Additional session descriptions will be added periodically.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS
KEYNOTE 1: Tomorrow’s Fuel: Rediscovering our Utter Dependence on the Spirit - keisha polonio
For centuries, churches relied on their place at the center of North American culture. But as power shifts, American Christians are learning what missionaries have known all along: the Church lives and breathes because of its dependence on the Spirit of God.
KEYNOTE 2: Tomorrow's Path: Becoming The Ancient Future Church Today - Leonard Sweet
Never before has the Church had to compete with iPhones, Facebook or Podcasting. But it does have a rich, 2,000 year history of cross-cultural mission, transformative discipleship and theological reflection that are as relevant today as ever. How can the church build on its rich history while facing the challenges of tomorrow?
KEYNOTE 3: Tomorrow's Culture: Churches with a Pioneering Ethos - dave male
Pioneers are the brave few willing to follow the Spirit into the exploration of new possibilities and uncharted terrain, hoping to see the gospel come alive in surprising places and spaces. Most churches are designed for the settled lands where cultural Christianity is normative. But what would it look like for churches to cultivate an ethos that inspires pioneering mission?
KEYNOTE 4: Tomorrow's Mission: Being an Incarnational Church - Shannon Kiser
Mission has often been associated with far off lands and ministries of mercy. But today, the mission field is all around us. The One who became flesh and “moved into the neighborhood” invites the Church to follow Jesus’ example. What does it mean for our churches to take seriously the specific time and place and culture we find ourselves in, and how can we embody the message that the kingdom of God has come near?
KEYNOTE 5: Tomorrow's Local Church: The Blended Ecology - Michael beck
In nature, diverse organisms blend to provide energy and sustenance that lead to verdant growth. Most local churches, in contrast, are organized around one expression of the body of Christ. The thriving local churches of the future will contain new expressions and inherited modes of church blending together to nurture a flourishing ecology.
KEYNOTE 6: Tomorrow's Leadership: Adaptive Principles for Constant Change - TOD BOLSINGER
In a steady environment, church leaders need the managerial skills to maintain their organizations. But today's world is anything but steady. How can we cultivate leaders who are able to rapidly adapt to changing situations?
KEYNOTE 7: Tomorrow's Intelligence: Cultivating the Skill of Reading the Signs of the Times - LEONARD SWEET
Many church leaders were trained by seminaries founded on outdated models to shepherd yesterday's expressions of church. IQ (intelligence quotient) and EQ (emotional intelligence) often rely on one other. Contextual Intelligence is underdeveloped and unexamined in the mainstream of church leaders. How can we become leaders who understand the signs of the times and know the best course for our churches to take?
KEYNOTE 8: Tomorrow’s Witnesses: How Normal People can Proclaim God’s Kingdom Every Day - Jorge Acevedo
Witness has long been confined to the Sunday morning gathering and a set of evangelism tactics. But in a backdrop where many people have yet to encounter Jesus in a compelling way, how can we be witnesses to the Kingdom of God in the everyday spaces and networks of our lives?
WORKSHOP SESSION 1
Blended Ecology: First Steps Toward Multiple Expressions in one Church - HEATHER EVANS & Mike Snedeker
Is God giving you a vision for multiple fresh expressions of Church for your congregation? Heather and Mike have both led congregations through the process of dreaming, strategizing, equipping and releasing teams for multiple expressions. They will be sharing advice and stories learned from experiences of both success and failures in their contexts.
How to Lead a Movement, Not JUST a Program - Tod Bolsinger, Michael Beck & June edwards
The classic role of a “pastor” has leaned heavily into administering programs, but today’s modern American mission field calls for movement leaders. In this workshop, you’ll learn the difference between the two, and and practical steps you can take to reposition yourself as a movement leader.
Art of the Start: Moving from Dream to Discernment to Action - Dave Male & Keisha polonio
Fresh expressions of Church can often fall prey to one of two problems: starting too soon or never starting at all. Dave and Keisha have started new churches, and coach others to do the same. This workshop will give you the clarity of purpose and actionable steps to get started.
7 practices that help make your community a church - David Fitch & J.R. Briggs
What’s the difference between a church community and any other kind of community? In part, it has to do with the specific practices your community is ordered around. This workshop will introduce seven key practices that can be used by communities of any size, shape or affinity around living out Jesus’s kingdom mission.
Church at Play: Divergent Thinking for Creative Mission - Dave bindewald & Shannon Kiser
Have you ever felt stuck? Are you tired of hearing, "We've always done it this way!" Have you ever needed a jumpstart to give you ideas and energy for the mission? Join us in this workshop as we explore the practice of divergent thinking and engage in some playful exercises to get your creative juices flowing. Learn some tools you can take back to your inherited church or fresh expression setting to catalyze new ideas and renew excitement in your ministry.
Dinner Church: Offering Hospitality and A Safe Space in the way of jesus - Isaac Olivarez & Jamie Olivarez
In Luke 14, Jesus paints a portrait of the gospel as a banquet. The gospel is intrinsically hospitable, making it safe for everyone and anyone. It is at the Lord’s table that the gospel emphatically declares that there is always room for one more! Learn how to offer the radical hospitality of Christ at your Dinner Church gatherings, while also being sensitive to the past and present of the various demographics you are working with.
BEST PRACTICES for teams that enable new cHURCH EXPERIMENTS - heather jallad, KRIS BECKERT & LUKE EDWARDS
A single pioneer could start a fresh expression, but launch a movement, you will need more. Heather and Mitch have not only pioneered new churches, but have built entire teams devoted to starting and multiplying expressions of Church. You’ll learn who you need on your team and the practical rhythms and values needed to form and sustain them.
Joining the Spirit's Mission and Not Your Own - dee stokes & Jon Davis
From the book of Acts to every major missionary movement since, the mission of the Church is always filled and fueled by the Holy Sprit. This begins by learning how to live in a posture of listening and humbly submitting to the Holy Spirit. This workshop will provide space not only to discuss, but also to explore how you can better hear the Spirit’s guidance for mission.
Design Thinking: Rooting your Fresh Expression in Empathy, Research & Creativity - Sarah Keasler & Mitch marcello
This workshop will help you understand the Design Thinking process, used by some of the world’s most innovative companies, and how you can adapt this process in order to experiment with fresh expressions in your context. We will give you a variety of tools for you to become an Anthropologist, using various research methods, to holistically understand the population you are trying to reach. Based on your research, we will teach you how to find trends that reveal key insights about the people you have been studying. We will touch on some helpful parameters for establishing a culture of prototyping your fresh expressions ideas that are birthed out of your trend analysis. We do all of this by asking the Holy Spirit to guide this process of innovation, and to reveal key insights about the people we are trying to reach and how a fresh expression can best meet their needs.
Church IN Tomorrow: Reading the Signs of the Times on the Road Ahead
Leonard Sweet, is a prolific best-selling author, futurist, semiotician (sign reader), and teacher/mentor to a global community of students around the world. He has faithfully lifted the name of Jesus and pointed the church toward God’s inbreaking future for decades. The church now finds herself positioned on the geothermic ticking time bomb of a super volcano of change. In this workshop, Len describes “rings of fire,” the disruptive social forces erupting all around us, and suggests what the church can do to “fight fire with fire.”
WORKSHOP SESSION 2
Pioneers in your midst: Finding and Empowering Apostolic Leaders - Michael Beck & Heather Jallad
What makes for a successful apostolic leaders? Drawing on their experience leading starting fresh expressions personally and on a regional level, as well as a reflection on the different equippers of Ephesians 4, Michael and Heather will help you understand what makes a pioneer.
living the questionable life - J.R. Briggs
When you look at the gospels, Jesus' teaching is often framed in the form of questions. Starting with questions instead a didactic transfer of information opens up new possibilities in discipleship. In this workshop, you’ll learn what makes for a great question, why they are a key component in seeing your Fresh Expression develop, as well as specific and ridiculously practical ways to grow in your question-asking ability.
Staying in the Game: How to Pioneer Without Burnout - dave male & KEisha polonio
Why do some pioneers keep going when things get tough? Why do some not just start one new expression of Church, but do it again and again? Long term pioneers don’t have superpowers, but they do have specific postures and practices that help them stay in the game. Learn how to you pioneer for the long haul from two leaders who have been at it for years.
The Mule and The Squirrel: Forming Strong Relationships Between Inherited and Fresh Expressions of Church - Matt Lake & Mitch Marcello
We say that fresh expressions and inherited expressions of Church are "better together." But what does that relationship really entail? In this workshop you'll learn from the relationship between First Church, a traditional Methodist congregation, and The Acts Network, a group of new church experiments. This workshop is perfect for pastors and pioneers learning how to work together.
Introduction to Table Theology: the Heart of Dinner Church - Verlon fosner & Melodee Fosner
An oft overlooked piece of the gospel narrative is how much time Jesus spent at tables with the “never-been-reached” crowd. In this era where we’ve become ineffective at reaching the “not-yets” it does us well to revisit the historic Jesus Table, and relearn the divine invite scheduled to occur there.
Expresiones Divinas: Fresh expressions in the HISPaNIC Church - Eliseo Mejia & Marta Sobrino
Fresh expressions are forms of Church designed with a specific context in mind. In this workshop you’ll meet two pioneers who have started expresiones divinas, churches that speak to the unique context of the Latin American diaspora. You’ll learn about the opportunities for these new churches, and the challenges unique to this context.
The Secret to Leadership in the 21st Century: Growing Contextual Intelligence for Everyday Pastors - Len Sweet & MIchael BEck
What is the difference between great leaders of movements, and managers whose efforts only fed the status quo? More often than not, it is contextual intelligence, or as Scripture calls it, the ability to “read the signs of the times.” The good news is, Contextual Intelligence is a skill that you can learn. This workshop will help you develop the ability to recognize the underlying needs of your context, and adapt your leadership to fit.
church in PUblic: From third spaces to thin places - Jon Davis & Jonathan Kollman
Thin Spaces is a term taken from Celtic Spirituality for describing unique places where people experience the presence of God. While we often relegate these experiences to church buildings, the Book of Acts shows the early church forming in the public square. This workshop will help you identify the ways in which you may have limited your experience of God, and explore how the kingdom could burst out into new structures all around you.
Understanding the Mission Context: Fresh Expressions in Rural America - luke edwards & tyler kleeberger
With more than 50% of Americans now living in cities, rural communities and their churches face new challenges. Because a fresh expression of Church is always context-specific, this model offers a new approach to starting churches in rural America. This workshop will examine the unique opportunities of rural communities and provide clear thriving examples of new ways of doing church in these settings.
ADAPTIVE CHANGE FOR THE PRESENT FUTURE CHURCH - TOD BOLSINGER & CRAIG WILLIAMS
In Canoeing the Mountains, Tod Bolsinger made the case for adaptive change in ministry as the Church navigates a changing cultural landscape. In helping leaders implement adaptive change, he has identified several common struggles, opportunities, and sticking points. Learn what those common issues are, and how you can find support to move toward church transformation and mission experimentation.
WORKSHOP SESSION 3
Is that really church? Dealing with skepticism - dave male & HEATHER JALLAD
When you say the word "church" people often think of pews, stain glass, preaching or praise songs. While this isn't wrong, it's only a single expression of what the body of Christ can be. Helping people imagine a way to be Church beyond these inherited forms is one of the biggest hurdles a leader will face when trying to start a fresh expression. In this workshop, two leaders who have helped established churches start expressions of church will share how they have overcome this skepticism.
Discipleship Journey: creating a pathway to unearth each disciple’s call toward mission – Matt Lake
Your church might get excited about starting a fresh expressions initiative, but the habits and obligations of the established community often get in the way of starting something new. But when an entire congregation is discipled to understand the "sent-ness" of the Church, the needs of the existing organization are put into perspective. In this workshop, you will discover how one church created an intentional "Disciple's Journey" that inspires people to participate in both the gathered and scattered expressions of Church.
BRINGING CHURCH HOME- AND GETTING SOCIALLY FIT - Gannon Sims & Paul Maconochie
Home is the ‘first’ place. If our first place is in order it helps bring order to all of the other places in our life. But how do we get there? By getting socially fit. In this session, we’ll discover how talking small steps to develop predictable patterns in our home and family life (the Imago Dei) is vital for the Mission of God (the Missio Dei) in our neighborhoods and communities.
Metrics Still Matter: Developing Missional Metrics - Mitch Marcello & Shannon Kiser
How do you measure a mission that is by nature organic? How do you measure fruitfulness and not just numbers of attenders? Pioneers may chafe against metrics while inherited churches feel the pressure to measure mission effectiveness. This workshop will help you imagine a thoughtful set of metrics, shaped by the vision for the mission, could be a gift to both.
Dinner Church: Essential Organizational Tools for Every Team - Isaac OLIVAREZ, Jaime Olivarez & Heather Evans
Dinner Church is a simple concept yet there are a lot of moving pieces. It requires organizing a team with hospitality in mind. Hospitality is a spiritual gift we must cultivate intentionality in a dinner church setting moving it from simply serving food to being a family table with mission and ministry at the core. Come and see how to introduce these values, concepts and practical tools that will keep your dinner church organized while remaining focused on the mission.
Navigating the Hard Questions: Apologetics in everyday life - David Fitch & Michael Beck
How do you share the reasons the underlie why you believe what you believe? Often this gets relegated to a kind of “apologetics” that are adversarial or informational. In this workshop you will learn how to look for natural opportunities to discuss your faith and what to do when they arrive.
Church AT Work: Mission To (and Through) the Marketplace - Steven Barr & Shawn Mickshl
We spend the bulk of our waking hours at work. What if the workplace could also be a home for an expression of Church? In this workshop you'll learn about two radically different workplaces—a restaurant and a theme park—and hear how pioneers are forming church communities within them.
Jesus Stories: A Simple Method for Sharing with UNCHURCHED People - Verlon Fosner & Kris Beckert
Studies show that the majority of the US population hold to a secular worldview. This means many common practices of the church, including sermons, no longer connect with people. Jesus spent much of his ministry telling stories and the early church told stories about Jesus. In this workshop you'll learn how to tell Jesus stories that connect with secular people and practicing Christians alike.
Okay Boomer: crossing generational barriers for the sake of the Gospel - Len Sweet and panel of millennials & GEN-Z Leaders
Millennials, caricatured as the mustachioed, craft-beer drinking generation who "ruined everything" aren't kids anymore. The enduring popularity of the angry and cynical "Ok, Boomer" meme shows how Millenials and their children, Gen-Z, feel trapped by institutions designed for older generations—and this includes the Church! This panel will feature futurist Leonard Sweet in dialogue with younger generations discussing the world that is to come.
Rev 7:9 Glory: crossing the cultural barriers for the sake of the Gospel - Eliseo Mejia, Beth Caulfield & Dee Stokes
Fresh Expressions/Expresiones Divinas offer opportunities to usher in the glory divine of multiethnic and multicultural worshipping community demonstrated in Revelation 7:9. Engaging participants through small group interactions, this workshop will focus on adaptive, shared, and integrated cultural components as conduits for new expressions of budding churches. Participants will explore ways to purposefully engage their community through relevant and contextualized needs in people groups with the hopes of identifying new forms of discipleship to build new multiethnic/multicultural forms of churches.