In August 2014 my wife and I left a steady and somewhat comfortable position to launch into the uncertain waters of church planting. Our former church financially supported us for four months, but we otherwise didn’t know how we’d survive.

We joined a missions organization and started raising financial support in February 2015, which has been very hard, to say the least. Many of you know what I’m talking about! We’ve worked hard at it but only managed to raise 41% of our total monthly need.

So, going bi-vocational wasn’t an option for me, it was the only option.

Are you a BiVo pastor or church planter?

Are you a full time vocational pastor or church planter who could use some extra income?

Stay with me. I promise to make it worth your time.

Whatever It Takes

I was willing to do whatever it took to fulfill God’s calling to plant Restoration Church. In fact, my first job after leaving our secure church was at 1-800-GotJunk. Yes, I was the Junk Pastor! The pay was minimal and the work was hard and long.

Once I realized the junk job was, well, junk, I applied for a seasonal driving position at UPS. The pay was better but the hours were long and I was working six days a week. Two weeks before Christmas I was leaving my house at 7am, returning at 8, 9, or even 10pm! Our supplemental needs were met, and I learned a lot about the struggles that many people face working that kind of job. UPS offered me a full-time position at the end of the season, and while it was hard to decline a higher paying, full benefits, union job, I sensed God calling us to step out in greater faith.

Another job I took to help supplement our income while trying to raise support was installing doors and windows. The pay was decent and I learned a lot, but once again it was hard work, leaving little energy to do the things I felt God calling me to.

I thank God for providing for my family through those times. But in the end those jobs were really just work to survive.

Is There A Better Way?

Could there be a way to make the extra money needed to provide for my family AND make a greater impact in the lives of people far from God?

Let me take you back to 2011, when I met Dave Page. Dave was overseeing church planters through the EFCA in California and co-taught a church planting boot camp at Biola University. Dave had previously planted two churches that grew to over 1000 and in both cases started by doing weddings for unchurched couples. When he shared that in the class I was instantly hooked! “How do I get started?” was my only question.

Since I didn’t know where or when we would be planting a new church I had to wait three years to start my own wedding business-ministry. I am so glad I did! In 2014 I started Wedding Pastor Ed (www.WeddingPastorEd.com) as a way to connect with couples that wouldn’t otherwise walk into a church, and as a way to supplement my income.

In the last three years I’ve been doing approximately 30 weddings a year. Of those I end up doing premarital counseling with about 10 couples a year. The majority of those couples are not church-going folks, which I LOVE! I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with couples through the premarital process, planning their weddings, doing rehearsals, mingling during cocktail hours, and even meeting with them after their wedding day. We are now seeing some of those couples visit our church.

My wedding business has generated about $15k per year of extra income. However, this year, with the addition of two associates, and more premium packages, I will make closer to $20k! That’s working just 2-8 hours a week!

Is BiVo For You?

Being a Bivocational pastor or church planter is not for everyone. Whether you’re full time or BiVo, what matters is that you’re free to fulfill God’s calling. Could going BiVo help you do that? If yes, stay with me a few more minutes…

Let me ask two final questions…

1. How would your life be different if you could work 3-10 hours a week and make an extra $500-$2500 or more a month?
2. What would your life and ministry look like if you had couples that have been disconnected from church coming to you AND start visiting your church?!

Doing weddings provides $15-20k per year of extra income for me.

Imagine that being you…

• Imagine what your life and ministry will be like after you know how to create a stream of couples coming to you, wanting to pay you for your experience and expertise as a pastor, specifically to do their wedding, and in many cases pre and post marital counseling.

• Imagine what an extra $10-20k a year would do for you and your family!

If that’s you, then simply CLICK THE LINK BELOW to get my FREE Report For BiVo Pastors And Church Planters, “How To Make An Extra $15k A Year Reaching Unchurched Couples In Your Community Doing Weddings.”

*Note that the webinar registration page is NOT live yet… as soon as it goes live we will let you know.

CLICK HERE To Get The Report

Last August my wife and I were on a Friday lunch date when I shared with her my desire to more with weddings. “I wish there was a way to do more with weddings, to help more pastors and church planters experience this.” We committed it to prayer and had no idea what God was up to.

The answer to that prayer is the Wedding Pastors Network! Dave Page is the one who introduced me to the Wedding Pastor Business. He had a great vision but just didn’t have the time and wherewithal to grow it.

Dave (the wedding guru himself) and I are joining forces along with Travis Sinks (pastor, church planter, and tech guru in S. Florida) to launch the all NEW Wedding Pastors Network!

The Network will launch June 2017 with a FREE LIVE WEBINAR. Here’s a snapshot of the package we’re offering…

Wedding Pastors Network Membership includes:

(1) Tools and Training

1. Six weeks of training modules
   1. Intro (Getting licensed, setting up your business)
   2. Getting Clients (marketing, referrals, and follow up)
   3. The Wedding Inquiry Meeting
   4. Designing The Ceremony
   5. The Rehearsal & Ceremony
   6. Pre and Post Marital Counseling & Coaching
2. Ceremony templates, email and client meeting scripts, & marketing materials.
3. Training from the most experienced and highly reviewed wedding officiants you’ll ever meet. Dave and Ed have combined for more than 300 weddings. Plus access to pastors in the network who have done hundreds of weddings.

(2) Coaching

1. During the first six weeks of training we will coach pastors through the entire process, being available and accessible when they need it.
2. After the six weeks of training they will have access to a monthly mastermind call in which we will go through case studies, Q&A, helping solve challenges and unleash potential.

(3) BONUSES… that will be revealed in our LIVE FREE WEBINAR!

CLICK HERE To Get The Report And Stay Updated For The Webinar

QUESTION: What is the greatest challenge you face in fulfilling your calling as a Pastor or Church Planter, especially if you’re BiVo?

Racial tension and conflict has flooded the news lately. Rather than point fingers and cast blame, I submit THE answer is quite simple. Not easy or quick, but transformational.

Racial (I prefer using the word ethnic) tensions exist in large part because we don’t listen to one another. It’s hard to understand someone who is different without knowing them. How many ethnically and culturally different people do we really know?

My Multiethnic Story

My father is half Chinese, hence my last name is Choy. My step sister is half African-American. My grandfather was an immigrant from China, my grandmother’s parents and grandparents were immigrants from the Czech Republic.

I’ve always had friends who were from diverse backgrounds. I played football in high school and many of my teammates were from diverse ethnic background. In college some of my closest friends were from other countries. The same is true about my wife.

The neighborhood we live in is in one of the most diverse cities in America (read more HERE). Our next door neighbors are from Vietnam, Ethiopia, Russia, Peru, Ecuador, and Washington, DC! That’s just on our block!

THE Problem

Could the problem of racial tension exist because of the ongoing segregation of churches? What about education, economic issues, power, and all manner of injustices?

Superficial change is not the answer. Hearts must change. The golden rule applies now more than ever. We must become a people who truly love our neighbors as ourselves. And if you haven’t looked out the window lately it’s likely that your neighbor doesn’t look, act, think, or live like you!

THE Answer

In April 2015 I attended the Kainos multiethnic leadership conference. Sociologist Dr. Michael Emerson shared five benefits of multiethnic churches. As a church planter of a multiethnic church (Restoration Church in Gaithersburg, MD) I was tuned in. Below is an adaptation from Dr. Emerson’s talk. This, I believe, is THE answer!

Dr. Michael Emerson speaking at Kainos April 2015

Dr. Emerson started with this quote from Dr. Benjamin May’s. Dr. May’s was a pastor, president of Morehouse College, author, and mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I hold, nevertheless, that my overall critique of the local church is accurate, and that it will be a sad commentary on our life and times if a historian writing in the year 2000 can still truthfully say that the most segregated institution in the United States is the Church of the Living God.”

Published shortly before his death in the 1960s. page 264 of his book, Born to Rebel: An Autobiography

The sad commentary that Dr. May’s was concerned with is still being written!

Segregated Churches Are Problematic

At least four problems are perpetuated in segregated churches:

1. They reproduce inequality. The have’s and the have not’s don’t change when we worship in churches with people like us. The cycle of inequality continues spinning.

2. Separation of friendship networks. People with resources tend to have friendship networks with people with resources. And vice-versa.

3. Strengthen racial division. We feel safe with people who look, think, act, and live like us. When we stay around people like us we only strengthen the divisions among us.

4. Heighten political conflict. If we’re surrounded by people in a church that are all red or all blue we limit our perspective. In that setting we tend to demonize the other side, cast stones, and turn deaf ears to those who have different views.

Good News!

The standard sociological definition of a multiethnic church is one in which no more than 80% of the congregation is one ethnicity. According to that definition the US has grown from 7% multiethnic in 1998 to 13% in 2012. My guess it’s grown closer to 15% in 2015. We’re making progress.

Here are the 5 benefits of multiethnic churches

1. Social ties. Multiethnic churches open access to friendships with people we may never otherwise develop.

2. Organizational home for multiracial families and people. The multiracial demographic is growing significantly.

3. Group formation and solidarity. A unified multiethnic church has immense potential to organize groups that impact their community and world.

4. Altered racial attitudes. It’s impossible for racial biases to stay the same when your close friends and coworkers in the church are from diverse background.

5. Reduced inequalities: economic, social, spiritual. Proximity and access to economic, social, and spiritual resources change the landscape of the culture and society like nothing else can. Where else will this happen if it doesn’t happen in multiethnic churches?

Dr. Emerson says, “Religion has immense potential to reduce racial inequity and division.” At the same time, “We’ve never seen an institution more segregated than the church!”

Planting new multiethnic churches and helping existing churches become multiethnic is one of my driving passions. If this movement does not succeed I fear the legitimacy of our Good News message will continue loosing ground and become irrelevant.

Referring to multiethnic churches, Dr. Emerson concludes:

“Such congregations, in addition to whatever else they do, must be part of a movement toward equality for God’s people, or the movement will have failed.”

QUESTION: Does your church reflect the diversity of your community? Why do you think that is or is not happening?

After years of preparation that included doctoral studies, reading stacks of books, attending conferences, church planting boot camp, and formal church planter assessments… we’re stepping forward to be part of Restoration Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland!

God uses people. He uses people like us, and people like you! Imperfect, yet in the Restoration process! Jesus makes all things new. And while we won’t be completely new until we join Him in heaven, we can be Restored into a vibrant relationship with Him. Broken relationships between people can also be Restored.

Next Step

Our goal is to raise 50% of my monthly financial support by May. That enables me to continue raising support full-time so I can be released to my calling to pastor Restoration Church.

SERVING YOU

1. Pulpit supply
2. Speaker for a conference or seminar on…
   1. Leadership issues or, more specifically leading or becoming a multiethnic church
   2. Marriage
   3. Parenting
   4. Youth group
3. Sharing our story and experience with anyone who might be encouraged by it

Click HERE to contact me and let’s talk about how I can best serve you.

Will you join us? Leave a comment or send me a message if you’d like to connect.

New Years gives us all an opportunity to reflect back and look forward. 2014 was a year full of change for me and my family. 2015 will be an even bigger year of change.

Change Behind (in 2014)

Calling

In 2010 I started a D.Min. program at Dallas Theological Seminary. The first year of my program focused on church planting. From that point on I knew I had to be part of church planting. I just didn’t know how it would unfold.

Between 2010 and 2014 (graduated in May) God’s calling became clearer. That culminated in February 2014 as my wife and I clearly and separately heard God calling us to step out in faith to plant Restoration Church! Much thanks to Brad Bridges who coached me through the transition. And to Derwin Gray who helped me clarify God’s call.

At the Velocity Church Planting Conference Feb 2014

Church family

In February 2009 I accepted the call to be the English Pastor at the Chinese Christian Church of Germantown (MD). CCCG is a wonderful church family that we were honored to serve for 5+ years. Our time concluded with a great celebration, my ordination, and send off to pursue the call to plant Restoration Church.

Sharing on our last Sunday at CCCG Aug 31 2014

Work

In September I started working for 1800GOTJUNK. Some called me the “Junk Pastor.” It was not for me! Thankfully God provided a great seasonal job as a UPS Deliver Car Driver. I enjoyed working hard, feeling like Santa delivering packages every day, and working with great people! I learned a lot from this experience that I’d like to write more about in the weeks to come. My time with UPS will end at the end of January.

Change Ahead (in 2015)

2014 was an amazing faith stretching year with lots of change. We thank God for all He has done. Now we look ahead to what we believe will be the most exciting year of change we’ve ever had.

Restoration Church

The vision and dream of Restoration Church is to be an ethnically diverse community of faith joining the mission of God in the Restoration of all things. We dream of seeing this start in Gaithersburg, MD and multiplying around the area, country, and world!

A full post is needed to paint the picture of what’s happening. Here are a few things to come:

• Monthly “Discovery” meetings the last Sun of each month Jan-May. Potential launch team members are invited to join us discover more! Let me know if you’re interested.
• Feb 3-10 Laura and I will attend support raising training with GCM. We begin raising support (prayer and financial) full time immediately following the training. We need to raise an initial $2000 by January 18th to get started. A link and more info will be posted in the next few days.
• In June my teammate/co-pastor/bro-in-law Rodrigo Bender with his wife Annie (my wife Laura’s sister) will move to MD to join us (with their three boys).

This summer we will evaluate what God is doing/saying and take the next steps toward launching Restoration Church. We will likely launch public services at the RIO movie theater in late Fall of 2015 or early 2016.

Baby coming

In November (2014) we got the exciting and scary news that Laura is pregnant! We’re transforming our small townhouse to accommodate. My office is now a temporary storage room! Our storage room is now a game/play room. Elijah’s room will become the baby room in May.

We need to turn our temporary storage room into Elijah’s bedroom in May. We’re praying for a place to store things that may fill a small bedroom. If anyone has space we could use for an indefinite period of time (locally), please let us know.

QUESTION: what’s the most significant change you anticipate in 2015?

Transition From CCCG

On August 31st, after five years and seven months our family left CCCG! Church transitions are hard! CCCG has been like our family. It’s the only church Emet has known. All three boys have close friends, as do Laura and I.

While the transition has been difficult, it was a blessing to receive so much encouragement from the church family. Our last day was HUGE as I preached my farewell sermon (part one HERE; part two HERE). The church held a farewell celebration during lunch. Then I was ordained and commissioned!

Farewell and ordination cakes

Gonna miss these awesome young people!

Ordination counsel laying on hands and praying for me

Dad, grandmother, cousin, wife, and kids. 4 generations of Choy’s!

Transition to Launch Restoration Church

There are MANY steps to take for Restoration Church to become a reality…

Transition to a temporary job

CCCG has been generous and gracious to help us financially through December. But it’s not enough to cover all our expenses.

I’ve been working at 1800GOTJUNK? for the last three weeks! It’s been interesting to say the least. On one hand it’s great to interact with a lot of unchurched guys. It’s also interesting to see what people pay to have removed! However, it doesn’t pay great, it’s physically exhausting, and the hours are LONG! The first day I worked 13.5 hours!

Today I’m interviewing with UPS. Lord willing I’ll be able to work a seasonal position making better money, more reasonable hours, without having to visit the transfer station (i.e. dump) 3-5 times a day!

Transition to full-time fund-raising

In February Laura and I will attend an 8 day training with GCM (Great Commission Ministries). This organization trains employees/missionaries in fund-raising and provides the admin support, payroll, taxes, health insurance, and benefits. Immediately following the training in February we will begin fundraising full-time.

Our goal is to raise my annual salary for three full years. That allows us to focus 100% on establishing a healthy church without worrying about the offering to pay our bills. After three years we hope and pray that the church can sustain my salary, along with the other staff.

Launch Strong Assessment

Laura and I, along with our teammates Rod and Annie Bender (my bro and sis in law) will go through a church planting assessment next weekend. We’re going through the Launch Strong assessment, which has been recommended as the most thorough assessment available. We hope to get the green light before returning home, which enables us to be accepted as church planters with V3 and BGAV, our network/organizational partners.

V3 Intensive

At the end of October my teammate Rod Bender and I will travel to Miami, FL for a three-day intensive with V3. We’re excited about this gathering of 20+ planters and the awesome leaders facilitating it. JR Woodward is the national director of V3. Tim Catchim, Dan White Jr. , and Ron Willoughby (my coach) are a few of the coaches. I’m excited that Alan and Deb Hirsch will be guests with us too!

November interest gathering

We haven’t made a public announcement yet. But we will! In November we will invite anyone interested to join us for a gathering to discuss the vision and plans for Restoration Church. We’d love to have you join us. Stay posted!

More to come!

My goal moving forward is to write a post every Monday. Some will be updates about the progress and plans for Restoration Church. There is so much more I’d like to share but it’ll have to wait!

Pray for us

Without prayer and a close connection to God through Jesus and His Spirit we can do NOTHING! With that in mind we would be so blessed and honored to have you praying with and for us…

• Family: to be centered in God’s love and motivated by His mission to love the people around us.
• Work: interview with UPS today at 2:30pm.
• Assessment: Launch Strong next Sun-Tues.
• Launch team: forming in the next several months.
• KEY: walk closely with Jesus daily!

QUESTION: would you like to be added to our monthly Church Plant email? This is a once a month email sharing stories, updating progress, sharing plans, and opportunities to participate with us. Please leave a comment, send a message/email, a tweet, etc. and let me know.

Here are some of my notes from various speakers in the pre-conference, main sessions, and workshops.

Matt Larson (@Matt_larson): Creating a Culture of Reproducing and multiplication

1. Giving away leadership demonstrates that its not about you.
2. Its all about and for God. Are you okay with that?
3. Leave room for the Holy Spirit to speak to others in ways that may not be completely in line with what you were already thinking.

Shawn Lovejoy (@shawnlovejoy) – Simple Systems That Work

7 things we need to think through to keep the system simple…

1. Think through the WHY behind the WHAT
2. Think PROCESS not PROGRAMS
3. Think CYCLICAL not LINEAR.
4. QUALIFY the UNQUALIFIED.
5. Create SIMPLE Steps
6. Leverage the worship service for sign ups
7. Be RIDICULOUS about follow up!

Nicky Gumbel (@nickygumbel) – Can the Nation be Changed?

1. Cleaning nets is important, but its not the purpse of the nets. The nets are for catching fish.
2. Enough infighting in the church. We need to unite around Jesus!
3. Just because things are going down doesn’t mean they will continue to go down. #ThingsCanChange.

 Dave Gibbons (@davegibbons)

1. You don’t have to be big to make an impact.
2. The Holy Spirit is the X factor of loving people
3. Evangelism and discipleship are all about supernatural love. Then it becomes FUN!

Vince Antonucci (@vinceantonucci)

1. It made Jesus sick to see people without God. Does it make you sick?
2. If you’re not living for His cause, you’re not really living!

Jim Burgen (@JimBurgen)

1. What level of lostness are you comfortable with?
2. The number one question asked of Jesus: why does He hang out with sinners?I won’t follow wimpy Jesus! I want to follow KING Jesus!
   1. Do you really want sinners in your church?
   2. If you do, they will show up.
   3. Don’t plant a church that promises bread but serve up rocks!
   4. You okay with sinners coming into your church? It’s a mess!
3. Let’s plant some churches that drop the rocks and give hungry people bread.

Larry Osborne (@larryosborne)

1. The people who are best at drive-by guiltings are often the worst at reaching people.

Alan Hirsch (@alanhirsch)

1. We will fail unless we get discipleship right. Most churches suck at it!
2. The church growth movement basically misinterpreted the great commission. Thought it was all about evangelism, when the commission is making disciples who obey Jesus!
3. If the Great Commission IS all about making disciples, where did we get it all wrong?
4. Incarnation, God became a man. What ever happened to this part of the equation, HELLO?
5. Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Jesus!

Damian Boyd (@damianlboyd)

1. God doesn’t want us to hide the light, He wants us to put it on display.
2. Our job as church planters is taking the gospel to places that are dark.
3. Doing NOTHING should NEVER be an option!
4. Your voice is necessary! They should know your name. You matter!

Michael Frost (@michaelfrost6)

1. If we don’t get the opportunity to announce the rule and reign of Jesus, then we aren’t being #missional.
2. Col 4:2-6 – two-pronged to approach to role of the evangelist:
   1. There are some who are gifted evangelists who have either a local or trans-local call. Paul asked for prayers for those gifted as evangelists.
   • Then he says, as for YOU who are NOT gifted as evangelists.

   2. Paul doesn’t think we are all evangelists, we are not all going to boldly proclaim the gospel. For most of us, our primary mode of proclaiming the gospel is in response to people’s questions.

   • This implies we are living lives worth questioning! This is your primary missionary lifestyle.
   • If you live like them, then what do they have to question your life about?
   • Live a life that evokes curiosity, that’s so freaking weird, that people around you want to know who you are, to invite you to their parties!
   • A fine upstanding middle class suburban lifestyle is not intriguing!
   • If no one is asking you questions, you’re doing it all wrong!

Hugh Halter (@hughhalter)

1. The way of Jesus…

             Incarnation
                                  Reputation
                                                      Conversation
                                                                             Confrontation
                                                                                                      Transformation

2. True godliness deeply dives INTO the world!
3. The MOST righteous one ever walked without judging sinners.
4. We’ve got some work to do folks. #DIVEIN
5. Don’t be afraid, the people around you should actually like you!

DJ Strickland (@djstrickland)

1. The Holy Spirit is always interrupting our plans, that’s how we know the Spirit is a woman!
2. If we’re honest about what witness is, we’re going to have to change the way we SEE!
3. Jesus sees people no one else sees
4. We need to see Jesus the way He really is so we can see people the way they really area.

James Meeks (@revjamesmeeks)

1. The key to our success in getting results = preaching the announcements
2. Whatever it is you want people to do, make it a sermon

Matt Chandler (@mattchandler74)

• Luke 15
  1. What makes preaching distinctively preaching is the Word of God.
  2. Jesus enters into the world views, and then reconstruct them redemptively. Gospel preaching deconstructs and reconstructs.
  3. When I was growing up timeout was what happened after dad knocked you out!
  4. Don’t be sharing other people hanging out with lost people stories
  5. Summary points
     1. Don’t live vicariously through others
     2. Trust the bible. You don’t have to be cute
     3. Trust the Holy Spirit.

Andy Stanley (@andystanley) – Communicating with Unchurched People in the Room

Approach to preaching – “approach is everything”

1. If you don’t care what people do with what you say, you don’t care about people.
2. If you’re really committed to reaching un-churched, non-Christains, then from time to time we have to change our approach
3. I can’t make someone fall in love with Jesus, but I can set up dates.
4. Challenge: Avoid the phrase “The bible says…” and instead substitute the author.
   1. This communicates that the Bible is the foundation of the Christian faith. Therefore, if there is an error, a problem, a conflict, then there goes the whole Christian faith.
   2. The foundation of the Christian faith is an event… the Resurrection! VITAL!!!
   3. The problem with “the Bible says” is what else the bible says. It’s NOT all equally applicable and relevant.

Choco de Jesus (@PastorChoco)

1. Engage your church
2. Engage the community
3. Engage the city
4. Engage the world.

Tim Cathcim (@TimCatchim) – Building Effective Teams for Missional Impact: The Fivefold Giftings of Ephesians 4:11 in Team Building

1. Simple definitions

• APOSTLE: sent + extend
• PROPHET: questions + reforms
• EVANGELIST: tells + invites
• PASTOR: protects + provides
• TEACHER: explains (topic) + trains (task)

2. Hold diversity/unity tightly together. They go hand in hand. CANNOT have a cloning culture. Stay away from cloning, competing or congregating cultures.
3. The ideal/sweet spot is a collaborating culture.
4. When common mission glues unity & diversity together = collaborating culture.

QUESTION: (1) for those at Exponential, what were your top highlights? (2) for those NOT at Exponential, what’s your favorite highlight from above?

Exponential 2014 will take a fresh look at evangelism — proclaiming the Good News — as we rethink and challenge some of our old paradigms and rediscover some of Jesus’ old truths. Within the context of discipleship, we will press into five key areas of evangelism:

ReThinking Evangelism | ReThinking Outreach |

ReThinking Witness ReThinking Preaching | ReThinking Commission

This year will be our (my wife Laura and I) fourth year attending Exponential. Every year it’s been challenging, encouraging, and inspiring. This year it has a much different feel though. I can’t let the cat completely out of the bag, but I’ll just say that in the next 12-18 months we believe God wants to use us to launch something new! Much more to come on that in the weeks ahead.

Attending conferences is great. But there are a few things we can do to get the most out of it. Check out this post, 5 Do’s and Don’ts to Make the Next Conference You Attend Radically Beneficial. HERE is another helpful post from @revchadbrooks.

Here are 3 reasons the Exponential Conference is a must: 

1. The Content

There is SO much amazing content offered at this conference. WAY too many options, LOL! But it’s such a mix of people, churches, seasons of life/planting/launching new churches, etc., that there is something for everyone. 

The content at Exponential is broken into at least three categories…

1. Pre-Conference

Two half day sessions before the main conference begins. 
I will attend the Beyond the Call Pre-Conference hosted by Passion for Planting. 

The description: “developing the launch plan, building a launch team, marketing/outreach, leadership/staffing and creating/funding the vision. We’ll also dive into those practical “have to” topics like legal documentation and your portable church equipment. We all know church planting is hard and we’ll address issues head on with the topic of Planter Heath.”

I’m super pumped about these sessions. The topics deal with the main questions we have about next steps.  

There are 6 other pre-conference tracks. Each of them is loaded with great content.

2. Main Sessions

All of the main sessions will be streamed LIVE and FREE. For dates and times (EDT) of all 10 webcast sessions, consult http://exponential.org/webcast.

The main session topics and speaker line-up:  

Rethinking Evangelism: Nicky Gumbel, Dave Gibbons, Vince Antonucci, Ed Stetzer, John Teter, & Louie Giglio. 

Rethinking Outreach: Jim Bergen, Choco DeJesus, Larry Osborne, Alan Hirsch, & Damian Boyd. 

Rethinking Witness: Michael Frost, Hugh Halter, Danielle Strickland, Craig Groeschel, Jeanne Stevens, & Greg Nettle. 

Rethinking Preaching: James Meeks, Andy Stanley, Tim Keller, Matt Chandler, & Dave Ferguson. 

Rethinking the Great Commission: Dave Ferguson, Greg Nettle, Greg Surratt, Matt Chandler, Dave Travis, Oscar Muriu, Dave Ferguson, & Bill Hybels.

3. Workshops

Over 125 workshops are on the menu! Overwhelming??? But amazing opportunities to hear leading practitioners up close. And they’re all recorded and podcast-ed FREE. I listen to workshops from previous years regularly. LOADED with great content.

2. The People

Content is great, but life and ministry is all about people! There are a LOT of people to meet at Exponential! Two groups of people are especially important…

Network Leaders

It’s one thing to fill out forms online, talk on the phone, and Skype. But Exponential gives us the opportunity to meet leaders in person, both formally and informally.
My wife and I will attend an informal BBQ Mon hosted by Stadia, a banquet Tues evening hosted by Stadia, a luncheon Wed hosted by AmbassadorNet and the EFCA, and a dinner party Wed evening hosted by NewThing.

Friends (old and new) 

For the third year in a row my wife and I will be with her sister and husband (my bro-in-law). They planted a few years ago and are praying about being a part of something new. It’s an honor for us to share this week seeking God and dreaming together.

There are many other old friends we look forward to seeing, sharing, laughing, and maybe crying with.

No doubt we will meet and make many new friends. Only God knows the divine appointments that await all 5000+ of us attending!

3. The Experience with my Wife

I’m blessed to have the opportunity to attend Exponential with my wife Laura. We’ve done this the last several years and it’s a highlight every year. We love to debrief and talk about all we’re learning, hearing, and experiencing together. And of course it’s nice to unplug & unwind after hours with my best friend and closest ministry partner!

Exponential Main Sessions STREAMING FREE!

If you’re not able to attend you can watch the main session for FREE! Register HERE. 

This year I will be part of the #Exponential Social Media team. From Mon-Thurs I’ll be tweeting (@ed_choy using #exponential) from the pre-conference, main sessions, and workshops. 

QUESTION: what’s the most significant or favorite church planting resource? 

The biblical rationale for a multiethnic church is strong. But there are other reasons. Here are two you should consider.

1. Demographics are Shifting SIGNIFICANTLY

There are massive shifts in diversity in America. It is increasingly difficult to say there is little diversity in most places. For example, in November 2005 the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education noted the sweeping changes in the U.S. workforce:

The U.S. workforce (generally ages 25 to 64) is in the midst of a sweeping demographic transformation. From 1980 to 2020, the white working-age population is projected to decline from 82% to 63% (see figure 1). During the same period, the minority portion of the workforce is projected to double (from 18% to 37%), and the Hispanic/Latino portion is projected to almost triple (from 6% to 17%).

While Caucasians are still a large majority, most live in areas where more than 20 percent of the population is non-White. If the church should be a reflection of the community, then most churches should reflect the increasing diversity. When possible, churches should make intentional effort to be multiethnic.

In a November 2013 WSJ article, Conor Dougherty states,

Whites will comprise less than half of the U.S. population by 2042, about eight years earlier than previously thought, according to a report to be released by the Census Bureau.”

In the same article William Frey, senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank added,

We are going to become more diverse in more parts of the country and in more of the age structure sooner.

Gerardo Marti, in his case study on Mosaic Church LA A Mosaic of Believers
(Erwin McManus) says,

The United States continues to become more and more diverse in every societal sphere, bringing a new challenge of integration to both civic and religious organizations.

He goes on to cite three major demographers who suggest that by the year 2050, and some say sooner, America will have no single majority group. The changing face of most domains of society is feeling this shift. However, the majority of churches in America do not yet reflect this new reality.

Consider what McIntosh and McMahan say in their book Being the Church in a Multi-Ethnic Community,

The new ethnic marketplace is forcing government, businesses, and churches to rethink how to speak the language and adopt the culture of the new multi-ethnic and multicultural reality.

The multicultural and multiethnic reality cannot be ignored.

2. Multiethnic Churches are Beautiful

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

QUESTION: Does your church reflect the demographics of your community? Why or why not?

The theme of Velocity14 was PACE. My core take away is from Shawn Lovejoy. He said “Winning requires running the right race at the right pace.” Everything else revolves around this theme.

CORE TAKE AWAYS
In the first main session Shawn Lovejoy challenged all 800+ attendees to write 1, 2, 3. Then, throughout the conference to write down three specific next steps. Here are mine:

1. William Vanderbloemen (@wvanderbloemen) is the founder and CEO of the Vanderbloemen Search Group. His challenge was to take the first 30 minutes of each day to listen to the Shepherd’s voice. Do this for the next 30 days. Feeling the noise of too many voices, I am taking that challenge. I commit to spend time in prayer and reading God’s Word before looking at or listening to anything else.

2. Aubrey Malphurs (@amalphurs) teaches at Dallas Theological Seminary and founder of The Malphurs Group. In his pre-conference session on Leadership he challenged us to clarify our leadership development process in writing. I am going to work on that one day every week for the next month.

3. Derwin Gray (@DerwinLGray) is the founder and lead pastor of Transformation Church. In his breakout session on vision he talked about how to grow as a vision-caster. In the next six months I will spend part of my personal retreat day clarifying God’s vision for my life and ministry.

Here are a few main session and breakout highlights…

Dave Ferguson (@daveferguson)
In his main session Dave asked, “How do we lead a reproducible and sustainable life? Based on Jesus’ example from Luke 2:52 he created 4 gauges. Dave challenged us to evaluate these areas regularly/daily:

1. Relational – always have time for your kids. “If you blow it at home you’ve blown it!”
2. Physical – rest/refreshing, exercise & diet
3. Mental – read, doubt, explore new ideas & dream
4. Spiritual – relationship with God, the church, and the world

Shawn Lovejoy

• “Too many pastors want the fame of game day without the pain of training.”
• “You’re not winning because you’re not training and disciplining yourself to win!”
• “Train now win later!”
• “Winning requires running the right race at the right pace.”
• “Do I trust God enough to run at His pace? Be the best you, faithfully!”

Jeff Vanderstelt (@JeffVanderstelt)

• “It’s a big mistake to try to go and DO incarnational ministry without the work of the Holy Spirit.”
• “Do not lead your church in such a way so that your people don’t need the power of God!”

Derwin Gray (@DerwinLGray)

• “Talking about “I’m going to plant a church!” Huh! Jesus already planted His church 2000 years ago!”
• How do we keep up with the pace of grace? (Phil 3:7-11)
  1. “Unceasing worship! Is your ministry worth less than Jesus?”
  2. “Identify our idols. Name them and build walls and boundaries.”
  3. “Need to be the CEO of our own spiritual health.”

Shawn Lovejoy & Blake Stanley (@blake_stanley) – Breakout session 3 “Simple Systems That Work”

1. Think cyclical not linear:  there are multiple entry points into your ministry.
2. Create simple steps: Make easy on ramps.

Breakout Session 4 – Mark Batterson (@MarkBatterson)

• “Wise men come bearing gifts – give generously”
• “There are ways of doing church no one has thought of”

7 lessons learned

1. Enjoy the journey
2. Get a life
3. Was trying to be a pastor but not I’m trying to be myself
4. Think long
5. Don’t let your budget determine your vision – dream beyond your abilities and resources
6. Offend Pharisees – you’re going to offend someone right!
7. Curse barren “fig trees”
8. BONUS: Your primary ministry is not people, it’s to God!

My soul was deeply refreshed and newly challenged. There were many divine appointments. New friends were made. Many challenges taken.

THANK YOU Velocity14 and Mountain Lake Church for an a great experience!

I’ve attended the Exponential Church Planting Conference in Orlando, FL several times. Every time I’m challenged, encouraged, and inspired. But this will be my first year attending Velocity. There are several things I’m looking forward to…

1.The Content.

I’m looking forward to hearing the main session speakers. This is a top flight lineup. Listed in alphabetical order: Mark Batterson, Jeff Bethke, Rick Bezet, Dave Ferguson, Derwin Gray, Brandon Hatmaker, Pete Hise, Shawn Lovejoy, William Vanderbloemen, and Jeff Vanderstelt. If that’s not enough the list of breakout speakers is goes on an on. Every one of them brings a ton to the church planting and leadership conversation.

Add to that the four pre-conference conversations: marriage, missional, financial, and leadership. I am excited to participate in the leadership conversation with Aubrey Malphurs. I’m sure the other three conversations will be solid too.

I’m looking forward to hearing what God is doing around the country and world. With all the bad news in our world, I’m excited to hear how God’s Kingdom is expanding.

2. The People.

I’m looking forward to meeting church planters and leaders from all over. It’s one thing to read a book, blog, or listen to a podcast. But church planting is challenging and it’s easy to feel alone and isolated. Velocity is a great opportunity to connect with old friends and make new ones.

3. The Surprises.

I’m looking forward to being surprised. My prayer is for divine encounters and connections. I can’t wait to be surprised by the Holy Spirit! Who knows what life altering encounter Velocity will bring into my life!

4. The Next Steps.

I’m looking forward to discerning what next steps God is calling me to take. The trip won’t be worth the investment just to sit and soak. God will be speaking. I pray for a listening heart and courage to act on what I hear.

QUESTION: if you’re going to Velocity 2014 what are you looking forward to? I hope to see/meet you there!

If you’re not there in person every main sessions will streamed live. Join the conversation. Then I’d love to hear your take aways and next steps.