Attendees

• Matt Anthony, Attorney, The Church Law Group, Grapevine, Texas
• Scott Barfoot, Director, Doctor of Ministry Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas
• Dr. Nathan Baxter, Lead-Self Lead-Others, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Andrew Behm, Executive Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church, Winchester, Virginia
• Dr. Warren Bird, Director of Research and Intellectual Capital, Leadership Network, New York City, New York
• David Bixby, Pastor of Operations, Austin Ridge Bible Church, Austin, Texas
• Glen Blanscet, Executive Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carrollton, Texas
• Mike Bonem, XP Author & Speaker, Bellaire, Texas
• Joel Botello, Executive Pastor, Westoverhills Assembly of God Church, San Antonio, Texas
• Kason Branch, Chief Operating Officer, Concord Church, Dallas, Texas
• Greg Brooks, Executive Pastor, First Baptist Church At The Villages, The Villages, Florida
• Dr. Tyler Brown, Executive Pastor, First Christian, Florissant, Missouri
• Ben Brummett, Men’s Ministry Intern, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Paul Burr, Pastor of Ministry Operations and Development, Redeemer Bible Church, Minnetonka, Minnesota
• Mark Carey, Senior Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church, Winchester, Virginia
• Brian Carter, Senior Pastor, Concord Church, Dallas, Texas
• Steve Caton, VP of Acquisition, Church Community Builder, Colorado Springs, Colorado church_web: http://www.churchcommunitybuilder.com/
• Rob Cizek, Executive Pastor, Northshore Christian Church, Everett, Washington
• Rick Clapp, Executive Director, Operations, Mountain Springs Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Houston Clark, Co-Founder & Principal, Clark, Alpharetta, Georgia
• Errol Coner, Executive Pastor, Christ the Rock Community Church, Cooper City, Florida
• Scott Cougill, Executive Pastor, Pacific Crossroads Church, Los Angeles, California
• Larry Davis, Executive Pastor, Plymouth Park Baptist Church, Irving, Texas
• Mark DeMoss, Manager, Professional Services, Active Faith, Irving, Texas
• Chuck Donnels, Managing Principal, Gdirect, Rocklin, California
• Steve Downs, Executive Pastor, RiverLakes Community Church, Bakersfield, California
• Bryan Eck, Lead Team Pastor, Irving Bible Church, Irving, Texas
• Bill Egner, Executive Pastor, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Victor Erwin, Lay Leader, Pantego Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Gerald Farley, Stewardship Strategist, Generis Partners, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Dr. David Fletcher, XP & Founder of XPastor, Austin, Texas
• Tami Fletcher, Executive Assistant of XPastor, Akron, Ohio
• Justin Frazier, Associate Pastor, Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church, Allen, Texas
• Paul Gilbert, Executive Pastor, Four Oaks Church, Tallahassee, Florida
• John Gordon, Executive Pastor, Wayside Chapel EFCA, San Antonio, Texas
• J. P. Gradone, Executive Pastor, Central Church, Collierville, Tennessee
• Chris Groff, Associate Pastor, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Chris Gunnare, Chief Operating Officer, Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines, Iowa
• Gus Gustafson, Chief Transformation Officer, Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines, Iowa
• Chip Hackney, Executive Pastor, Kainay Community Church, Fruitport, Michigan
• Rick Hale, Senior Pastor, Grace Community Church, Roswell, New Mexico
• Steve Hartwick, Executive Pastor, First Baptist Church, Corpus Christi, Texas
• Parris Hayashi, Executive Pastor, Grace Bible Church Pearlside, Pearl City, Hawaii
• Nick Henderson, Executive Pastor, River Valley Christian Fellowship, Bastrop, Texas
• Brad Heykoop, Director of Operations, WaterStone Community Church, Littleton, Colorado
• Kassi Hill, Pastor’s Wife, Silverdale Baptist Church, Bremerton, Washington
• Paul Hill, Executive Pastor, Silverdale Baptist Church, Bremerton, Washington
• Reagan Hillier, President, Worlds of Wow, Argyle, Texas
• J.D. Holt, Pastor of Ministries, Fellowship Bible Church, Topeka, Kansas
• Jeff Hook, General Manager, Active Faith, Irving, Texas
• Brian Horn, Director, XPastor, Austin, Texas
• Andrew Hummel, Communications Director, Reality LA, Los Angeles, California
• Brett Inman, Executive Pastor of Ministry, Christ Community Church, Tucson, Arizona
• Taylor Jackson, Executive Pastor, Grace Bible Church Houston, Houston, Texas
• Gary Judd, Associate Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida
• Ron Keener, Editor of ChurchExecutive Magazine, Phoenix, Arizona
• Ralph Kelley, Executive Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi
• Dean King, Executive Pastor, River Pointe Church, Richmond, Texas
• Scott Landon, Executive Director, Wheaton Bible Church, West Chicago, Illinois
• Rodney Lara, Senior Pastor, Judson Baptist Church, Oak Park, Illinois
• Brad Leeper, President & Principal, Generis Partners, Atlanta, Georgia
• Tim Leonard, Director of Family Ministries, Grace Church, Netcong, New Jersey
• Greg Lingle, Executive Pastor, Mansfield Bible Church, Mansfield, Texas
• Scott Long, Administrative Pastor, Gateway Church, Findlay, Ohio
• David Lyons, Founder and President of MinisterSearch, Lewisville, Texas
• Mike Mann, Executive Pastor, San Ramon Presbyterian Church, San Ramon, California
• Derek Maxson, Chairman, Sierra Bible, Sonora, California
• Ron May, Executive Pastor, Wildwood Church, Eat Moline, Illinois
• Brad McKerley, Executive Pastor, Southpointe, Leesburg, Florida
• Cody McQueen, Life Stage 2 Pastor, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Dave Michener, Executive Pastor, Bridgeway Community Church, Columbia, Maryland
• David Middlebrook, Attorney, The Church Law Group, Grapevine, Texas
• Brett Miley, Administrative Pastor, Evangelical Free Church, Bloomington, Illinois
• Kevin Miller, Church Administrator, Foothills Christian Church, El Cajon, California
• Sylvia Miller, Assistant to Senior Pastor, Foothills Christian Church, El Cajon, California
• Fred Neal, Executive Pastor, Harvest Community Church, Kittanning, Pennsylvania
• Scott Nelson, Principal, HH Architects, Dallas, Texas
• Michael Nichols, Executive Pastor, First Baptist, Midlothian, Texas
• Cary Nick, Senior Pastor, RiverLakes Community Church, Bakersfield, California
• Lendell Nolan, Pastor of Ministry, Grace Community Church, Roswell, New Mexico
• Frank ONeill, Executive Pastor, Shelter Rock Church, Manhasset, New York
• Darrell Owens, Senior Pastor, Christ the Rock Community Church, Cooper City, Florida
• Alex Poirier, Executive Pastor, Emmanuel Bible Chapel, Berwick, Pennsylvania
• Derek Prezzano, Executive Pastor, Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle, Smithtown, New York
• Bo Richardson, Executive Pastor, Rose Heights Church, Tyler, Texas
• Eric Rojas, Executive Pastor, Christ Community Church, St. Charles, Illinois
• Daniel Rolfe, Lead Pastor, Mountain Springs Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Tim Samuel, Chief Financial Officer, Bridgeway Community Church, Columbia, Maryland
• Luke Samuelson, Connect Director, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Joe Sanchez, Executive Pastor, 121 Community Church, Grapevine, Texas
• Cody Sandahl, Associate for Discipleship, First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
• Brad Simmons, Church Planting Catalyst, Heart of Kansas Southern Baptist Association, Wichita, Kansas
• Lorenzo Smith, Executive Pastor, Reality LA, Los Angeles, California
• Eric Soon, Director, Professional Services, Active Faith, Irving, Texas
• Mindy Sutton, Executive Director, Expansion, Mountain Springs Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• John Szablowski, Executive Pastor, The Bridge Bible Church, Bakersfield, California
• John Travis, Director of Operations, Reality LA, Los Angeles, California
• Mark Tulloch, Deacon, Faith Baptist Church, Huntsville, Ontario, Canada
• Sutton Turner, Executive Pastor, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, Washington
• Paul Utnage, XP, Springhill Presbyterian Church, Bozeman, Montana
• Steve VanPoolen, Executive Pastor, Crossroads Bible Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Rick von Albrecht, Executive Pastor of Administration, Christ Community Church, Tucson, Arizona
• Rick Wagner, Senior Pastor, Evangelical Free Church, Bloomington, Illinois
• Matthew Ware, Executive Pastor and Worship Pastor, Victory Church, Westminster, Colorado
• Garth Warren, Executive Pastor, Christ Church, Lake Forest, Illinois
• Drew Wilborn, Associate Pastor, Antioch Church, Dallas, Texas
• Jerry Wilson, Executive Director of Campus Development, Mountain Springs Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Ryan Wong, Sacramento, California
• Bruce Woody, President, HH Architects, Dallas, Texas
• Jonathan Wright, XP, Grace Church, Eden Prairie, Minnesota
• Rick Wright, Senior Associate Pastor, The Falls Church Anglican, Falls Church, Virginia

“The topics were relevant to where I am at both personally and professionally.”

Schedule

Tuesday, February 19

Wednesday, February 20

7:45	Full Breakfast sponsored by ECCU with special speaker Randy Marsh on “Financial Benchmarks That Keep Your Ministry on Mission.” Liquidity: How do you build that? – staying on mission – key indicators. Everyone wants to know how much cash is enough and how to keep it.
8:45	Welcome
9:00	Keynote by David Middlebrook and Matt Anthony David and Matt are nationally noted attorneys. What is the role of compensation studies? Should you form an independent compensation committee? What documentation is necessary for housing allowances? What are the legal issues concerning 403(b) plans?
10:00	Case Study of Concord Church: A Historic Church is Revitalized & Grows Kason and David will explore a challenge that Concord faced Each table will be given a chance to come up with their own “solution,” and then Concord’s solution will be examined This is a classic “Harvard-style” case study.
11:00	Brian Carter The Role of the Senior Pastor, Rev. Brian Carter, Concord Church of Dallas Taking a historic church and growing it to the next level Building a new worship center in a recession Vision? Dynamic change and growth? Empowerment?
12:15	Lunch Sponsored by GuideStone & The Short Rides 7 people. 7 topics. 7 minutes each New for XPastor will be a revised lunch format, featuring “shorts” on hot topics Terse. To the point. Clear. Impactful.
1:30	Workshops: Session #1 (choose from a total of 20 workshops)
2:45	Break & Afternoon Snack
3:00	Workshops: Session #2 (choose from a total of 20 workshops)
4:15	Break for the evening. Take a new or old XP/SP friend to dinner!

Thursday, February 21

7:45	Light Continental Breakfast
8:45	Dr. Nathan Baxter Nathan has been a SP and an XP, and has helped hundreds of SP-XP teams around the country From “mentoring” to “360 reviews” to “the SP-XP relationship,” Nathan brings wisdom and experience
10:00	Keynote with Larry Osborne: Breaking Through Ceilings of Competency & Complexity Why growth always increases complexity—and what to do about it How to recognize a genuine ceiling—and what to do about it Why the old ways suddenly stop working—and where to look for the solution The two things that always need to change—and why they are resisted
10:45	Group Discussion and Q&A on Keynote
11:15	Dr. David Fletcher David will interview Larry about his new book, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith. Zealous faith can have a dangerous, dark side. While recent calls for radical Christians have challenged many to be more passionate about their faith, the downside can be a budding arrogance and self-righteousness that ‘accidentally’ sneaks into our outlook. Larry diagnoses nine of the most common traps that can ensnare Christians on the road to a deeper life of faith. Rejecting attempts to turn the call to follow Christ into a new form of legalism, he shows readers how to avoid the temptations of pride, exclusivity, legalism, and hypocrisy, Larry reminds us that attempts to fan the flames of full-on discipleship and call people to Christlikeness should be rooted in love and humility. Christians stirred by calls to radical discipleship, but unsure how to respond, will be challenged and encouraged to develop a truly Christlike zeal for God.
11:30	Lunch options Pick up lunch outside the Ballroom and go to one of 6 lunch Workshops: Session 3
12:45	Workshops: Session 4 (choose from a total of 20 workshops)
2:00	Workshops: Session 5 (choose from a total of 20 workshops)
3:15	Conclusion (early enough for you to catch a flight home)

“I’m truly excited about the excellence of this seminar.”

Workshops

“All the workshops I attended were very relevant and applicable.”
The workshop leaders are a stunning collection of executives who speak from their areas of expertise. They talk to you as “one skilled leader to another.” This is your opportunity to discuss vital areas of ministry with seasoned leaders. The workshop leaders are both practical and skilled—they are “in the trenches” doing ministry.

Dr. Warren Bird—Senior Pastor Succession

Warren is the Director of Research and Intellectual Capital at Leadership Network, author and former pastor. He always bringsthe very latest in research in church ministry.

We tried to host this workshop last year, but there was a family issue and Warren had to leave a day early. This workshop will be an evaluative discussion on Senior Pastor Succession. Bring your past experiences to share. Bring your ideas about best case scenarios. Bring your existing plans and policies for Senior Pastor Succession at your church.

Mike Bonem—Potholes or Sinkholes? Dealing with Bumps in the Road

Mike co-wrote an XPastor favorite, Leading from the Second Chair. He willjoin us for a live interview about his new book, In Pursuit of Great AND Godly Leadership.

We serve in the “second chair” out of a sense of calling and a desire to see our churches grow in their effectiveness for the Kingdom. As a result, we expect this role to be deeply fulfilling. But every Executive Pastor goes through seasons that are short on fulfillment and long on frustration. It may be characterized by relational conflict, differing visions, disappointing results, a gnawing unrest or something else. How do you know whether this season is a pothole or a sinkhole, a short-lived bump or a sign that it’s time to move on to a new place of service? This workshop will give you a place to reflect on these issues and some practical ideas for how to deal with them.

Joel Botello

Joel Botello—Are My People Strategically Growing?

Joel is an XP at Westoverhills Assembly of God Church in San Antonio. He asks, “Are the people attending your church growing? If so, how do you know? Do you have a pipeline for developing individuals in to mature believers, disciples and leaders?”

This workshop will explore strategic growth. Such growth does not take place solely by attending church and listening to great sermons. Are there ways to advance the people God brings us? I believe there are and I will present the WHAG Pipeline as a measurable instrument for Growing Gods people.

Rob Cizek—Breaking Through with The Power Of Being Direct

A subtitle for this workshop could be, How To Gain Leadership Influence and Credibility By ‘Telling It Like It Is’. Rob (@RobCizek on Twitter) is the XP of Northshore Christian Church of Everett, Washington. He comes from the business world, having won awards for running newsrooms for broadcast television. As such, Rob brings a unique perspective to the XP role.

Speak the truth in love. It seems simple, but most people are bad at it. Being direct in our communication and leadership style will be appreciated and increase our credibility. Yet we’re afraid speak directly and clearly. Why? This session will provide you with things you can do to become more direct, and thus effective, in your leadership. 
 Being direct doesn’t mean being mean. Keep short accounts. Invite others to be honest with you. Directness with honesty is so rare that people will value it. And much more!

Houston Clark—Breaking Your Theology of Space

Houston is a co-founder & Principal of Clark. Last year George brought a workshop on different approaches to multi-site video, full of hands-on application.  This year the challenge is to rethink your Church Space.

George says, “I was sitting in a meeting, discussing the way the Church uses its space, when someone boldly said: “We’ve built spaces for us and then gone out and tried to bring the lost to them, instead of building a space for the community.” I had to agree. We both believe the Church is going to be sadly disappointed if they say, “we’ll  continue to build the same buildings for the next 20 years and they’ll still be culturally relevant.” Culture is seeking a more intimate, more authentic experience, so we have to build spaces which support that.”

Chris Gunnare—Delivering Five Star Service!

Chris is the Chief Operation Officer at the Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, Iowa. The church has 9,500 in worship and Chris has come out of the business community to his present position.

This workshop will explore the concept that visitors at a church decide within first 10 minutes whether or not they will return. What does the first 10 minutes look like at your church? What does a visitor/guest see & feel when they first come to your church? This workshop will provide an overview of Hope’s programs and encourage conversation to share with others in breakout what works at their churches (best practices).

Reagan Hillier—Through the Roof in Kids & Student Environments

Reagan is the President of Worlds of Wow. He has years of experience in the amusement industry and has the know-how to bring theme park level quality and innovation to children’s ministry environments.

This workshop will focus on how to invest in your environments. “As an XP, you can maximize the investment of kids/student environments,” Reagan says. This workshop will show you how to do that. We will help you better understand the value of tailored ministry environments. Theming allows the walls of the ministry spaces to reflect the DNA of the church. Theming with your DNA also illustrate the commitment a church has to families. Environments matter! Whether we are talking about where we eat, where we buy coffee or where we go to church. The investment in physical spaces is a critical piece for today’s churches.

Jeff Hook

Mark Demoss

Jeff Hook, Eric Soon & Mark DeMoss, Active Faith—Return On Ministry

Jeff Hook, General Manager of Active Faith & Eric Soon, Director, Professional Services, ACTIVE Faith & Mark DeMoss, Manager, Professional Services, Active Faith will present this workshop on Return On Ministry.

Return on Ministry (ROM) is a ministerial twist on the corporate concept of ROI (Return on Investment). ROM emphasizes ministry effectiveness—rather than profits—through strategic process development and data analytics. ACTIVE Faith/Fellowship One’s Jeff Hook, Eric Soon, and Mark DeMoss, whose considerable combined business and ministry experience bring the best of both worlds together, will discuss all aspects of the art of measured Kingdom results.

Gerald Farley

Brad Leeper & Gerald Farley—Don’t Accept Ceilings in Generosity

Brad is the President and Principal of Generis Partners and Gerald has been a Strategist with Generis for many years. Based on experience and affinity, they are drawn to innovative, growing churches and the challenges of helping them expand practically and spiritually.

With Generis, Brad is well served by his experience as a consultant to churches across the nation, a staff leader in resource development for local ministries, a Campus Director for Campus Crusade for Christ, and his role as church elder in his own 4,000-member home church, Perimeter Church in Atlanta. Gerald brings a similarly rich experience, having been an XP for many years. This workshop will explore how to have a culture of generosity in a local church. What are the markers for it? How you can get a culture of generosity and how to keep it?

Brad’s and Gerald’s workshops have received high marks in previous XP-Seminars.

David Lyons—Hiring To New Levels

David is the Founder and President of MinisterSearch. While placing hundreds of people into ministry positions, David has seen the centrality of fit and gifting. Is one more important than the other? Can we compromise because “we know that person,” or “he or she is an insider” or “their gifts are just so strong that we … ?”

If you are going to hire staff in the next 12 months, then this workshop with David will help you. He has led workshops at each of the previous XP-Seminars, to rave reviews. Bring your questions for the discussion portion of the workshop as well.

“The breakout session with David Lyons on Staffing was tremendous.”

Bruce Woody

Scott Nelson & Bruce Woody—Buildings: “Ceilings of Complexity?”

Bruce is the President & CEO of HH Architects and Scott is a Principal. This workshop will bring their expertise to bear on your next building project.

Many churches talk about “getting back to normal” but most experts say back to normal no longer exists! The old normal has been replaced with a new paradigm of pervasive uncertainty. As a result of the new normal, today’s leaders are utilizing a Strategic Positioning process as the launching pad for their next church building. This process helps develop effective ministry plans that consider key factors as they relate to your ministry objectives. Strategic Positioning focuses on helping churches to quickly explore options that account for planning in four different areas: People, Space, Time, and Money, in an effort to make informed decisions as you prepare for future development. Experience how this process centers around an interactive work session with your key leaders allowing you to participate in “real-time” analysis of “what if” scenarios. This will enable you to arrive at value-based decisions after reviewing the pro’s & con’s of various scenarios before engaging in major capital expenditures.

Stan Reiff—What Counts? Measuring the Financial Performance of Your Church

Stan is a Principal with CapinCrouse and his professional experience includes over 20 years in ministry operations, public accounting, government accounting, and missionary work.

Understanding the church’s financial information better can help prevent a future crisis by making better decisions today. This session will introduce you to some ratios and reporting that help identify potential areas of financial weakness in your congregation.

Daniel Rolfe & Rick Clapp—Complexity: How Did We Spend Our Last $10 million?

Daniel is the Co-Lead Pastor of Mountain Springs Church of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He began his journey at Mountain Springs as the XP, and then they changed to a shared leadership model. He will be jonied by Rick, Executive Pastor for Mountain Springs.

Where have the last $10,000,000 of your church been spent? Do you know? How effective have those dollars been for the kingdom of God? Have those dollars hit the bullseye of your vision? Daniel and Rick, team up to discuss how they surveyed, measured, examined and applied the answers to those questions. The goal was that their church can spend time and money more effectively, sending out even more arrows that hit the target. Come hear their results and discuss how to apply them to your own unique inventory and vision.

Eric Rojas—How to Develop an Effective Employee Handbook

Eric is the XP of Christ Community Church, a multi-site, 5 campus church of 5,500 in the western suburbs of Chicago, where he has been on staff for almost 10 of his 25 years in ministry.

In this seminar we will look at requirements for an employee handbook for churches at various size levels. Included will be sections on employment, compensation, employee benefits, preformance standards, workplace guidelines, organizational structure, how to properly revise policies and communicate them, ongoing documentation and the importance of protecting the organization of the church. This breakout will have legal elements to it, but will also come from the perspective of ministry and  shepherding from an Executive Pastor.

John Travis & Andrew Hummel—Media and the Modern Church

John is the Director of Operations and Andrew is Communications Director at Reality LA, a young church of 3,000 in Hollywood, California.

In the modern world, both as individuals and as church bodies, we’re always communicating something—usually to many more people than we might expect. This workshop will explore how to know those audiences, understand the potentials and pitfalls of various media platforms, effectively leverage your unique resources, and travel a path of constant improvement. Using recent campaigns as case studies, John and Andrew will share some of their surprising successes and spectacular failures.

Paul Utnage—Helping the Staff Member Who Brings Turmoil to the Team

Paul is the Executive Pastor of Springhill Church in Bozeman, Montana. He says, “Problems occur. Crises happen. In the midst of these emotional seasons, people struggle—sometimes in unhealthy ways. In many cases people adapt to the pain without hindering their job performance. In other cases, individuals are snared by their internal turmoil. Job performance suffers and their emotional struggle becomes the “invisible elephant” in staff relationships. ”

This workshop will focus on the supervisor, that you have to do something to help the employee, team and ministry—and other staff members are expecting you to do something now. When should you ignore the problem? When should you fire the staff member? When should you provide coaching to the staffer on your own? When should you require outside counseling while they still work on the team? When should you put the staff member on paid leave of absence? You have options, but you need the skills that are necessary for each option. This workshop seeks to provide a framework for helping staff members who bring such turmoil to the team that performance suffers, momentum lags and teams bog down. You will acquire a process for helping your staffer and key skills for the journey.

Jon Wright—Cultivating and Maintaining the Spiritual Vitality of Your Team

Jon is the XP of Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. This will be a brisk and practical walk through 1 Timothy, with plenty of interaction with Jon and other attendees.

Jon says, “As XP’s we’re often focusing on structure and strategy and the ‘spiritual’ can get overlooked. We often assume that the SP or the individual pastors will ensure this is happening but without an intentional process it rarely does. If we, or our teams, lose our passion and vision for God’s Word, Our Call and His Church, we will be ineffective in executing the vision for our own individual churches.”

Sponsors

For the ninth year as a sponsor, thanks to our friends at Generis Partners. True giving is a deeply transformative act. Generis believes it’s less about raising capital and more about raising the spiritual consciousness of people. It’s about meeting churches where they are and helping them achieve their own true vision according to their unique culture. Whether that entails a video venue, multi-campus site, or raising a daunting amount of capital, Generis consultants are ready to share the Leadership’s risk—because they understand it. Brad Leeper and his counterpart, Gerald Farley have both served in church leadership roles and have real-life experiences to offer far beyond that of most industry consultants. Check out a great article from Brad Leeper: End-of-Year Giving Communication. We welcome Generis’ Principal and President, Brad Leeper, and also Stewardship Strategist Gerald Farley.

For the ninth year as a sponsor, thanks to our friends at MinisterSearch. Many have met David Lyons, their founder and president, at previous XP-Seminars and XPastor events. MinisterSearch empowers churches to have access to a larger, more qualified pool of candidates. They also help reduce the time spent searching for qualified and competent staff and increase the retention rate among pastors and ministers. David Lyons says, “As church leaders, it is critical to utilize all available resources as quickly as possible when filling a pastoral staff position. I have talked with countless pastors and lay leaders who, after months of searching for one or multiple positions, recognize that there must be a better way.” Whether you desire to fill a ministry position or find a new place of ministry, MinisterSearch can help. We welcome the President, David Lyons.

For the seventh year as a sponsor, we welcome the Evangelical Christian Credit Union. The Evangelical Christian Credit Union (ECCU) is a trusted banking resource that shares your passion for kingdom impact. With ECCU’s wisdom gained from more than 40 years of experience serving evangelical ministries, we are helping churches in all 50 states increase their effectiveness through biblically based banking, financing, and investing services.

They’re back for the 7th year, but with a new name and an improved suite of products and services. ACTIVE Faith, the company that brought the industry’s premier church management software, Fellowship One, is changing the church market with more technology offerings, church management expertise, and educational opportunities, through their union with ACTIVE Network, an international technology leader, and ServiceU, a provider of stand-alone point-solutions for churches and other organizations.

We welcome GuideStone as a sponsor for the seventh year. GuideStone Financial Resources is one of the leading providers of retirement, medical, life and disability coverage, investment management and executive planning services to the evangelical Christian community. Since 1918, the organization has enhanced the financial security of more than 200,000 individuals and reported $10.0 billion in assets as of December 31, 2011. GuideStone offers its clients access to Christian-based, socially screened investment funds for retirement, endowment and operational assets. GuideStone’s medical programs offer rate stability, the largest network of healthcare providers in the U.S. and a comprehensive suite of plan options providing quality care and protection for our participants and their families. GuideStone’s insurance agency affiliate, GuideStone Agency Services, makes available full lines of property and casualty coverage as well as risk management education and tools designed with the ministry in mind. For more information about GuideStone, visit the organization’s website at www.GuideStone.org.

For the fourth year, we welcome The Church Law Group.The Church Law Group focuses on the specific legal needs of nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, including numerous churches, ministries, faith-based organizations, and clergy throughout the United States.  The Church Law Group is comprised of a talented and diverse group of acclaimed professionals sharing a singular calling and dedication to work with and further the successes of their clients.  One member of the team is a former Assistant District Attorney. Several of the attorneys hold certifications from Cambridge University in Risk Management for Churches and Schools. We welcome David Middlebrook and Matt Anthony.

For the third year as a sponsor, we welcome HH Architects. For nearly 40 years, HH Architects has had the privilege of working with and planning campuses for many of the fastest-growing and top-attended churches and private Christian schools across America. HH Architects has worked with a broad range of churches on a wide variety of facilities, from first-unit buildings to 7,000+ seat Worship Centers, providing Strategic Positioning, Master Planning, Architectural, and Interior Design services for nearly all aspects of religious facility projects. HH Architects offers a unique skill set of experience and expertise from having served as a ministry partner on a wide variety of projects which includes: Master Plans, Church Relocations, Worship Centers & Sanctuaries, Education Facilities, Dining Facilities, Sports & Recreation Facilities and Parking Garages. We welcome Scott Nelson and Bruce Woody.
For the second year, we welcome CapinCrouse. With more than 700 not-for-profit organizations and 1,500 tax clients, CapinCrouse is the country’s leading accounting and advisory firm primarily serving the Christian not-for-profit community. Since 1972, CapinCrouse has been serving not-for-profit entities including megachurches, institutions of higher education and secondary schools, and international missions agencies by providing a full range of audit, review, tax, and advisory services. CapinCrouse is dedicated to helping our clients operate with financial integrity so they can dedicate themselves to fulfilling their mission.

For the second year, we welcome Clark. Sixteen years ago, Clark (formally Clark ProMedia) began focusing on Audio, Video and Lighting systems for churches.  Today, its offerings go beyond Technology and include Strategic Facilities Planning and Project Management.  More than 20% of Outreach Magazine’s top 50 churches have relied on Clark to turn their visions into realities.

For the second year, we welcome Gdirect as a sponsor! Gdirect serves God’s kingdom by helping the local church Identify its business community. We Connect and Engage church leaders, business leaders and the congregation with each other through the creation of socially driven church branded business directories.

For the first year, we welcome Worlds of Wow as a sponsor! Worlds of Wow creates ridiculously cool, fun environments that impact kids and families of all ages. “Since 2004, we’ve been using indoor playgrounds and themed environments to assist churches in reaching families and growing membership. Our spiritually focused team will partner with you to maximize budget and wow factor.”

Pomotional Sponsors

For the ninth year as a sponsor, thanks to our friends at ChurchExecutive magazine. ChurchExecutive is a monthly how-to business information resource for 20,000 readers, reaching pastors, executive pastors and business administrators of larger and megachurches—throughout the United States. We welcome the Editor, Ron Keener.

For the eighth year, we welcome Leadership Network as a sponsor. Leadership Network is a Dallas-based nonprofit that seeks to accelerate the impact of 100X leaders. Leadership Network brings together innovative church leaders, creating an environment for collaborative discovery, dialogue and sharing. Leadership Network further enhances this process through the development and distribution of highly targeted ministry tools and resources—including video, podcasts, concept papers, special research reports, and e-publications. Resources are available as free downloads at leadnet.org/papers. In addition, Leadership Network partners with two important publishers, Jossey-Bass and Zondervan to give leaders access to the thought leadership and best practices of effective 21st century churches. Learn more at leadnet.org/books.

“This is my first conference since becoming the XP at our church. Attended an XPastor ‘Staffing Workshop’ in Phoenix that helped me make a decision toward an XP pathway. Thanks for your ministry!”