Registration is OPEN

Tyler Jones / Alex Early / Keith Watson

REGISTER HERE.

You Are Invited

The word “missional” is one of several “buzz words” that is used all the time in the church planting/emergent/emerging evangelical world. But what do we mean by this word?

This is a one day training event in which we will hear from three A29 pastors specifically on leading missionally minded churches, ministries, small groups and so on. There will be time for Q&A and time to speak one on one with these pastors and those who serve with them daily.


Schedule
9:30am – Breakfast for A-29ers and staff at the 567
(casseroles, bagels, fruit, juices, coffee)

Prayer

Break Out - Pastoral, Tyler Jones (Vintage 21)
Executive, Nate Williams (Vintage 21)
Worship, Tyler VerSteeg (New City Church)

11am - Registration Opens for General Public
12pm - Lunch
1pm – Worship - New City Church band
Welcome - Matt Adair (emcee for the afternoon)
1:30pm - Session 1 - Alex Early (Four Corners Church, Newnan GA)
2:30pm - Session 2 - Keith Watson (New City Church downtown, Macon GA)
3:30pm - Session 3 - Tyler Jones (Vintage 21, Raleigh NC)
4:30pm - Q&A - Alex, Tyler, Nate, Keith

For additional information on the Event location visit www.the567.org or www.newcitydowntown.org
or email keith@newcitydowntown.org

This is a FREE Event

A Plug For Plant and Replant

Plant and RePlant is an Acts 29 Regional Event

January 22-23

Hosted by New City Church downtown

More than anything. this event is intended to be a very practical help to you in whatever context you are currently in so that you can prayerfully and strategically prepare for the future. Our hope is not to preach to you about things that you should be doing, but answering questions that you have about how the gospel can take root in the work that you feel God is calling you into.

There will be 3 Main Sessions featuring Tyler Jones, planting pastor of Vintage 21 and Jonathan McIntosh, planter and former campus pastor at the Journey Church in St Louis.

There will also be 3 breakout sessions that will largely be Q and A - so bring your questions. Breakouts will be divided into 2 tracks - Planting and Replanting...

PLANTING PROMO:

RePLANTING PROMO:

Why Wait? Time is Ticking - PLANT

Not knowing what to expect, I blogged and tweeted and facebooked a call for a church planter - someone willing to lead a New City campus in Middle Georgia - Forsyth, Warner Robins, or Milledgeville. The tweet was re-tweeted and the blog had 4 times as many hits in a day as usual. And from all of the traffic - 1 guy followed through!

He and his wife and their 21 month old son will be heading to Macon on December 2 to meet us and check out middle Georgia. We have already completed his initial assessment and everything looks great.

A few people have asked what I have asked myself - Are we ready to plant? We are not quite 2 years old, we have 1 full time staff person (me), we are running wide open to keep up with ourselves and our city, we are pushing to add partnership (our version of membership) and leadership development, our elder candidates are just that CANDIDATES... Can we really plant a new campus?

So here are my thoughts:

* If we wait until we have everything figured out with all of our 'i's dotted and t's crossed' - we will never do it.

* If we wait until we have enough money - we will likely never do it.

* If the right guy were with us today, it would take us a year to Launch a new New City campus - a year of planning, a year of MC building, a year of getting ready...

* There is a need, now for gospel centered missional churches and every day, week, month that we wait puts off another day, week, month, year...

* Will a new campus be 'successful'? I don't know. And I really only know one way to find out - try it - not as a fool, but by faith believing that God is in the process even now - leading his people, preparing the way, and working for His kingdom

So - I would then reverse the question - Why Wait? Why NOT now? Time is ticking!

If you are interested in planting in Middle Georgia and align theologically and missiologically with New City Church downtown - Let's talk!

If you want to know more about church planting - check out Plant and RePlant - register today!

Want to Plant?

80% of church plants fail. At least thats the statistic commonly used. Ed Stetzer's statistics show that 68% make it to year 4. Either way, many new church starts have short, hard lives.

I have heard no statistics, but I have seen the ruin of men and churches whith the attempt to infuse new life in old and dyeing churches. Replanting an established church is most often NOT successful - 95% of churches are unable to change their DNA.

In contrast, according to Scott Thomas of the Acts 29 Church planting network, 95% of A-29 Church plants and re-plants are successful.

So have you ever wondered - what are A-29 churches doing?

How they doing it?

If so, you will want to join us January 22-23 for the Plant and RePlant Conference. The featured speakers are Tyler Jones of Vintage 21 Church in Raleigh, NC, and Jonathan McIntosh of ReThink Mission and a former campus pastor at the Journey Church in St. Louis, MO.

One of the unique things about Plant and RePlant is that we will bring together church planters who are still new in their plant and veterans who have 'been there and done that' to answer YOUR questions. Break outs for Plant and RePlant will primarily consist of Q and A driven by attendees. So - if you are a planter now, hope to be a planter one day, or a church looking to jump into church planting, Plant and Re-Plant is for you!

Register early - seating is limited.

Ambition Audio Available

Thanks to Sojourn Church for getting audio up so quickly from last week's Ambition Boot Camp. This was the Best Boot Camp that I have attended - my recommendation to church planters is that you listen to every session! For understanding your city and connecting for transformation, Kevin Cawley is a MUST hear. To keep you humble and distance yourself from the glitter that some associate with church planting - DO NOT MISS Chandler. Happy Listening!

The following was pulled directly from Sojourn's church planting blog:

You can either download them all from: the Sojourn Church iTunes podcast , our standard podcast RSS feed , or listen to them right from the sojournchurch.com Guest Speakers page. Here are direct links to each session:

Matt Chandler (Ministry for the Long Haul & Ambition)

Kevin Cawley (Decoding Your City & Ambition)

Bob Thune (Discipleship & Ambition)

Russell Moore (Speaking Past Demons: Christian Preaching As Expository Exorcism)

Darrin Patrick (Leadership & Ambition)

Steve Timmis (The Church & Ambition)

Ed Stetzer (Church Planting & Ambition)

Dave Harvey (The Gospel & Ambition)

Ambition Highlights

Last week was a cRaZy busy week as Amy and I headed to Louisville, KY and Sojourn Church for Acts 29's Ambition Boot Camp. Boot Camps are exhausting: there is travel, nightly events, early mornings (8:30 am meetings), afternoon activities, dinners, hang out (late night) and back at it early in the morning, followed by Thursday assessments of potential church planters, then return travel! It is honestly non-stop. Add to that maddening pace the incredible amount of teaching that pours out of one amazing leader after another and - well - it can take days to recover - but who has days to recover?!?!?

So, while it was fresh on the mind, I thought I would share some of the highlights for me from last week, in no particular order...

# Boot Camps and other A-29 events provide me with the opportunity to connect with other planters in the network - much needed.

# The teaching line up at these events is INCREDIBLE - Ed Stetzer, Darrin Patrick, Steve Timmis, Russ Moore, Matt Chandler, Kevin Cawley, Dave Harvey, and Bob Thune all rocked the main sessions.

# Boot Camps are getting better and better at addressing a wide range of issues and need through breakout sessions - Ambition was the best I have attended.

# Sojourn and A29 did a great job of taking care of the A 29 guys there to help with the Boot Camp and assessments - great meals together, great hang out time that included a couple of awesome Louisville pubs and some cigars (love the smell of a cigar though I do not smoke them)

# Wives are encouraged to help in the assessments - that means Amy makes the trip with me - nice.

# Daniel Montgomery invited me to help by teaching one of the breakout sessions - Vision and Values - Great Church or Great City? It gave me the opportunity to share with people from all over the country the cool stuff going on in New City and in our city

# Kevin Cawley's talk was the best session I have had the honor of being in (and I have been in some good ones). Kevin is planting in KC, Mo - but what he talked about described what New City is doing. Really Good! I got to follow his talk with a brief testimony about New City - cool.

# Josh and Meghan Maloy made the trip as well as Patrick and Jennifer McConnell - hang out time with them was really good. Josh and Meghan made their first A-29 event and walked away with a renewed heart for our mission and vision.

# Meeting men from all over the country who have a passion and drive to reach people with the gospel by starting new churches - exciting.

Audio should be up in a week or so as well as video interviews with numerous planters and worship leaders.

A great week! Now to catch up here...

Baptists, Gays, and A-29 - What a Day!

Yesterday was quite the full day! I had two major appointments - The Georgia Baptist Convention North of Atlanta for what turned out to be a round table discussion with 8 church planters from the state and several leaders from the GBC, followed by a panel discussion at Mercer University on the subject of Gays and Religion. Thanks for all of the prayers and questions about how things went - for those who want to know - here's the rundown...

GBC and A-29

GBC will continue to welcome churches who desire to be both A-29 and Georgia Baptists.

Churches who desire to receive funding from the GBC or SBC (Southern Bapt Convention) will sign a statement saying that they do not drink alcohol and hold a position of abstinence. The possibility exists that an A-29 church plant who agrees with the abstinence policy of the GBC/SBC and agrees with the ecclesiology statement of the GBC/SBC and who desires to be Southern Baptist MAY (as in - maybe, might, possibly) be eligible for GBC/SBC funding as any other GBC/SBC church plant would be.

Also

I had a great discussion with Butch Butcher the GBC head of church planting about the fact that each Acts 29 church is independent and not all Acts 29 churches are the same. So each church should not be judged based on Mars Hill or Mark Driscoll. Likewise just because some Acts 29 churches take a moderation approach to alcohol, doesn't mean that all do - many take an abstinence approach. Therefore churches should be considered individually when partnering with the GBC and should not be automatically viewed in a negative light because they are Acts 29.

There seems to have been good, honest dialog and there is a mutual respect for one another even though there are differences on secondary issues (though alcohol remains a primary issue for most in the SBC/GBC).

J Robert White, the GBC Executive Director stated that he would like very much to meet again and continue the dialogs. A couple of guys from the GBC church planting team said they would like to come and visit me and New City soon.

Gays and God

(I think that is what the evening was called)

I was a late invite to the table, but gladly accepted the invitation. The panel was made of 8 - 4 Conservative / 4 Liberal

Conservatives: Myself, Eric Ashley (Associate Pastor at First Pres Macon), Chris Fuller (Bapt College Ministry leader at Mercer), Dominique Johnson (local word of faith preacher/minister)

Liberals: Camile Hegg (Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church), Dennis Meredith (Pastor of Tabernacle Bapt in ATL), Chris (Prof of History at Mercer), a Mercer student who is gay

questions:

What is your church's faith tradition and how has it historically viewed homosexuality?

How does your church view membership of homosexuals and their full participation in the church?

How will your church address / respond to the growing acceptance of gay marriage - especially if Gay marriage were to become legalized in GA?

Each panelist answered the question and then other panelists may add to, comment, or question those responses.

I am very thankful to have had an opportunity to participate in the discussion - I learned a great deal. There were a couple of tense moments, but all remained civil and no one yelled - a good night on such a difficult subject. So here are a few observations:

1) The 4 conservatives relied on Scripture - because Scripture holds such a high value to us. We all quoted Scripture and repeatedly expressed that our opinions were not based on feelings, or fears, but on what the Bible says.

All 4 liberals relied on feelings, psychology, and opinion. They gave no Scriptural references and stated that the Bible is important but should not be taken as literal. It is best to take the teachings of the Bible along with modern psychology and a good understanding of culture. Rector Hegg said that we should understand that the Bible is really just stories of people from long ago trying to make sense of life and understand how God was a loving God. (What the #@!!% are you talking about!!!!!?????? - sorry, mental flashback on my part)

2) The most humble people speaking were the conservatives (maybe excluding myself - I wasn't always humble). The liberals in the room were at times arrogant making statements like: the conservative reactions come from fear - homophobia. That statement was made multiple times - I reacted on the 1st occasion by raising my hand and stating - I am NOT a homophobe. I am not afraid of those of you who are gay. The second time I said that the Rector was making gross misstatements of me and other conservatives by saying that we react in fear. The truth is that our position is held based on our theology and based on the teachings of Scripture. Another statement - the problem with them (looking at the conservatives on the panel) is that they are unwilling to look at the findings of doctors, sociologists, and psychologists. There were other statements as well. The conservatives over and over and over presented themselves as broken and dependent on Jesus.

3) I never heard the gospel - in any form - from the liberals. Every answer and discussion by conservatives went back to the gospel - our common need for a redeemer - and Jesus being that redeemer.

4) Without a common view of Scripture - there will never be agreement between liberals and conservatives.

Most outrageous statements of the night:

1) You are not broken or sinful - you are good, just like you are - you are the image of God.

(Who needs to know what the Bible says about you???? Just ask Prof. Chris!)

2) God created me in his image. I am gay. Therefore a part of God must be gay as well.

3) The statement above by the Rector - that the Bible is really just stories of people from long ago trying to make sense of life and understand how God was a loving God.

All in all, a great night - much learned - Jesus was highly exalted. I probably don't have many new gay friends - but that wasn't the hope of the night - sharing the gospel with boldness in love and kindness was... I think that happened.

Need Prayer

For whatever reason, it seems that God is providing some pretty cool opportunities to speak to different groups. In light of that I ask that you remember me when you pray... as Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:19 pray for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel...

Sept 28th - I spoke at Mulberry Methodist's business luncheon - it was a joy and a great opportunity to share New City's vision for reaching the city and to challenge others in joining God's mission of redemption and restoration

October 4 - This Sunday - I will preach at Macon Community Bible Church's 14th Anniversary

October 7 - I am joining Jason Martin at the Georgia Baptist Convention to talk with GBC leadership (including J. Robert White) about Acts 29 and being Southern Baptist.

November 10-12 - Amy and I will head to Acts 29 Boot Camp in Louisville. The line up for this Boot Camp is incredible! I am humbled to have been asked to lead a break out session for church planters on Mission and Vision - Great Church, Great City. I will also have the opportunity to share a brief testimony in one of the main sessions on Decoding Your City.

January 22-23 - New City Church will host an Acts 29 Regional Event - Plant and RePlant. We are anticipating church planters and re-planters from all over the Southeast. We will have Tyler Jones and Jonathan McIntosh as our main speakers with myself and others, like Matt Adair, Jason Martin, and Jeremy Carr leading break outs.

Almost Every Sunday - It is a great privilege to proclaim Christ week in and week out at New City Church downtown!

Please pray for me, that in every opportunity I will with boldness proclaim the truth and beauty of the gospel!

Acts 29 Boot Camps

I just returned from Houston, TX and the Endure Boot Camp. Boot Camps are always great - for attendees as well as for assessors. I went primarily to help assess those men and their wives who were applying for membership into the Acts 29 network.

I encourage anyone remotely interested in planting a church to check out the Media Page on the A-29 web site. From the Endure Boot Camp, my must hear sessions are: Bruce Wesley - the Enduring Legacy, Rick White - Idols of Church Planting, Matt Chandler - whatever Matt's topic was, and Barry Keldie - Enduring Suffering. All of the sessions I heard were really good - these were just some highlights.

November 10 - 11 in Louisville, KY will be the final boot camp of the year - Ambition. It is shaping up to be one of the best! Check out the line up of speakers:

Matt Chandler

Darrin Patrick

Ed Stetzer

Steve Timmis

Look at a few of the BreakOuts:

1. Church Planting track (Church Planting from the Ground Up) – from the trenches, for the trenches

a. 12:30-1:20 Kevin Jamison: Core development

b. 1:30-2:20 : Vision & Values (Great Church or Great City?)

2. Total Church track: Steve Timmis

a. Session #1: 12:30-1:20

b. Session #2: 1:30-2:20

3. 12:30-2:20 Wives’ track (Jani Ortlund, Karen Chong)

4. 12:30-2:20 Worship track

Tim Smith, Mike Cosper, Mark Heinrich, Kevin Twit, Sandra McCracken

5. Pastor as Resident Theologian

Ray Ortlund – Revival (When God Comes to Church)

Bruce Ware*/Trey Herwick – Manhood/Womanhood

Greg Allison/Reid Monaghan

Tom Schreiner*/Kevin Larson*

2:30pm Session #3: “The Church & Ambition” – Steve Timmis

AND MORE!

Boot Camps are required for those desiring to plant a church with Acts 29 but are open to anyone! REGISTER early - this one should fill up.

Fight Club Video and Audio Online

You can check it out HERE.

Thanks to the Journey crew for all the hard work.

Acts 29 and the GBC

Recently, Jason Martin, lead pastor at the Journey Church in Atlanta shared with me that the local Baptist association is discussing steps to remove the Journey from their association of churches - the West Metro Baptist Association. The concern from the Baptist association is the Journey's affiliation with the Acts 29 network and their position concerning the consumption of alcoholic beverages (that the Bible teaches moderation not abstinence).

As a result of the conversation with the local association leader, Jason scheduled a time to talk with the Georgia Baptist Convention's (GBC) New Church Development leader, Butch Butcher. Jason's discussion with Mr. Butcher was described by Jason as gracious, but not good as far as the Journey's future with the GBC. According to Jason he was informed that the GBC will no longer support new churches that plan to affiliate with the Georgia Baptist Association and the Acts 29 Network. Current church plants receiving funding from the GBC who are affiliated with Acts 29 will continue to receive any promised funding, but no new churches will be added with dual affiliation. (New City does NOT receive funding from the GBC). Neither will they (the GBC) partner in events with Acts 29 churches.

The statements made seem to possibly flow from controversy in the Missouri Baptist Convention as well as fundamentalists rumblings in the Southern Baptist Convention. Some of those rumblings were voiced as proposed resolutions at the SBC's recent annual meeting in Louisville, KY. Those resolutions were:

that “all SBC entities should monitor” funds spent in “activities related to or cooperative efforts with Mark Driscoll and/or the Acts 29 organization” and entity heads should submit a report of expenditures to appear in the 2010 Book of Reports, submitted by Kent Cochran, a messenger from Calvary Baptist Church in Republic, Mo.

that SBC entities avoid “inviting event speakers” who “are known for publicly exhibiting unregenerate behavior ... such as cursing and sexual vulgarity, immorality, or who publicly state their support for the consumption or production of alcohol,” submitted by Ida South, a messenger from First Baptist Church in Mathiston, Miss

that author Mark Driscoll’s books be removed from LifeWay Christian Bookstores because of his “reputation for abusive and ungodly language and ... promotions of sex toys on his church web site,” submitted by Jim Wilson, pastor, First Baptist Church in Seneca, Mo.

While the resolutions did not pass, they do demonstrate the conflict within the denomination. New City is affiliated with the Macon Baptist Association, which also affiliates us with the Georgia Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention and we are 100% Acts 29.

Thoughts From Vail

This past week was the annual Acts 29 retreat for pastors and their wives. It is a real retreat - a get away - not a conference. The A-29 leadership set the majority of time aside for us as 'free time' - time to spend with our spouse, time to spend with other church planters. So here are a few thoughts from the week away:

* The Acts 29 church planting network is, without a doubt in my mind, the best church planting network around - not because we have the most churches or the most money - but because we are a network of churches centered on the gospel, not on politics, denominations, or specific methods.

* There is an indescribable bond that exists between church planters. Friendship, prayer, conversation... - it all comes easy because we are all in a great work together.

* Church planting is hard. That is probably why the bond that exists between planters comes so easily. For those who see A-29 and church planting as cool, or hip, or who see the quick success of some and desire to be a church planting 'rock star' I would strongly, STRONGLY say - if there is anything else you can do - ANYTHING - DO IT.

* We need more churches, therefore we need more church planters.

* A week away with my wife is a must. Work and children alone come with enough demands on a marriage - add 24 hours a day, 7 days a week of being on call to God only knows how many hours of work to the equation and the week becomes a MUST.

* Riding a mountain bike down double black diamond trails in the Rocky Mountains is amazingly fun.

These are just a few

Mark Driscol on ABC's Nightline

Driscoll appeared on ABC's Nightline last night. It was actually a pretty good interview.

Check it out - http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline

Plant & Thrive A-29 Boot Camp

Amy and I will head up to Raleigh next week to participate in an upcoming Church Planters Boot Camp. This is the same church where we attended Boot Camp as potential planters. This round, Amy and I will help assess potential new A-29 planters. Here's the write up:

The Acts 29 Boot Camp is considered by many to be one of the best available. It is required for Acts 29 applicants, but is open to anyone. Are you considering planting a church? Are you ready? The Acts 29 Boot Camp can help make the difference between success and casualty. The Raleigh Boot Camp will be hosted by Vintage 21 Church in in Raleigh, NC.

If you are interested in undergoing assessment as an Acts 29 Network Church Planter, please complete the online application. **Note: the wife of the planter is required to be at assesment. Assessments will take place on Friday, February 6 for those who have completed the application process. Cost for assessment is $99. If you would like to be assessed please contact tyler@acts29network.org.

Raleigh ‘09 Boot Camp Schedule
Some Session content to be announced
Schedule subject to change

Wednesday, Feb 4:
Track 1 Main Track for ALL Potential A29 Planters - Vintage 21 Main Auditorium
8:00am Registration
9:00am Worship
9:30am Session #1 Mark Driscoll
10:30am Session #2 "Gospel Centered Reformed Theology" - Wayne Grudem
11:30 am Session #3 "Preaching the Gospel" - Danny Akin
12:20pm Presentation Advance09
12:30pm Lunch (provided)
1:30pm Session #4 "The Biblical Mandate on the Man" - Scott Thomas
2:20pm Break
3:30 pm Session #5 "The Affects of Planting on Family & Self" - Andreas Kostenberger
4:30pm Q & A Mark Driscoll & Wayne Grudem

Thursday, Feb 5:Track 1 Main Track for ALL Potential A29 Planters - Vintage 21 Main Auditorium
9:00am Worship
9:30am Session #6 "Mission Rises Out of Community" - Tyler Jones
9:30am Wives Track:
9:30 Session #1: “Role of a Church Planter’s Wife” – TBD
10:20 Break
10:30 Session #2: “Resisting Your Enemy” – Kacey Grudem
11:20 Break
11:30 Session #3: “Speaking the Truth in Love” – Christin Stevens
12:20 Prayer for new church planter’s wives
12:30 Lunch in session room
10:30am Session # 7 "Mission Rises Out of Discipleship" - Ed Marcelle
11:30am Session # 8 "Our Mission" - Daniel Montgomery
12:20pm Presentation Great Commission Ministries
12:30pm Lunch (provided)
1:30pm Breakout #1
"About the Benjamins: A Practical Guide to Financial Support" - David Dorr
"Parachuting" - Kurt Hannah & Winfield Bevins
"Developing People for Mission Part 1" - John Fooshee, Matt Adair & Jim Fickley 2:45pm Breakout #2
"System & Structures" - Jamie Munson
"Leading the Mission" - Justin Anderson
"Developing Leaders for Mission Part 2" - Elliot Grudem
3:45pm Break
4:00pm Closing Mark Driscoll

Wednesday, Feb 4:Track 2 For Planters in years 1-4 - All Saints Chapel 110 S. East St.
8:00am Registration in main sanctuary
9:00am Worship in main sanctuary
9:30am Session #1 "Coaching Introduction" - Jason Roberts & Chris Atwell
10:00 am Coaching TRIAD
10:45am Session #2 "Leading the Mission" - Justin Anderson
11:30am Coaching TRIAD12:20pm Presentation Advance09 - located in Main Sanctuary12:30pm WORKING LUNCH & Q & A with Mark Driscoll
1:30pm Session #3 "Systems & Structures - Jamie Munson & Nate Williams
2:30pm Coaching TRIAD
3:30 pm Session #4 "Leadership Development: Elders, Deacons, Volunteers" Elliot Grudem
4:15pm Coaching TRIAD
5:00pm Q & A Jamie Munson
5:30pm Closing remarks Jason Roberts & Chris Atwell

Thursday, Feb 5:Track 2 For Planters in years 1-4 - All Saints Chapel 110 S. East St.
9:00am Worship in main sanctuary
9:30am Session #5 "Small Groups - Taylor Roberts
9:30am Wives Track:
9:30 Session #1: “Role of a Church Planter’s Wife” – TBD
10:20 Break
10:30 Session #2: “Resisting Your Enemy” – Kacey Grudem
11:20 Break
11:30 Session #3: “Speaking the Truth in Love” – Christin Stevens
12:20 Prayer for new church planter’s wives
12:30 Lunch in session room
10:15am Coaching TRIAD
11:00am Session #6 "Assimilation to Membership" - Chris Atwell
11:50am Coaching TRIAD
12:30pm WORKING LUNCH - Q & A with Wayne Grudem
1:45pm Session #7 "Strategic Planning" - Tyler Jones & Kevin Marshall
3:00pm Session #8 "Debriefing: Long Term Implementation" - Jason Roberts
4:00pm Closing Mark Driscoll in main sanctuary

Friday, Feb 6:8:00am-6:00pm Assessments for A29 applicants

Newnan, GA Church Plant - in a BAR

I met Alex Early months ago - while he was still in school in London. In September he moved back to Newnan, Georgia. Alex had been working with a team of guys on the ground in Newnan and when his plane landed - things got crazy! God seems to have some great plans for Newnan and Alex and crew are getting to enjoy His work! Listen to this:

Months ago Alex had hoped to that they could find a place to meet on the Square in Newnan - not many options. One option was a bar - The Alamo. That door seemed to close

Alex and crew began working on building their core before 'officially launching' the church. 13 people met in his home.

within a few weeks that # trippled and they were running out of space.

One of the visitors was the owner of The Alamo - who quickly offered their bar, RENT FREE.

Only 2 months in they are running 80+!!! (And still haven't "Officially Launched."

Alex and the church will hear this week about his A-29 application and assessment results. Pray for Alex, his leadership, and this new church.

Below are some pics of the church in a bar - and their 1st baptism!

NCCD (D is for Denver)

New City Church downtown
meet New City Church Denver.

This is Aaron and Kristen Carlson. Aaron is pastor of New City Church Denver - officially launching as such this fall! Aaron and I had several conversations in the months leading up to Vail and the A-29 Pastors Retreat about our New City and his vision for a New City Denver. It was GREAT to spend time with Aaron and Kristen in Vail. It made me even more excited about New City Denver's launch this fall. I think one of the greatest things about our network has to be people like Aaron and Kristen! Look for more info soon on how we can help be a part of seeing New City Church Denver's launch...
Churches planting churches - sweeeeeeeeeet!

Thanks Brett and Caleb - Notes From Vail (3)

Sometimes a simple moment changes everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Caleb Land and Brett Moore first introduced me to A-29 a couple of years ago, now. That moment changed everything that would happen afterword. Pretty incredible, isn't it. Something as simple as, 'hey you have got to check out Acts-29 and Mark Driscoll - man you will love what these guys are preaching and doing' was used by God to impact eternity. Those words led us down a great path which most recently took Amy and I to Vail, CO for an incredibly 4 days. Thanks Brett and Caleb!
Wednesday in Vail was great. After our morning session together, Amy grabbed a quick lunch with me and the other A-29ers then headed out for a great massage at the spa. I hung out with Jonathan Dodson - pastor of Austin City Life in Austin, TX. A great connection and I look forward to learning from Jonathan. It seems they are doing some great community group stuff.
After lunch (and Amy's massage) we napped! Sweeeeeeeeet.
Wednesday night our regional leader - Daniel Montgomery - Sojourn Community Church - took all of our region out to dinner in Vail Village (where the pic of me and Amy above was taken). As good as dinner was, what was better was that I gained a coach!! I have been pushing to find a coach in the A-29 network who though like me and shared a common vision (there is great diversity within the network). Daniel and I had tried to talk before the retreat but had not connected - he knew I was looking - after some discussion on their shifts in community groups and our shared vision for community, Daniel agreed to coach me. That will be huge for NCCd. Thanks Daniel.
We closed out Thursday with a report on some great work all oer the world thru A-29 International. We concluded with a great time of vision casting from Driscoll. A-29 has officially outgrown 'network' status, we are fast becoming a movement.
What a week.

NY Times Article - young evangelicals & politics

ST. LOUIS — Southern Baptists, as a rule, do not drink. But once a month, young congregants of the Journey, a Baptist church here, and their friends get together in the back room of a sprawling brew pub called the Schlafly Bottleworks to talk about the big questions: President Bush, faith and war, the meaning of life, and “what’s wrong with religion.”

“We go where people are because we feel like Jesus went to the people,” said the Rev. Darrin Patrick, founder of the Journey. “That’s where people are having their conversations about things that matter,” the Rev. Darrin Patrick, senior pastor and founder of the Journey, said about the talks in the bar. “We go where people are because we feel like Jesus went to the people.”
for the rest or the story - here's the link...

How About That!?!? New City Church DENVER?

That's right! New City Church Denver! A couple of months back I began having some conversations with a fellow A-29 planter in Denver - Aaron Carlson - Providence Church. Providence is re-launching this summer - changing locations, restructuring - all of it. As part of the re-launch the Providence team looked at a ton of name change possibilities. In the end, they felt that New City Church Denver reflected the mission and vision of their church.
Aaron - we are praying for you guys! (if you missed the link above - here it is again!