Launching a Purpose Driven Church - Ocala, FL

I just returned from a trip to Ocala, FL where we (Kevin, Daniel & I) met more than 500 pastors from all over the country who were looking to learn how to "Launch a Purpose Driven Church". It was an incredible time of rejuvenation as we met with and talked to a lot of these visionary pastors.

Over the course of two days, conference founders Ron Sylvia and Nelson Searcy work through an original cirriculum designed to inspire and coach hopeful church planters. The program takes the church planters from dream stage to launch phase to development phase, and ends with an urgent call to get into "Coaching Networks". These coaching networks allow pastors to fellowship with one another, encourage one another and share best practices as they undertake the somewhat daunting task of launching a church.

We (PCI) had the chance to set up a sales station in the lobby with examples of our equipment, free DVD's and a staff of three. During the session breaks, we were able to talk with pastors about their dreams and visions for their upcoming ministries. It was inspiring to say the least.

During lunch, we led a workshop called "Optimizing the Portable Church". I walked the church through the PCI process (from the dream to the delivered system) and then brought Kevin up to answer a series of interesting questions during a Q & A session.

We met quite a few of our recent pastors (for some, it was our first face-to-face meeting, as I don't often "deliver" the systems). The Bridge Fellowship, Blount Community Church and Springs at Westport were there, just to name a few. These are pastors that are not only clients of PCI, but are also heavily involved in a coaching network.

I am always so overjoyed to attend these conferences (we're heading into year three), and always leave the conferences with such a sense of purpose, and a renewed sense of motivation. Nothing brings more clarity or more of a sense of eternal value than meeting face-to-face with these pastors!

© Kendra Malloy, Portable Church Industries