The first Regional Cohort Gatherings for church planters on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church

1. Regional Cohort Gatherings | Orientation
• Wed July 27: NY/NJ Metro Cohort
• Thu July 28: Greater Boston/New England Cohort
Contact Info:
Jason R. Condon Peter Ahn
Associate Superintendent & Director of Church Planting Metro Church, Englewood NJ
jasonrcondon@gmail.com • 860.479.2020 • peter.ahn@emetro.org • 201.403.5028
facebook.com/jasoncondon
Josh Throneburg
Michael Carrion, Promised Land Church, Bronx NY Highrock Brookline, Brookline MA
revmichaelcarrion@gmail.com • 917.504.6184 joshua@highrockbrookline.org • 978.473.6496
11:00am | Welcome & Introductions
• Welcome!
• Open in Prayer
• Vision: every church planter encouraged, equipped, and multiplied for a sustaining church planting movement
• Introductions: who you are, where you’re from, a bit about your church plant (or interest in church planting)
12:30ish | Lunch
1:15ish | Regional Cohorts & Coaches
Regional Cohorts Overview
Definition: all the East Coast Conference church planters
in a geographic region
• NY/NJ Metro
• Greater Boston/New England
• D.C./Baltimore (developing)
• Regional cohorts stand on their own, while also
encompassing the Coaching Relationships, therefore
it's likely to have more church planters than Coaching
relationships in these early stages
Purpose:
• To help church planters connect regionally to fulfill our
Vision & Purpose that every church planter is
“encouraged, equipped, and multiplied for a
sustaining church planting movement”
• To have mid-sized organizational units balancing
critical mass and propinquity (power of “nearness”) Diagram of Regional Cohort components and configuration
First Regional Cohort Gatherings | Orientation! page 1 of 6

2. Monthly Rhythm for Equipping & Encouraging
• Frequency: Monthly Gatherings 9x/year
• Pattern: 3-Month Repeating Cycle (with freedom for variations)
Month 1 | Big Picture:
• Gathered: Entire Regional Cohort with Director of Church Planting and Coaches in that Region
• Focus: Vision-casting and Big Picture issues for training, support, and collaboration
Month 2 | Peer-Led:
• Gathered:
• Option 1: Entire Regional Cohort (with or without DCP)
• Option 2: Coaching Huddles (with or without DCP)
• Focus: Peer-led teaching and equipping, sharing best practices, encouragement, collaborations. Sometimes
from Regional Coaches, sometimes from other church planters.
Month 3 | Clusters:
• Gathered:
• Option 1: More localized clusters of 2-4 church planters
• Option 2: Coaching Huddles gather
• (occasionally include DCP or Coach)
• Focus: Encouragement and support for Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical Health, as well as more localized
collaboration opportunities.
Repeat
• Repeat pattern with breaks for Advent & Christmas Season, Midwinter, ECConf Church Planters Retreat, etc.
Preview: “Successful Fall Outreach Season”
July ("Month 0") | Orientation: Structure & Rhythm
August ("Month 1") | Big Picture: Successful Fall Outreach Preparations
• Components: Spiritual foundations, Message Series Planning, Coordinated Events, Word of Mouth & Marketing
Strategy, Small Groups preparation, Connection & Assimilation, etc.
• Goals:
• every church plant grows in spiritually depth and in reaching people
• strong launches for new church plants
• plateaued churches break 100
• strong launch for those launching 2nd or 3rd worship services
September ("Month 2") | Peer-Led: Sharing Best-Practices (and Spectacular Failures!)
• share successes and set-backs from various "Grand Opening" and Fall Outreach efforts
• What worked, what didn't work, resources, etc.
• If most church planters want to target September instead of October as the major outreach month, we can shift this
topic to Follow-up, Connection, and Assimilation issues
First Regional Cohort Gatherings | Orientation! page 2 of 6

3. October ("Month 3") | Clusters: Encouragement & Accountability
• 2-4 localized church planters OR a Coaching Huddle
• gather locally to pray and ask each other, "How are you doing emotionally, physically, and spiritually?"
November ("Month 1") | Big Picture: Follow-Up & Follow-Through (from growth during Fall Outreach Season
Dec: No Official Cohort Gatherings
What questions or comments do you have about Regional Cohorts?
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Coaching Relationships Overview
Definition: A formal relationship where a seasoned
church planter helps encourage and equip 1-4 church Our Current Regional Coaches
planters through their formative stages
• Occurs both 1-on-1 and in Coaching Huddles
• Details will be outlined in a "Coaching Planters
Guidelines," according to what life-stage the
church plant is in throughout years 1-5.
• Coaches will receive a stipend per planter, based
on both life-stage and receiving monthly reports
General Requirements Peter Ahn! Michael Carrion! Josh Throneburg
Metro Church! Promised Land! Highrock Brookline
• Regular contact and coaching with assigned
church planters
NY/NJ Metro:
• Timely reports on coaching relationship
• Peter Ahn continues as our “Sr.” Regional Coach
• Ongoing collaboration and training with other
• Michael Carrion joins Peter in this Regional Cohort,
coaches and DCP for overall church planting
focusing primarily on the Bronx
movement on the East Coast Conference
Conferences & Covenant Partnership Greater Boston/New England:
• Specialized Training for Trainers of Coaches, • Josh Throneburg will serve in this Regional Cohort
Mon, October 3 – Fri, October 7: (along with Jason)
Several DCPs (including Jason) will receive
specialized training to in-turn train Coaches D.C./Baltimore: (developing!)
• Coaches Training, • Jason will coach this area directly as it develops
Tue, December 6, 2011 – Wed, December 7:
Regional Coaches from the various Conference Additional Coaches: Over the next year we’ll need
across the Covenant will gather to be trained by a to add 2-3 more coaches as we anticipate starting
team of DCPs. Peter Ahn, Michael Carrion, and 8-12 church planting projects by the end of 2012
Josh Throneburg will attend from the ECConf
First Regional Cohort Gatherings | Orientation! page 3 of 6

4. Proposed Coaching Relationships
• Note: not all “church planters” are listed here. These official coaching relationships apply to those ECConf church planters
in their first 5 years of a church planting project. Other Covenant church planters, and those exploring church planting
who are invited, are still welcomed to participate in Regional Cohort gatherings and relevant events.
NY/NJ METRO:
Peter Ahn - Coach, Metro (Englewood NJ)
• Jose Humphreys, Metro Hope (Harlem NY)
• Derrick Jackson, Life Covenant (Holmdel NJ)
• plus 1 or 2 other potential church planters awaiting an Assessment Center
Michael Carrion - Coach, Promised Land (Bronx NY)
• Efrain Alicea, Elements (Bronx NY)
• plus 1 or 2 other potential church planters awaiting an Assessment Center
GREATER BOSTON/NEW ENGLAND COHORT:
Josh Throneburg - Coach, Highrock Brookline MA
• Kiho Lee, Worship Frontier (Brookline MA)
• Aaron Engler, upcoming Highrock Arlington & Highrock Brookline plant (likely North Shore, Boston, MA)
• Stephen Sharkey, upcoming Highrock Arlington & Highrock Brookline plant (likely South Shore, Boston Area)
• possibly 1 other in the future
Jason - DCP/Coach
• Frank Catalano, Evergreen (Sanford ME)
• Monyroor Teng, Sudanese ECC (Manchester NH)
• Andrew Mook, Sanctuary, an upcoming church plant (Providence RI)
• plus possibly some others awaiting an Assessment Center or coming online in the future
D.C. METRO/BALTIMORE:
Jason - DCP/Coach
• Peter Chin, Riverside (D.C.)
• plus 2 or 3 other potential church planters awaiting an Assessment Center
What questions or comments do you have about Coaching Relationships?
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First Regional Cohort Gatherings | Orientation! page 4 of 6

5. 2:15ish | Calendaring
Upcoming Events and Dates
• Please add these dates to your calendar (even if you mark them “tentative”, so as to protect them as best you can
• The Assessment Centers and Training Centers aren't relevant to many of you, but give a sense of the overall big picture
(and may prove relevant to those exploring church planting with the Covenant on the East Coast Conference :)
• Especially note comments in Red.
2011 (last half):
• Monthly Regional Cohort Gatherings (need to schedule exact dates, Locations TBD):
Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov (None in Dec)
• Church Planter Assessment Center (Minneapolis MN)
Wed Aug 10, 11:00am – Sat Aug 13, 12:00pm
• Church Planting Training Center (Dallas TX)
Wed Nov 2, 9pm – Sat Nov 5, 12pm
• ECConf Fall Pastors Retreat (Pilgrim Pines Conference Center, Swanzey NH)
Sun Nov 13, 5pm – Wed Nov 16, 11am
• Sunday Night: Church Planter Dinner & Outing in Keene NH
2012 (first half):
• Monthly Regional Cohort Gatherings (Location & Dates TBD)
Jan, Feb, Mar, May (None in April or June)
• Covenant Midwinter (Chicago IL)
www.covchurch.org/midwinter
Mon, Jan 30 – Fri, Feb 3
• Wed Night: ECConf Church Planter Dinner & Special Outing (may combine with 1 or 2 other Conferences)
• East Coast Conference Annual Meeting (Easton CT)
Thu April 19 – Sat April 21
• Will include a special Church Planters continuing ed. component
• Exponential Conference (Orlando FL)
www.exponentialconference.org
Mon April 23 – Thu, April 26
• Special gathering event for Covenant church planters, DCPs, Coaches, and friends during the Pre-Conference
time-slot and throughout.
• I strongly encourage you to get this worked into your church budget now (or whenever you do your 2012
budget). We'll have scholarships to help cover registration costs, with additional scholarships available for
those needing help with travel and lodging
• Church Planter Assessment Center (Providence RI)
Wed May 16 – Sat May 19
• First Annual ECConf Church Planters Retreat! (Central CT Area OR Pilgrim Pines in Swanzey NH)
Tue June 5, 12pm – Thu June 7, 1pm [definitely save these dates now]
• Exclusively for ECConf Church Planters and those who've received a "Recommended" or "Recommended
with Conditions" at an Assessment Center
• Training Center (Irvine CA)
Mon June 18 – Wed June 20
• just before Covenant Annual Meeting, June 21-23 in Irvine CA
First Regional Cohort Gatherings | Orientation! page 5 of 6

6. Scheduling the Next Few Cohort Gatherings
What are the best dates?
• Aug _______ OR _______
• Sept _______ OR _______
• Oct _______ OR _______
• Nov _______ OR _______
What are possible locations?
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Closing Questions, Comments, & Discussion
• What current challenges are you facing? (both for prayer and coaching insights)
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• What topics would you like to see tackled in the future?
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• Anything else?
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before 3:00pm | Close in Prayer
Prayer for one another and our churches
• Prayer for any needs that were shared
• Prayer for those in Assessment process
• Prayer for effectiveness in sharing the gospel through our lives, ministries, and church communities
Hope to see you next time!
First Regional Cohort Gatherings | Orientation! page 6 of 6