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October 24-25, 2019 | Sterling Heights, MI
Facebook has many gender options to choose from–one report listed 71 options! If “God made them male and female,” what are we to make of this?
The cultural sources and effects of the gender debate are more far-reaching than many assume. The explosion of gender options isn’t just about femaleness and maleness; it’s an expression of a broad and powerful cultural worldview. Significantly, this worldview is simply assumed without question by many in our culture.
So how can we discern the backgrounds of the current gender thinking? How should we interpret its meanings? And how can we minister the Good News effectively in a culture that largely assumes a worldview at odds with Scripture?
Heritage Church, Sterling Heights, MI
Workshop leader: Brian Coffey
How do you plan to replace yourself? When is it time to start thinking about it? How do you identify your successor? Providing for and leading your church through leadership transition is a critical and often avoided issue.
Brian served as Senior Pastor for 22 years then handed leadership off to Jeff Frazier in 2016. Brian remains a full-time pastor at Chapelstreet as Pastor of Leadership and Development. Join him for his perspective on the challenge of succession planning.
Workshop leaders: Chris Highfill and Corey Johnston
We want to inspire you to take your young church to the next level by taking the biggest step of faith you have ever taken. Come learn how a capital campaign has nothing to do with money and everything to do with the heart of you as a leader and the leaders in your church. Cory and Chris are living proof that this will change not only your church, but the community you live in.
Workshop leader: Jessy Padilla
In this workshop, you will learn to value and understand the importance of prayer in your ministry.
Workshop leader: Jerry Troyer
To identify and develop ways of working with God’s Spirit to bring about positive change in the life of a small church.
Workshop leader: Nate Wagner
One of the great privileges, and simultaneously significant challenges, of the pastorate is that of counseling. We are given the opportunity to meet people in their darkest, lowest, most vulnerable and often most receptive moments of life. We are given an invitation to bring hope and light where it feels like all has been stripped away. We receive calls that clinicians will often never get.
Deciding our priorities, developing a holistic view of sin and cultivating an approach that is both healthy for us and most helpful to those we work with are a few of the essential components to serving well in this role. This workshop will explore five constructs to further equip you in the area of discipleship counseling.
Workshop leader: Avdal Boktor
In this workshop, Pastor Avdal Boktor will share with you about how to reach Arab people. He will also share his testimony and experience about his life in ministry.
Workshop leader: Deborah Fullwood
The role of a pastor’s wife is a ministry filled with many challenges. In this workshop, you will learn how to maintain a healthy self-esteem in the midst of congregational pressures and expectations. You will learn helpful techniques for guarding your marriage and children against the attacks of the adversary. You will also learn how to utilize your role as a minister’s wife to truly glorify God.
Workshop leader: Pete Sutton
It is not difficult to run plays from the traditional youth ministry playbook: pizza and a silly game will draw a crowd for a Bible lesson. But ministries that are truly transformational move beyond the “what” of curriculum and content to a clear understanding or strategy and “why” we do what we do. This session takes a 360° look at typical youth ministry to develop purpose and helpful values and objectives.
Workshop leader: David Nelms
Discipleship that works. This seminar will explain the proven disciple-making principles from the international setting for the church in the USA.
Presentation topics include the discipleship strategy and leadership process for implementation. Plus, the important issue of how to transition your church to this model will be addressed.
Workshop leader: Leandro Nogueira
Worship doesn’t only happen on Sunday mornings during the singing portion of our services. As a pastor, how do you lead your congregation in worship in a way that not only values corporate singing, but also encourages them to “put worship” into practice?
Workshop leader: Jonathan Herron
Healthy Church Growth is Biblical! In this workshop with author and pastor Jonathan Herron, you will go inside the world of today’s Millennials & Gen Zers with a renewed passion for turning your church into a movement of missionaries.
Workshop leader: Scott Ridout
Last time I checked, Sunday happened every week. Which means that every week the pastor has to prepare a new message to help his congregation move forward and God’s purposes for the church. But how does the pastor get in the rhythm of preparation without getting into a rut?
This workshop will give you a preaching framework that will help you move forward with clarity, creativity and confidence.
Workshop leaders: Mark Albrecht and Gary Ricci
It’s so exciting when a church sends out a team to plant a daughter church, but the process of getting there can be difficult for all involved. What are the issues that need to be thought through in advance? How does a congregation get prepared to release people and resources? How can a daughter church honor and bless the sending church?
Join us for this workshop as the pastor of a sending church and the pastor of the daughter church share their story and their learnings.
Workshop leader: Watson Jones III
In this session, we will discuss what urban ministry should look like in today’s culture and context. We will briefly discuss a biblical theology of urban ministry. Finally, we will discuss how and what biblical preaching and ministry praxis should address in urban ministry.
Workshop leader: Mackenzie Carter
Anxiety has a tendency to hit us on all sides. We need to learn how to fight back. This session will center around learning to deal with anxiety head-on, especially in our role as a Pastor’s Wife. Are you ready to join the fight club?
Workshop leader: Pete Sutton
Most pastors and leaders can answer the “what” questions of ministry. Some can answer the “why” questions of ministry. The most fruitful ministries can connect the “why” and the “what” with “how,” a clear strategy for reaching students and making disciples. This session will help participants simplify their own visions and focus them on a clear process rather than a product.
Workshop leader: Jeffrey Johnson
In every generation, God anoints particular people to lead his people to the destiny God has set apart for them. From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and many more whom the Lord has set apart to lead. However, not every capable leader has been open and receptive to their God-given ability and responsibility to lead. God has not rejected these men and women because of their reluctance. Through his grace and patience, God helped these reluctant leaders to find their place and pinpointed purpose in his divine plan for his people.
Workshop leaders: Abram Delgado, Jessy Padilla and Danny Flores
In this workshop, you will learn how to overcome challenges, understand dynamics and essential things you need to know as you plant a Hispanic church that reaches first and second-generation Latinos.
Workshop leaders: Michael Eberly, Mike Gorr and Jerry Schrick
Join us as we share stories and insights of how we saw God work in our small churches through our capital campaigns. You will be encouraged by what God can do in your church as you’ll see not only money raised for ministry but also spiritual growth take place in your people. You’ll gain wisdom about some do’s and don’ts as you consider to lead and prepare your church for your capital campaign.
Workshop leaders: Jeff Dryden, John Gilfillan and Jonathan Swift
This workshop will be a panel discussion of three Converge pastors sharing about the transformation in their preaching and in the Church by consistently applying “dig and discover” principles. You will also be introduced to the ministry of Leadership Resources International and be invited to participate in a future learning cohort.
Workshop leaders: Jeff Forester and Paul Urban
In this session, we’ll discuss the motives for multi-site and key factors that need to be considered when it comes to launching and growing multiple locations. We’ll share lessons learned (both good and bad) on our multi-site journeys and we’ll cover key questions your church needs to wrestle with as consider your first (or next) site.
Workshop leader: Brian Coffey
Have you ever hired a pastor to join your team only to discover a problem with DNA match? Are you thinking about launching a new campus any time soon? Do you have a “leadership pipeline” in place? Do you have an intentional plan to identify and equip next-generation leadership? In this workshop, Brian will share his journey into the process of building a pastoral residency program.
Workshop leader: Brenda Byers
Engaging the Bible and praying are the primary methods for growing our intimacy with God. Both are foundational to other spiritual disciplines (ie. worship, fasting, service, etc.) While many tend to think of prayer and Bible reading as separate spiritual practices, they can be even more powerful when combined into one practice of “praying scripture.”
Workshop leader: Pete Sutton
“What” is never the first question in a fruitful youth ministry. (As in, “What should we do this week?”) Rather, it is always the answer to processing the “why” and “how” questions. What to plan and pull off becomes crystal clear when purpose and process are properly understood. This session will help participants develop appropriate plans and products to accomplish the strategy (how) and purpose (why) of their own youth ministry.
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