Here in upstate NY we have this beautiful region for climbing called “The Gunks”. The Gunks come to mind when considering discipleship. They are one of America’s premier climbing areas. It’s just minutes from New Paltz, a funky college town, and 85 miles from New York City. Climbing here is characterized by huge rock roofs that shoot over the trails, …
The V3 Movement Partners with the Inhabit Conference
At the V3 Church Planting Movement we get the question all the time “Why do we need to plant more churches?” It is a valid question. Certainly in most cities we can see a church edifice every couple miles and in some cities every few blocks. It might appear we don’t need any new churches. Additionally, the church currently does …
Single White Female Pastor
I am a heterosexual, 33 year-old, single woman. I happen to also be in the process of becoming a fully ordained pastor. I am starting the process of ordination with the PCUSA. I went to seminary in Seattle. I’ve been in ministry in one way, shape or another for as long as I can remember. I have a strong sense …
Three Ways to Build a Church Planter Pipeline
Where do church planters come from? This morning, I was on the phone with a friend who is a denominational church planting leader. We both agreed that one of the major obstacles to planting more churches is the lack of identifiable pipelines for church planters. Most church planting networks and denominations are struggling to find qualified planters. Where do we …
Free Webinar: Creating Missional Communities, with JR Woodward & John Poitevent
“The church cannot storm the gates of hell by gathering around consumer needs. A shared life and the shared story that Jesus is King are its rallying points.” –The Church as Movement Missional and community are two buzz words being used quite a bit in the church world these days. But what do they really mean, and how do they work together? In …
You Won't Like Everyone in Your Church Plant, and That's Okay
I was talking with a first-time church planter about how things were going. As we were talking about some of the difficulties he was facing, he blurted out, “I just don’t like the people who are coming to my church! I wouldn’t choose to hang out with these people, and it’s hard to create a community with people you don’t enjoy hanging …
A Place-Based Missional Learning Experience
Our friends at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary have created a place-based missional learning experience any serious church planter can benefit from: The Graduate Certificate in Church Planting and Revitalization. The Graduate Certificate in Church Planting and Revitalization forms pioneer leaders attentive to God and God’s world. Participants will learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and their communities, they will practice leading teams in …
Subverting Church Planting Stereotypes
If I am being honest, I’m not generally a big fan of books on church planting. My lack of enthusiasm stems from two primary observations. First, many books on church planting are authored by people who actually have surprisingly limited experience in church planting or whose credibility rests on a single (relatively meaningless) criterion—their ability to draw a large crowd. …
Top 12 Posts of 2016
It’s that time of year when we revisit the resources from the V3 blog that garnered lots of responses from readers/missional practitioners. You all shared the movement in powerful ways this year, and we thank you so much! Church planters and place-based missiologists used these posts to experience the movemental power of the Kingdom in their neighborhoods, church plants, businesses, and …
A Kick in the Seat of the Pants
Sometimes I just need a good “kick in the seat of my pants” to get me going. That phrase – kick in the seat of the pants – has always been a reminder that I need to open myself up to new ideas and get outside the box of my thinking, even in church matters. Roger Von Oech wrote a life-changing …