A special gathering of Presbyterians with a passion for creating new churches

We Presbyterians need to begin more new churches, and we need to do a better job of starting them!  If you agree with that sentence I would like you to invite the right team, of at least three people from your presbytery, to come to Dulles, Virginia May 17 to May 20 for a very special gathering of Presbyterians with a passion to serve the Lord through the creation of new churches. The team you invite could be members of the committee within your presbytery that is responsible for new church development, or you may have a church within your presbytery that is active in starting new churches, and the team could come from that group.

Reading the Mission Program Grant’s annual progress reports gave the same answer to the question, “If a similar project were planned now, describe what you would have done differently.”   This gathering will address the issues raised by our new churches.  Also, the gathering is designed for teams, rather than individuals, for two reasons: part of the time will be for your team to discuss with a coach your presbytery’s vision and plans for starting new churches; and I believe that if three people get excited about new directions and ideas the chances of their impacting a presbytery’s or church’s ministry plan are far greater than if just one person comes.

We will begin on May 17 at 8:00 p.m. with worship and end on Sunday May 20 at noon after worship.  We will meet in the offices of Riverside Presbyterian Church using local delis and coffee shops for breakouts. Some of the topics we will address are:

• “Helping Your Presbytery or Church Develop a Culture of being Missional” led by Jim Meade, Presbytery Executive of Pittsburgh Presbytery
• “Creating Disciple Making New Churches” led by Glenn McDonald, pastor of Zionsville Presbyterian Church
• “Are We Seeking God or Asking God to Bless Our Plans?” led by Ray Jones, pastor of Macland Presbyterian Church
• “Developing an Intentional Plan” led by Ed Harding, pastor of Prince George’s Community Church
• “Hiring An Evangelist, Not A Pastor” led by Elizabeth Brookens-Sturman, pastor of Brambleton Presbyterian Church
• “Possibilities for Immigrant New Churches” led by Hector Rodriguez, Director of Hispanic Congregational Enhancement, National Ministries
• “Protocols That Work for Starting New Churches” led by Brian Clark, pastor of Riverside Presbyterian Church and General Assembly Field Staff for New Church Development
• “Biblical Passages That Should Direct New Church Development” led by Stan Ott, Vital Church and Teaching Pastor of Vienna Presbyterian Church
• “How Can We Fund This?” led by Tim McCallister, Associate for Program Grants
• Worship will be led by Noemi Rodriguez, worship leader of Nueva Rivera
• New Church Coaches and presenters will be available to discuss your presbytery’s possibilities

Space will be limited to the first 50 people who register to assure we have the ability for our presenters and coaches to meet individually with the teams.

There will be no fancy color brochure for this event, so don’t wait to register or call if you have questions.  If you would like to know more about our purpose and goals , or call me at (703) 444-3528. For registration questions contact Sherry Britton, (888) 728-7228, x5247.