February 2019 Newsletter 2019 Capital Campaign In 2019, we are striving to fundraise $200,000 for the advancement of church planting-churches. This capital will allow us to develop resources to help churches plant exponentially stronger churches! We hope that you will commit to partnering with us towards this end!   2019 Calendar Events Presbytery in Memphis, Tennessee: May 3-4, 2019 Church Planter’s Assessment: August 6-9, 2019 Church Planter’s Retreat: Fall 2019 Presbytery in Scottsdale, Arizona: October 3-4, 2019 Church Planters Assessment We are planning our official church planters assessment weekend in Denver, CO on August 6-9. If you or your organization have individuals or couples that you would like to have assessed for church planting, please contact shane@agcpn.com. We would be thrilled to support you in your effort to produce church-planting churches!

Introduction My purpose here is to offer some thoughts about the changing landscape of church-planting, in light of the ever-changing cultural context of US cities. There are three factors that contribute to this changing landscape.  1) Increasing secularization 2) Changing sensibilities regarding social interaction that cause people to move toward the city. 3) Sociological realities that prompt people to move out of the city.        I. Increasing Seculariation Barna research reports that 50% of Americans are post-Christian. 36% of Americans report themselves to be practicing Christians (This includes Catholic, Mainline Protestant, Charismatics), while 40% report themselves as non-practicing Christians. One obvious implication is that there are fewer people filling pews.  If only 36% of the population self reports as “practicing Christian,” then number of “evangelical practicing Christians” is small. As many regions and urban centers of the country are more secular than the national average, the number of evangelical practicing Christians decreases yet again. Couple this with […]

As we continue to plant churches in major cultural centers throughout the U.S., we lean heavily on a collection of church planting resources. Though every context requires special resources, we gathered some of our favorite resources for every beginning church planter. These seven resources will help your church plant hit the ground running! 1. Church Planting Networks First, we believe that church planting networks are crucial to the work of the kingdom. Without this invaluable church planting resource, your church plant stands the high-risk of being left without the sustenance, community, and encouragement it needs to survive. While there are plenty of networks to consider (Acts 29, V3, Church Multiplication Movement, etc.), only the Aspen Grove Church Planting Network is able to provide a helpfully connected and effectively lead network. Also, we believe in casting the theological tent broadly with a strong center of reformed catholicity and soft edges. This is a helpful model for […]

Want to know why we’re called the Aspen Grove Church Planting Network? This helpful video explains how aspen groves work, which looks a lot like how the church should look.