Immersion

Get a Taste

On-Site Training and Inspiration

Training Includes

• Robust Times of Prayer and Worship
  Following God into mission begins with positioning ourselves to listen to God. This gathering will be framed with times of prayer and worship that help us position ourselves to listen to the Holy Spirit.
• Immersive Experience
  The training will take place at Ridgetop Coffee and Tea, a missional business in Sterling, Virginia. You’ll enjoy premium coffee from our baristas and overhear the bustling sounds of families in the play area. You will also have the opportunity for a panel discussion with the team of people who brought that vision into reality.
• Focus on Context
  Not every approach is for you! Presentations and dialogue will focus on essential elements of developing an entrepreneurial mission that fits your context.
• Targeted Breakout Sessions
  Do you have a specific area of interest or concern? You can look forward to breakout sessions with experts in fields such as nonprofit accounting, investor pitches, business planning, and more.
• Q and A
  Beyond presentations, there will be dedicated times for you to explore your concerns, issues, and questions.

What to Expect

Immersion Schedule

Wednesday, January 29

3:00-4:00 PM

Check In (Coffee and Tea available)

4:00-4:15 PM

Welcome and Connect

4:15-4:45 PM

Worship

4:45-5:30 PM

Group Session: Unless the Lord

Brian Clark
This is God’s mission. As we embark on conversations around missional entrepreneurship, we do so recognizing that this is a work that only God can do. How do we grow in attentiveness to the leadings of God’s Spirit and grow to trust God with a future that we cannot control?

5:30-6:15 PM

Dinner

6:15-7:15 PM

The Cloud of Witnesses: Ridgetop Coffee and Tea Panel with Q and A

When a congregation recognizes that they can’t continue doing the same thing without seeing diminishing impact, what does it look like to take a risk to change the trajectory? This is the story of how Ridgetop Coffee and Tea emerged. Hear a panel reflect on that journey: why and how they made the pivot, what it meant to lead a congregation into this experiment, how they developed the mission and business plan, what they are discovering about the power of hospitality, how to make the mission a priority, and what lessons have been learned along this journey.

7:15-7:45 PM

Dessert and Group Discussion

This time is dedicated to processing the insights from the panel discussion, connecting with others as we begin to explore what missional entrepreneurship could look like in our own contexts.

8:00-8:30 PM

Group Shareback, Closing Remarks, and Prayer

Thursday, January 30

Breakfast on your own, coffee service available

9:00-9:30 AM

Morning Worship

Begin your day in a time of worship as we collectively focus on centering our mission and purpose in God. This worship session will create space for reflection and alignment as we continue exploring missional entrepreneurship.

9:30-9:50 AM

Group Session: Missional Compelling Social Enterprises and Businesses

Brian Clark
What does it look like today to go into our communities in a way that the community actually wants to engage with the church? The witness of the early church reminds us that engaging people in the marketplace and community partnerships are not new approaches to the mission of God in our world. How do we identify and activate compelling initiatives in our 21st century context?

9:50-10:15 AM

Group Discussion

10:15-10:30 AM

Break (coffee and snacks available)

10:30-11:30 AM

The Cloud of Witnesses: Experts in the Field

What do you do if you don’t have expertise in accounting practices, zoning complexities, renovation requirements, angel investing, marketing and brand management, and more? You learn from those who do have the expertise! This panel time will offer a 30,000 foot view of some things you will need to consider, with a time for Q & A (with more time for deeper dives into these areas during after-lunch breakout sessions).

Jeff Hulett, Founder and President of Personal Finance Reimagined

Nikki Collins, Coordinator of 1001 New Worshiping Communities and Founder of Bare Bulb Coffee

Carla Leon, CEO of “Just like Family” one of the largest home health care companies in North America purchased and owned by a group of visionary church people.

Chris Holland, Executive Director, The Common Place and Executive Pastor of Salt & Light

11:30-12:15 PM

Interactive Table Discussions

12:15-1:00 PM

Lunch

1:00-2:30 PM

Breakout Session 1

Developing An Entrepreneurial Road Map—Jeff Hulett

How do you craft a mission-driven business plan? How do you wrap your head around some of the big questions related to start up costs, financial projections, marketing, and legal and regulatory requirements? What do you set goals and operational strategy? A compelling business may start with an idea, but that idea needs some work to become a robust plan. This session will bring into focus the important elements to clarify before you take the leap into an entrepreneurial business or social enterprise.

The Ups and Downs of Starting a New Faith Community Connected to a Compelling Business—Nikki Collins

Nikki has experienced the joy, the challenges, and the pressures of starting a new faith community out of a coffee café start up. This session will be an honest look at the advantages and disadvantages of forming a new faith community and a compelling business simultaneously. What are the organizational pieces that need to be in place for this to not only be “successful” but “sustainable” both financially and personally?

Innovating for Impact: Running a Social Enterprise that Changes Lives—Chris Holland

As Executive Director of Common Place and Executive Pastor of Salt and Light, Chris Holland brings real world experience in the transformative potential of social enterprises and cross-sector collaboration. This session will provide strategies for designing sustainable social enterprises, leveraging the unique assets of faith communities, and aligning diverse values and goals for collective impact. Topics include creating shared initiatives that bridge spiritual and practical needs and building networks that prioritize long-term community well-being.

2:30-3:00 PM

Break and Snack

3:00-4:30 PM

Breakout Session 2

Ideating Opportunities for Compelling Business or Social Enterprise—Mike Bartholomew

How do you generate new business ideas and evaluate and choose the best path forward? How do you consider market analysis, feasibility, and potential profitability while simultaneously weighing the desire for mission impact? This session will create space for ideating opportunities, as well as provide frameworks for decision-making and calculated risk-taking.

The Intersection of Profit and Social Enterprise—Carla Leon

Churches can begin to think outside of the nonprofit or start-it-from-scratch mindsets. How might you embrace the for-profit space faithfully, and what might be unleashed if you did? Should you build a business of your own or are there advantages to franchising or partnering? This session will help you sort through these questions and more as you learn how the church can be an agent of tremendous social impact through social enterprise.

What Does it Take to be an Existing Church That Helps Start a Non Profit?—Casey Thompson and John Molina-Moore

Paul and Barnabus were missionaries, but they wouldn’t have been able to do it without Antioch, the sending Church. If you don’t have the energy or the gifts to connect with the community that God is placing on your heart, how can you step out in faith and help to start something that others will carry forward? This session will help you envision how your church or judicatory can take some courageous steps into your local community, intersect with the needs of your community, and be a part of something that God wants to unfold in your community.

4:30-5:30 PM

Break

5:30-6:15 PM

Dinner

6:15-6:45

Group Session: Where Jesus is Not Known

Shannon Kiser
Shannon Kiser will lead us in an exploration of what it means to embody the way of Jesus in today’s chaotic and anxious world. Instead of focusing on drawing people into our church buildings, Shannon will challenge us to follow Jesus into the world—seeking out the lost, forgotten, and marginalized. This session will help us consider how we can take the Gospel beyond the walls of the church and into the places where it is most needed.

6:45-7:45 PM

Worship

Friday, January 31

9:00-9:20 AM

Morning Worship

Start the final day of the event with a time of worship, creating space for reflection on our journey so far and setting the tone for the closing sessions. This worship will help us ground ourselves spiritually before engaging in the final discussions and takeaways.

9:20-9:40 AM

Group Session: Reimagining Temple and Church

Brian Clark
Are our church facilities “Sacred Space” or assets that can be leveraged for the mission of God in a local community? How can we recognize what we have rather than dwell on our scarcity? In this session, we will wrestle with the opportunities before us as we imagine new possibilities for our facilities.

9:40-10:20 AM

Group Discussion

10:20-10:30 AM

Break (coffee and snacks available)

10:30-11:00

Closing Remarks and Blessing

As the event draws to a close, we will gather one last time for final reflections and a time of blessing. This session will leave us with encouragement, hope, and a renewed sense of purpose as we return to our communities, ready to implement the lessons we’ve learned and continue on the path of missional entrepreneurship.