CHURCH PLANTING LEADERSHIP TEAM

SUMMARY OF WORK

1. Created an EPC Church Planting Assessment Center instead of subcontracting to other non EPC organizations

2. Grew our Church Planting Regional Team to three full-time and two part-time

3. Entered into a part-time consulting relationship on Latino church planting with EPC TE Alfredo Forhans

4. Held our annual EPC Church Planters Retreat at Green Lake Conference Center in Wisconsin in mid-October (Yes, the leaves were amazing!)

5. In May, attended the first ministry partnership meeting between the EPC and our fraternal brothers and sister in the UNEPREV denomination in France

6. Held two meeting of our EPC Church Planting National Leadership Team in February & August

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RECOMMENDATIONS

The Church Planting Team has no recommendations for the 45th General Assembly.

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WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

As the EPC continues to grow our church planting footprint, 2024 – 2025 has seen several encouraging signs that we are moving in a very positive direction.  Our work is not without challenges and some disappointments, but God is faithful, and he continues to grow his kingdom, in part, through EPC church planting.

1. Structural Paradigm: We continue to work with the conviction that the role of national church planting leadership is to serve and equip local church planting efforts.
   1. Regional church planting directors around the country give hands-on coaching, mentoring, and planning development to local church planting.
   2. National church planting retreat serves to encourage and equip local church planters
   3. Local churches and presbyteries desiring to become parent or partner church planting churches have access to coaching, leadership development, and planter recruitment from national and regional church planting leadership

2. 2024 – 2025 saw new church plants launch in
   1. North Carolina
   2. Southern California
   3. Florida
   4. Mississippi
   5. Washington (State)
   6. Pennsylvania
   7. Virginia

3. Three EPC church plants closed in 2024. With 48 active church plants, our closure rate was 6.5%, well below the national average of 44%.

4. EPC now staffs its own church planting assessment center 2-3 times per year, depending on the number of candidates. Two assessments in 2024-2025 with two more planned for 2025 – 2026.

5. Church Planting Regional Directors (Part-time & Full-time)
   1. Richard Rieves, South Region
   2. Elizabeth Gibson, Atlantic Region
   3. Keon Ebner, Northeast Region
   4. Hunter Bailey, Heartland Region
   5. Shawn Robinson, Pacific Southwest Region
6. In 2024 – 2025, we launched Latino-speaking church plants in
   1. Texas (2),
   2. Florida (3),
   3. Oklahoma (1)
7. In 2025 – 2026, Lord willing, we will launch Latino-speaking congregations in
   1. Florida
   2. Puerto Rico
   3. Kentucky
   4. Oregon
8. Reverand Alfredo Forhans is our part-time EPC Latino church planting consultant, helping us with assessment, coaching, and care for our Latino church planters.

9. Our national church planting retreat was held last October at Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, Wisconsin. In 2025 – 2026, we will host two regional church planting retreats. One in North Carolina and the other in Southern California.

10. We continue to explore and grow our church planting partnership with our friends and colleagues in the French denomination UNIPREV.
11. We believe it’s important to visit every presbytery once every 18 months, speaking of the Regional Director’s work, highlighting what has been done through his/her leadership that would not have otherwise been possible.
12. We would also like to be able to send lead EPC pastors one specific church planting prayer request at the beginning of each month.
13. We will be working with the OGA Communication team on publicizing a list of church plants and creating an “adopt a church plant” link for congregations to access church plants.
14. We will work towards identifying a minimum of two churches per presbytery not actively involved in church planting and coach them on how to set church planting goals for their congregation, including financial support for those goals. Establish a timeframe by which to complete the task.
15. Key to EPC church planting success is the development of the church planter pipeline. We have ongoing working in relationships with Knox, Gorden Conwell, and Reforemed seminaries while also engaging with younger EPC pastors and college ministry staff members.

Summation: As we continue to expand our church planting capabilities, we are reminded that God is the one who grows his kingdom. Our role is to follow him in faith as we plant churches to evangelize the world with the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Please pray for wisdom, resources, and faith for all of us in the EPC to be faithful to God’s call for us to actively plant new congregations across America and the World.

RECOMMENDATIONS (DETAILED)

The Church Planting Leadership Team has no recommendations for the 45th General Assembly.

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Jack Cathey (Chairman)
RE, Presbytery of the Central Carolinas

Richard Rieves
TE, Presbytery of the Central South

Shawn Robinson
TE, Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest

Alfredo Forhans
TE, Presbytery of the Gulf South

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MEETING DATES

August 7-8, 2024: Office of the General Assembly (Orlando, FL)
October 15-17, 2024: Fall Church Planting Retreat (Wisconsin)
February 11-12, 2025: Charlotte, NC

Jack Cathey, Chairman
June 2025

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