MNA Church Planter Training Offers Something for Everyone
By Megan Fowler

Mission to North America’s church planter training offers something for everyone in every stage of church planting. The training will take place at Canterbury Retreat Center in Oviedo, Florida, on Feb. 12-15, 2019.

The three training tracks at the February gathering can help church planters who are just getting started, planters who have some experience, and leaders in church planting networks, presbytery committees, or church planting pastors.

For novice church planters, the training outlines the process from laying the church groundwork to launching the first public worship service. The second track prepares church planters for launching public worship, particularizing, and planting daughter churches. 

The third training track changes course and provides church planting leaders with information on best practices and new ideas and strategies in church planting. 

The three training tracks at the February gathering can help church planters who are just getting started, planters who have some experience, and leaders in church planting networks, presbytery committees, or church planting pastors.

All three tracks focus on inspiration and information, arming attendees with the energy and tools to plant a church. But MNA also helps church planters partner with a coach who can assist the church planter in implementing the ideas in his particular context. 

Best Practices Make for Best Partnerships

While church planter training has obvious advantages for new church planters, Ted Powers, MNA’s Church Planting Coordinator, believes the training can be just as important for experienced church planters and church planting leaders. In some respects church planting has not changed much over the years, but “as the society becomes more diverse, there is more attention on training church planters in intercultural competence,” he said.

New funding strategies like bi-vocational ministry, the challenges of planting churches in low-income or urban communities, and the increasing importance of intercultural competence – church planter training did not address these issues a decade ago, Powers said, but they are inescapable realities of church planting today. Church planting networks and presbytery leaders must understand the environments in which planters are working to best support their efforts.

Even experienced church planters need the occasional refresher course, Powers said, and hearing about different strategies as well as the mistakes others have made can prevent pastors repeating those mistakes.

The training will also provide church planting spouses with training and encouragement from Tami Resch of Parakaleo, MNA’s ministry to church planting spouses. And every track includes plenary sessions with conference speaker Tony Myles, Lead Pastor at New City Fellowship in St. Louis. 

Registration for the conference will remain open until January 21. For more information or to register, visit the MNA Church Planting website.

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