Friday Workshop Sessions 1, 2 (3:30-4:20, 4:30-5:20)
Finding & Developing Pioneering Leaders (Room 326)
Jo Saxton
If our local churches are to reach their local community, we need pioneering leaders. But these leaders are not always the ones who volunteer to sustain the existing programs and ministries. Yet, the Holy Spirit gifts people in almost every congregation to move out in mission. These pioneering leaders simply need to be discovered and developed. This session will explore a simple and transferable path for raising up leaders in the local church for God’s mission in the world.
Imagination: Our Underdeveloped Key to Essential Mission (Garage)
Brian Sanders
In a context of constant change, the role of creativity and imagination has quickly become essential for effective mission. This seminar will explore the relationship between faith and imagination in the work of mission. We will consider how to grow and cultivate an imaginative soul, a creative team and a beautiful mission.
Making the Mixed-Economy Work (Room 350A)
Graham Cray
Every church needs to ask itself the question ‘Who will never be reached if we only practice the models we already know. ‘Mixed economy’ is much more than a device to allow new and existing forms of church to coexist under one local leadership. It is a vision for an interdependent missional church to reaching and serving its community through both established entities and fresh expressions of church. This workshop will address the leadership skills needed for the vision to become a reality.
That’s Amore: A Theology of the Domestic Church (Room 130A)
Renzo Bonetti and Tory Baucum
In the mixed-economy, we often start with the established or inherited church as the convener of a large gatherings that can potentially seed multiple smaller gatherings. But what if the inherited church is actually the reverse? In this session, we will see how the inherited church is a collection of domestic churches who are learning to love as God loves.
The Economics of Fresh Expressions: What’s the Bottom Line? (Room 342)
Shannon Hopkins and Carey Sims
How do we resource and sustain the mission? The economics of fresh expressions requires creativity. It’s a combination of time, talent and resources. And sometimes, our resources and assets are different than we think. Learn how missional entrepreneurship can propel and sustain fresh expressions of church.
Preparing the Anchor Church (Room 340)
Elaine Heath
In this workshop we will focus on helping an established congregation prepare to anchor a Fresh Expression of church that meets beyond the walls of the church. We will discuss how to create buy-in and a possible strategy moving forward.
Something Old, Something New: Sacramental Fresh Expressions (Room 303)
Winfield Bevins
There is a growing movement of people across the United States who are being drawn to sacramental and liturgical expressions of church. This workshop will share stories and practical examples of how sacramental Fresh Expressions are reaching unchurched people for Christ.
Fresh Expressions 101 (Room 302)
Travis Collins
Do you feel like you have walked into the middle of a conversation about fresh expressions of church? Are you still trying to get your head around what this is all about and wondering what this might mean for you and/or your congregation? This workshop will explore the basic history, principles, and direction of the Fresh Expressions movement.
Church – It’s What’s For Dinner: Recovering the Ancient Agape Feast as a Basis for a Fresh Expression of Church (Room 224)
Verlon and Melodee Fosner
In this session you’ll discover why a 93 year old church decided to pick an ancient model for a fresh expression of church. You’ll learn about the rich theology of the dinner church in church history and why American society is open to this 2000 year old way of doing church now. You’ll also better understand what a present-day version of the dinner church looks like, and why the dinner table is so powerful when leading people to Christ.
Between The Pew and the Neighborhood: Overcoming the Disconnect (Room 301)
David Fitch
A disconnect between what happens on Sunday and the other 6 days of the week haunts the church in post Christendom. Missional churches (seeking to engage neighborhoods) often look like ‘traditional Sunday services with some justice projects added on.’ I suggest the key to moving beyond the “in here”/“out there” split of church life is to see the Church as the extension of Christ into the world. I suggest that Missio Dei (God at work in the world) and incarnation (God’s real presence in Christ) must be preached together in the shaping of the Christian identity and practice of witness.
Intercessory Prayer (Room 154)
Room 154 is available if you would like to receive prayer at any point during the gathering. Prayer request cards are also available.
Quiet Worship and Prayer (Chapel)
Members of our prayer team will curate a space for quiet worship and soaking prayer in the Chapel throughout the gathering.
Saturday Workshop Sessions 3, 4 (10:30-11:20, 11:30-12:20)
Following the Holy Spirit on Mission (Garage)
Jo Saxton
Any Christian leader knows the struggle of discerning God’s voice. How do we discern and declare God’s voice for our lives but also our given missional context? This workshop will offer practical, theoretical, and theological approaches following the Holy Spirit.
Leading a Community of Everyday Missionaries (350A)
Brian Sanders
If every believer is intended to be a missionary – then every church is intended to be a mission center. Over a half century ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer suggested that the community of Christ was to be a collection of gospel seeds scattered in the world. The church then is at its best when we scatter and cultivate seed instead of just gathering the seed together. This session will explore how a local congregation can move toward a “mission-center” mentality and what that looks like in practice. We will also look at how different expressions of church reach into different groups of people and how we need more varied expressions for the mission of God in our day.
Re-Imagining Pastoral leadership for a Mission-Shaped Church (Room 301)
Graham Cray
A solely pastoral church can become self-absorbed, a solely mission-focused church can end up caring for everyone but its own members. Both pastoral and missional emphases are necessary, but pastoral care looks different in a mission-shaped church. It is pastoral care on the move, growing disciples and following the missionary Spirit. This workshop will present some of the priorities and practices required.
The Amore Community: How Does it Work and Why? (Room 303)
Renzo Bonetti and Hannah King
The home is the ‘first church’ and a center for community and mission. The Amore Project strengthens marriages, proclaims God’s love for every person and forms spiritual families through the homes and families in every church who are essentially extensions of and thus married to the established church. Hundreds of these communities are cropping up all over Italy. In this session, we’ll learn how the communities work and why they are effective for an increasingly post-Christian culture.
From Theory to Practice: Where the Rubber Meets the Road (Room 302)
Shannon Kiser, Michael Beck, Mike Snedecker
Join three pastors from three different ecclesial traditions for a panel discussion about how their leadership has helped move the Fresh Expressions conversation from theory to practice as they facilitate and give permission to leaders in their churches who are making disciples and leading fresh expressions of church.
Mission Possible: Design Thinking for Social Change (Room 342)
Shannon Hopkins
When the church gets serious about solving the problems the world faces today, we will look around our neighborhoods and communities and see an abundance of resources rather than a scarcity of funds. Mission Possible is an innovative and interactive game designed to spark creative imagination and to help you live into the future church. This is a highly interactive session with prizes for the winners. Space is limited to 30.
Three Practices of a Missional Life (Room 130A)
Elaine Heath
Three practices guided Jesus’ missional way of life and were the foundation for everything he did. In this workshop learn how to develop Jesus’ rule of life in your ministry team so that the mission might be sustained together in the power of the Spirit.
Thrive on Mission: ReMissioning Churches in North America (Room 340)
Winfield Bevins
Many churches in the United States have either stopped growing or are in decline. Based on research and field experience, Dr. Winfield Bevins will offer practical ways to help churches thrive on mission. This session is based on the new Re-Missioning Church Assessment and 10 vital signs of a healthy church. Dr. Bevins has designed this workshop to help provide churches of any size with the ability to assess the missional health and vitality of their congregation.
Between Presence, Mutual Submission, and Kingdom: A Deeper Dive into Essential Practices for Mission-Shaped Communities (Room 326)
David Fitch
This workshop will explore the more specific application of the 7 practices that were introduced in the plenary on Rhythms and Roots. This includes the practices of Eucharist, proclaiming the Gospel, reconciliation, being with the poor, being with children, the five-fold ministry, and Kingdom prayer. In any of these practices, the dynamics of presence, kingdom, mutual submission, are brought together to shape a people into witness and kingdom in the world.
From Community to Discipleship: Moving From People Hanging Out to Discovering Jesus (Room 343)
J.R. Briggs
The development of every healthy fresh expression of church involves cultivating deep relational trust with others. But once that’s established, then what? What’s the next step? When do we know to take it from merely hanging out together to introducing them to the person of Jesus? And how do we go about doing that in a way that is clear and natural – and without any whiff of bait-and-switch? Many fresh expressions in the early stages cultivate a strong sense of community but get stuck, failing to move to the next step: discipleship. Together we’ll discuss our relational posture, as well as explore key tools and resources in taking the next step – one that is natural and invitational, not awkward or manipulative.
Intercessory Prayer (Room 154)
Room 154 is available if you would like to receive prayer at any point during the gathering. Prayer request cards are also available.
Quiet Worship and Prayer (Chapel)
Members of our prayer team will curate a space for quiet worship and soaking prayer in the Chapel throughout the gathering.
