Featured Guest, Will Mancini on Church Unique

What’s after “strategic planning,” “church growth” and “missional”?

Will Mancini

Will Mancini wants you and your ministry to experience the benefits of stunning, God-given clarity. As a pastor turned vision coach, Will has worked with an unprecedented variety of churches from growing megachurches and missional communities, to mainline revitalization and church plants. He is the founder of Auxano, creator of VisionRoom.com and the author of Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision and Create Movement.

Will’s pastoral experience includes leadership development responsibilities at Clear Creek Community Church and Faithbridge UMC. Both churches have experienced dramatic impact in the same city but represent very different church cultures and unique ministry models. Will’s style blends the best of three worlds: process thinking from the discipline of engineering, communications savvy as an ad agency executive, and practical theology as a pastoral leader. His education includes a ThM in Pastoral Leadership from Dallas Theological Seminary and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Penn State. As you walk the vision pathway with Will, we invite you check-out his blog as an additional resource: willmancini.com; twitter: willmancini; facebook.com/claritywill; instagram: will_be_clear

Seminar Highlights

	Special Keynote and Track for Lead Pastors You asked for Mike to return! We heard from him, Mr. “Lightning in a Bottle,” at the 2014 XP-Seminar on his transition to EvFree Fullerton and the growth of 2,000 worshippers in a year. But you wanted more of Mike—speaking about being a catalyst, directional leadership and renewing a historic church. Both XPs and SPs should enjoy! Mike will bring a keynote on Thursday morning on setting vision and implementation. That afternoon, he will lead a workshop only for Senior Pastors/Lead Pastors. Before becoming the Lead Pastor of EvFree Fullerton, he served as the teaching pastor at Rock Harbor Church and Mariners Church. XPs, this is the year to bring your SP!
	Keynote on Leadership, Change and God’s Audacity Daniel has been an XP for many years and a long-time presenter at XPastor. Now, God has given an enormous challenge to Daniel as a lead pastor of Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs. How do you respond to God when He brings audacious events and ministry assignments into your life? God is working and has invited you into it, but we all wonder if we can keep up with His work. Leaders are those people who are following God’s direction, sensing His will about change, and then taking others with them on the path.
Dr. David Fletcher	A Case Study by David Fletcher David is the Founder and Host of XPastor and serves as the Executive Pastor at EvFree Fullerton. David has been a pastor for over 30 years in churches of up to 8,000 people in attendance. He founded XPastor in 2003 and has seen it grow into a global tool for churches of all sizes. Detail on this case will be presented soon.
	Legal Issues For many years, the XP-Seminar has presented the outstanding legal perspectives of attorneys Matt Anthony and David Middlebrook. David and Matt are nationally-noted attorneys who have helped thousands of churches across America. When Matt and David present at the XP-Seminar, it is “shock and awe.”  Society is litigious and the law is complicated. This year we will be covering Employment Law: General and Executive Level Employee Contracts, Worker Classification (Employee vs. Independent Contractor). Structuring and Compliance of Internship Programs. Termination of Employment. Wrongful Discharge Claims. Separation Agreements. Confidentiality Agreements. Yee-haw, that’s a mouthful of big words!

New Short Rides

This year we will feature a financial update on retirement assets with Matt Peden, Director of Portfolio Management at GuideStone Capital Management and a short ride with a case study on church leadership issues. To the point. Clear. Impactful. Horse not provided.

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

Tim Beltz

Tim was the XP, Executive Elder, Board Member, and organizational strategist at Mars Hill from 2007-2011.  He will share in a positive and meaningful way the collective takeaways from the vantage points of organizational, pastoral, leadership, and multisite matters. Personal reflections and “so what does this means to my church?” will provide closure to this tragic situation.

Mars Hill has just updated their site with a great history of the church.  Be sure to click on “2015” to see all the churches launched, “with her final breath, Mars Hill gave birth to 11 newly independent churches where, by God’s grace, the gospel will continue to be preached, his name will be glorified, and thousands will be saved by Jesus.”

Afternoon Workshops

On each afternoon, we have three sets of workshops led by some of the best church leaders from North America—people who are coming up with innovative solutions to practical ministry. Hear from your peers! The workshop leaders are church leaders who speak from their amazing areas of expertise. They talk to you as “one skilled leader to another.”
“Thank you so much for the obvious work that was put into the conference. It was my first time attending and it was very beneficial.”
“On our flight home, my XP said to me, ‘So was the conference worth it for you?’ I answered, ‘Yes it was.’ He agreed as well.”

“The most important part to me is the ability to ‘network’ I loved being able to ask questions, probe and encourage the other folks I spent time with outside of the scheduled events.”

“Thank you for continuing to offer this most wonderful vehicle for growing, learning and stretching in service to Him!”

“A few of the beneficial things:
→The structure of the conference
→The speakers are accessible
→The large room is comfortable
→The free material is amazing
→Chatting between speakers”

“I love that the conference is small.”
—attendance limited to 200 people—

Schedule

Tuesday, February 17

Wednesday, February 18

7:45	Gary Kehr Full Breakfast sponsored by ECCU—always a fantastic time to start the Seminar and learn the latest.   What’s happening nationally on the church building scene?  Are people building again?  What types of buildings are they doing?  Large boxes, renovations, inner-city spaces? As churches get ready for a building project, what do they need to consider with regards to their bank?  What does a banking relationship look like in 2015 and beyond?   How should churches prepare with financial data—external audits, generosity analyses, donor capabilities?
8:45	Welcome Dr. David Fletcher, the Founder of XPastor and an XP, will open our time together.  We come from scores of churches across the U.S., Canada & even Malaysia, devoted to growing as leaders.  There are many medium-sized and large churches represented, with an average church size of 3,200 people in worship.  We are peers talking to peers about best practices, cutting edge ministry and resolving age-old issues of church life.
9:00	Keynote on Legal Issues: Employment Law David Middlebrook and Matt Anthony are nationally-noted attorneys with the Church Law Group and present our annual “shock & awe.”  Society is litigious and the law is complicated.  We will look at Employment Law: General and Executive Level Employee Contracts, Worker Classification (Employee vs. Independent Contractor). Structuring and Compliance of Internship Programs. Termination of Employment. Wrongful Discharge Claims. Separation & Confidentiality Agreements.  Yee-haw, that’s hard hitting!
10:00	Will Mancini Keynote on Uniqueness in Ministry: What’s after “strategic planning,” “church growth” and “missional”? Will Mancini–pastor, author, thinker, strategist.  He’s in the trenches every day.  As a “clarity evangelist,” Will has served as vision architect for hundreds of churches across the country—Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran and non-denominational and many more.  His clients include notable organizations like Leadership Network and Upward Unlimited and pastors like Chuck Swindoll and Max Lucado. Will’s style blends the best of three worlds: the process thinking from the discipline of engineering, the communications savvy as an ad agency executive, and the practical theology as a pastoral leader. Will is the author of Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture and Create Movement and Building Leaders.
11:00	Q&A with Will
11:30	Break
11:45	Matt Penden Lunch & The Short Ride on a Hot Topic, sponsored by GuideStone.  This year we will feature a financial update on retirement assets and one short ride with a case study on church leadership issues. To the point. Clear. Impactful. Horse not provided. Financial Investment Update with Matt Peden, Director of Portfolio Management at GuideStone Capital Management. Tim Beltz The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill with Tim Beltz.  Tim was the XP, Executive Elder, Board Member, and organizational strategist at Mars Hill from 2007-2011. He will share in a positive and meaningful way the collective takeaways from the vantage points of organizational, pastoral, leadership, and multisite matters. Personal reflections and “so what does this means to my church?” will provide closure to this tragic situation.
1:30-2:30	Workshops: Session #1
2:30	Afternoon snack on first floor
2:45-3:45	Workshops: Session #2
4:00-5:00	Workshops: Session #3
5:15	Take an XP/SP friend to dinner!

Thursday, February 19

7:45	Chris Fowler Full Breakfast sponsored by Church Community Builder. What were the origins of church databases and their growth.  As the Harvard Business School asks in Question Zero, “What exactly are we trying to accomplish here?”  Where are church databases going?  What are the current obstacles that you are trying to overcome?  What will churches want in 3, 5 or 10 years?
8:45	Keynote on Leadership, Change and God’s Audacity Daniel has been an XP for many years and a long-time presenter at XPastor.  Now, God given an enormous challenge to Daniel as a lead pastor of Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs.
9:45	Keynote on re>knew: Candid Thoughts on the American Church and Your Role In It Mike is the Senior Pastor of EvFree Fullerton.  He has served as the teaching pastor at Rock Harbor Church and Mariners Church.  Since coming to Fullerton, there has been tremendous growth under his dynamic leadership.  Restoring a historic church is both exciting and challenging.  Where is your church in this dynamic tension in the America today?
11:00	Break for Lunch Pick up lunch outside the Ballroom and take it to a workshop
11:30-12:30	Lunch Workshops Workshops: Session 4
12:45-1:45	Workshops: Session 5
2:00-3:00	Workshops: Session 6
	Have a safe trip home

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

Sponsors

For the eleventh 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: “Trends in 2014 for Church Tithing, Giving and Stewardship.” We welcome Generis’ Principal and President, Brad Leeper, and also Stewardship Strategist, Gerald Farley.

We welcome MinisterSearch for the eleventh year. Many have met David Lyons, their founder and president, at previous XP-Seminars and XPastor events. MinisterSearch is the most experienced and most successful pastoral search firm in the country. Leading over 400 pastoral searches, they have developed a process like no other that helps churches identify their specific needs, find candidates they couldn’t find on their own, and clearly discern who the right candidate is. 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, the team at MinisterSearch can help. We welcome the founder, David Lyons.

For the ninth year, we welcome ACTIVE Network’s Fellowship One. The industry’s premier church management software, Fellowship One, provides churches with technology offerings and church management expertise that enable you to offer exceptional member care and engage your community. ACTIVE Network partners with more than 4,000 churches and 83% of the largest and fastest growing churches in the U.S. benefit from their connection to the ACTIVE Network.

For the ninth year as a sponsor, we welcome the Evangelical Christian Credit Union. ECCU is an alliance of Christian people and organizations committed to fueling Christ-centered ministry worldwide. While our mission extends far beyond banking, we have been providing ministry-centric financial services and resources for nearly five decades to churches and their members, missionaries, and many others.

We welcome GuideStone as a sponsor for the ninth 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 $11.8 billion in assets as of March 31, 2013. 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 sixth 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 fifth 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 fourth year, we welcome CapinCrouse. With more than 1,000 not-for-profit 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 mega-churches, 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.  We welcome Stan Reiff, Partner with CapinCrouse.

For the fourth year, we welcome Clark. Sixteen years ago, Clark (formerly 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. We welcome co-founder Houston Clark.

For the third 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.”  We welcome Reagan Hillier, President of WOW.

For the second year, we welcome Portable Church Industries as a sponsor. Portable Church redefines the possibilities for mobile churches worldwide through their creative, functional and portable transportation and equipment solutions. They are a collective of Designers, Consultants, Project Managers, Producers, Builders and Experts. Together, they create customized, all-inclusive solutions for church plants and multi-site churches. Their unique solutions ensure that set-up and tear-down aren’t the biggest experience mobile churches have on a Sunday. We welcome Scott Cougill, CEO of Portable Church.

For the first year, we welcome the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.  ECFA enhances trust in Christ-centered churches and ministries by establishing and applying Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship™ to accredited organizations. Founded in 1979, ECFA provides accreditation to leading churches that faithfully demonstrate compliance with established standards for financial accountability, transparency, stewardship, and board governance. We welcome Dan Busby, President of ECFA.
For the first year, we welcome Church Community Builder. CCB is a technology and services company focused on equipping church leaders for better ministry. The Church is called to equip God’s people to do His work, and Church Community Builder exists to support you with a better how—through practical coaching, software, and ‘tribe’-based learning. We focus on the tools and processes so that you can focus on empowering people. Our inspiration is “the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11b-12).

Promotional Sponsors

For the eleventh 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 Leadership Network for the tenth year, www.leadnet.org.  Leadership Network is a Dallas-based nonprofit that seeks to help leaders move from ideas, to implementation, to impact.  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. To stay updated with the latest articles, resources and opportunities for innovative churches, sign up for the free, weekly newsletter at www.leadnet.org. Leadership Network is here to help leaders move from ideas to implementation to impact. Want to become involved?

We welcome Christianity Today for the second year.  Christianity Today’s Church Law & Tax Group publishes the award-winning Church Law & Tax Report and Church Finance Today newsletters, the award-winning ChurchLawAndTax.com and ManagingYourChurch.com websites, and numerous print and digital resources that help church leaders keep their congregations safe, legal, and financially sound. The Church Law & Tax Group is led by senior editor Richard R. Hammar, a Harvard Law School graduate, CPA, and author of more than 100 books (including the annual Church & Clergy Tax Guide, Pastor, Church & Law, the biannual Compensation Handbook for Church Staff, the Essential Guide to Copyright Law for Churches, and several eBooks) as well as an esteemed group of Editorial Advisors that includes attorneys Chip Grange, David Middlebrook, and Frank Sommerville, and CPAs Michael Batts, Dan Busby, and Elaine Sommerville.

Workshops Level 1—Operations: Staffing, Facilities, Finances, Communications

Workshops Level 2—Ministry Strategy

Workshops Level 3–Governance and Executive Functions

Attendees

The Seminar is the time for XPs, SPs and church leaders
to come together, learn from national leaders
and peers, and be life-long learners.

• Damon Andrews, Executive Pastor, The Church at Canyon Creek, Austin, Texas
• Matt Anthony, Attorney,  Church Law Group, Grapevine, Texas
• Gideon Ape, Associate Campus Director, Christ Fellowship, Palmetto Bay, Florida
• Tim Arrington, Executive Pastor of Administration, Christ Community Church, Tucson, Arizona
• Tim Badal, Lead Teaching Pastor, Village Bible Church, Sugar Grove, Illinois
• Scott Barfoot, Director, Doctor of Ministries Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas
• Brian Barndt, Executive Pastor, Grey Stone Church, Durham, North Carolina
• Bruce Baxter, Executive Pastor, La Croix Church, Cape Girardeau, Missouri
• Nathan Baxter, Executive Leadership Coach, Lead-Self Lead-Others, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Dixie Beard, Director of Business Development, Retirement Institutional Plans, GuideStone Financial Resources, Dallas, Texas
• Dennis Behrman, Director of Product Marketing, Fellowship One/Active Network, Irving, Texas
• Tim Beltz, Executive Pastor, Sojourn Community Church, Louisville, Kentucky
• Chris Benson, Pastor, Grace for Life Ministry, Frisco, Texas
• Robert Blincoe, President, Frontiers, Tempe, Arizona
• Ken Blume, Executive Director, Ministry & Programs, Colonial Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, Missouri
• Lambert Boyd, Director of Operations, Austin Ridge Bible Church, Austin, Texas
• Matthew Branaugh, Editorial Director, Christianity Today, Westminster, Colorado
• Dave Brandolini, Executive Pastor, Austin Ridge Bible Church, Austin, Texas
• Frankie Broome, Adult Ministry Intern, Cornerstone, Chandler, Arizona
• Sean Buchanan, Tribes Leader, Church Community Builder, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• David Burggraff, Executive Pastor, Colonial Baptist Church, Cary, North Carolina
• Dan Busby, President, ECFA, Winchester, Virginia
• Lou Butler, Executive Director, Foothills Bible Church, Littleton, Colorado
• Darcy Caires, Jr., Pastor, Queens Presbyterian Church PCA, Astoria, New York
• Mark Carlson, Executive and Operations Pastor, Church on the Ridge, Snoqualmie, Washington
• Steve Caton, Leadership Team, Church Community Builder, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Terrence Chavis, Chief Financial Officer, Concord Church, Dallas, Texas
• David Cherry, Clark, Dallas, Texas
• Linda Chiles, Regional Manager of New Business Sales, Insurance Plans, GuideStone Financial Resources, Dallas, Texas
• Fred Choi, Executive Director of Operations, Riverview Church, Holt, Michigan
• Rick Clapp, Executive Pastor, Mountain Springs Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Houston Clark, Co-Founder and Principal, Clark, Dallas, Texas
• Joshua Clay, Executive Pastor, New Kingdom Ministries International, Lafayette, Louisiana
• Paul Clough, Lead Pastor, Christ Community Church, West Chester, Pennsylvania
• Errol Coner, Executive Pastor, Concord Church, Dallas, Texas
• Trey Corry, College Ministries Pastor, Grace Bible Church, College Station, Texas
• Scott Cougill, CEO, Portable Church Industries, Troy, Michigan
• Pat Coyle, Human Resources Pastor, Grace Bible Church, College Station, Texas
• Rob Curry, Executive Pastor, Cypress Bible Church, Cypress, Texas
• Bill Daniel, Church Executive, Grace Church, Wichita Falls, Texas
• Larry Davies, Executive Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Easton, Pennsylvania
• Larry Davis, Executive Pastor, Plymouth Park Baptist Church, Irving, Texas
• Mark DiGirolamo, Executive Pastor, COO, Visalia First Assembly, Visalia, California
• Rick Duesler, Director of Administration, Otterbein Church, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
• Keith Duff, Executive Pastor, Village Bible Church, Sugar Grove, Illinois
• Michael Dunn, Senior Pastor, Grace Christian Fellowship, Cortland, New York
• Bryan Eck, Lead Team Pastor, Irving Bible Church, Irving, Texas
• Bill Egner, Executive Pastor, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• David Eichler, Executive Pastor, Bakersfield First Assembly of God, Bakersfield, California
• Bob Ellis, Executive Pastor, The Grove Community Church, Riverside, California
• Tom Ellis, Executive Vice President, MHBT Inc., Dallas, Texas
• Ken Engelking, Executive and Teaching Pastor, Morning Star Church, Salem, Oregon
• Mike Erre, Senior Pastor, EvFree Fullerton, Fullerton, California
• Mark Evanger, Executive Director, Crossroads Bible Church, Bellevue, Washington
• David Fletcher, Founder of XPastor, Executive Pastor, EvFree Fullerton, Fullerton, California
• Tami Fletcher, Director, XPastor, Fullerton, California
• Sammy Flores, Campus Pastor, Christ Fellowship, Palmetto Bay, Florida
• Stephen Forman, Executive Pastor, Grace Community Church, Bartlesville, Oklahoma
• Chris Fowler, Leadership Team, Church Community Builder, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Justin Frazier, Executive Pastor, Discipleship, Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church, Allen, Texas
• Mitchell Frevert, Seminary Student, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas
• Aaron Giesler, Pastor of Ministry Development, Grace Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Jason Golden, Executive Pastor, Venture Church, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
• Keith Gooding, Solution Advisor, Elexio, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
• John Gordon, Executive Pastor, Wayside Chapel EFCA, San Antonio, Texas
• David Green, Executive Pastor, First Baptist Church, Burleson, Texas
• Chris Gunnare, Chief Operating Officer, Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines, Iowa
• Karl Hanschen, Wichita Falls, Texas
• Doug Hart, Executive Pastor, Pathway Community Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Ryan Hartwig, Associate Dean, Assistant Professor, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California
• Bill Hawks, Executive and Education Pastor, Highland Colony Baptist Church, Ridgeland, Mississippi
• Parris Hayashi, Executive Pastor, Grace Bible Church Pearlside, Pearl City, Hawaii
• Will Heath, Owner, Succession Framework, Murphy, Texas
• Jeremy Heavey, Community Life and Operations Pastor, Gracespring Bible Church, Richland, Michigan
• Benjamin Hedrick, Executive Pastor, Immanuel, Louisville, Kentucky
• Bill Heydorn, Executive Pastor of Adults, Cornerstone, Chandler, Arizona
• Reagan Hillier, President, World of Wow, Argyle, Texas
• Jim Hobbs, Executive Pastor, Maple Grove Evangelical Free Church, Maple Grove, Minnesota
• Thomas Hobby, Operations Manager, Victory Church, Westminster, Colorado
• Russ Hollingsworth, Managing Director, Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, Illinois
• Frank Hopkins, Executive Pastor, Christ Fellowship, Palmetto Bay, Florida
• Steve Hron, Director, Ziegler, Greenwood Village, Colorado
• Andrew Hsieh, Relationship Manager, Evangelical Christian Credit Union, Brea, California
• Andrew Hummel, Communications Director, Reality LA, Los Angeles, California
• Jon Hurst, Assistant Executive Pastor, EvFree Fullerton, Fullerton, California
• Brett Inman, Executive Pastor of Ministry, Christ Community Church, Tucson, Arizona
• Hunter Johnson, Director of Operations, Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, Englewood, Colorado
• Neal Joseph, Coach and Associate, Senior Leadership, Slingshot Group, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Gary Kehr, Regional Director, Evangelical Christian Credit Union, Brea, California
• Edward Kelley, Executive Pastor, Bay Area Community Church, Annapolis, Maryland
• Chris Kelly, Lead Pastor of Business, Mid-Cities Community Church, Midland, Texas
• Ed Kirkland, Senior Pastor, Living Faith Christian Church, Farmingdale, New York
• Mike Knab, Assistant Vice President, Sales Manager, Ziegler, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Rodney Lara, Sr. Associate Pastor, Family Life Ministries, Concord Church, Dallas, Texas
• Kent Lawrence, Executive Pastor, Grace Bible Church, Dallas, Texas
• Brad Leeper, President & Principal, Generis Partners, Atlanta, Georgia
• Rusty Lewis, Vice President, Generis Partners, Atlanta, Georgia
• Greg Ligon, Vice President, Leadership Network, Dallas, Texas
• Scott Long, Administrative Pastor, Gateway Church, Findlay, Ohio
• Mark Lydecker, Executive and Outreach Pastor, Living Faith Christian Church, Farmingdale, New York
• David Lyons, Founder & President, MinisterSearch, Lewisville, Texas
• Emanuele Madanat, Executive Pastor, Providence Church, West Chester, Pennsylvania
• Will Mancini, Author and Founder, Auxano, Houston, Texas
• Ron May, Executive Pastor, Wildwood Church, East Moine, Illinois
• Ryan McCreery, Pastor of Administration, CrossWay Bible Church, Blue Springs, Missouri
• Mike McDonough, Pastor of Spiritual Development, Hernando Baptist Church, Hernando, Mississippi
• Barry McKenna, Executive Director, Ward Church, Northville, Michigan
• Brad McKerley, Executive Pastor, First Baptist Church, Doylestown, Pennsylvania
• Don McLeod, Eastern Regional Director, GuideStone Financial Resources, Dallas, Texas
• Cody McQueen, Teaching Pastor & West Campus Pastor, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• David Michener, Executive Pastor, Bridgeway Community Church, Columbia, Maryland
• David Middlebrook, Attorney, The Church Law Group, Grapevine, Texas
• Bob Morter, Director, Crossroads Community Church, Vancouver, Washington
• Jim Moss, Executive Pastor, City Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Ed Nalle, Executive Pastor, Reston Bible Church, Dulles, Virginia
• Amy Napier, Pastor’s Wife, Maryland Community Church, Terre Haute, Indiana
• Doug Napier, Executive Pastor, Maryland Community Church, Terre Haute, Indiana
• Kim Neal, Executive Minister, Convent Avenue Baptist Church, New York, New York
• Don Neff, Executive Pastor, Worship Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• Doris Neff, Ladies Ministry Pastor, Worship Center, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• Christopher Nelson, Consultant, Elexio, San Diego, California
• Scott Nelson, Principal, HH Architects, Dallas, Texas
• Rick Neves, Chief Operating Officer, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Michael Nichols, Executive Pastor, FBC Midlothian, Midlothian, Texas
• Lendell Nolan, Executive Pastor, Grace Community Church, Roswell, New Mexico
• Craig Norton, Executive Pastor, Harvest Church, Watauga, Texas
• Chris Ockerman, Director of Administration, Ward Church, Northville, Michigan
• Scot Overbey, Executive Pastor, Faith Bible Church, Edmond, Oklahoma
• Darrell Owens, Senior Pastor, Christ the Rock Community Church, Cooper City, Florida
• Kim Pagel, Executive Pastor, New Covenant Bible Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Mingo Palacios, Microsite Pastor, The Rock, San Diego, California
• Eddie Park, Intern (Executive Pastoral Ministry), EvFree Fullerton, Fullerton, California
• Kyle Paterik, Finance Director, Reality LA, Los Angeles, California
• Dale Peak, Administrator, Reston Bible Church, Dulles, Virginia
• Matt Peden, Director of Portfolio Management, GuideStone Financial Resources, Dallas, Texas
• Derek Prezzano, Executive Pastor, Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle, Smithton, New York
• Steve Quinn, Executive Pastor, Lakeside Baptist Church, Granbury, Texas
• Lane Ransdell, Business Administrator, First Christian Church of Decatur, Decatur, Illinois
• Allen Ratta, Author & Founder, SpiritualProgress.com & ChurchGrowth.net, Oceanside, California
• Stan Reiff, Principal, CapinCrouse, Atlanta, Georgia
• Jerry Rich, Director of Client Services, FCMM Benefits & Retirement, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Bo Richardson, Executive Pastor, Rose Heights Church, Tyler, Texas
• Jerry Roberts, Associate Pastor, Hope Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Tony Roberts, Director of Administration and Oversight, Coppell Bible Fellowship, Coppell, Texas
• Jason Rogers, Former Executive Pastor Resident–HR Director, Former Mars Hill Church, The Colony, Texas
• Daniel Rolfe, Senior Pastor, Mountain Springs Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Gary Rothenberger, Executive Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Beaumont, Texas
• Tim Samuel, Chief Financial Officer, Bridgeway Community Church, Columbia, Maryland
• Josh Schuler, Senior Advisor, Trebuchet Group, Fort Collins, Colorado
• Marty Scott, College Ministry Director, Grace Bible Church, College Station, Texas
• Tommy Shelton, Executive Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church, Dallas, Texas
• Paul Singleton, Intern, Church Project—Dallas, Dallas, Texas
• Clint Smith, Executive Director, NORTHchurch, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Lorenzo Smith, Executive Pastor, Reality LA, Los Angeles, California
• Ken Smith, Volunteer, Church at the Crossing, Aledo, Texas
• Nicholas Smith, Executive Pastor, Bethany Baptist Church, Lindenwold, New Jersey
• Steve Stege, Executive Pastor, First Baptist Church, Frisco, Texas
• Samantha Stockton, Human Resources/Leadership Training, Christ Fellowship, Palmetto Bay, Florida
• Joe Stoll, Pastor, Genoa Church, Westerville, Ohio
• Christopher Stout, Controller/Director of Stewardship, Mid-Cities Community Church, Midland, Texas
• Matt Sturdevant, Executive Pastor, Hope Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• John Szablowski, Executive Pastor, The Bridge Bible Church, Bakersfield, California
• Terry Taylor, Executive Pastor, Family Church, West Monroe, Louisiana
• Chris Thompson, Campus Pastor, Grace Bible Church, College Station, Texas
• David Thoroughman, MortarStone, Reno, Nevada
• Peter Torry, Executive Pastor, PFB/Purpose Church, Pomona, California
• John Travis, Director of Operations, Reality LA, Los Angeles, California
• Tom Truex, Church Administrator, Christ the Rock Community Church, Cooper City, Florida
• Paul Utnage, Executive Pastor, Springhill Presbyterian Church, Bozeman, Montana
• Robert Vaughan, Chief Financial Officer, Christ Chapel Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Ted Vaughn, Clark, Dallas, Texas
• Kevin Weiner, Event Coordinator, Reality LA, Los Angeles, California
• Bob Westfall, Senior Pastor, New Covenant Bible Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Drew Wilborn, Executive Pastor, Antioch Fellowship MB Church, Dallas, Texas
• Tim Willows, Sales Associate, Ziegler, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Jerry Wilson, Pastor/Sr. Director of Campus Development, Mountain Springs Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Ryan Wong, Deacon, Chinese Grace Bible Church, Sacramento, California
• Curtis Woodliff, Executive Pastor, HighRidge Church, Fort Worth, Texas
• Bruce Woody, President & CEO, HH Architects, Dallas, Texas
• Jon Wright, Executive Pastor, Grace Church, Eden Prairie, Minnesota
• Michael Wright, Associate Pastor—Families, First Baptist Church, Keller, Texas
• Richard Young, Executive Pastor, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Ontario, California

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

Special Pre-Seminar Session

Unveiling the Mystery of Your Church’s Donors

A special pre-seminar event on Tuesday, February 17
Limited attendance
2:00-4:30 pm

We will examine these pivotal concepts: Why did donors leave you last year? Job transfer? Getting mad?  How do you shut the back door and how do we emphasize the front door?  Are you attracting new donors?  This session will give a different slant on your church’s data. It will tell you many things that are different than what is readily apparent.

5 Kinds of Church Audits … and counting

There are at least five different kinds of audits. In particular, I want to introduce you to what I call a generosity audit. This kind of audit examines your donations, new donors, the fall off by a donor, and many other factors. To get started, let’s review different types of church audits.

External Financial Audits: Most XPs are familiar with financial audits. An external financial audit is when you have an independent CPA firm analyze your financial records according to a number of standards. They produce an audit report and a management letter. Expect to pay between $7,500-$25,000 for such an audit. It is expensive but worth it.

Internal Financial Audits: This is when your finance committee, or others within your church, audits selected accounts and procedures. I like to collect accountants and CPAs, using their skills to report on highly specific areas of our church finances. It’s not official—so can’t be used for proof of credit worthiness to a bank, but it turns up great action items. And, it gives further transparency to the financial leaders within the church.

Facilities Audits: Bring in a competent Facilities Director from another church and ask for a 20-page analysis of your facilities planning, staff, long-term needs, campus, etc. I recently did this for the first time and the results were fantastic.

Communications/Tech Audits: Bring in a firm like Clark (they are sponsors of the XP-Seminar and you can meet Houston Clark, February 18-19 in Dallas). If you are doing a major building project, they may do this for free, otherwise expect to pay for their time. I’m about ready to do this to get an independent, outside view of how we are doing in this area.

Generosity Audits:  What do you really know about your donors? If giving is up ten percent, that could be due to more donors or more donations per attendee. Most of us don’t know how many donors left the church and/or how many new donors began to give. That would be great to know, whether your giving is up ten percent or down ten percent.

Generosity Audit
Most of us have assumptions about our donors

Brad is President and Principal at Generis, a team of 20 coaches that accelerates generosity toward God-inspired vision. He works with churches across the country, and now internationally, to increase everyday church giving, project giving and legacy giving. Over the last eleven years, Brad and David have teamed up on many workshops and presentations. If you know Brad, then you know there won’t be a sales pitch. This workshop will stand alone and you will have plenty of data to work with.

We are using an amazing tool from MortarStone. This tool is free for the session and for ten days afterward.

Suppose you see that giving is up ten percent. Is that more donations per attendee or more donors?

Knowing your metrics tells you where you are, where you are going and measures how you are doing getting there.

With a ten percent increase in donations, how many of those were new donors? Are you attracting new donors?

Increase your giving (without requiring a capital campaign to do so).

Even with a ten percent increase in donations, how many donors stopped giving? Are they still attending? When do people stop giving and how much later do they typically leave your church?

We will examine these pivotal concepts

• Why did donors leave you last year? Job transfer? Did they leave mad?
• How do you shut the back door and how can you emphasize the front door?
• Are you attracting new donors?

This session will give a different slant on your church’s data. It will tell you many things that are different than what is readily apparent.

Samples of Data

From the scores of metrics, you will see charts like these from MortarStone

Ministry Fund

Are giving increases a result of a growing donor constituent base or are you pressing into a small portion of donors to make budget growth? Learn why one is sustainable while the other is short lived:

Connecting and Growing First Time Donors

First time visitors are great!  However, are you able to on-board them as donors? Are you able to assimilate them into the fabric of the ministry? If not, learn why weekend attendance growth can be a false positive for healthy ministry growth.

Donor Churn

New faces in church are great, but what is the financial impact of losing the old ones? Minimizing donor churn can supercharge weekend attendance and annual giving growth. Monitoring donor trends is one way to surface ministry opportunities. Rule based push reporting can increase your ministry efficiency and connect with those that need pastoral care:

Comments from MortarStone

MortarStone conceived donor analytics platform for churches in 2012 wanting to answer the questions: What does a healthy church look like from a metrics standpoint? And how can we apply these indicators to a Web app to help other churches?

Almost three years later, we are now tracking giving from over 1.75MM donors and more than $4 billion donations from some of the largest and fasted growing churches in America.

Our heart is to help the local church find the true value in their data. We don’t believe that your team should have to guess what reports to run or spend hours on repetitive month-end analysis. We developed an economical software solution that makes the data more manageable—and its insights more actionable.

• In-depth, click-of-a-button reporting on the Key Performance Metrics.
• Enriched donor profiles to facilitate identification of high-potential donor engagement and analyze donors based on their real-life interests and affinity for your church
• Analyzing trends over time by leveraging existing historical data

Our team doesn’t equate data with bureaucracy or report running. Rather, we see data as a versatile asset that can direct leadership teams’ strategies and empower communities that the local church serves—given the right tool.

Requirements

This event is limited to a few participants of the 2015 XP-Seminar.

If your church donation data is in an API compliant format, then this event is for you! For this session, we are limiting API compliant formats to The City (giving module customers), FellowshipOne and Church Community Builder.

Sign up by February 10 so that all the API links can be established–if you enroll past that date, they can’t guarantee that all of your data can be analyzed in time.

We will use a tool from MortarStone to help you grab every ounce of pertinent information from your church’s donation data. It’s all safe and you can easily break the link when you are done!

• You will have access to a dashboard of your data to review for ten days after the seminar. Note: you will have an option of subscribing after that time. Your choice.