Category Archives: Events

West E. Free Church Planting

“There has to be more to life then this…Simply going to work, coming home,
and doing the same thing all over again!”
That’s the statement a neighbor of mine made as we sat on his back porch having burgers together. There are hundreds of thousands of people asking the same question, right here in Wichita, Kansas.

That’s why at West E. Free Church, our calling is to “multiply churches that multiply more churches to reach our county for Christ!”

Some might wonder if Wichita needs new churches. They ask questions like, “Isn’t Wichita in the Bible belt?” or “Aren’t there enough churches in Wichita already?” While Wichita is officially part of the Bible belt and there are lots of churches, there are still many people like my neighbor who don’t know Jesus. If you lived in Wichita and looked around at coworkers or neighbors you have relationships with, you would find most are far away from God. This is why we want to focus on our city as a place to plant churches.

There are contexts ranging from small towns, urban and suburban in Wichita and we are developing a strategy that addresses the needs for each unique cultural demographic. Our dream would be to plant at least one church a year over the next 20 years that is leading people far from God to a life of faith and spiritual transformation.

We are launching this initiative by offering a 1-year, pre launch residency for Church Planters. During this time, there would be partnership, training, salary, and core team development assistance on starting and multiplying a church that focuses on reaching people far from God.

If you might be interested in our initiative, please email your resume to churchplantingkansas@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you and see how we might partner in the future to plant the gospel in Wichita.

You can check out what we are doing in depth at www.westefc.org/cp

Readiness Trumps Opportunity

I spent a couple days last week at one of 3DM’s tasters. I appreciate their pinpoint focus on making disciples. A phrase from Doug Paul really struck home, “readiness trumps opportunity.”

Opportunity is a “when I win the lottery” approach to life – a waiting game that pins future happiness or success on something that happens to us. Readiness is a “prepared to do any good work” approach to life – a willingness that believes our future fruitfulness comes from our ability to listen and obey today. Jesus disciples didn’t change the world because of opportunity. They changed the world out of readiness.

That’s why I am so committed to what ELI is doing through Cultivate – helping leaders be ready for church planting. Cultivate isn’t a conference, it’s not a boot-camp, it’s 8 months of life-transforming training that prepares you to start a church by making disciples.

Cultivate is about being ready, not finding opportunity.

A new training cohort starts in 2 weeks – you can check it out here: www.elichurchplanting.com/cultivate.

We’d love to help you be ready.

Vault Church Planting Conference in Las Vegas

Vault will bring you deep inside the thinking and methods Vince Antonucci and Verve Church have used in Las Vegas to reach atheists, pimps, prostitutes, bikers, Wiccan witches, Buddhists, strippers, lesbians, and many more of the the people Jesus called all of us all to reach.

How can your church go from attracting church shoppers to reaching people who don’t like church? That’s what Vault is all about, and you don’t want to miss the conversation!

This year John Burke, founder of ELI, will be leading three sessions of Vault. John will share principles you can use to reach people who are truly far from God. You’ll also hear from Will Mancini, author of Church Unique. Will, who teaches in ELI’s Cultivate training, is one of the best thinkers on vision in the church world today.

The cost is only $125 (or $100 for groups of 2 or more), which includes three meals and book giveaways! The conference is limited to about 100 people, which provides for an amazing dynamic that promotes learning and relationships. But it also means that registration will fill up soon, so register today!

Nuts & Bolts Church Planting Conference

The Nuts and Bolts Conference is an affordable two-day, how-to training for planters and pastors starting a new churches. No hype. No theory. No breakouts. Just solid step-by-step teaching from speakers who are experienced, in-the-trenches pastors/planters all donating their time.

The basics

  • Cost is only $29
  • Lunch & snacks provided both days
  • FREE resources galore
  • Immediate FREE one-on-one coaching
  • Ample time for networking with other planters
  • Host homes available (or Hilton $89 including breakfast)
  • A chance to take home $20,000 to start your church

Location

  • Church at the Springs in Ocala, FL

Date

  • August 9-10, 2011

If you’re still reading, ELI has 10 free registrations available. If you’d like one contact us for details.

Verve is having its second VAULT CONFERENCE on October 10-12!!

Vault is an immersive seminar, bringing you deep inside the thinking and methods Verve Church uses in Vegas, leading them to reach atheists, pimps, prostitutes, bikers, Wiccan witches, Buddhists, strippers, lesbians, and many more of the lost whom Jesus called us all to reach. How do YOU AND YOUR CHURCH go from reaching church shoppers to people who don’t like church? That’s what Vault is all about, and you don’t want to miss the conversation!

This year special guest John Burke will be leading three sessions of Vault. You may have seen John speak at Willow Creek’s Leadership Summit. He is the author of No Perfect People Allowed, and the church planter and pastor of Gateway. Gateway is one of the most evangelistically effective churches in America, and John will share the principles they use in Austin to reach people who are truly far from God.

The cost is only $125 (or $100 for groups of 2 or more), which includes three meals! The conference is limited to about 100 people, which provides for an amazing dynamic that promotes learning and relationships. But it also means that registration will fill up soon! So don’t wait…Register Today!