Mission to North America held its second Church Planting Summit from Jan. 22 – Jan. 24 at Reformed Theological Seminary – Charlotte.
Nearly 150 church, presbytery, and network leaders from 46 presbyteries attended. They gathered to talk about the development of “pipelines” — intentional systems that identify, disciple, and send out leaders.
“This summit grew out of our desire to catalyze a more collaborative and collective approach to church planting in our age,” said MNA Coordinator Irwyn Ince. The idea for the summit was conceived by MNA Church Planting and Vitality Coordinator Chris Vogel, who worked with Dean Faulkner, head of the RTS-Charlotte’s Center for Church Planting; Denine Blevins, Parakaleo director, Ryan Johnson; executive director of the Metro Atlanta Collective; Jason Helopoulos, senior pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan; Dwight Yoo, senior pastor of Renewal Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Robin Vaughn, Co-Founder of the Vaughn Group of Atlanta, Georgia, to plan it.
This approach was reflected in the event’s structure. Unlike traditional conferences, the work of the summit was done through 12 “table groups,” formed according to the mutual interests of their members. For example, Zachary Groff, a pastor in Calvary Presbytery who chairs Calvary’s MNA Sub-Committee on Strategic Planning, was part of a presbytery-focused table group.
“We discussed strategic planning and recruiting efforts in five different presbyteries as we searched the Scriptures and prayed together,” he explained.
Many participants attributed the effectiveness of the event to this table group format. Derek Radney, pastor of Trinity Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, appreciated how the “format enabled everyone to contribute, ask questions, and collaborate.” Marshall Wilmhoff, a pastor and from Lexington, Kentucky, felt the same way. “A conference with more extended teaching time was not as appealing to me as the summit format,” he said. This way, “we got to learn from one another.”
The first morning of the summit opened with three plenary presentations — one from a church perspective, one from a presbytery perspective, and one from a church planting network’s point of view. But even these encouraged participants to apply principles creatively rather than to give “how-to” instruction. Helopoulos and members of his staff from University Reformed Church provided an overview of their fellowship program which enables Michigan State students to explore different aspects of vocational ministry under the oversight of church staff. Several members of the On Wisconsin Network outlined that network’s efforts to create a presbytery church planting culture with each elder and session actively committed to church planting and to the development of ministerial candidates within their own churches. Representatives of the Florida Church Planting Network described how the multiple presbyteries which comprise the network cooperate to plan and implement a common church planting strategy for their region.
Each of these 15-to-20-minute presentations was followed by discussion in table groups centered on what group members found most helpful. David Wallover, a retired pastor from northeast Ohio who has been active in church planting in the Ohio Presbytery, notes that though the circumstances and cultural settings of these presentations differed, “The effectiveness of each [approach] shows what unity of purpose can accomplish when motivated by prayer and faithfulness to Christ.”
“This Summit grew out of our desire to catalyze a more collaborative and collective approach to church planting in our age” – MNA Coordinator Irwyn Ince.
In addition to the plenary presentations and the table group collaboration, attendees heard from Ince, who presented MNA’s overall vision, Paul Joiner of Geneva Benefits who spoke on pastoral health, and Denine Blevins and Robin Vaughn who reviewed the GA report on women in ministry and suggested church planting leadership opportunities for women consistent with PCA polity.
Following these presentations, participants discussed what they would take home from the event. Wallover appreciated the way the summit reflected the PCA’s polity. “Respect for our polity was everywhere in evidence,” he notes. “There were no calls for lone rangers or cowboys to go out and plant new churches.” Wilmhoff found Blevins and Vaughn’s presentation particularly helpful. “That talk got my wheels turning on how to include and equip women in church planting,” he says. Providing support and encouragement for church planting families resonated with Olivia Carpenter, who teamed with her pastor husband and others to plant their church in Sacramento, California, 11 years ago. “I would love to see more pastoral couples and pastor’s wives be encouraged along their church planting and pastoral path,” she says.
Several attendees were impressed by the emphasis on dependence on God in church planting. “The most significant takeaway for me is that the work of church planting – and especially calling and sending men – is the Lord’s work,” Groff says. “If we are going to see more men pursuing church planting opportunities in the Presbyterian Church in America, we must be dependent upon God’s Spirit and his sufficient direction given to us in his Word.”
Many left the summit with a greater appreciation for what God is doing through church planting in the PCA. “It is wonderful to hear about men and women who do not have large, public platforms but are laboring wisely and consistently to see Christ’s kingdom advanced,” Radney noted. “Great things are taking place in and through the PCA, and I hope we focus more on writing about and listening to these stories.”
For Bob Cargo, church planting director at Perimeter Church, the summit revealed MNA’s crucial role in developing pipelines and new churches. “There is a lot of momentum for church planting in the PCA,” Cargo said, “and I am thankful that MNA is trying to be a resource center for best practices.”
In Ince’s view, the summit achieved its goals. “The Lord was pleased to bless us with a Spirit-filled time of engagement, prayer, and visioning for even more fruitful church planting in the PCA,” he said.
PCA Stated Clerk Bryan Chapell agreed. “MNA’s Church Planting Summit in Charlotte captured and multiplied much of the excitement that is being felt throughout the PCA for our new church planning initiatives. My overall impression was that the Lord is greatly blessing, that church planting is do-able in all our contexts, and that we can help one another in this overall church mission.”