αγγελος is church planting training  that presents a theological and practical trajectory for missional church planting.

αγγελος is unique in comparison to other church planters training opportunities available.

First, there will not be hundreds of people here. More than likely, there will be somewhere between 20-30. This means plenty of room for dialog, conversation, and questions amidst all of the planned training.

Second, everyone stays, eats, and prays together for the week. Most people leave with better friendships, some of which will be life-long, because they started the church planting journey – in this way – together.

Third, there will be a host of different equippers with unique planting stories. This gathering (as in all we try to do) isn’t dominated by just a few individuals or models of church planting. You’ll hear from a variety of planters, both seasoned and new, and learn from their experiences and approaches.

Finally, we hope to provide a good balance of theology, theory, and practicality. Each component is vital
We hope you’ll join us in May!

Topics Covered:

• Planting Missional Churches
• Planting Equipping Churches
• Staying Healthy While Planting
• Developing a Philosophy of Discipleship
• Incarnational Ecclessiology: Reading Your City
• Developing Models & Approaches
• Developing Your Team
• Navigating Team Dynamics
• Fundraising for Church Planting
• Administrative & Legal Issues
• Keeping Heart Till the End ….

General Information

Location
Richmond Hill Urban Retreat Center (www.richmondhillva.org).
Richmond Hillis a former monastery, located in the heart of the city of Richmond. Most people will be sharing a room with one other person throughout the week. All meals are all included as part of our stay and will take place on the grounds.

Registration
Email info@ecclesianet.org to confirm your spot followed by payment. A 20% deposit is required within two weeks of registration to qualify for rate and space. Full payment due May 1st, 2010.

Arrival/Departure
You should plan to arrive at the Richmond Hill Urban Retreat Center (www.richmondhillva.org) between 4.00 and 4.30 on Monday, May 17th. Please be prompt because we will start with an orientation to the week around 5.00 that evening. We plan to finish on Friday at approximately 4.00 pm.

What to Bring:
Richmond Hill provides sheets and towels for each guest. You will need to bring all other toiletries with you. In addition, please bring along any relevant documents and resources related to your particular church plant. This could include vision pieces, working budgets, drafts of values, demographic information, etc. Obviously, you should bring a copy of the scriptures with you.

Preparing to Come:
Spend some time in prayer, perhaps asking specific people to pray for you during this week. This will be a very “intense” week with a full schedule, but our hope is that it will launch God’s church planting efforts through you in an effective way.

Pricing

• Super Earlybird – before Feb 1, 2010 – $499
• Earlybird – before Mar 1, 2010 – $599
• Regular – before May 1, 2010 – $699
• Late – after May 1, 2010 – $799

A Word from a previous participant:

From the moment I arrived, I began to realize – this is a room of like-minded individuals intent on seeing the Gospel spread and healthy, missionally-minded communities planted. And in the lonely world of church planting, I can think of few things more valuable than having a handful of friends like that.

The boot camp itself was a great mix of the theoretical and the practical, the motivational and the devotional. Times of prayer, times of discussion, lots of learning and lots of dreaming. This was a healthy mix of seasoned practitioners and newer church planters all sharing what they’ve learned. And everyone was invited and expected to do the same.

The setting of the Richmond Hill community was wonderful with its rhythm of prayer and contemplative atmosphere. Hard to imagine a better setting for listening to God and seeing what it is He might be birthing through you.

-Bob Hyatt, Portland OR

• Reflections on the Ecclesia National Gathering — Ben Sternke
• Ecclesia Network National Gathering — Bob Hyatt
• Dallas Willard on Missional Evangelism – Willard at Ecclesia Network National Gathering — David Fitch
• Preaching for the Missional Church: One More Tidbit from Dallas Willard at the Ecclesia Network National Gathering — David Fitch
• Ecclesia National Gathering, Part 1 — Doug Paul
• Ecclesia National Gathering, Part 2 — Doug Paul
• Ecclesia National Gathering 2010: Missional & White — Drew Hart
• The Non-Cynical Conference — Geoff Holsclaw
• Impressions of Ecclesia — Jason Salamun (just added!)
• reflections from the 2010 ecclesia national gathering — John Chandler
• Ecclesia National Gathering Thoughts — JR Briggs
• Affirmed in My Craziness — JR Briggs
• 2010 Ecclesia National Gatherings — JR Rozko
• Knowing Christ Today: Notes from Talk by Dallas Willard, Part 1 — JR Woodward
• Ecclesia National Gathering & Diversity & Dallas Willard — Todd Hiestand

(Clearly, many of us aren’t very creative in the Blog Titling department…) If you are aware of others that we have missed, please leave a comment on this post and we’ll add them to the list.

Focused Session # 1:
Practical Steps to Growth in the Spirit – Ben Sternke (Iowa A)
What NOT To Do When Church Planting – Bruce Hopler (Iowa B)
Membership in the Missional Congregation – Winn Collier (America A)
Developing Reproducing Disciples – Bob Hyatt (America B)
Developing a Contextual Church – Bob & Mary Hopkins (OHIO Room – This Room)

Focused Session # 2:
Evangelism Strategies– Bob Hopkins (Iowa A)
Worship, Liturgy, Mission – Geoff Holsclaw (Iowa B)
Explorations in Missional Theology – David Fitch (America A)
What To Do When The Tank Is Empty – Keith Matthews (America B)
Christianity In A Pluralistic Age – Dallas Willard (OHIO Room – This Room)

Focused Session # 3:
Evangelism Strategies II – Bob & Mary Hopkins (Iowa A)
Lasting in Ministry: Lessons From Ignatius – JR Woodward (Iowa B)
Creative Missional Leadership Teams – Todd Hiestand (America A)
Moving Towards Bi-Vocational Ministry – Geoff Holsclaw (America B)
Christianity in a Pluralistic Age – Dallas Willard (OHIO Room – This Room)

Focused Session # 4:
Missional Communities Roundtable – Doug Paul (Iowa A)
Practical Steps To Growth in the Spirit – Ben Sternke (Iowa B)
Biblical Social Justice – Aaron Graham & Gary Alloway (America A)
Coaching in the Missional Congregation – Brian Hopper (America B)
Developing a Contextual Church – Bob & Mary Hopkins (OHIO Room – This Room)

As the 2010 National Gathering kicks off this week, we are excited to launch a liveblog to extend our experience beyond the room we gather in. It’s designed to function somewhat as a collaborative blog, and somewhat as an encased social media platform. We hope it can extend our learnings and conversations together.

How it works

Gathering participants can register for the site to post updates. If you are going to be at the Gathering, you can register here. Once you register and log in, you will see a post box at the top of the home screen. Any entries you post will automatically be added to the site without refreshing.

Non-attendees are welcome to participate by leaving comments on the attendees’ posts. No registration will be necessary, though there may be a delay for your first comments to appear until they have been moderated.

Ecclesia Network Liveblog

We have all been touched by the tragedy in Haiti and most of us feel drawn to be of help somehow. But what is the best way to help in this situation? Michelle Singletary in an article for the Washington Post says Haiti earthquake brings out generosity, and scam artists. So true. Which is why it is good to be networked with my friend Bruce Hopler who pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Columbia, Maryland. Bruce and his congregation have been working in the Dominican Republic for many years. The congregation Bruce serves is a part of the Ecclesia Network and their organization, the Del Comino Connection, is in a unique position (sharing the island with Haiti) to help people in Haiti in wise ways.

I received an email from Bruce on Friday on how Dominican Republic organizations, in an effort facilitated by Esperanze Intl. and including Compassion International, Food for the Hungry, World Vision, Healing Waters and the Red del Camino Network churches developed a two phase action plan.

Here is what his partners in Dominican Republic wrote him:

Phase one involves funneling locally purchased relief supplies through churches, ministry partners and community-based organizations connected to the coalition in Haiti. The immediate request from our partners is cash donations so that we can purchase supplies in Dominican cities along the border with Haiti. From previous experience, we have learned that containers sent from abroad take up precious time in transport, customs processing, and transport to the emergency site.

Phase two of the plan will draw from the assessment and mapping currently happening in Haiti. Once emergency processes are met and condition are stablized, we will be requesting in-kind contributions.

Please go to their site to download a pdf file with more details as well as giving donations to the Haiti Disaster Relief Fund, knowing that it is going to meet needs wisely.

JR Briggs, a pastor at the Renew Community in Lansdale, PA, just published a great blog post beginning to address this question here.

It’s also home to the first Ecclesia church plant in Indiana. Ben & Deb Sternke are walking with a small core team in starting Christ Church.

Life on the Vine is co-pastored by Geoff Holdsclaw, Matt Tebbe, and Dave Fitch. They are in the process of helping to start two new churches in the Chicago area in the next two years. We are excited to join with them in multiplying gospel communities throughout the Mid-West.