20 in 10

We are targeting 20 areas for church planting in 2010.
If you have a passion for one of these areas, please contact the leader listed or give me a call.

• Bethany Beach/Ocean View, Delaware (Tim Satryan)
• Braddock (Brian Bolt) *
• Cranberry, Venango County (Chris Clark)
• Downingtown (Sam Masteller) *
• DuBois (Chris Clark)
• Elsmere Hispanic, Delaware (Tim Satryan)
• Fogalsville (Mark Caston)
• Frackville (Richard Earl)
• Gettysburg (Gerry Stoltzfoos) *
• Greensburg (Don Immel) *
• Hanover (Gerry Stoltzfoos)
• Inner city/South Side Wilmington, Delaware (Tim Satryan)
• Lewisburg (Paul Grabill)
• Marshall’s Creek (Jim Rugg)
• Milton (Jon Baker)
• New Castle/Minquadale, Delaware (Tim Satryan)
• Philadelphia (Dan Clark)
• Pottstown (Steve DeFrain)
• Southside Pittsburgh (Jeff Leake) *
• Three Springs (Dan Fox) *
• York (Gerry Stoltzfoos)

* Church Planter has been identified and in process.

boot camp registration is open

Church Planter's Boot camp at Freedom Valley

The first week of November is less than 1 month away, and registration is open! You can go to www.freedomvalley.org to find the link on our home page, and register.

Penn-Del is offering scholarships for credential holders. You can pay online. After you have registered, order your boot camp materials and start the exciting journey toward planting a church.

We are encouraging church planters to bring whatever team that is being developed around you. If finances are a problem for you, call me personally (717-398-9033) for plans to help- such as a home opener to stay with, or a reduced registration fee if needed.

A few weeks ago, I did a church planting seminar for a couple of sections in the western part of the state (the sections led by Ken Martin and Christ Clark). At lunch afterward, a retired Pastor told me about "the good old days" where it was generally expected, he said that EVERY Bible college worth his salt planted a church! He said it was a standard expectation!

Ironically, those were also the days just before the Assemblies of God was named "the fastest growing denomination" in the country.

The old timer told me when he heard the seminar, that he hoped maybe it could happen again, where the AG became the aggressive church planting movement that it once was.

Maybe it could...

Kingdom synergy- boundless

This is a follow up post about the need for a church plant in the Lower Anthracite Coal Region between Hazleton and Shamokin:

I was on my way to Bethlehem today and met Todd Dewire for breakfast. He pastors the Foursquare church in Frackville. There is a young man in Teen Challenge right now who I met this weekend and he is from Todd's church.
Todd is a former missionary to Honduras, 50 years old. He has an older Pentecostal church of about 30 faithful saints, and is looking to open a church plant in the Frackville Mall. Sounds like a stretch, but his heart is right. He just needs resources.
Is this an answer to our prayers concerning the tremendous need for healthy churches in the small coal towns of this region? Is this an opportunity for selfless kingdom synergy?
I invited him to our Catalyst group since we had been on a prayer journey through that area. He will share his heart with our guys and we will pray for kingdom growth there.

Bootcamp at Freedom Valley Nov 2-6

Friends,

I have just solidified a November boot camp at Freedom Valley, November 2-6. If you know anyone who is wanting to plant, and this is the right time for them, have them call me at 717-398-9033, or write me at gerry@freedomvalley.org. The event costs me the same whether many come, or few, so I would love for it to count for more than my teams.

Brian Bolt plans to send a few. several others have expressed interest. I hope you and/or your teams can come too!

Gerry Stoltzfoos

Freedom Valley Worship Center

Gettysburg, PA.

Trans Geo disapointment

Yes, I went to General Council last week, hoping to see progress in the area of resolution #19, about Trans-Geographical Districts.

No, it did not pass. If I recall correctly, some 700 voted against it while about 500 voted for it.

I am disappointed about it, but possibly not for the reasons you might think.

My disappointment is simple; this was the only tiny idea I ever really heard or was part of that has potential to create a new wine skin. I had hoped that something could make us more effective at making disciples of Christ. I wasn't sure that this idea would work. All I was sure of, is that our current system is a sad failure.

I and my fellow Pastors have a dismal record of failure in the past 20 years that I have been in ministry. During that period, church attendance in America has dropped to about half of what it was in the early 80's when I started out in ministry. Today, 80% of my culture does not attend church.

I have no real plan for how to fix that. This little trans-geo thing, was the only glimmer of hope I had, small and pathetic as it was.

My heart is not bursting with ideas about how to reach my nation in my day. And the famine of my heart is my real disappointment.

FVCPI.com is up!

Announcing Freedom Valley Church Planting Institute

This coming January, 2010, we plan to kick off the Church Planting Institute at Freedom Valley. This collaboration with Valley Forge Christian College, is an effort to take a small group of church planting teams, super power them with prayer, Bible, cutting edge research, and coaching, and turn them out to plant churches!

Check it out at www.fvcpi.com.

Classes will be limited to a maximum of 25 students this year so that we can invest heavily in each student, and maximize their potential. If you are interested, lets us know before seats fill up!

Students will earn 30 college credits from VFCC, while participating on a church plant launch team. All classes will be held in the morning, allowing them to hold jobs, and be heavily involved in a plant within 100 miles. They will be deeply immersed in a church planting culture rich in idea sharing, encouragement, and cutting edge strategic thought.

If you are considering becoming a church planter, or joining a church planting team, we have an upcoming opportunity to explore it. We call is Base Camp (where you camp briefly at the foot of the mountain that you are thinking about climbing, and count the cost.)

August 14-15, 2009 • Friday: 7-9 PM • Saturday: 9-3 PM. Check out FVCPI.com for more details.

I Love America!

THIS FRIDAY, JULY 3rd from 5pm to 12am there's an opportunity to tap into a unique and exciting event...  James River Assembly in Springfield (and Pastor John Lindell) is holding their annual I Love America 4th of July celebration, where they are expecting more than 120,000 people to attend.  In conjunction with this event, Angel Mission is hosting a benefit concert to raise money for well digging and church planting projects in Africa; GodTVis televising 7 hours of the event.  All 7 hours will be broadcast live over God TV (Channel 365 on Direct TV) and will also be viewable via webcast through our Worship Compass website, www.PennDelWorshipCompass.org. 

6 different bands will be performing:  Israel Houghton, Leeland, The Afters and Press Play (new band out of The Dream Center) to name a few.  The fireworks presentation will be accompanied by and synchronized to the James River choir and orchestra.   The live telecast and concerts will be running from 5 pm to midnight tomorrow evening, July 3rd.    

Our good friend John Bongiorno is now the President of Angel Mission.  He and Rory Alec (President of GodTV) will be hosting the telecast and sharing testimonies and video clips from specific water well projects in Africa and communities that have been transformed by the ministry of Angel Mission.  Pastor Tourville, our superintendent, is in Springfield and they will be interviewing him and featuring our PennDel Burkina Faso project.  John has invited me to be a part of the event, so I am also in Springfield and will be helping behind the scenes, hosting guests and doing interviews with the musical guest artists. 

In the days ahead Shannon and I will be partnering with John and Angel Mission to help with some of their well projects and to provide music and worship training for the churches that are planted around the water wells.  We will be continuing our fulltime music, worship and teaching ministry in the U.S. and the PennDel District, but will also be ramping up the missions aspect of our ministry as missionary evangelists (and representing Angel Mission to the local church).  Angel Mission has expanded beyond just digging the water wells and has a strategy in place to build "Life Centers" in villages all over Africa that will help provide clean water, Living Water (through the church plants) AND many other life-changing tools - medical clinics, schools, agricultural training, etc.  We're excited to be partnering with such a powerful ministry that is making a tangible difference in the lives of people around the world - both now and for eternity!  

SO GO TO www.5dollarwater.com AND CLICK THROUGH SOME OF THE LINKS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ANGEL MISSION BENEFIT CONCERT - THE BANDS, THE SCHEDULE, THE I Love America EVENT, AND THE MINISTRY OFANGEL MISSION.  GO TO http://www.PennDelWorshipCompass.org TO ACCESS THE LIVE WEBSTREAM (or Ch. 365 on Direct TV).   Please forward this info on to your congregations and friends via email or through your church website if you can.  Even mention it on your Facebook status.  THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND FOR BEING PART OF AN EVENT THAT COULD POTENTIALLY PROVIDE LIFE  - BOTH PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY  - TOHUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.