What church do you pastor? What is the vision for the church?
I pastor The Oaks Community Church, located in Middletown, Ohio.
Middletown is an old steel city that is now being crowded by the suburbs of both Cincinnati and Dayton. Unlike the stereotypical Acts 29 church, our context is anything but “hip”. Middletown is a city that is racially divided, economically depressed and on Forbes’ list of the Ten fastest dying cities in America. It is because of these reasons that we prayerfully decided upon Middletown as the location for our plant. From the very beginning of The Oaks we have felt a strong passion and conviction for both word and deed ministry. It seems that all too often churches either emphasize the gospel or the kingdom, but a proper understanding of either forces one to realize that the two are inseparable. Therefore our passion for The Oaks is to be a church defined by the gospel and by the ministries of mercy that flow from our understanding of the gospel and its transforming effect in our lives.
What will you be teaching on at Ambition?
I will be speaking on the crucial steps of gathering and developing a core group in the “church planting from the ground up” track. (See all tracks here)
When a man feels a call from God to plant a church, he usually seeks counsel from others and an assessment from a network like Acts 29. If his calling is confirmed he begins the noble-work of church-planting. Yet it is often at this point where the man has no idea what to do next. He begins to face a lot of questions: “How am I going to
gather a group of people to join in this work? Where should I go to look for potential core members? What type of people do I want to be a part of this church? What should the developmental stage between calling and launching look like?” These are questions that I will seek to answer in in my breakout session.
What are the top 5 books you would recommend church planters?
The Redeemer Church Planting Manual by Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC.
GCA’s Church Planter Training Manual (This is only available at the Global Church Advancement conference - so attend the conference as well).
Total Church by Chester and Timmis.
Renewal as a Way of Life by Richard Lovelace.
The Journal of Biblical Counseling Archives 1977-2005 (Available on CD-ROM through www.ccef.org)
