Session 3 - Future: An Agenda for the Future of Community
Reggie McNeal
The program-driven church has failed to deliver what it promised in terms of discipleship. How do we move into the people-development agenda of the kingdom? This plenary address discusses some of the forces changing the shape of discipleship efforts for the future, particularly in their implication for community.

PL 01 Six Emerging Trends Impacting the Future of Community – Part 1
Bill Donahue
There are several issues facing churches that utilize community groups for connection, support, service and spiritual formation. The role and function of groups in the church are linked to emerging trends and developments. Each trend will be addressed and critiqued as we explore the implications each has for sustaining group life in the church. These trends can be described as a movement from Group Format to Group Process, Training Leaders to Training Groups, Groups as a Study Center to Groups as a Learning Community, A Place to Belong to a People to Become, Formal Gatherings to Organic Environments & Coaching Structures to Coaching Conversations.

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PL 02 Six Emerging Trends Impacting the Future of Community - Part 2
Bill Donahue
Continuation of Part 1 PL 01

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PL 03 Pastorates
Archie Coates
Intentional leadership development and spiritual gift discovery are key principles of the pastorate model of group ministry. This session will allow you to spend comprehensive time with Archie Coates, Curate of Holy Trinity Brompton, London, who has been instrumental in the introduction of Pastorates. He will share Trinity’s journey, their key learnings and insights and how the successful model is expanding around the world.

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PL 04 Does Neighbourhood Life Replace Small Groups?
Bill Donahue & Howard Lawrence
A new paradigm is emerging in the church today, a shift from doing community in the church to doing church in the community. In this point leader breakout, Bill and Howard will explain in greater detail the current strategies of Willow Creek Community Church and in “Connecting Church” Churches such as the Neighbourhood Church. These strategies can build warm, interwoven relationships and then take those connections into surrounding neighborhoods. Explore the opportunities and challenges that arise when the neighborhood becomes the primary context for community.

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PL 05 When It’s A.D. 30 All Over Again
Reggie McNeal
We have moved from a Christendom-era to a new apostolic era. How do you move from a church-based leadership paradigm to a kingdom-era approach? The answers have huge implications, from how leaders spend their time and how they fund their work. This breakout takes a look at leadership for the future of what God is doing.

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A 01 Emerging Trends in Community: The Pastorates Model of Group Life Ministry
Archie Coates
Why is the Pastorates Model proving to be so effective in building community and deepening discipleship in the local church? In this session, Archie Coates explains what a "Pastorate" is and offers "Ten reasons for supporting a Pastorates model."

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A 02 Developing & Maintaining a Coaching Team
Ben Lockyer
The thought of becoming a "leader of leaders" can be intimidating. Learn how to identify potential coaches and how to help them work through their fear of coaching. You will also take away a simple approach to assisting your coaches in their development.

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A 03 Developing Strategy: Choosing a Small Group Ministry Model
Greg Bowman
Every church needs to gain clarity on the role that small groups will play within its overall ministry. These decisions can be made more confidently when church leaders understand the strengths, weaknesses, and uniqueness of diverse models for building community in the church. Evaluate various small group ministry models in light of your church culture and walk away with strategies for applying the appropriate model in your church context.

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A 04 Assessing & Training Small Group Leaders
Dave Treat
One of the greatest challenges of small group ministry is finding new leaders and getting them started. This breakout will explore how first to define your leadership needs, then identify, recruit, and prepare potential leaders for ministry. Discover a leadership assessment tool that will identify the readiness of each potential leader in your ministry and clarify different training paths to help them move toward leadership.

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A 06 Intentionally Shepherding People to Maturity
Ron Baker
You cannot force people to grow spiritually, but you can engage in spiritual conversations and practices that encourage growth. Identify how to intentionally shepherd the people in your small group by developing a plan and creating an environment that encourages growth, models maturity, and measures development.

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A 07 Doing Lifetogether: Leveraging Organic Community for Spiritual Formation
Allen White
Many small groups fail simply because affinity, geography and perseverance aren’t sufficient. The good news is that most church members are already connected to other people. Drawing from the example of Saddleback Church and many other churches across North American, this session will show you how to leverage these organic connections for intentional spiritual formation.

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A 08 Small Group Resources: Choosing the Best Materials for Your Group
Roberta Sawatzky
Choosing the best material for your small groups can be as complex as the group itself. In this workshop we will spend time examining questions that leaders can ask in order to ascertain the best resource choices for their unique group. Specific resources will also be suggested for use in various group settings.

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B 01 The Missional Church and its Relationship to Neighbourhood Ministry
Howard Lawrence
There are two significant conversations taking place in the church today. The first is concerning what it means to be Gods sent people and the other concerning a re-engagement of the church in neighbourhood. This session will explore the convergence of the two conversations and explore its implication’s for ministry.

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B 02 Leading and Managing Change in Ministry
Ben Lockyer
From participating in a group to leading one; from coaching leaders to point leadership, leading people through the various changes we are trying to make is potentially the most important and difficult leadership task we face. Often we concentrate our change initiatives on externals: casting vision, clarifying direction and coordinating strategy. But have you ever considered what’s going on internally in the mind and heart of a participant in the change process? As a leader in group life, what can we do to shepherd people through change in a way where they are helped more than hurt? During this breakout we will focus on the individuals in our groups and talk about how we can sensitively and effectively move people in the direction we feel God is leading us to go.

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B 03 Transitioning a Church WITH Small Groups into a Church OF Small Groups
Dave Treat
Leading through change is one of the biggest challenges a leader can face. Moving from a church that simply has small groups to a church that embraces small groups as a way of approaching every aspect of church life demands a strong vision and clear leadership.

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B 04 Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders - Part 1
Greg Bowman
What does it look like to intentionally invest in the life of a small group leader? Identify four key practices at the core of successful coaching and walk away with simple tools that you can use to nurture the soul and improve the skill of each of your leaders.

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B 05 Implementing Neighbourhood Evangelism Strategies
Jeff Lockyer
A new paradigm is emerging in the church today: a shift from “doing community in the church” to “doing church in the community”. Explore the opportunities and challenges that arise when the neighbourhood becomes the primary context for community. Interact with other leaders involved in this vibrant and groundbreaking ministry.

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B 06 The Role of Small Groups in Spiritual Formation
Tim Day
Small groups hold great potential as a primary catalyst for spiritual formation in the lives of members but moving from theory to actual practice in your small group ministry can be challenging. Explore how your small groups can become pivotal places for spiritual formation in each person’s life. The session will also suggest next steps and resources for equipping your leaders to guide their group members in the journey of spiritual formation.

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B 07 Building Lifetogether: Creating a Healthy Small Groups Ministry in Your Church
Allen White
In this session, learn how Building Lifetogether gives the practical steps and proven support to pastors and small group directors in order to launch and lead a healthy small group ministry in their churches. The core principles of Lifetogether are about connecting your entire congregation and community, cultivating and coaching leaders, and creating healthy, balanced groups that celebrate life together.

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C 02 Church-wide Strategies for Connecting People into Community
Dave Treat
Geared for key volunteer and staff ministry leaders, this forum will have a round-table discussion feel. You’ll hear cutting edge ideas and have the chance to interact with other small group practitioners.

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C 03 Emerging Trends in Group Life Ministry / Community: House Churches
Tim Day
A recent study from The Barna Group shows that millions of adults are trying out new forms of spiritual community and worship, with many abandoning the traditional forms altogether. The study found that 9% of adults attend a house church during a typical week; 20% at least once a month. House Churches have experienced remarkable growth over the past decade. What is the house church movement and how should the church respond? Is it a threat or not? Is it Biblical? Is it the future of the church? Tim Day will share his experience at the Meeting House and how they are using the House Church to build community with their growing church.

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C 04 Coaching Life-Changing Small Group Leaders - Part 2
Greg Bowman
Continuation of Part 1 (B 04)

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C 05 Organizing Believers in Neighbourhoods
Howard Lawrence
Planting small groups in neighbourhoods has released the missional imagination of the Church. Come and hear what is happening, why it is significant and how it will shape the future of how we see “church”.

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C 06 Building Community and Reaching Seekers Through Serving Teams
Ron Baker
One of the most effective ways of connecting people into a community is by allowing them to use their gifts and talents to serve a cause greater than themselves. This breakout will explore serving groups as a means of bringing people together and building strong relationships.

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C 07 Coaching Lifetogether: Creating Healthy Small Group Leaders
Allen White
Everybody needs a coach – whether to help plant a garden, build a home, improve a golf swing or lead a small group. As your small group ministry begins to rapidly grow, your coaching structure must rapidly grow as well. In this session, you will learn how to identify and recruit potential coaches and how to equip them for starting in their new role.

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C 08 WCA Small Group Conference 2006 - 3essentials: Brightness
Donald Miller – via videocast
Main stage session from the Willow Creek Association Small Groups Conference 2006: Without a missional component, groups become focused inward–and forget that they are reflecting Christ to those outside their group. This session investigates the endless ways a group can shine as they add the vibrant "primary color" of mission to their palette.

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D 01 The Role of Pastorates in Spiritual Gift and Leadership Development
Archie Coates
What is the most effective way to raise up new leaders? How can we best help everyone in our churches to discover and practice their spiritual gifts? This session will discuss practically how the Pastorates model is effective in two vital areas - leadership and spiritual gift development, as well as how to introduce the Pastorates model into church life.

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D 02 Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders
Reggie McNeal
Leaders self-select into or out of greatness in terms of their leadership impact. Those who choose to leverage their greatest potential pay attention to seven life practices or arenas of development: self-awareness, self-management, self-development, mission, decision-making, belonging, and aloneness.

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D 04 Alternative Strategies for Coaching Leaders
Dave Treat
We all know what the book said about coaching. But in the real world of volunteer coaches with real jobs and real leadership challenges, many have adapted - trying new strategies and inventing different approaches. Discuss what works - and what doesn't - in an open format with other coaches and leaders. Note: Forum Format.

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D 05 8 Key Practices for Effective Small Group Leaders
Greg Bowman
Great small group leaders do not appear out of thin air. Instead, they are developed over time through intentional learning experiences. Discover eight practices that are essential to a leader’s success and how to develop these skills in your group leaders.

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D 06 Missional Community – Reaching Beyond Your Group
Jeff Lockyer & Ben Lockyer
What role does a healthy small group play in the life of the local church? Explore how to build a group that enters into one another’s lives while also accomplishing tasks for the wider community.

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D 07 Hosting Lifetogether: Creating a Healthy Small Group Experience
Allen White
Most churches are not overwhelmed with trained, “qualified” small group leaders who are just waiting in the wings. But, every church is full of members who are waiting to be empowered and equipped to growth along with others. This session will focus on the “genius” of the host home model and will tackle the practices and fears of casting a broad net.

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D 08 Small Group Resources: Choosing the Best Materials for Your Group
Roberta Sawatzky
Choosing the best material for your small groups can be as complex as the group itself. In this workshop we will spend time examining questions that leader can ask in order to ascertain the best resource choices for their unique group. Specific resources will also be suggested for use in various group settings.

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E 01 Understanding and Transitioning the Connecting Church
Howard Lawrence
Randy Frazee’s book “The Connecting Church” has struck a deep cord within the church. The Connecting Church Association has formed out of this resonance, and is seeking to bring together those who have found themselves on this connecting church journey for both support and learning. This breakout will explore what is beyond the book, update you on the movement of connecting churches and discuss the real issues of moving your church in the “connecting church” direction.

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E 02 The Ancient – Future Leader
Bill Donahue
What kind of leader is needed to help guide a group toward the experience of true community? This session will deal with and engage leaders to consider the type of leader they are becoming—one who either fosters communal life or unwittingly destroys it.

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E 03 Designing a Strategy for Developing Your Small Group Leaders
Greg Bowman
For many churches, small group leadership development never goes beyond basic skill sets taught in quarterly workshops or annual retreats. In this breakout you will identify how to craft an intentional, strategic, and proactive plan for developing current and future small group leaders in your church setting.

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E 05 Small Groups: More Than a Meeting
Dave Treat
Meetings are not the only important component of healthy small groups, but great meetings are critical to a group’s success. In this breakout we’ll talk about how you group members can know each other fully, love each other unconditionally, serve each other selflessly, celebrate each other lavishly, and shepherd each other patiently.

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E 06 Resolving the Conflicts that Arise in Small Groups
Ben Lockyer
Conflict in varying degrees is an inevitable part of small group life. How we handle it determines the length and depth of the relational breakdown. Identify your personal style of conflict resolution, explore the necessary skills for various types of conflict resolution, and then actually work through a typical group situation using a proven resolution process.

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E 07 Developing and Launching a Church-Wide Small Group Campaign
Allen White
Recently Rick Warren popularized the church-wide “campaign” experience with 40 Days of Purpose. Something happened. Churches not only grew their members, they connected them into small groups. Then, small groups didn’t just stay in the church, they invaded the neighbourhood. Suddenly, people were committing their lives to Christ and no one was doing “evangelism.” This session will focus on the dynamics of a church-wide campaign and will offer ideas for creating your church’s own church-wide experience.

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E 08 WCA Small Group Conference 2006 - 3essentials: Texture
Randy Frazee via videocast
Main stage session from the Willow Creek Association Small Groups Conference 2006: To know and be known. To love and be loved. To celebrate and be celebrated. These are the joys of relationship. Explore this third "primary color" and uncover new ways for groups to foster deep connection.

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