NPC

Meet Larry Osborne!

Larry Osborne has served as the lead pastor at North Coast Church in San Diego since 1980. Known for its innovation and creativity, North Coast Church pioneered the concept of video worship venues in 1998. He is the author of The Unity Factor: Developing a Healthy Leadership Team. Larry will be at the National Pastor's Convention in February.

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Don't miss out on your chance to hear him speak:

Sticky Church: Slamming Your Back Door Shut
Sticky churches not only attract people – they keep them for the long haul. They understand that without long-term retention, discipleship and lasting growth is impossible. Bottom line: It doesn’t really matter how many people come through our front door if the back door is left
+ Why stickier churches are healthier churches
+ Why assimilation is not enough
+ What makes a church genuinely sticky
+ Strategies for slamming the back door shut

Finding and Multiplying Leaders: The Barnabas Factor
Regardless if we are talking about multiplying churches, venues, ministry programs or small groups, it all boils down to multiplying leaders. Without the ability to find and multiply new leaders, ministry grinds to a halt. This session will focus on the priority and process of multiplying Kingdom leaders. You’ll discover:
+ Why Barnabas sets an example worth following
+ Why you don’t want to ask for too much too fast
+ The one kind of person you want to avoid at all costs
+ Why excellence can emasculate empowerment
+ The difference between flock focused and lamb focused leaders
+ Why it’s essential to make more room at the table – and who will predictably object

A Message to Pastors from Chuck Colson

Chuck Colson shares how pastors can help their church members grasp the foundational teachings of Christianity, know why they believe these teachings, and understand why it matters to them, their families, and their neighbors.

"Every pastor should read The Faith and every pastore should preach through this book with their congregation- it's that good." -Bill Hybels.

To learn more about The Faith church campaigns, download FREE resources, get significant quantity discounts, and register for your church’s campaign, CLICK HERE.

Holy Thursday! (Free Books!)

Week Fifteen of Holy Thursday is here!

1. Every Thursday we'll put up the one and only Holy Thursday post.
2. Be one of the first two people to comment.
3. We'll send the featured book to you. It's that easy.

To get the latest NPC blog posts earlier, add us to Google Reader, Bloglines, Feedburner, or your favorite feed reader.

No Perfect People Allowed by John Burke

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How do we live out the message of Jesus in today’s ever-changing culture? The church is facing its greatest challenge—and its greatest opportunity—in our postmodern, post-Christian world. God is drawing thousands of spiritually curious “imperfect people” to become his church—but how are we doing at welcoming them? No Perfect People Allowed shows you how to deconstruct the five main barriers standing between emerging generations and your church by creating the right culture. From inspiring stories of real people once far from God, to practical ideas that can be applied by any local church, this book offers a refreshing vision of the potential and power of the Body of Christ to transform lives today. “We now are living in a post-Christian America—and that means we must be rethinking ministry through a missionary mindset. What makes this book both unique and extremely helpful is that it is filled with real-life stories of post-Christian people becoming followers of Jesus—not just statistics or data about them.” Dan Kimball, Author, The Emerging Church ". . . John's 'get it' factor with people, lost or found, is something to behold!

Reading this book filled me with optimism regarding the next generation of pastors and faith communities . . . " Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church No Perfect People Allowed is a timely and necessary word for church leaders in a post Christian culture. John Burke serves up quite a tasty meal full of the rich nutrients that will strengthen the Body of Christ.

John Burke and his wife, Kathy, founded Gateway Church in Austin, Texas, in 1998. Since then, Gateway has grown to over 3,000 people, 70 percent of whom are in their twenties and thirties, and consists mostly of unchurched people who began actively following Christ at Gateway.

Meet Tim Conder!

Tim Conder is currently the founding pastor of Emmaus Way, an emergent, missional church in Durham, North Carolina. He is a member of the coordinating team for EmergentVillage and a member of the board of directors for Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, Washington. He is the author of The Church in Transition: The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging Culture. Tim will be a speaker at the National Pastor's Convention in Feburary.

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Don't miss your chance to hear him speak!  His two seminars are:

The Pastoral Vocation in an Emergent World
The advent of an emerging culture that is increasingly pluralistic, no longer assumes the Judeo-Christian presuppositions, struggles with questions of postmodernity, and brings the church face-to-face with a new missional landscape also yields a vocational crisis for many pastors.  A changed culture demands new skill sets even for those with many years of fruitful experience.  Recently trained pastors often find no landing pad for their gifts and cultural sensitivities.  Staff teams can struggle to communicate and collaborate because of cultural and theological differences.  The church and clergy both face an entirely different economic landscape.  This seminar addresses these issues and offers a hopeful portrait of ministerial training, cultural adaptation, and the pastor's vocation in the emergent world.  Tim brings a variety of perspectives as a leader in EmergentVillage, two decades as a pastor in large multi-staff churches, an emergent church planter, and as a Board Director for Mars Hill Graduate School to this discussion of vocation. 
      
Emergent Ministry for Existing Churches
Existing and established churches journey into the emerging culture on different trajectories than new start ministries.  They may have greater resources, but often find those resources largely committed to established paradigms of ministry and ongoing partnerships, programs, or projects.  These fellowships may have the momentum and stability of a historical ministry, but long histories also yield the potential burdens of entrenched expectations and inalterable traditions.  This seminar focuses on specific, practical, and realistic avenues of transition for existing churches of all sizes.  Tim has served as a pastor and elder in existing churches for twenty years.