GA 2024 GOSPEL PRIORITIES SUMMIT

The Gospel Priorities Summit is designed to provide inspiration, encouragement, and practical helps for EPC leaders to engage their congregations and communities in the denomination’s Gospel Priorities of Transformation (Church Health), Multiplication (Church Planting), Effective Biblical Leadership (Discipleship), and Global Movement (Taking the gospel to the ends of the earth).

Tuesday Plenary Sessions
Wednesday Plenary Sessions
Thursday Equipping Sessions

All Sanctuary sessions will be live streamed on the EPC website and GA smartphone app. All times are Central Standard.

TUESDAY, JUNE 18 | PLENARY SESSIONS

CLOSING THE GENERATION GAP IN LEADERSHIP

Time: 10:00–11:30 AM
Location: Worship Center
Gospel Priority: Effective Biblical Leadership

CALLING THE WHOLE CHURCH –EVERY GENERATION– TO GLOBAL MOVEMENT

Time: 1:15-2:45 PM
Location: Worship Center
Gospel Priority: Global Movement

3 billion people, 40% of the world’s population still lack access to the gospel. So what’s next? Just what will it take to reach the unreached, and what role does every church, every believer, every generation play in reaching all nations? Join us as we address these questions in this global movement plenary.

Reverend Dr. Lisa Pak currently works alongside Rick Warren at Finishing the Task (FTT), in addition to serving as the Operational Catalyst for the Kingdom Impact Network with Wycliffe USA. Her previous experience includes serving as the Regional Director for Ontario and Nunavut at the Canadian Bible Society, in addition to over a decade in pastoral ministry within the Korean Church communities throughout the United States, South Korea, Singapore, and Canada. She is a second-generation Korean Canadian and Toronto native, ordained by the Korean Association of Independent Churches and Missions (KAICAM). With an Honours BA in Philosophy and Religion from the University of Toronto, she also holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Biblical Languages from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and has also earned her Doctor of Ministry in Leadership from Tyndale Seminary. Lisa travels globally and is passionate about mobilizing the global church, especially the rising generations, towards collaboration in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with all who have yet to hear.

Jeff Lewis, Mobilization and Discipleship Strategist for Sixteen:Fifteen, works to leverage his experience and talents to empower local churches and mission organizations to fulfill their unique mission of spreading the gospel to every tribe, language, people, and nation. During his 36-year career in missions mobilization, Jeff planted and pastored two churches and spent 23 years as a college professor at California Baptist University and Oklahoma Baptist University. Jeff has also participated in training indigenous mobilization leaders in five African countries, along with assisting in the development of mobilization strategies in over 25 countries. Jeff’s remarkable journey includes co-founding and co-directing the Passion conferences from 1997 to 2000, leaving an enduring mark on the landscape of ministry and worship. His literary contributions include the widely translated God’s Heart for the Nations, Calling: A Scriptural Journey, and Christ Love Compels Me. Jeff is also an inductee to the Tennessee Swimming Hall of Fame. He has been married to Elaine for 50 years and has seven adult children and 20 grandchildren. Jeff is a member of First Presbyterian Church (EPC) of Rome, GA.

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19 | PLENARY SESSIONS

GENERATIONS CREATING LOCAL TRANSFORMATIONS

Time: 10:00–11:30 AM
Location: Worship Center
Gospel Priority: Transformation

GENERATIONS COLLABORATING FOR MULTIPLICATION

Time: 1:15-2:45 PM
Location: Worship Center
Gospel Priority: Multiplication

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THURSDAY, JUNE 20 | EQUIPPING SESSIONS

CHURCH HEALTH EQUIPPING SESSIONS | 10:00 AM

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRANSITIONAL PASTORING

Organization: EPC Church Health
Host: Bill Rasch
Location: TBD

Church Sessions and Pastors are encouraged to come and have their questions answered about Transitional Pastors:
What does a Transitional Pastor cost?
What is the length of a Transitional Pastor contract and other details concerning those?
What is the work of a Transitional Pastor?
What is the process through which they lead a congregation?
What training does a Transitional Pastor provide for a pastoral search team and how does a Transitional Pastor support the search team during that process?
and more.

BUILDING AN EVANGELISTIC CULTURE IN YOUR CHURCH

Organization: EPC Church Health
Host: Mark Farrell
Location: TBD

According to the scriptures, every Christian is a minister who’s called to proclaim the good news of the gospel.  Therefore, it’s important to know the gospel, understand the context of our individual mission fields and practically engage with those who are far away from God.

Join us as we discuss our call to the Great Commission and how your congregation can serve as effective witnesses for the Kingdom of God.

RETURNING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD: CENTERING YOUR CHURCH’S LOCAL CONTEXT IN YOUR GREAT COMMISSION WORK

Organization: EPC Church Health
Host: Sam Rainer
Location: TBD

The EPC’s Church Health process focuses on the work of the Great Commission in the context of each congregation’s neighboring community. During this facilitated conversation Sam Rainer (author of The Surprising Return of the Neighborhood Church) will share insights from his research about the impact of churches rooted in and committed to their local communities, and we’ll be encouraged together to pursue the mission of God’s Kingdom in all the places we call home.

CHURCH PLANTING EQUIPPING SESSIONS | 10:00 AM

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M CALLED TO CHURCH PLANTING?

Organization: EPC Church Planting
Host: Richard Reeves
Location: TBD

South Regional Church Planting Director Richard Rieves: I’m ordained and on staff of a church, and/or I may be the lead pastor of a church. How might I know if God is calling me to plant a church? Do I have the gifts? How or why would I transition to something as risky and frightening as church planting? There is no one mold for a church planter to fit into. If fact, we MUST have pastors with real ministry experience answer the call and plant if we are going to reach this present culture. Join us as we consider your potential role in church planting.

MATCHING OUR MODEL TO OUR MISSION: CONSIDERING DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHURCH PLANTING

Organization: EPC Church Planting
Host: Hunter Bailey
Location: TBD

Heartland Regional Director Hunter Bailey: Not all churches operate or aim for the same type of ministry. In this seminar, we’ll explore four distinct models we utilize for church planting and their strategic benefits. Understanding these models offers churches, presbyteries and planters greater freedom to utilize our redemptive imaginations when planting and will equip “parents, partners, and patrons” with a fuller perspective on how to come alongside our planters. 

RICKS & BIRD Q&A

EFFECTIVE BIBLICAL LEADERSHIP EQUIPPING SESSIONS | 10:00 AM

CROSS GENERATIONAL DISCIPLESHIP

Organization: Effective Biblical Leadership
Hosts: Next Generation Ministries Council
Location: TBD

What does cross-generational, intergenerational discipleship look like? How do we get different groups in meaningful communities of learning from and growing with one another? It is both more difficult and challenging and at the same time easier and rewarding than it appears.

Borrowing language and categories from cross cultural training like Hospitality, Lament, Mutuality, and Solidarity, we will explore how to see each other in each generation in order that we might each grow in empathy toward each other while striving together for the advancement of the gospel.

Cross-generational discipleship aims at growing the Kingdom of Jesus by fostering not just productive conversation, but meaningful communities. We will identify the necessity of cross-generational discipleship, examine some of the difficulties and potential land minds to navigate, then provide positive examples on what this does and can look like in our local contexts.

GOING FORWARD TOGETHER: MINISTRY COHORTS THAT WORK

Organization: Effective Biblical Leadership
Hosts: Annie Rose
Location: TBD

What difference does it make whether or not a pastor is in a cohort or covenant group? Join us for this Equipping Session and learn about the value of developing intentional community with other ministry leaders. We will share insights from the recent Pastoral Health & Effectiveness pilot project and give practical guidance for how you can form a cohort that will help you thrive in life and ministry.

TEN WAYS TO PURSUE A REVELATION 7:9 PATHWAY

Organization: Effective Biblical Leadership
Hosts: Revelation 7:9 Task Force
Location: TBD

How can your church improve its delivery of the Great Commission—“to make disciples of every ethnicity”—and the Great Commandment—“to love our neighbors as ourselves”—within its 1-3-5 mile radius?

EPC leaders will present 10 ways your congregation can practice a Revelation 7:9 ethic in everything from staffing decisions to community outreach.

GLOBAL MOVEMENT EQUIPPING SESSIONS | 10:00 AM

DISCIPLE MAKERS FOR ALL NATIONS

Organization: EPC World Outreach
Hosts: Jeff Lewis
Location: TBD

How can we grow, nurture, develop, and mobilize our churches to make disciples? Biblical disciple making is the God ordained process of mobilizing the church both locally and to the ends of the earth. This equipping session will investigate the foundational biblical principles of disciple making, along with identifying the core competencies of an all nations disciple maker. The challenge is how do we differentiate between the western caricatures of disciple making that reinforces an egocentric faith compared to the foundational biblical principles of disciple making? Join us for this thought-provoking time as we focus on making disciples for all nations.

MOBILIZING THE NEXT GENERATION FOR THE GREAT COMMISSION

Organization: EPC World Outreach
Hosts: Lisa Pak
Location: TBD

This equipping session will challenge us to actively and intentionally engage the young and rising leaders to optimize their passions, talents, and giftings for the kingdom work of the Great Commission. We will discuss the different characteristics of the older and younger generations, examining biblical paradigms and models as we consider together how collaboration will strengthen the greater kingdom effort. Additionally, we will also consider how we can adjust so that we can engage and empower young people to also be at the forefront of evangelism, church-planting, and even creating Bible access for those who have yet to hear. Could there be change in our churches, organizations, and communities towards new paradigms of radical collaboration across generations and even disciplines? Come and join our conversation and let’s learn together!

CHURCH HEALTH EQUIPPING SESSIONS | 12:00 PM

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRANSITIONAL PASTORING

Organization: EPC Church Health
Host: Bill Rasch
Location: TBD

Church Sessions and Pastors are encouraged to come and have their questions answered about Transitional Pastors:
What does a Transitional Pastor cost?
What is the length of a Transitional Pastor contract and other details concerning those?
What is the work of a Transitional Pastor?
What is the process through which they lead a congregation?
What training does a Transitional Pastor provide for a pastoral search team and how does a Transitional Pastor support the search team during that process?
and more.

BUILDING AN EVANGELISTIC CULTURE IN YOUR CHURCH

Organization: EPC Church Health
Host: Mark Farrell
Location: TBD

According to the scriptures, every Christian is a minister who’s called to proclaim the good news of the gospel.  Therefore, it’s important to know the gospel, understand the context of our individual mission fields and practically engage with those who are far away from God.

Join us as we discuss our call to the Great Commission and how your congregation can serve as effective witnesses for the Kingdom of God.

RETURNING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Organization: EPC Church Health
Host: Sam Rainer
Location: TBD

The EPC’s Church Health process focuses on the work of the Great Commission in the context of each congregation’s neighboring community. During this facilitated conversation Sam Rainer (author of The Surprising Return of the Neighborhood Church) will share insights from his research about the impact of churches rooted in and committed to their local communities, and we’ll be encouraged together to pursue the mission of God’s Kingdom in all the places we call home.

CHURCH PLANTING EQUIPPING SESSIONS | 12:00 PM

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M CALLED TO CHURCH PLANTING?

Organization: EPC Church Planting
Host: Richard Reeves
Location: TBD

South Regional Church Planting Director Richard Rieves: I’m ordained and on staff of a church, and/or I may be the lead pastor of a church. How might I know if God is calling me to plant a church? Do I have the gifts? How or why would I transition to something as risky and frightening as church planting? There is no one mold for a church planter to fit into. If fact, we MUST have pastors with real ministry experience answer the call and plant if we are going to reach this present culture. Join us as we consider your potential role in church planting.

MATCHING OUR MODEL TO OUR MISSION: CONSIDERING DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHURCH PLANTING

Organization: EPC Church Planting
Host: Hunter Bailey
Location: TBD

Heartland Regional Director Hunter Bailey: Not all churches operate or aim for the same type of ministry. In this seminar, we’ll explore four distinct models we utilize for church planting and their strategic benefits. Understanding these models offers churches, presbyteries and planters greater freedom to utilize our redemptive imaginations when planting and will equip “parents, partners, and patrons” with a fuller perspective on how to come alongside our planters. 

RICKS & BIRD Q&A

EFFECTIVE BIBLICAL LEADERSHIP EQUIPPING SESSIONS | 12:00 PM

CROSS GENERATIONAL DISCIPLESHIP

Organization: Effective Biblical Leadership
Hosts: Next Generation Ministries Council
Location: TBD

What does cross-generational, intergenerational discipleship look like? How do we get different groups in meaningful communities of learning from and growing with one another? It is both more difficult and challenging and at the same time easier and rewarding than it appears.

Borrowing language and categories from cross cultural training like Hospitality, Lament, Mutuality, and Solidarity, we will explore how to see each other in each generation in order that we might each grow in empathy toward each other while striving together for the advancement of the gospel.

Cross-generational discipleship aims at growing the Kingdom of Jesus by fostering not just productive conversation, but meaningful communities. We will identify the necessity of cross-generational discipleship, examine some of the difficulties and potential land minds to navigate, then provide positive examples on what this does and can look like in our local contexts.

GOING FORWARD TOGETHER: MINISTRY COHORTS THAT WORK

Organization: Effective Biblical Leadership
Hosts: EPC World Outreach – College Cohort
Location: TBD

What difference does it make whether or not a pastor is in a cohort or covenant group? Join us for this Equipping Session and learn about the value of developing intentional community with other ministry leaders. We will share insights from the recent Pastoral Health & Effectiveness pilot project and give practical guidance for how you can form a cohort that will help you thrive in life and ministry.

TEN WAYS TO PURSUE A REVELATION 7:9 PATHWAY

Organization: Effective Biblical Leadership
Hosts: Revelation 7:9 Task Force
Location: TBD

How can your church improve its delivery of the Great Commission—“to make disciples of every ethnicity”—and the Great Commandment—“to love our neighbors as ourselves”—within its 1-3-5 mile radius?

EPC leaders will present 10 ways your congregation can practice a Revelation 7:9 ethic in everything from staffing decisions to community outreach.

GLOBAL MOVEMENT EQUIPPING SESSIONS | 12:00 PM

MISSIONS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

MISSIONS — PARTNERING & SENDING

Organization: EPC World Outreach
Host: EPC World Outreach Panel
Location: TBD

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” Romans 10:14-15. Almost half of all missionaries leave the field within the first five years, and most leave for preventable reasons. How can we in the church partner and send them well? How can we support, encourage, and equip them as they prepare, go, serve, and come home? Join us as our EPC World Outreach panel offers practical suggestions on partnering and sending.