Upcoming Church Planting Course offerings
Winter 2007: Jan 7-11
EVAN 660 Leading a Healthy Church
This weeklong intensive is offered to both M.A. and D.Min students.
Spring 2008
EVAN 550 Church Planting - Wednesdays 1:45 - 4:45 pm
EVAN 610 Methods and Models Tuesday/Thursday 2:00-3:15 pm
Summer 2008: Aug 11-15
EVAN 550 / EVAN 997 Introduction to Church Planting. Dr. Ed Stetzer will be joining Dr. Earley for a portion of this intensive.
Dr. Earley's speaking schedule
Dr. Wheeler's speaking schedule
4-7 November
Lively Stones Baptist Church
Pelham, NC
30 November-1 December
West Cabarrus Church Marriage Retreat
Concord, NC
www.wcchurch.com
LCCP NEWSLETTERS
Feb. 2007 - vol 1 Newsletter
Mar. 2007 - vol 1 Newsletter
May 2007 - vol 1 Newsletter
Sept. 2007 - vol 2 Newsletter
Oct. 2007 - vol 2 Newsletter
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Tadd Grandstaff and Team Launch Pine Ridge Church
LU grad Tadd Grandstaff took notes and learned well during his first 10 years in ministry. Following a 4 year stint in TRBC Youth Ministry, Tadd served at West Ridge Church in Hiram, Georgia for 2 years (under Sr. Pastor Brian Bloye, also a LU grad), then participated in 2 of West Ridge’s church plants. With lots of experience under his belt and a huge passion for church planting, Tadd and his wife, Becki (also an LU grad), moved to Burlington, North Carolina in July 2006 to begin groundwork for launching Pine Ridge Church. Liberty grad Brandon Delk and 2 other team members eventually joined them. They spent a year building a large core group who understood and was committed to the particular vision God had given Tadd and his team for Pine Ridge Church. Tadd viewed one of his hardest, yet most important, chores as “dismissing” Christian core group members who were not fully on board with their vision. He saw that radically holding on to the vision for the church would be essential for the success of the launch.
The home page of their website describes Pine Ridge Church as being “creative, reckless, and innovative” – browsing through the rest of the site at www.pineridgechurch.com confirms this claim. Among other resources, Tadd and his team utilized venues such as Facebook and MySpace to communicate that a unique church plant was on the way. They also held a Family Night in the Park with a low key invitation to check out Pine Ridge. September 9, 2007 marked Pine Ridge’s official launch service with 267 people in attendance. Launching with the structure of a much larger church already in place created excitement and a strong base for the future. They are currently meeting in an elementary school on Sunday mornings. Executing a dynamic, relevant Sunday morning gathering is their main focus at this point. More ministries will follow as God leads and Tadd feels the team is ready.
Tadd shared his story at the October 18th Church Planting Get-Together. His passion and commitment both motivated and challenged. Thank you, Tadd, for being in the front line of church planting!
Church Planting Emphasis Week
January 30 – Feb. 1, 2008
This event is in conjunction with a National Summit on Church Planting hosted by Thomas Road Church. Speakers will include Ed Stetzer, Nelson Searcy, and Ergun Caner.
A Ministry Internship Fair will be held concurrently with the Church Planting Emphasis Week to help students find summer or semester internships. The North American Mission Board will be sending state representatives to conduct this fair.
More details next month!
Searching for Church Plants
The Liberty Center for Church Planting is compiling a list of new church plants that have launched since its inception in July, 2006. If you are a Liberty alumni, have planted, assisted or know of a church plant in this time period contact the Liberty Center for Church Planting at churchplanting@liberty.edu
Church Planting Get-Togethers
Sunday, Nov. 11th 6:00 at the Earley’s
Guest Church Planter: Scott Hofert
Friday, Dec. 7th 7:00 at the Earley’s
Guest Church Planter: Buzz Offenbacker
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Dr. Dave Wheeler’s suggestions for Christmas outreach in a New Church Plant:
From the newest technical gadget to toys and clothes, the Christmas holidays are naturally associated in our culture with both giving and receiving. Of course, as Christians we understand the real “eternal” meaning goes much deeper and the greatest gift ever was Christ Himself. This is why the Christmas season provides a natural bridge to show Christ’s love in creative and effective ways. Here are a few suggestions:
Go to a local mall or shopping center and set up a “Free Gift Wrapping” station. This has been especially effective in ministering to both shoppers and store owners.
Considering that gas is such a needed commodity, provide a gas-buy-down through a local station. Simply get permission from the owner and for two hours on a Saturday afternoon, supplement .25 off every gallon of gas that is sold (set a limit of 20 gallons per car). For instance, if a gallon of regular is $2.00, the advertised price would be $1.75 for the two hours. Church members serve the community by pumping gas and washing windshields, no strings attached.
Secure a local photographer and advertise to the community for a free family Christmas portrait. The community makes appointments through the church and every family will receive a free 8x10. The community can follow up with the photographer if they desire more pictures. Simply place the free picture into a nice frame and personally deliver the “gift” to each family along with baked goods and information about the church.
One church printed up over 1000 cards that stated, “We genuinely want to brighten your day by demonstrating Christ’s love in a practical way . . . We hope you enjoy this gift!” On the back was basic congregational information. Church members were challenged to give out the cards as they randomly bought someone a cup of coffee at Starbucks, a meal at a restaurant, or paid for the car behind them at a McDonalds drive-thru, etc.
Host an in home “It’s a Wonderful Life” party. Provide a feast! After the movie, in a non-threatening way use the theme of “LIFE” to create a climate to share one’s testimony with those who attend. Go to GotLife.org for a simple LIFE gospel presentation.
For both the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, be sensitive to neighbors, schoolmates, and others who are without family in the area. Purchase a small gift for each person and invite them over to watch football and to share a meal.
Also be sensitive to people who have faced recent life changes like divorce or death of a family member. The holidays can be a time of great depression. Go out of your way to include these families into your holiday plans.
A final suggestion for the New Year is to start off right by leading a community prayer walk seeking out community prayer needs. You can even supplement this by taking “Prayer Plants” door to door. The plants will be a continual reminder of your concern and can be secured at a minimal price through any greenhouse or nursery.
Originally printed in SBC Life Magazine.
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