglican congregations and communities of faith in order to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. Below are a series of prayers for use in private or public worship. Thanks are in order to Canon Julian Dobbs for composing the majority of these prayers and the Rt. Rev. Ray Sutton for his input and review. I commend these to your use and invite you to join me in praying for this important work.
In Christ,
The Rev. Daniel Adkinson
Posted April 30, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
The First in a Series of Blog Posts on Prayer
Intercessory prayer has always preceded and accompanied every great revival. Have you ever read about the first Great Awakening and the hours Jonathan Edwards spent on his knees along with countless intercessors? Massive corporate prayer prepared the way for and supported God’s sovereign movement that swept like fire through our land 250 years ago. We find the same outpouring of intense intercessory prayer before, during and after the Hebrides Revival during the middle of the 20th Century.
There must be a lot of people who have been praying for Anglican Church planting in North America. Nothing else can explain the momentum of Anglican 1000 in only a few months. I’ve been completely surprised by the number of Anglicans and other Christians who want to get in on planting Anglican churches across the North American Continent. This thing is way beyond anything that could happen by mere human cleverness.
Intercessory prayer has already preceded the sovereign movement of God that is resulting in new churches, eager clergy and laity who want to plant Anglican churches, and open doors everywhere we turn. Whoever you are (who have been praying for God’s missionary church planting zeal to erupt among Anglicans) – I thank God for you.
Posted April 30, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Anglican 1000 is committed to providing resources for Anglican church planters. We want to point you to great resources and have a forum for us to hash through things together. So, from time to time, we’ll walk through a book together on the blog. For our first book, we’re going to go through Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers, the new work by Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird. I’ll provide a chapter summary in each post. Then, we’ll have the chance to process it together for an Anglican context. It should be fun! Here is an overview of the new book:
Posted April 28, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
Last week, I was in Orlando, Florida for the Exponential Conference - basically, DisneyWorld for church planters! Church planting is no longer a weird thing people are “called” to if they are unable to secure a “call” to an existing congregation. It’s celebrated and glorified - as it should be! So, we should not be surprised to see a little bit of friendly backlash. Many wonder about the balance of planting new congregations and revitalizing old ones. The joke among the church planting community is that “It is easier to have a baby than raise the dead!” There is a new book out by Mike McKinley playfully entitled Church Planting is for: Wimps. Justin Taylor has posted an interview with Mike alongside some links about the book. Check it out here!
What do you think? Is it more important for the Anglican Church in North America to be planting new congregations or revitalizing existing ones?
Posted April 26, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
For the last two days, I’ve joined over 3000 rabid church planters at the Exponential Conference in Orlando, Florida. Living in community with about 50 Anglican leaders, we have been privileged to sit in dynamic workshops and plenary sessions from some leading practitioners in church planting. At times, the amount of information, people, and volume have been a bit overwhelming, but overall, it’s been fantastic! Special thanks to Tom Herrick and the Titus Institute for Church Planting for hosting the Anglican tribe here at the conference and arranging some special sessions with a few key leaders. We had some private time to pick the brains of Steve Addison and Ed Stetzer, which was fantastic!
Posted April 22, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Ray David is the parish rector of St. George’s Anglican Church in Lowville, Ontario. Passionate about seeing people come to faith in Christ and grow to be more like Jesus and less like the world around them, RD focuses his work at St. Geoge’s on the Great Commission, leadership development, and church planting. Recently, he shared the vision of St. George’s for church planting at the Anglican 1000 Summit. In fact, here is a link to the audio: Isaiah 54 and the St. George’s Story.
Beyond St. George’s he serves on the board of directors for the Anglican Network in Canada. Traveling regularly to resource and develop new missional congregations, he is chairman of Anglican church planting in Canada and a leader in the Anglican 1000 movement. Through this blog, RD will be giving us an inside look at leading a church planting church while filling us in on all that is going on in Canada!
After the jump, check out what he has on the docket for April and why he is so passionate about church planting ...
Posted April 19, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
By: David Drake
Did I hear Him correctly?
Three days ago I sat in the next to last row of a packed auditorium at the New Wineskins Mission Conference in Ridgecrest, NC listening to an African Archbishop talk about what God has been doing in his corner of Northern Nigeria. This humble man began with a brief overview of the challenges facing Nigerian Christians – the violence and persecution, loss of jobs, homes, and loved ones all for the sake of the gospel. And then, without even skipping a beat, he continued . . . “Fifteen years ago there were three in my area of the country, today there are 49. In spite of the challenges, God has done a miraculous work.”
Wait a minute . . . I think I missed what he said . . . There were three what? And now 49 what? Church plants? “Wow! What a remarkable work of God,” I thought to myself. Could an Anglican diocese in North America ever plant 40+ churches in 15 years? I turned to the person sitting next to me and whispered, “Wow, that is a lot of churches.” He turned and looked at me . . . “Churches?” He paused. “I think he said dioceses . . . from 3 to 49 dioceses in the last 15 years. Can you believe that?”
Posted April 14, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
Paul Steinbrueck has posted a great reflection on the leadership lessons we can learn from this dancing guy video. Check out his post here. What do you think?
Posted April 14, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Check out this press release from the Anglican Church of North America:
ACNA News:
“When we began, I issued a challenge that we plant 1,000 new churches in the five years of my service as your Archbishop. It is wonderful to see how much progress has already been made,” said Archbishop Robert Duncan.
New Anglican congregations are springing up all over North America. Since the church’s founding in June of 2009 with 703 congregations, an additional 106 new churches have either joined or have been planted by the Anglican Church, bringing the church’s total number of congregations to 809. “When we began in June of 2009, I issued a challenge that we plant 1,000 new churches in the five years of my service as your Archbishop. It is wonderful to see how much progress has already been made,” said Archbishop Robert Duncan.
Posted April 14, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Last chance to register and attend Exponential, the premier church planting conference in Orlando, FL April 19-22, 2010!
Why go? It’s the largest gathering of church planters on planet earth; it’s a great opportunity to network with leading church planting thinkers and practitioners; and it’s the equipping event of the year for church planters. AND you can get discount rates and group housing in beautiful villas by registering through the Titus Institute for Church Planting. This shared housing allows fellowship and fun with other Anglican church planters at the conference. Only 10 registrations left!
A complete description of this event can be found on the Exponential Conference web site. To receive the discounts however, you will need to register through Titus.
Tom Herrick, the Executive Director for the Titus Institute for Church Planting, says: “I’d like to personally invite you to join Titus at the Exponential Conference. We have taken a group to this conference for the past 4 years, and have never been disappointed. Experienced church planters as well as those newbies seeking to confirm God’s call to plant will leave refreshed, invigorated, and with an arsenal of tools for the next step. Please join us this year!”
If you are an Anglican (or even a wannabe Anglican!) who is feeling called to the work of church planting, you don’t want to miss out on this. In fact, if you’re going, let us know in the comments section!
See you in Orlando!
Posted April 14, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
Posted April 14, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
Posted April 10, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
RELEVANT Magazine featured a story on their website yesterday that identified The Most Misused Verse in the Bible. According to the author, the most misused verse in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Usually this is used innocently to reassure believers that God truly does have a wonderful plan for their lives. Sadly, it is also used to promote various versions of the prosperity gospel. In each of these cases, and everywhere in between, their is great potential for harm when believers get hit with life, suffering, sadness, etc. The false promise of the misused verse will give way to a lack of faith in God - or, at the least, his goodness. Instead of a prophecy pointing towards blessings in the near future, this prophecy came to an exiled, broken people as an exhortation to patient trust in the God who will work despite appearances and on a timeline which often does not line up with our own desires.
Posted April 8, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
For decades strategic church planting has collaborated with suburban sprawl to plant many wonderful churches. However, there has been a recent groundswell challenging church leaders, denominational leaders, and planters to plant urban churches. One of the champions of this has been Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, who leads an urban church planting initiative called City to City. Recently, he posted a blog article about the critical need for urban church planting because of the masses who live in our major cities and the massive influence of these cities.
Another urban church planter, Ian McConnell, is profiled in a two-part article on the Sovereign Grace Ministries blog where he talks about the challenges of urban church planting (H/T Justin Taylor): part 1 and part 2
Posted April 7, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Everyone is busy!
We are all looking for quick, quality resources that will further equip us to do the work that God has given us to do. I want to let you know about a great resource for church planters and those interested in church planting.
Every month, our friend Ed Stetzer, presents a live webcast called The Exchange. The webcast lasts about 30 minutes as he talks about issues relating to church and culture. Ed also takes questions from viewers via a chat feature or Twitter. The next webcast with Ed is today, April 6, at 2 p.m. (CDT). He’ll be talking about the Top 10 Theological Stories of 2009.
Check out the webcast and let me know what you think! Do you like the webcast format? Would this be a helpful format for Anglican 1000 to use? What do you think is the top theological story of 2009?
Posted April 6, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Anglican 1000 is a cooperative initiative to plant Anglican congregations and communities of faith in order to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. One of our primary partners is the Church for the Sake of Others network led by Bishop Todd Hunter. C4SO is doing incredible work on the West Coast and has the goal of planting 200 new congregations (that’s 20% of the Anglican 1000 goal!) Bishop Todd is a new missionary bishop who brings a wealth of experience and gifts as he follows the call of God to plant churches for the sake of others. The first book of his that I read was largely about the focus of the church. In that book, Christianity Beyond Belief, he challenges followers of Jesus to live a practiced faith that is intentionally for the sake of others. He roots the spiritual formation/transformation firmly within a missional framework and the balance of the two is extraordinary!
In his new book, Giving Church Another Chance, he digs further into this balance of spiritual formation/transformation and mission while challenging the hyper-individualism that can run rampant in North American Christianity. ...
Posted April 1, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
The Pacific Northwest and BC in Canada is about as far from Plano, Texas as I can imagine ... but in a way, it is now a second home for Fran and me. We were so blessed to be at the Clergy Conference for our Anglican clergy there. What a group! They are still glowing/gloating over Olympic Gold (most golds ever, and especially the one Gold won on the ice on the last day). They warmly welcomed Fran and me with hearts open wide. In fact, there is something about the Canadian Anglicans that I simply love. I met them en masse in September, 2003 when I flew to Vancouver to invite them to join us at the Plano Conference. I heard their story. I saw their courage. And, as Archbishop Duncan reminded us a month later, courage begets courage. They came to Plano ’03 with a contingent of 45+ and with roaring cheers and standings ovations we began realizing that we were not only continental neighbors, but would become co-laborers here in North America.
In short, the Canadians “get it” and we in the U.S. have so much to learn from them. They seem to truly understand the challenge and opportunities for mission in North America. I had the chance at the clergy conference last week to outline the goals and efforts of the Anglican1000 movement, and, they are fully on board. In some ways, they are leading the charge! In the midst of litigation and re-alignments, they are getting the church planting movement underway. They are fully aligned with Anglican1000 and are very, very excited to be part of it!
Posted March 25, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Saturday, March 13 William Beasley, the missioner for the Greenhouse Regional Church Movement, spoke at Nashotah House to about 45 eager Anglicans leaders (sponsored by SEWAAC, Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of the American Anglican Council). William taught about expanding the church in their region with input from Wisconsin lay catechist, Jan Anderson. Dean Robert Munday celebrated the Eucharist to begin the session and reflected on the parable of the prodigal son and the Father’s desire to reach the lost. Gaining the Father’s heart is the fuel for church planting. As we gain the Father’s heart, we, too, yearn to reach those who are wandering in the far country, far from God. ... more after the jump!
Posted March 22, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
St. Patrick was a dynamic, missionary bishop who was used by God to lead a church planting movement across the green island of Ireland during the fifth century. Originally born a Roman citizen in Britain, he was captured as a young, wealthy, bratty teenager and sold into slavery to a Druid chief in Ireland. During his time of servitude, he began to worship the Living God as he saw the created order around him “declaring the glory of God” - the same one that he had learned about in the catechism, but mocked as irrelevant to his life. He providentially escaped from slavery, returned to Britain, and eventually studied for the ministry. Late in life, he received a call back to those who had enslaved him - a call to take the Gospel to the Irish. By the end of his ministry (of 28 years), he led a movement that saw 700 congregations planted, 1000 priests ordained, about 30-40 of the 150 tribes become substantially Christian, a marked decrease in tribal warfare, and set the course for the abolition of slavery in Ireland in the sixth century!
In his remarkable book The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter recounts the uniqueness of St. Patrick’s method of ministry - The Apostolic Band:
Posted March 17, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
The On the Move Blog will feature regular posts from Anglican leaders throughout North America. We want you to hear about all that God is doing to reach people with the Gospel through church planting. Here is an entry from William and Anne Beasely. William currently serves as a regional missioner for Anglican churches, helping found multiple congregations in the Upper Midwest in connection with ACNA (Anglican Church in North America) through leading the Greenhouse Regional Church Ministry. Greenhouse provides the umbrella for lay catechists, lay evangelists and ordained clergy to help plant and nurture churches by adapting the burgeoning Global South church model to the North American context. William and Anne are a dynamic, apostolic ministry team. Here is a report from their recent trip to Vancouver:
Posted March 15, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Posted March 12, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
Exponential Church Planting Conference
April 19-22, 2010
Orlando, Florida
One of the next steps for the Anglican 1000 movement is meet ups. There are many conferences and events around North America where we can meet up and make connections with other church planters. One of our first meet ups will be at the Exponential Church Planting Conference. I’ve been to this event and wish I could describe this amazing thing that happens in a bigger way every year in Orlando. If you’ve participated in Exponential, you know it is so big and over-the-top that you really have to be there to fully understand what it is. Here are a few phrases to give you a glimpse. It’s the:
• largest gathering of church planters on planet earth;
• place to meet and network with leading church planting thinkers and practitioners from around the globe;
• equipping event of the year for church planters
Posted March 11, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
The featured speaker at the Church Planting Summit was Ed Stetzer. Ed is a nationally recognized church planting authority. He is the president of Lifeway Research and their Missiologist in Residence. Broadly ecumenical, Ed knows the Anglican world and helped us see how we could plant churches and be faithful to the call we have received.
After the Summit, we asked for evaluations. We are pleased to announce that in a random drawing five individuals who filled out the evaluations won autographed copies of Ed Stetzer’s book Planting Missional Churches!
The winners are:
Kevin Allen, Bates Richmond, Pamela Meeks, Don Hamilton, and Kevin Jones
Congratulations!
Posted March 11, 2010 · 3 comments · Read more...
We’ve uploaded audio and video from the Anglican 1000 Church Planting Summit! We are excited to make these available on our website (check out the Realtime section for the content). Also, in the coming weeks, a weekly podcast from Anglican 1000 will be available on our website and through the iTunes Store! Plus, we’ll be featuring some of the latest church plants and posting resources from around North America. Remember, if you are planting a church or have a resource to share, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). God Bless!
Posted March 5, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Dustin Neely is an Acts 29 church planter in Lousiville, KY. He has a wonderful website called Church Planting for the Rest of Us and is often featured in the Acts 29 Resurgence blog. Recently, he had a great post about Leading Your Family Well as a ministry leader:
I was lying on the floor pushing Thomas the Tank Engine around his wooden track and realized my two year old son had been speaking to me for the past 30 seconds, but I hadn’t listened to a word he had said. Instead, I was too preoccupied thinking about the church—precious moments gone, never to return.
Can any other church planters, pastors, or ministry leaders relate? I thought so ...
Posted March 5, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
In the past two weeks, Anglican 1000 has launched this website and held a Church Planting Summit! It has been a busy, rewarding time for all involved. In the next few days, we will be uploading audio of the plenary sessions from the Summit. We will be adding resources to the website and profiling new church plants. We will hear from bloggers across North America about what is happening in their church plant, network, and neighborhood to spread the good news of the Gospel through Anglican Church Planting (set your RSS feeds)! Also, we have had almost 40 people respond to the call on the website to Become a Planter - You will be hearing from us very soon!
Posted March 1, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Wow! What a Summit!
When 325 people in the Anglican world come together, talk together, pray together, and praise our God together, great things can happen. And they did! We heard from some of the most contagiously hopeful church leaders I could have asked for. We saw a vision together…and we are now ‘on mission’. The Anglican 1000 movement has momentum. Praise God for this wonderful blessing!
Posted February 26, 2010 · 3 comments · Read more...
Anglican 1000 is thrilled to welcome over 300 Anglican leaders and church planters to Plano, Texas for a Church Planting Summit!
Feel free to download the agenda and workshops schedule after the jump ...
Posted February 19, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
God is on the move—always! It is His nature. It’s awesome to see tangible signs of God moving upon His people and the work he assigns us. Minutes ago, the 300th person registered for the church planting Summit being presented by Anglican 1000 this coming week, February 22-23 in Plano, Texas. This Summit has been fully in the works for a little over 60 days. We anticipated about 150 people would respond, because there was so little time to get the word out. And now we are privilege to welcome well over 300 people—maybe even 350—when the Summit begins with uplifting worship this Monday morning at 10:00. This can only be by the Lord’s strength and favor.
Posted February 18, 2010 · 2 comments · Read more...
Almost 300 people have already registered to attend the Anglican Church Planting Summit! Have you registered yet? Hope to see you there!
Posted February 17, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
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Posted February 17, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Welcome to Anglican 1000 and the new website. We are proud to make it ‘live’ as we also launch the first Church Planting Summit held this year at Christ Church, Plano. Many of you (nearly 300 so far) have made your plans to be here…and we expect a few ‘walk-ons’! Many more are out in the field and are eager to see the vision and the dream of the Anglican 1000 become a reality.
This website will be our ‘meeting place’ for many things: Information, Connections, Networking, Resources, Great Ideas, Theological Analysis, Anglican Tools and Tips, and anything else that you think can serve the cause of planting or raising up 1000 and more congregations, churches, and communities of faith.
Posted February 17, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
Posted February 4, 2010 · 1 comments · Read more...
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Anglican Mission in the Americas Winter Conference in Greensboro, NC. I am a priest in the AMiA serving at Christ Church Plano. So, it was a real joy to see everyone, to worship together, and to hear about all of the great work being done by faithful brothers and sisters! It was fantastic to reflect on the Lord’s faithfulness over the first 10 years of the AMiA.
Posted February 4, 2010 · 0 comments · Read more...
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