by Wayne Guinn
Maybe in the secular economy, but not in God’s economy. We’ve had a wonderful start to the new year here at the NCPO. We have closed on three new loans, one in Texas, one in Georgia, and one in Michigan. My agenda today is not only to write this report but to conduct a teleconference with our loan committee to appraise a loan for a church in Florida. We also will be considering three additional loans for approval at the national meeting in Houston. It’s thrilling to see these church plants move from a rental facility to their own land and buildings. This is made possible by those of you who faithfully support the NCPO and by those church members who are involved with our church bank campaign.
Spring NCPO Church Planter’s Candidate School
Our next major event will be our Spring Candidate School. The dates are April 27-May 1, 2009. The school will be hosted by Winter Haven Baptist Temple in Winter Haven, Florida, and Pastor Mark Hodges. The event will begin Monday, April 27, at 1:00 pm and conclude Friday, May 1. The schedule will include sessions on assessments, pre-launch and launch strategies, outreach strategies, assimilation strategies, leadership development, team building, growth strategies, stewardship development, church financial management, raising personal support and pre-launch costs, work and philosophies of the BBFI, and many more. Our lecturers include John Arnold, Mark Milioni, Bruce Humbert, Wayne Guinn, Jason Todd, Keith Bassham, Monty Maple, Joe Murray, and Mark Hodges. Our Spring School will also include Elmer Towns, cofounder of Liberty University and dean of the university’s School of Religion, and Allan Taylor, minister of education at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia, where Johnny Hunt is pastor. Allan is the founder of Ember to Blaze Ministries, an organization created to help churches revitalize and grow their congregations. For more information email bbfincpo@aol.com or call (417) 889-1017. Register now! The cost is $395.
S3 Conference in Florida
The Spring Candidate School will also feature a second track called the S3 Conference. S3 is short for Stretch, Surge, and Serve. We will stretch our knowledge and skill, work toward a growth surge, and learn how to better serve our communities as we serve God. Keynote presenters for S3 are Allan Taylor and Elmer Towns. BBFI leaders will also address the conference and lead roundtable discussions. S3 is co-sponsored by NCPO and Baptist Bible Tribune. Space for the conference is limited. For more information email bbfincpo@aol.com or call (417) 889-1017.