I spent a week (May 14-21) in Florrisant, CO, attending a Church Planting Round Table. Approximately 18 organizations representing 21 countries had personnel at this workshop. Most were career missionaries and church planters with over 15 years on the field. Some, like me, were just happy to be in the room.
The workshop was a discussion of two different church planting strategies – Saturation Church Planting and Church Planting Movements. Each person in the room was eager to find the strategy that worked best for in their context. This was an opportunity for them to see both side-by-side and discuss their merits with peers from around the world.
The days were quite long. I generally woke up between 5 and 6 am and went to bed at about 12am.
I felt like I was walking among spiritual giants all week, yet most people wouldn’t even recognize the names of those in the room. Regardless, these were men and women of intense dedication springing from a passion for Jesus and for the Lost.
I recorded the conference – audio and video – and created an event site. You can find the site at http://www.churchplantingroundtable.com. I will post additional video files and resource files over the next few weeks. Everything on the site is free. You may have to register for some things so that we have an idea of who is accessing them.
On Thursday, the main speaker, David Watson, fell ill. I had to jump in and facilitate the debrief session and play a role on a couple of panel discussions with several members of the CityTeam and New Generations team. I also had a chance to talk about Reaching the Online Generation and our upcoming summer missions project (You’ll hear more about it this week.).
David recovered by Friday and was able to finish leading the rest of the conference.
I’m glad to be home. I had limited internet access and no cellphone access all week. I’m looking forward to catching up with all of you on the internet.
Blessings,
-Paul.
