In March of 2022, I had the opportunity to go to Exponential conference. In case you’re not familiar with Exponential, it is a week-long conference focusing on the topic of multiplication. Much of the focus is specifically church planting related. We gathered with over 5,000 people in one large amphitheater. Worshipping together with that many like-minded people was an amazing experience. The week was filled with great training. I have categorized the highlights in these five categories.
- District relationships
Our Eastern PA district of the CMA rented a house and a few vehicles. There were 11 of us total. We spent the whole week staying in the same house, eating meals together, even sharing some bedrooms. Funny story—another guy and I shared a kid’s room where I slept on a Lightning McQueen bed and he slept on a batman bed. It was a good laugh. We got to share our thoughts with each other after each days’ events. Although I didn’t really know many of these people before this week, I feel like our relationships grew before we flew home.
- Spirit-Empowerment
The theme for the entire conference was “Empowered.” We focused on the Holy Spirit’s empowerment in our lives, churches and nations. It was exciting to hear each of the main five speakers talk about different aspects of how the Holy Spirit empowers us.
- Workshops
During the week, there were four different workshop sessions. There were probably 50+ choices. They also arranged the workshops into certain tracks. I chose the “church planting” track. Three of the workshops I attended were hosted by Passion4Planting, a church planting network and resource hub that is based out of New Life Christian Church in Chantilly, VA.
These workshops were the most applicable for me and my position. I heard from church planters with all levels of experience. I heard from a few church planters who had planted multiple churches. I also heard from one church planter who had not yet celebrated his church’s 1-year anniversary. We talked about launch teams, vision, mission, outreach, multiplication within the church, financing, legal documents, and so much more.
- Confirmations (CMA-wide and district)
While at Exponential, I believe God confirmed some things for our ministry. First, I believe God confirmed our call to church planting and renewed my passion. Second, I believe God confirmed our choice to move to the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. We met as a denomination for two four-hour sessions before the conference. We talked about “not planting alone” and catching the wave of the Holy Spirit in a way that moves us into a church planting movement. Lastly, I also believe God confirmed our choice to be a part of the Eastern PA district of the CMA. Being with the people in our district house for the week and building relationships was a great confirmation. Part of this confirmation came because of the way many people were talking at Exponential is the way we do things in our district already.
- Applications/Next Steps
I had two main “next steps” or applications after the end of the conference. The first thing I felt I should do is read the book of Acts. A number of speakers used the book of Acts for their messages and a couple talked about using Acts as a model for church planting. I need to familiarize myself with the book of Acts and how the early church functioned.
My second next step is to be intentionally looking for ways to train the next generation of church planters. Our desire is that once we plant a church in Berwick, we would bring on a greenhouse resident and continue the process of planting more churches.
Thank you!
If you gave to our greenhouse fund, you played a part in allowing me to be a part of this training. So, THANK YOU! We are still looking for more financial partners. If you are interested in staying up to date with our needs, follow our blog! If you are interested in supporting us financially, you can send checks made out to Iron Mill Church with “Iron Mill Greenhouse” marked on the memo line. The address is 2 Church Hill Rd, Danville PA 17821. You can also give online at https://ironmillchurch.com/give/ by choosing “Iron Mill Greenhouse” in the drop-down menu instead of “General.”
Thank you for your generosity! We look forward to keeping you up to date through this greenhouse process!
Serving Christ with You!
Brandon Glenn
