Topic: "Seasons of Church Life & Ministry" From the "Big Picture" Regional Cohort Gatherings for church planters on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

1. Regional Cohort Gatherings | Big Picture
• Wed Jan 11: NY/NJ Metro Cohort
• Thu Jan 12: Greater Boston/New England Cohort
Big Picture Topic: Seasons of Church Life & Ministry
Reconnect! (It’s been awhile :)
What has God been doing in your life and the life of your church?
• One victory or achievement to celebrate
• One setback or challenge your church is facing
New Coaching Approach
C.O.A.C.H. Model™ [see card]
Church Planter-Coaching Covenant Agreement [see handout]
• for Jan: continue with more informal coaching interactions
• by Feb 29: signed Agreements should be in place
Initial Coaching Relationships
• Michael Carrion:
• Year 1: Efrain Alicea, Phil Bonano
• Joshua Throneburg:
• Year 1: Aaron Engler, Stephen Sharkey
• Jason Condon:
• Year 1: Andrew Mook, Drew Hyun, Tanny Dumit (co-coaching with Michael)
• Year 2: Michael Carrion, Derrick Jackson, Monyroor Teng
• Year 3: Joshua Throneburg, Kiho Lee
• Years 4-5: Frank Catalano, Jose Humphreys
• Need 2-3 additional Coaches by end of 2012
Seasonal Opportunities
Stewardship
• Jan-March is often a good season to tackle the topic of Stewardship (though you should regularly touch on it
through your preaching calendar)
• From the Normal & Natural Pathways worksheet (part of new Church Planter Covenant Agreements):
“In this new church, what are the normal and natural pathways for…
4. Instilling a Stewardship Culture of generosity, sacrifice, and faithfulness
a. How will you cast vision from the beginning for being generous, sacrificial, and joyful stewards?
b. How will you present and practically handle tithes & offerings during worship?
c. How will you address issues of stewardship in preaching, including targeted message series?
d. What practical methods will you use to help people in their giving? (passing a basket, drop-box, online
giving, giving kiosk, etc.) What systems will you put in place for handling money well?”
• Quick Discussion: How have you handled stewardship in your church plant?
Regional Cohort Gatherings | Big Idea: Seasons of Church Life & Ministry page 1 of 3

2. • Ideas to Consider (and to spark new ideas):
• Plan a Full Stewardship Series with support pieces.
• Example: www.artisanchurch.com/series/money_mavericks
• Support Materials: 1) Pre-Series Survey, 2) Planning & Simple Budget Form, and 3) “Try the Tithe” form
• Incorporate “money messages” as part of larger series. Example: Life 2.0 Series: “Money 2.0”
• Regularly offer stewardship courses such as Financial Peace University (www.daveramsey.com/fpu, highly
recommend)
• Regularly cast vision and communicate clearly. Example: in weekly bulletin or enews, member gatherings
[see bulletin examples http://bit.ly/marketingmaterials]
Easter Outreach Season
• begin planning soon!
• review past Cohort gathering handouts where we discussed the “Fall Outreach Season” [available at
www.jasoncondon.com/search/label/churchplanting ]
Launch Team Training Days
Goal:
• Train entire Launch Teams in the basics of Covenant Church Planting so as many as possible are excited and
equipped to fully support the church planting pastor and each other in the launch of their new church
(basically a turbo-charged version of a Training Center, without the limitation of only 2-3 laypeople attending)
Schedule Ideas:
• Friday Night + Saturday
• Saturday
• Sunday
• Note: March is earliest I can do something
Likely Initial Launch Teams for Training Days
• Bronx & New Rochelle Churches (at New York Covenant Church)
• Highrock North Shore & Highrock Quincy (at Highrock Arlington)
• Sanctuary Providence (separate or combined with Highrocks?)
• Hope NYC (separate or combined with any others?)
Surprising Shifts | Changes in Our Church Planting Family
Closing of Riverside Church Plant, Pastor Peter Chin
• debrief and discuss with appropriate levels of disclosure
Peter Sung concluding his role as Covenant Director of Church Planting
• debrief and discuss with appropriate levels of disclosure
Regional Cohort Gatherings | Big Idea: Seasons of Church Life & Ministry page 2 of 3

3. Coming Events | Mark Your Calendar (subscribe at eastcoastconf.org/calendar)
Feb “Peer-Led” Cohort Gathering: Sharing Ideas, Resources, and Best Practices
NY/NJ Metro Details
• Date: Wed Feb 22, 11:00am-2:30pm
• Location: Hope House of Metro Hope Church, Harlem
• 3-4 Potential Presenters & Topics:
Greater Boston/New England Details:
• Date: Thu Feb 23, 11:00am-2:30pm
• Location: Quincy Covenant Church, Quincy MA
• 3-4 Potential Presenters & Topics:
Future Cohort Gatherings
• March: _______ OR _______ • June: _______ OR _______
• April: Break • July: _______ OR _______ or Break?
• May: Smaller Clusters? • Aug: _______ OR _______ or Break?
Covenant Midwinter (Chicago IL)
• Jan 30–Feb 3 (Mon-Fri): www.covchurch.org/midwinter
• Wed Night: ECConf Church Planter Dinner & Special Outing (may combine with 1 or 2 other Conferences)
East Coast Conference Annual Meeting (Easton CT)
• April 19-April 21 (Thu-Sat): eastcoastconf.org/annual-mtg
• Will likely include a special Church Planters continuing ed. component
Exponential Conference & Church Planter Retreat (Orlando FL)
• April 24-26 (Tue-Thu): Exponential Conference: http://www.exponentialconference.org
• April 26-27 (Thu-Fri): ECConf Church Planters Retreat: , immediately following Exponential Conference in
Orlando. Debrief, Dream, and Play!
• Optional Bonus Dates: Mon April 25 Exponential Pre-Conference; Plus feel free to stay at resort through Sun
April 29 check-out (I am :)
• Very Affordable: automatic $200 scholarship, crazy-cheap resort housing, plus other funding built into many of
your Church Planter Agreements. Housing and house groceries: $200. If you still need to register, you may get a
$29 discount using the code "expo2012" (if it still works)
Date Change: Church Planting Training Center in May
• Tentatively Now: Wed May 9, 9:00pm - Sat May 12, 11:30am. Old “team” format, no longer church planter only
• change necessitated by Peter Sung stepping down, plus Larry Sherman serving as GLC Acting Superintendent
Entire Calendar of Church Planter Gatherings & Church Planting Events:
• Visit www.eastcoastconf.org/calendar to view and subscribe to our East Coast Conference Google calendar (you
can subscribe through Google Calendar, iCal, or any calendar that reads ical feeds)
• Entries labeled “Church Planting:” are specifically for church planters, the rest will relate to Covenant pastors in
general, so note those as well
Regional Cohort Gatherings | Big Idea: Seasons of Church Life & Ministry page 3 of 3