If you can’t make it to the upcoming Exponential 2013 church planting conference April 22-25, or if you’re coming but leaving team or family members at home, the folks at Exponential have made the conference available to basically anyone in the world who has Internet access via a high-quality webcast–FREE to anyone who registers.
This year, Exponential is talking about Jesus’ Great Commission to His disciples, specifically five key shifts we can make to be better at making and releasing disciples. As you know, discipleship has been a major focus at LifeWay Research, as we released findings from theTransformational Discipleship study throughout 2012 and early 2013. Our research revealed a discipleship deficiency in U.S. churches–large numbers of people who claim Christianity, who even regularly attend church, but whose lives show little to no evidence of transformation.
I’ve been encouraged to see an increasing number of organizations and churches talking about discipleship and the changes churches need to make. At the upcoming conference in Orlando, I and several others from our team will be there talking about discipleship and what we’ve learned from our research. On Tuesday, April 23, from 3 to 4 pm (EDT), I’ll be on site interviewing Francis Chan and Robert Coleman for my weekly webcast, The Exchange. Along with David Platt, Francis is leading a national discipleship movement, and Robert Coleman has written watershed books like The Master Plan of Evangelism and The Master Plan of Discipleship that have been read and used by tens of thousands of church leaders worldwide.Anyone who registers for free can watch the session as well as nine others featuring 25 national leaders all talking about discipleship.
I want to see the church become a place of transformation. God designed the church to be that kind of place. In Romans 8:29, Paul points out that God’s plan for His people is to be “conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would the firstborn among many.” But that requires us as leaders to be making disciples who make disciples. I encourage you to let your church know about this free training opportunity–your staff and ministry teams, your campus leaders, youth pastors, campus leaders, small group leaders, Sunday school teachers, other pastors in your area, etc. And if you’re a church planter, this is an excellent way to get your launch team on the same page, with everyone focused on making disciples. Some of the webcast topics will include:
- Why we need to shift our approach and mindset from only reaching converts to relationally making disciples;
- Why we first have to be disciples of Jesus before we can be disciplers;
- Why we have to realize that discipleship is more than a class or program;
- Why community is a non-negotiable essential for making disciples;
- Why to truly make an impact on the world, we have to not only make disciples but release them on mission.
I think there will be some important insights and discoveries that come out of this webcast. And I like the idea of church leaders from all over the globe taking part in this conversation. Exponential reports that churches worldwide (Nigeria, Myanmar, Italy, Mexico, etc.) are signing up to participate. Click here to see the webcast schedule featuring the 25 leaders and the topics they’ll be talking about. Go here to register for free. After you register, you’ll be updated as the conference approaches and throughout the live gathering.
Are you planning to participate in the Exponential 2013 webcast? How many will join you and from where will you be watching. Exponential is looking for stories from anyone registering. Share your story below.
