The need for more living giving churches is greater than ever. Since COVID, church planting and the missional impact of the church has slowed to an unhealthy pace. A significant number of churches across every fellowship of churches have not rebounded to their pre COVID numbers.
How can you as a leader of leaders make a difference in light of these challenges?
Join Gary, Steve and Daniel as they seek to take healthy an hope filled look at vision, values and systems that keep an missional organization focused and faithful during this challenging season.
Here are some of the topics we will cover:
Renewed Spiritual Dependance
Life-Giving Relationships
Raising up Church Planters from the Harvest
Reaching the World that is at Our Door Step
Building Movement Systems to Work
Fearless Fundraising in Stressful Times
Nourishing & Supporting Networks
Supportive & Timely Coaching
On-Time Training Opportunities
Details
August 27-28, 2025
Wheaton College
Billy Graham Center, Wilson Suite (4th floor)
500 College Avenue
Wheaton, IL 60187
This two-day workshop is critical for any denominational, associational, or network leader to understand how new churches impact the legacy of your organization. Whether you are a national, regional, or local church planting leader, you will gain a wealth of knowledge and practical insights.
Schedule
Day One
8:30-9:00 – Check-in
9:00-10:15 – Session 1
10:15-10:30 – Break
10:30-12:00 – Session 2
12:00-1:00 – Lunch provided
1:00-2:30 – Session 3
2:30-2:45 – Break
2:45-4:30 – Session 4
Day Two
9:00-10:15 – Session 5
10:15-10:30 – Break
10:30-12:00 – Session 6
12:00-1:00 – Lunch provided
1:00-3:00 – Session 7
Cost
Individual Rate – $199.00/person
Group Rate – $159.00/person (3 or more from same organization)
Includes lunches, resources, and extras
Speakers
GARY ROHRMAYER
PRESIDENT OF AXELERATE
Gary has served on every level of church planting from a church-planting intern and pioneer church planter to a national director of church planting. After pioneering a church plant with his wife Mary, he assisted in planting 17 churches in 10 years in southeastern Wisconsin.
In 1998, Gary was asked to bring a new sense of energy and vision to a regional network within Converge that had been in decline for 10 years. Over Gary’s 26 years at Converge MidAmerica has grown from 86 churches to over 836 churches and is now called Converge MSC (MidAmerica, Southeast, Caribbean). This new movement of churches has revolutionized and revitalized this 173-year-old mission organization on all levels.
In 2006, Gary was asked to provide national leadership to Converge Church Planting where he laid the groundwork for a united church planting surge throughout its 11 regional entities which led to the largest number of church plants in its 173-year history. Ed Stetzer described Converge during this time as, "One of the leading church planting organizations in America."
In his spare time, Gary has authored 17 books and a Spiritual Conversation Tool called the Spiritual Journey Guide that has sold millions over the last 20 years. Learn more at www.garyrohrmayer.com.
Gary and Mary have three grown children, three grandchildren and live in the greater Chicago area.
STEVE PIKE
FOUNDER, NEXT WAVE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY
PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, URBAN ISLANDS PROJECT
Steve Pike is the Founder of Next Wave Virtual Community, an online community of church leaders committed to being with Jesus on His Mission in the challenging 21st Century context. He is also the President and Founder of Urban Islands Project, a national collaborative organization dedicated to increasing the presence of the Church in the urban core of America’s urbanized communities. Additionally, Steve serves as an Executive Coach with Axelerate and is part of the coaching/consulting team at The Anser Group.
Prior to taking on his current responsibilities, Steve was the Founding Director of the Church Multiplication Network. CMN serves church multipliers to effectively equip, strategically fund and innovatively network new faith communities in America. Since its formation in 2008, CMN has assisted with the starting of over 4,000 new congregations in every region of the US.
Steve is the author of Next Wave: Discovering the 21st Century Church, the author of Total Fitness For Your Church, and the co-author with Dr. Tom Nebel of Leading Church Multiplication.
Steve’s passion for church multiplication began in 1989 when Steve and his wife, Cherri, pioneered a new church that became the catalyst of a church planting movement in the state of Utah that continues to this day. The Pikes make their home in Denver, Colorado. They are blessed to be the parents of Lindsy and Jeremy and the grandparents of Myles, Koen, Wesley, and James. One more grandchild and they will have a basketball team.
DANIEL YANG
NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF CHURCHES OF WELCOME FOR WORLD RELIEF
Daniel Yang serves as the National Director of Churches of Welcome for World Relief. Prior to that he was the director of the Church Multiplication Institute at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. Daniel has been a pastor, church planter, engineer and technology consultant. He has planted churches in Detroit, Dallas, Toronto, and Chicago, either as the lead planter or through recruiting, training, assessing, and mentoring church planters. Daniel is a sought-after conference speaker, missional strategist, consultant, and co-author of Inalienable: How Marginalized Kingdom Voices Can Help Save the American Church (InterVarsity, May 2022) and Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders (Zondervan, October 2024).
