GCM Conference Collective Experience

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Sep 6, 2011 in Church Planting, Ministry Design | 3 comments

Are you attending the 2011 GCM Conference? If so, join us for the pre-conference Collective Experience:

Join other Missional Leaders from across the country to serve as a form of “advisory board” while at the conference. In this pre-conference you will experience peer-learning; what others are doing, what is working, what they are learning and how they have dealt with similar challenges you currently face.

What happens at the conference? Key to the Collectives success is the relationship between the people. At the conference you will attend a pre-conference reception to meet, greet, eat and begin to engage with a group of missional leaders. While you go through the conference we will encourage time for your Collective to connect and process learnings together.

What happens after the conference? Each Collective will be given a private group within the GCM Collective Community website for you to dig deeper with your peers and share best practices, successes and challenges going forward together. During the post-conference reception we will share suggestions and our recommendations, but ultimately you determine how you would like to interact after the conference.

The goal is for you to be able to share experiences, resources and support to assist you in the ongoing mission God has called you to in your city.

An Exclusive Opportunity for Church Communicators

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Jul 20, 2011 in Church, Featured Articles, Leadership, Ministry Design | 1 comment

We’ve been silently working behind the scenes for the past few months at MonkDev, talking with some of the best and brightest in the church communications space. We’ve been planning our latest project, the Church Communicator Roundtable. It’s launching in a week, right before the Echo Conference. This invite-only event is an gathering of church communications practitioners who, simply put, know their stuff. Justin Wise has been hand-selecting people all across the country to bring together a solid set of individuals who know how to influence and not just communicate. We have one spot that we’re opening to the public and I’d like to offer that seat exclusively to you. Want to apply?

As a Dallas Roundtable Member, you’ll receive:

A 30 min Pre-Event Coaching Session
Dinner at the III Forks Restaurant
Lunch at the Aloft Hotel
A Disruptive Learning Event of Important Trends
Key Findings and Best Practices report from the content generated at the Roundtable
A Communication Strategy to Traction Plan Session
Networking opportunities with some of the brightest minds in the church comm space

Coming to Chicago in the Fall!

Gospel Communities on Mission Conference

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Jun 29, 2011 in Church, Church Planting, Featured Articles, Ministry Design | 1 comment

Attend the annual Gospel Communities on Mission Conference in Huntsville, AL. September 14-16, 2011

The GCM Collective hosts our inaugural conference focused on the three vital components of effective ministry today: Gospel, Community and Mission.

You will get to hear from, meet and interact with leaders who are daily practitioners, living in gospel communities on mission in their cities. This is a unique experience that will present the why, what and how-to of starting, leading and multiplying missional communities. Interactive plenary sessions, breakouts and unique training experiences will fill our days both on-site and off.

Big church, small church, multi-site or neighborhood…this event is for every church that seeks to effectively expand the gospel in their context.

Speakers:, Steve Timmis, Jeff Vanderstelt, Caesar Kalinowski, David Fairchild, Drew Goodmanson and Jonathan Dodson.

Early Bird rate ($59) for GCM Collective conference ends Thursday,June 30! Dont miss it!! http://j.mp/iuyGlf

Kaleo Church seeks a Preaching Elder in San Diego, CA

Posted by D. Goodmanson on May 23, 2011 in Church, Church Planting | 2 comments

Kaleo Church seeks a preaching pastor/elder to join our team in San Diego, CA. We seek someone who is fluent in the gospel and understands how the gospel is more than the entry into the Christian faith but the very way we grow. Secondly, we seek someone who sees how the gospel forms a community. This person will participate throughout the week in the life of the community where we see being the church as more than an event on Sunday or mid-week. Lastly, we seek someone who has a heart for unbelievers and missional living. This person will agree with the shared values of a missional church community, posted here: http://www.goodmanson.com/church/shared-values-of-missional-church-communities/

The ideal preaching elder will be a gifted communicator of gospel-centered messages and desire shared leadership even though they would be the only paid elder. Further this person will have the ability to develop leaders throughout the community and disciple existing and future missional community leaders at Kaleo Linda Vista Church.

Kaleo is a church planting movement with three local churches in San Diego, CA and is part of Acts 29 Network as well as connected to Soma Communities in Tacoma, WA.

Interested applicants please fill this short form of interest out for the Preaching Elder role.

Faith & Technology

Posted by D. Goodmanson on May 3, 2011 in Church, Church Technology, Culture, Featured Articles, Ministry Technology | 3 comments

I had the opportunity on Easter Sunday to appear on CBS Sunday Morning for a segment on Faith & Technology (link to video). The segment discussed how technology is impacting faith. CBS filmed at the Christian Web Conference, did a day of interviews and then visited Kaleo Church . In the session they filmed, the Future of the Web & Church we had a conversations on several topics related to faith & technology, including:

- Does reading the Bible in a digital format impact our spiritual development? How? Will this change for future generations of ‘digital natives’?
- To what extent can we use online tools in discipleship?
- Would Jesus be on Facebook or other social media? (Note: My position is that he would not.)
- How does our theology of presence impact the future of the church?

Overall, it was a lively conversation and we only got through the above four topics before time ran out (I had a total of 12 I wanted to hit. Ambitious). If you have not attended this conference, I highly recommend it to everyone. I’m amazed at the consistent high quality of thought-provoking conversations.

There are a number of great books now released & coming out addressing faith & tech, that I would encourage you to pick up.

1. The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion – An excellent book on examining how technology impacts our faith & how we as Christians should view it.
Product Description: Even the least technical among us are being pressed from all sides by advances in digital technology. We rely upon computers, cell phones, and the Internet for communication, commerce, and entertainment. Yet even though we live in this ‘instant message’ culture, many of us feel disconnected, and we question if all this technology is really good for our souls. In a manner that’s accessible, thoughtful, and biblical, author Tim Challies addresses questions such as: * How has life—and faith—changed now that everyone is available all the time through mobile phones? * How does our constant connection to these digital devices affect our families and our church communities? * What does it mean that almost two billion humans are connected by the Internet … with hundreds of millions more coming online each year? Providing the reader with a framework they can apply to any technology, Tim Challies explains how and why our society has become reliant on digital technology, what it means for our lives, and how it impacts the Christian faith.

2. From the Garden to the City: The Redeeming and Corrupting Power of Technology
– A view of technology from within the Biblical story of redemption.
Product Description: Where does technology belong in the biblical story of redemption? Believers and unbelievers alike are saturated with technology, yet most give it little if any thought. Consumers buy and upgrade as fast as they can, largely unaware of technology’s subtle yet powerful influence. In a world where technology changes almost daily, many are left to wonder: Should Christians embrace all that is happening? Are there some technologies that we need to avoid? Does the Bible give us any guidance on how to use digital tools and social media?

An experienced Web developer and writer on technology and culture, John Dyer answers these questions and more by walking through the story of the Bible and introducing key ideas about how technology and culture interact. Dyer first analyzes the biblical, theological, and philosophical foundations of technology and then studies several examples that show how technology can influence the spiritual life. For youth pastors, college-aged readers, and anyone interested in understanding how technology fits with faith, From the Garden to the City fills a gap for biblically-informed literature in a technological world.

3. Earthen Vessels: Why Our Bodies Matter to Our Faith – For the last few years, I’ve been arguing that we need to develop a theology of presence as we become more digital in our encounters and as future generations feel more connected to location & people through technology. Matt hits this topic and others in a timely book
Product Description: Our bodies matter. Christians today sometimes forget this, dangerously ignoring the importance of their physical selves when it comes to technology, sexuality, worship, and even death. Anderson’s book will help readers learn what the Bible says about our bodies and grow to appreciate the importance of embodiment in our spiritual lives. It will also explore generational differences when it comes to how we perceive and use our bodies. Just as Christ’s body was crucial to our salvation, our own bodies are an important part of the complete Christian life.

Hawaiian Islands Ministries Honolulu 2011 Conference

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Mar 21, 2011 in Church Planting, Church Websites, Featured Articles, Ministry Design, Ministry Technology, Monk Dev | 0 comments

Hawaiian Islands Ministry Honolulu March 24-26, 2011 | Hawaii Convention Center –

Join me, I will be presenting 3 sessions:

A Look into the Near and Distant Future of Online Ministry
In this session leaders will learn how to develop web strategy to address a ministries’ needs. Learn what is on the horizon that will impact your ministry. This session is designed for strategic leaders regardless of their technological level of understanding. In this session participants will 1) learn how to plan for an effective ministry online strategy, 2) explore key emerging technologies that will impact their ministry and 3) hear how cutting edge organizations are implementing revolutionary practices today.

Websites/Social Media and Your Church
In this session you will get behind the scene access to the real world results of several church web strategies. We’ll look at the church website, social media involvement, mobile, content creation and more to see what is really happening. How effective are they? What are the best practices or common mistakes a church makes? This valuable session will equip you with practical insight, best practices & strategies that your church can implement whether you are an online expert or a beginner.

Forming Missional Communities
In this session you will learn how to build “Missional Communities.” We will discuss how churches have planted or transitioned to include living as a community of people who are united around a common, local mission. Also, how these communities are local expressions of Jesus and his church in the world, living out the gospel in all ways. Learn from one of the founders of the GCM Collective (Gospel Community Mission) about how these movements are changing cities and reaching the lost.