Church Planting & Renewal Conversations

How do you best capture a year’s learning and best prepare for the ministry year to come? It has been said that action – reflection = stagnation while action x reflection = growth. In the Psalms we see a pattern of reflection: looking back to give thanks and gather lessons learned joined with looking ahead, in faith to God’s gracious leading. In this webinar we will coach you through, a simple process of reflection that will help you end stronger and begin clearer.

This past October 17-19, over 100 planters, network and ministry leaders gathered in St Louis to collaborate, connect and catalyze for the advancement of the kingdom. On this webinar, we will hear from some of those who participated in this event intending to continue the conversation during The Summit. This webinar will not only recap what was heard but invite others to contribute their thoughts.

We often speak of the need for multicultural congregations to address the issue of Sunday morning segregation. We likewise express concern for pastoral loneliness that inhibits well-being. Is there not then value in forming a multi-ethnic church planting team? On this webinar, we will be joined by multi-ethnic pastoral partnerships which see their relationships as public vehicles to demonstrate gospel reconciliation and mutual submission and celebrate the diversity made possible by the gospel.

South Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing groups in the US, whose numbers have almost tripled in the past 25 years. What may not be as well known is that a growing number of planters and pastors are seeking to reach this community. Join us on October 12th at 2pm ET for a conversation regarding this exciting opportunity.

Many of the open PCA churches would benefit from the ministry of an Interim Pastor. So why does Interim work happen so infrequently? Sometimes churches don’t want to admit they need help. Other times churches or Presbytery Shepherding Committees don’t even know that Interims are available and willing to help. Tune in to hear more about this important ministry Flourish Coaching is now doing in PCA churches.

What does it look like to come out of a season of rest and reengage in ministry? How do you capture and apply the lessons learned? What is needed to make changes, manage expectations, and set a course for the next season of ministry? Join the conversation as Vincent J. Tauriello, MNA Coaching Specialist, and Chris Vogel, of NXTGEN Pastors, lead the discussion on Re-entry from Sabbatical or Summer Break.

Tensions in ministry take a toll on a pastor. As the pastor is called to serve others, he often pays little attention to his own well-being. RBI’s recent study and interest in holistic health that leads to flourishing will be the topic of this conversation.

When we think of church planting we immediately talk about church planters, those pastors who are called to organize a church. However that is never the work of one person, but a team. Hear from men and women who have been a part of church plants as they share their perspectives on what it means to be a part of a new church.

Just as much goes into pastoral formation, so also developing a pastor to be a church planter requires development. The Center for Church Planting at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC provides both the theoretical and the hands-on experience needed to develop the core competencies of their students. In this webinar, the Director, Dr. Dean Faulkner, along with students and plants, will discuss the benefits of the program at RTS-Charlotte.

The world around us is in flux. Unfortunately, pastors become preoccupied with what goes on within the church that they ignore the world around them. Evangelism Today guides pastors to engage their parish, the world outside the walls of the church building. Join us to hear stories of what is being learned by those who are part of ET’s residency program.

Church planting in any context has its challenges. Planting in a rural environment presents its own difficulties beyond the common issues faced when planting in a suburban or urban context. For this reason, special attention is being paid by those outside urban centers. This webinar will feature Alan Foster, MNA’s Church Planting Resources Director, and Corey Pelton, Rural Church Development for the Tennessee Valley Presbytery as well as others planting in contexts greatly in need of the gospel as well in need of those gifted to serve in this context.

Covenant Theological Seminary has a long history of developing church planters. Now with Dr. Robert Kim at the helm, the Church Planting Track provides the tools necessary to become church planters who start gospel-preaching churches, and to become movement leaders for church planting and multiplication. Join the conversation with Robert Kim, and CTS alumni and students Craig Harris, Nathan Arnold, and Kyle Lindgren to hear what the Lord is doing.

Transitions in ministry are necessary, as there is a time and season for everything under the sun, yet they are hard and challenging. They can lead to hurt and harm or they can be opportunities for growth, new possibilities, and gratitude. Come join us on Wednesday, January 26 at 2pm ET as Vincent J. Tauriello, MNA Coaching Specialist, and Chris Vogel, of NXTGEN Pastors, along with their guests lead a webinar on Navigating Transitions in Ministry.

Starting a church is also starting a business, requiring legal, denominational, financial, HR, donor, data and communications systems, and processes to enable your church to flourish. Among the options today for managing the business side of your church plant is outsourcing, What does that look like? What are some of the advantages and/or disadvantages as compared to do-it-yourself, volunteers or in-house staffing?

Coaching isn’t only an excellent way to help leaders grow and develop personally and professionally. It is also an essential set of skills leaders can learn and practice to better serve others. We lead and influence people primarily through our conversations. Ministry is about people. In this webinar, Coaching Skills for Ministry we will consider how to improve the quality of your conversations and the impact of your ministry by employing coaching skills. Come join MNA Coaching Specialist Vincent J. Tauriello, MDiv, ACC, Leadership Coach Alyson J. McEvoy, MBA, and Director of NXTGEN Pastors Chris Vogel, MDiv on Wednesday, November 10th from 2:00-3:00 EST.

Central Florida has almost 10 million residents and is one of the fastest-growing parts of our country, looking to double in the next 25 years. The Florida Church Planting Network longs to see a Gospel-Centered Church in each Florida Community to meet this opportunity. Come listen to three diverse planters in different communities: Russian, Hispanic, Haitian, and a retirment community.

As pastors today navigate the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous waters of a post-Covid world, effective team leadership, teams, and teamwork will make all the difference. In this webinar, Coaching for Teams, we will consider how team coaching can play a vital role in helping you and your teams (i.e., staff, session, ministry teams) work more efficiently and effectively to deliver meaningful ministry within the team and outside the team to the congregation and community you serve. Come join MNA Coaching Specialist Vincent J. Tauriello, MDiv, ACC, and Director of NXTGEN Pastors Chris Vogel, MDiv on Wednesday, October 15th from 2:00-3:00 EST.

Pastoral transitions can often be turbulent waters. This is, even more, the case when moving from the founding pastor to the successor. In this webinar we will be joined by Chris Polski, whose recent work on this topic will help us consider the principles necessary for healthy church culture to make any pastoral transitions work more smoothly. We will be joined by others who have navigated these waters.

Pastors today are so busy that the idea of adding two more meetings a month for coaching seems unreasonable. But in our VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) it is no longer a luxury but a necessity to have a skilled coach in your corner to help you navigate this new pastoral landscape. In this webinar, Coaching for Pastors, we will consider how professional coaching can play a key role in helping you to be more efficient and effective in your work of ministry and in your growth and development as men and ministers of the gospel. Come join Vincent J. Tauriello, MDiv, ACC and Charles Hooper, MDiv, MCC on Wednesday September 15th from 2:00-3:00 EST.

For the past year, The 5 Points Church Planting Podcast, hosted by Hunter Brewer and John St. Martin discussed church planting with those engaged in planting. This webinar will highlight what they are doing to help get the word out, distill some of their wisdom, and keep the conversation going forward.

BALM (Baltimore Antioch Leadership Movement) exists to multiply cross-cultural leaders for Baltimore and beyond. Join leaders and students from BALM to hear how this model of pastoral preparation is being used in Baltimore.

The Grace Network, a collection of Canadian churches and pastors that are reformed, missional, gospel-centered, and prayerful is on an ambitious plan to train more young people for ministry, plant more churches, help churches get back on mission, and multiply churches that are thriving.

To prepare future leaders and nourish present servants, NXTGEN Pastors, provides mentored cohorts as a framework for pastoral health and longevity. Join a number of NXTGEN mentors and cohort members as they discuss the benefits of NXTGEN.

“Hard skills get you hired, soft skills get you fired.” True in life as it is in ministry. Developing tomorrow’s church planters and renewal pastors takes more than mastering exegesis, theology and homeletics. Working through emotional intelligence, spiritual formation, self-care, cultural intelligence, leaders, marriage and family are foundational to pastoral longevity.

Most pastors go into ministry to preach, disciple, and minister to people and can be shocked by how much leadership and management are involved in the work. This has only been magnified a hundredfold during Covid with many leaving formal ministry as a result and no immediate end in sight. In this second webinar on Resiliency in Ministry we consider Leadership and Management as a key element in a resilient ministry and will address such topics as: the importance of adaptive leadership, function vs. form in ministry, and how professional coaching can play a key role in helping leaders. Come join Vincent Tauriello MDiv, ACC and Charles Hooper, MDiv, MCC on Wednesday March 10th from 2:00-3:00 EST.

Hear the news of church planting movements from across the denomination. Larry Hoop, writing for ByFaith, has interviewed several leaders and this is an opportunity to listen and ask questions, to hear how the Lord is at work.

Launching the first public worship service is one of the most significant and strategic milestones in the life of a church plant; a once-in-a-church’s-lifetime opportunity that should be maximized for ministry fruitfulness. Launching the first public worship service is one of the most significant and strategic milestones in the life of a church plant; a once-in-a-church’s-lifetime opportunity that should be maximized for ministry fruitfulness.In this webinar, Ted Powers, Director of The Midwest Alliance to discuss an upcoming virtual training he is offering April 19th. Tim Rice, pastor of Trinity Presbyterian in Lakeland, FL will also join us. Tim brings 25 years of experience in planting and training planters.

Most pastors go into ministry to preach, disciple, and minister to people and can be shocked by how much leadership and management are involved in the work. This has only been magnified a hundredfold during Covid with many leaving formal ministry as a result and no immediate end in sight. In this second webinar on Resiliency in Ministry, we consider Leadership and Management as a key element in a resilient ministry and will address such topics as the importance of adaptive leadership, function vs. form in ministry, and how professional coaching can play a key role in helping leaders. Come join Vincent Tauriello MDiv, ACC, and Charles Hooper, MDiv, MCC on Wednesday, March 10th from 2:00-3:00 EST.

Clint Wilcke, Director of the Mid-South Church Planting Network will be joined by planters and movement leaders from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and westerns Tennessee to discuss what is happening in that region and what the plans are for the future.

Thriving, not just surviving in ministry, is a major issue in our day. Building on the excellent research of The Lily Foundation and captured in the book Resilent Ministry, this series on coaching for resilience will examine the importance of self-care. Whether coaching someone or just seeking to figure out how to endure in ministry oneself, this first topic is one most Christian leaders too often ignore, to their detriment. Please join us for our webinar on Wednesday February 10 th, 2:00-3:00 PM EST in which we will discuss “Self-Care” as a key element of a resilient ministry.

Church planting is often full of surprises. For all of our planning, God opens and closes doors. This MNA Conversation continues with Benjie Slaton, Church Planter of Grace & Peace in Ooltewah, TN showing how, through a tornado, a segment of Benjie’s community was revealed. This lead not only to his church initiating a response but partnering with others in the Chattanooga region to bring the Gospel to those in need. Come hear how MNA’s ESL Ministry and MNA’s Immigrant and Refugee Ministry are great partners in serving your community.

Planting a church can be a whirlwind. What happens when God brings a tornado into a church planter’s community? In God’s providence, the tangible effects of the gospel came because a tornado leveled neighborhoods in the Chattanooga area on Easter Sunday, 2020. Benjie Slaton, Church Planter of Grace and Peace in Ooltewah, TN joined forces with Arklie Hooten and his team with MNA’s Disaster Response. Hear and see how the Lord used a disaster in the early stages of the pandemic, to reach people.

The context and culture in which a new church begins is an important consideration. Planting churches in small-town and rural America require specific considerations. Join the conversation with several small-town church planters as they discuss the particular challenges and rewards of rural church planting.

How might an evangelism cohort expand your way of engaging those outside the church? Join present and previous residents of Evangelsim Today’s Residency Progam tell their stories of case studies, introspection, and discovery and how it has sent them out as scholar-evangelists. Join Al Dayhoff and others to this conversation.

While there is tremendous growth among Hispanic Pentecostals in the US, the PCA does not see such growth. At the same time, there is interest among some Pentecostals for the robust Reformed theology and the health of Presbyterian polity. This webcast will feature several leaders who will speak to this shift in thir own lives and how the PCA moving forward might see more Hispanic leaders in the future.

Vince Lombardi once said that leaders are made, not born. There is much that goes into molding a Christian leader. If we are to reach our communities for Christ, we need to recruit and develop them to reach the next generation. This webinar will discuss our efforts in this area in the past and how we need to position ourselves for the future.

What does it mean to cast a multi-ethnic vision, to deal with cultural learning, conflict, and fatigue? This webinar will examine what it means to plant and pastor in a cross-cultural context.

Pastoral transitions are often trying times. The loss of a beloved pastor or the trauma of change due to difficulty often leaves the congregation and leadership at a loss as to how to respond. There is also a future orientation… determine what type of pastor is needed to lead into that future, and then coach the search team in the process of finding that person. There is wisdom in a skilled interim pastor to guide through the transition. As churches have not often considered the value that an interim pastor brings, such as experience, wisdom, and guidance to churches, this webinar’s panel are two PCA pastors who serve as interims and Dave Jenkins, Director of Pastor and Regional Partnerships with Interim Pastor Ministries.

The PCA’s Assessment Center has been considered one of the best tools for evaluating potential church planters. Building on that foundation, there is an expansion of new tools and methods underway to better serve the future planters and the church as a whole. This webinar will present the new tools and the leaders in the PCA’s assessing process.

Having a coach to guide a planter through the early process of getting a church off the ground is understood to be critical. Yet are planters the only ones who need a coach? Vinny Tauriello, the new MNA Coaching Specialist, will discuss new plans for expanding coaching in MNA to go beyond just church planters. Charles Hooper, of Hooper Leadership Coaching will also be with us to discuss the importance of coaching.

Conflict takes its toll, not just in the loss of focus and possible damage to relationships, but there is an emotional toll that takes on pastors and church leaders. While conflict is a given in any community, we live in a time in which conflict seems to abound as we are all wearied by national and natural events.

“Urban Ministry” is too broad a phrase as there are varied demographics within cities, and urban problems in both suburb and rural environments. Our discussion today will flow from the New City context and will primarily refer to “inner city” evangelism, as we pursue discipleship and church planting in marginalized neighborhoods, among people who are not flourishing- but/and yet with the active participation of middle-class believers integrated into the congregation.

While there is much focus on how to gather and re-gather during this upheaval, we need reminding that while the security of our systems is upended, we are secure in our Father’s care. Planters are enduring rough times as they often do not have a physical place to gather, even if in reduced numbers. Those they already gathered do not yet have the depth of relationships to push through times of separation. It is important for planters to remind other planters of how God has met them by His grace and mercy in this season. While tactical and practical suggestions are needed, we need to hear how God is at work in the lives of those in our plants and in our own hearts.