Convergence Conference

The Convergence is a free two day event that is designed to help church leaders recover ancient pathways for formation and mission in contemporary ministry by bringing together Scripture, Spirit, and Sacraments. Register before October 1st to receive a free digital copy of Winfield Bevins' Our Common Prayer: A Field Guide to the Book of Common Prayer.Your only event expense will be lunch in the dining hall if you choose to participate in either of the talkback lunches. The guest price in the dining hall is $6.75. 

https://myats.asburyseminary.edu/event-registrations/2016-convergence

Always Forward Church Planting Event

Learn helpful strategies and develop useful tools to plant a healthy church (Aug. 25-27, 2016) in Denver, CO.

Are you discerning a call to plant a church, but not sure where to start? Is your church looking to learn how to grow and multiply in your local community? How can your diocese best raise up and send out church planters? How can you become a better team leader?

Get answers and meet other church planters at the Always Forward Church Planting Conference on Thursday, August 25 - Saturday, August 27, 2016, at Wellspring Anglican Church in Denver, CO.  

Always Forward is the official church planting arm of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). The national conference will provide four tracks of resourcing and discussion for the different lenses of church planting:

Track 1: Current Church Planters - For planters already in the field, content will address the practical work of starting a new church;

Track 2: Potential Church Planters – For those discerning a call to church planting, we will teach on the core character and competencies needed for church planting;

Track 3: Churches That Want To Plant Churches – For churches who want to multiply, this track will discuss models, processes, and best practices for church planting churches; and

Track 4: Church Planting Leaders – Designed to equip diocesan and network leaders to develop the proper convictions, culture, constructs, and collaboration to cultivate an environment for church planting. 

To register for the conference, click here. The cost is $150 and includes all conference materials as well as lunch and dinner on Friday. Scholarships are available.

Click here for more information on hotel accommodations. Host homes are also available on a limited basis for active church planters. Contact Dan Alger at dan.alger@anglicanchurch.net for more information.

Always Forward is a collaborative effort of the province, dioceses, local churches and people of the Anglican Church in North America working together for the planting of new Gospel-centered, sacramental, missional churches throughout North America. Click here to learn more.

Seasons of a Church Plant

New churches go through different seasons of growth, maturity, and development. Navigating these seasons are incredibly important for a church’s longevity and health. Most books and resources are about how to launch a church, not how to sustain, grow, and mature. In fact, very little is written about the seasons of church planting.

I. Seasons of Church Planting (each has its own challenges, trials, and changing dynamics)

1. Conception

In this phase, God calls a leader (or leaders) to begin a new church and begins to clarify the specifics of their vision. An initial core of people is gathered, a meeting location is secured, some ministries begin to form, and funding is acquired.

2. Birth

In this season, the church goes from being a concept to a reality, opens itself up to invite in the greater community, and focuses its attention on evangelism, growth, and implementation of new systems and leaders.

3. Infancy

In this season, the attendance settles into a somewhat stabilized pattern, longer-range planning begins, new programs are added, and administrative structures grow to prepare for numerical growth and evolving vision.

4. Adolescence

In this season, church attendees begin rising up into positions of greater leadership, church government begins to form, and church attendance and financial giving begin to increase.

5. Maturity

In this season, additional staff is added, the church gains confidence that it now has sufficient stability to exist indefinitely, church government and leadership are solidified, church attendance and giving become strong, and the church is now independent and able to self-govern and self-finance. It is also common for churches in this season to purchase their own facility.