The training drew teams from 22 future and current churches, including 13 teams comprised of 43 participants from the Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
The first two days began with worship led by musicians from Crossroads Church. Efrem Smith, pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church, a six-year-old Northwest Conference church plant in Minneapolis, opened the three-day event by telling the gathering, “We are here because church planting should not be done in isolation. This is about a bigger movement that we can come together around.”
Sessions covered topics that included: The Message and Mission of Jesus, Brokenness and Your Rule of Life, The Soil of Your Mission Field, and Leadership in a New Church.
Breakout sessions focused on worship and preaching, children’s ministry, connection and assimilation, outreach and evangelism, ministry teams and small groups, and facilities and finances.
Training concluded with a commissioning service. Many of the participants attended a service at Sanctuary Covenant.
