A little over 25 years ago we at Covenant Life Church had the privilege of sending out a group of friends to plant a new church in the Philadelphia area.

Little did we know that the church would grow and mature and plant a number of other churches around Philly and beyond. Now that church, Covenant Fellowship Church, is hosting Sovereign Grace Ministries’ first church-planting conference – PLANT!

We have been planting churches for decades but we have always wanted to learn from others and improve. Over the years we have learned many things, made plenty of mistakes, and experienced much grace in our humble attempts to advance the gospel through church planting.

But we still have much to learn, which is why we packed this conference with church-planting thinkers from a variety of movements and denominations who each bring significant experience to the mission of the gospel.

My friend Dave Harvey (director of church planting and church care in Sovereign Grace) will be speaking along with Darrin Patrick, Mark Dever, Tim Witmer, Mike McKinley, Daniel Montgomery, Shai Linne, Pete Greasley, and Craig Cabaniss. I will also be speaking.

If you dream about church planting, if you’re doing church planting, or if you are supporting church planting, I think you will benefit from the conference. Come join is in Pennsylvania on March 24–26, 2011 for PLANT! and learn with us.

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Here are the conference details:

Name: PLANT!

Date: March 24-26, 2011

Location: Covenant Fellowship Church, Glen Mills, PA

Cost: $99/person

Purpose: To gather church planters, pastors, and anyone interested in church planting, inside and outside of Sovereign Grace Ministries, for the purpose of inspiring, teaching, and equipping for church planting. This includes young men in high school, college, or seminary who are interested in church planting, as well as pastoral teams who want to build church-planting churches, and members of churches who want to explore being part of a church-planting team some day.

General-session speakers:
· Darrin Patrick (Acts 29)
· Mark Dever (9Marks)
· C.J. Mahaney
· Dave Harvey

Breakout sessions:
· The Importance of Preaching in Church Planting • Tim Witmer | Associate Professor, Westminster Theological Seminary
· How to Plant an Evangelistic Church • Pete Greasley | senior pastor, Christchurch, Newport, Wales
· How to Build a Church-Planting Church • Craig Cabaniss | senior pastor, Grace Community Church, Frisco, TX
· Replanting! • Mike McKinley | author, Church Planting Is For Wimps
· Way Finding: A Map for Planting Your Church without Losing Your Soul • Daniel Montgomery | senior pastor, Sojourn Community Church
· Engaging the Urban Context with the Gospel • Shai Linne

Concert: Shai Linne will perform Friday night.

Registration: Register at www.sgmplant.org

Early registration: September 14, 2010–December 14, 2010

Regular registration: December 15, 2010–March 15, 2011

The conference is giving away prizes every two weeks to early registrants. By registering early, you are entered to win. Prizes include an iPad, books, and a free hotel stay at the conference. Winners are chosen randomly. See the website for more info.
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