2020 year in review

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has been an exceptional year for Converge Church Planting. Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss positive trends they’ve seen this year.

0:56 Lee talks about how Converge Church Planting started the year with great expectations. "We were building toward an internal goal of wanting to plant 312 churches nationally, among our network, among our movement, and then COVID hit." 

1:18 A lot of people thought the church planting pipeline would dry up, and it would take years to recover. That hasn’t been the case. Lee says Converge has assessed more couples this year than in the previous eight years. 

3:20 Danny says there are openness and receptiveness to church planting.

4:17 Lee says God is using this time to raise up the next generation of pastors, leaders and planters.

4:25 This season has forced the church to focus on individual development. How do we grow our people in this season to be deeper disciples and to embrace what it may be to be a leader on mission? 

5:35 Danny says there’s an excitement that church doesn’t have to look exactly the same as it did before.

6:10 Lee says churches are more willing to release staff to pursue missional causes. It’s fired up our existing churches at a different level to rethink their mission.

8:06 Lee has seen an increase in candidates wanting to pursue a covocational or bivocational method of planting.

8:45 Lee encourages listeners to share the church planting trends they’re seeing by emailing him at [email protected].