Tim Challies (challies.com) recently started a series on his blog called “Meet the Ministries.”  This past Monday he featured Acts 29 and an interview with Scott Thomas.  Acts 29 is the church planting network of which we are a part and I would encourage you to read this excellent piece.

Below is a an especially compelling quote by Scott regarding being a movement:

“A movement is of God. We cannot control a movement anymore than we can control the wind. But we can fly our kites higher in the wind. We will continue to release more line into the wind through influence and we will subsequently have less control of the outcomes. But that’s where faith and mission collide and we are willing to take that risk for the glory of God and the expansion of His Kingdom.”

Meet the Ministries: Acts 29

Check out the video below and check out the Foolish Cross blog as well.

The last Acts 29 Bootcamp of the year is set for November 10-11 at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville.  The theme of the conference is Ambition.  Here’s the promo info:

AMBITION. Simply knowing how to plant and lead a church is not enough.  Knowledge must come hand-in-hand with God-given ambition.  The Apostle Paul responded to God’s call to make the gospel known among the Gentiles with zealous determination.  Paul, empowered by the Holy Spirit, made it his ambition to take the gospel to those who did not have it even if it cost him everything.  He proclaimed the gospel, gathered believers into churches, established elders, and discipled believers; and he did all this with zeal and passion.  In the hope of this type of ambition overflowing in the Church, we would like to invite you to the Acts 29 Network Ambition Boot Camp, November 10-11, 2009, which will focus on planting and leading churches with God-given ambition.

If you are interested in going or want to find out more of the details, check out the Ambition webpage for registration details and the stacked-up schedule and speaker list.

We’re grateful to be teamed up with Acts 29 in general and Coram Deo in particular.

(Originally posted on the Coram Deo Blog)

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Mars Hill Church in Seattle is a supporting church of Project 2 Pillars.  Recently, Mars Hill released their annual report which they graciously make available to the public.  While there are a number of things that are amazing about what God is doing in and through the ministry of Mars Hill, I want to draw specific attention to one specific page of the annual report which documents some stats about Acts 29 and the growing breadth of a movement of the gospel through this church planting network of which we are apart:

• 70,000 – Visits to acts29network.org during April (monthly record)
• 62,000 – Average weekly worshipers across all Acts 29 churches
• 2,450 – People attended one of six Acts 29 boot camps in the past year
• 2,417 – Members on Acts 29′s Facebook page
• 800 – Pastors trained internationally in the past year
• 499 – New applicants in the past year
• 339 – Current applicants
• 256 – Total Acts 29 church plants (173 full members, 83 current candidates – we’re one of the 83)
• 135 – Church planter assessments in the past year
• 53 – New churches planted directly through Acts 29 churches in the past year
• 22 – New church planting coaches being trained this year
• 7 – Board members working in unity
• 1 – Approved Western European church planter

This post is intended to introduce you to our newest Strategic Partner – Core Community Church.  Core is an Acts 29 church in Omaha and as of a few weeks ago, joins the ranks of Coram Deo and The Summit as well as Acts 29 as strategic partners of Project 2 Pillars.

Core was planted roughly nine years ago by Ethan Burmeister. I first met Ethan at an Acts 29 bootcamp here in St. Louis and to be honest, my first impression of Ethan was that of an eclectic mix between a pretty boy and a biker. I really wasn’t sure what to do with him.  Over time, we began to converse more and Ethan eventually invited me up to introduce Project 2 Pillars to the folks at Core after one of their services.  Following service that Sunday, I shared lunch with and got to meet the other pastors at Core. At that time, they expressed their interest in supporting the work we were up to in Lincoln, but really needed some time to pray and seek God’s will regarding what exactly that would look like.

As things have developed, I’ve also gotten to know Doug Stevens, the executive pastor at Core quite well and even was invited up to preach at Core on the topic of church planting a few weeks ago.  Following my sermon, my family and I got to spend some time hanging out with several of the people of Core and have grown to deeply repect and appreciate the work that God is doing in and through His people there.

As a strategic partner, Core is helping Project 2 Pillars in some specific ways – namely through financial support, informal mentoring and coaching, as well as networking and connecting us with folks in Lincoln (because as I’ve said before, everyone in Omaha knows someone in Lincoln).  In addition, I’m grateful for the brotherhood that exists between our two efforts which are really the same effort to glorify Jesus and proclaim the gospel.

Core meets at the Omaha Playhouse on Sunday mornings. You can learn more about Core by visiting their website and by following their Pastor’s Blog.  In addition, I would also encourage you to check out the Core Vision Video linked below and listen to an especially helpful sermon on the history of Omaha and the history of Core preached by Pastor Doug Stevens which you can find on their Sermons Page (the sermon is entitled “Omaha” and was part of the ‘Movement’ series they just concluded).

Watch for a Strategic Partner Spotlight post coming soon on this new partner.

I received news over the weekend that Mars Hill Church in Seattle will be supporting Project 2 Pillars.  Mars Hill Church is lead by Pastor Mark Driscoll whom started the Acts 29 Network of which we are a part.  As Mars Hill has grown to what it is today, it has not lost its central focus on church planting — committing over $710k total to multiple church planters all over the world this coming year (via).

The partnership will consist of a relationship with one of the specific campus of Mars Hill (I have not yet been told which one).  They will provide some financial support while we advance the gospel in Lincoln and report back to them how it is all going.  In addition to financial support, a loose-knit coaching relationship will develop between myself and the supporting campus pastor.

Please join me in welcoming Mars Hill to the growing list of supporters of Project 2 Pillars.

Please join me in

Me: You don’t know me…I’m from St. Louis…I think God is calling me to plant a church in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Bob: Sweet – I’ll be in St. Louis next week, let’s get together over coffee.

As it turned out, Bob had originally felt called to plant in Lincoln but later felt God turn him towards Omaha.  Over coffee we talked about church in general, my calling, and Acts 29.  Through that conversation, he encouraged me to submit to the assessment process of the network which I underwent last fall.  Bob then led the assessment team (there were three others on the team) that went on to grant us conditional approval to plant with A29.  Over the last year then, the relationship with Coram Deo has grown to what it is today.  Bob and the other guys at Coram Deo (Will, Kendall, Justin) have all been a huge source of encouragement and coaching during that time.

As a strategic partner, Coram Deo is helping Project 2 Pillars in some very specific ways.  First and foremost is an informal coaching and mentoring relationship where I can simply bounce ideas, seek counsel and wisdom, and learn from someone who has done this before.  The second way in which Coram Deo is helping is by way of financial support.  It has been a huge blessing to have a church like Coram Deo come behind us so quickly and willing to support us financially at the level that they are.  It took an initial hefty load off my shoulders (and provided some hefty encouragement) for Coram Deo to agree to support us in this way.

Beyond coaching and financial support, Coram Deo is also helping dramatically in the logistics of fundraising allowing us to do all of our fundraising under their existing non-profit status.  They are also helping to keep track of contributions made, generate reports, and provide year-end tax documentation to all of the contributors of Project 2 Pillars.  Finally, they have been willing to share their color copier which, according to my calculations, has saved Project 2 Pillars at least a couple of hundred bucks thus far (thanks, Barb).

Everyone in Omaha knows someone in Lincoln: they either grew up there, went to school there, have family their, friends there, etc.  As such Coram Deo has served as a great help in providing some early contacts in Lincoln.  Some have been potential launch team folks, some have been fellow pastors in Lincoln, and some have been simply good people that we’ll connect with to discuss God’s kingdom and the gospel in Lincoln.

The final way in which Coram Deo has been a partner in this is simply through brotherhood.  It has been a joy to visit Coram Deo with my wife and family, stay with the Thunes, and get to know their family.  It has also been a joy to talk shop with Bob at the pub and engage Will and Justin through seminary.

Through coaching, mentoring, financial support, logistical support, and brotherhood, Coram Deo has modeled what it means to be partners for the gospel.

You can learn more about Coram Deo by checking out the Coram Deo Website, the Coram Deo Blog (also listed in the far right column under Relevant Feeds), and the Coram Deo Vision Video below: