Last week, we had the privilege of welcoming more than 20 church leaders and pastors online for our How to Be a Church Planting Church seminar.

It was an encouraging time of learning, sharing and honest conversation about what it looks like to become a church that doesn't simply want to see new churches planted, but actively builds a culture that raises leaders, sends people and multiplies churches.

We heard from the Train1000 team, as well as Sean Green, a church leader in Reading and Train1000 Mentor, who shared his real-time experience of church planting from within his own church.

Sean spoke particularly about readiness as a church leader – recognising that church planting isn't simply about having a great idea or finding the right opportunity, but about preparing ourselves, our churches and our people for what God may be asking us to step into.

One of the highlights was hearing Sean speak honestly about the journey so far – what has gone well, the challenges they have encountered and the lessons they are learning along the way.

Learning from one another

We also spent time in breakout rooms, giving leaders the opportunity to discuss some of the key questions and challenges they are facing in their own churches.

Attendees could choose from five areas:

Leadership
How do we develop leaders and build a leadership pipeline?

Vision
How do we cast a compelling vision for church planting?

Models
What are the different models of church planting in this season?

Culture
How do we build a culture of multiplication, rather than seeing church planting as an event?

Tension
How do we navigate the tension between growing the church and planting churches?

We loved seeing leaders engage with these questions, share their experiences and learn from one another. There is so much wisdom already present within the church, and there is something powerful about creating spaces where leaders can learn together, be honest about the challenges and encourage one another.

This is just the beginning

We are passionate about building this into a 12-month learning community for church leaders – a place where we can continue the conversation around church planting, share stories from the journey and learn from what God is doing in different churches and communities.

Our next session is Wednesday 25 November at 3:30pm, and we'd love for you to join us. Sign up here.