Global Church Advancement (GCA) Conference - Day 2

This morning I've been assigned to live-blog two Advanced-Track workshops. I should explain that there are three tracks of sessions represented here at the Global Church Advancement Church Planting Workshop.

Foundations Track - Establishing & strengthening vision, calling, mission, philosophy, values, styles, models, strategies and plans. This 15-session, 4.5 day training is "required" for those who have not yet gone to the field, and is highly recommended for anyone in need of revitalizing their church by revisiting all the "Foundations."

Essentials Track - Developing & growing ministries of prayer, worship, preaching, discipleship, groups, outreach, mercy, leadership and more. This 15-session, 4.5 day training equips the church planter to grow and strengthen the church from its embryonic or infancy stage to a mature, multiplying stage.

Advanced Workshops - 28 specialized workshops covering a host of vital topics, ranging from a half-day to a full-day

At 9 AM I'll be going to a session by Martin Ban called Gospel & Cultural Engagement. Then at 10:45 AM I'll be at a session by Tom Nebel called "Evangelism Entropy." I will not have attended part 1, so I'll do my best.

Martin Ban - has 18 years of church planting and senior pastor experience. Martin is a graduate of Austin College and Westminster Theological Seminary. He has planted churches in the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is currently the Senior Pastor of Christ Church Santa Fe PCA. Martin and his wife Mari Anne have 5 children (ages 20 through 7) and have been married for 23 years. They also have a dumb bloodhound named Ocho.

Tom Nebel - Director of Worldwide Church Multiplication for the Baptist Conference (BGC) and Associate Director of TeAmerica, the church planting movement of the BGC. He has participated in the planting of dozens of churches in Wisconsin and hundreds of churches across the United States. Tom is co-author (with Steve Ogne) of Empowering Leaders through Coaching, The Coach’s Logbook, Big Dreams in Small Places: Church Planting in Smaller Communities. His most recent book (with co-author Gary Rohrmayer) is Church Planting Landmines: Mistakes to Avoid in Years 2-10. Tom is a graduate of Denver Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary. Tom and Lori make their home in Madison, Wisconsin, along with their two sons, Andrew and Matthew.

Stay tuned.