Exponential Conference Aims to Increase Church Discipleship Talk; to Be Hosted by Rick Warren's Saddleback Church
A growing movement of Christian leaders committed to accelerating the multiplication of healthy, reproducing churches is offering 10 hours of almost continuous programming on discipleship via a live webcast from the upcoming Exponential West Conference hosted by Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., Oct. 8-10.
Exponential leaders say they are fueled by a goal to see as many church leaders, small groups, church planting launch teams, individuals and even full churches participating in the discipleship conversation as possible.
The three-day conference beginning today (Oct. 8) will focus on discipleship, specifically five key shifts Christian leaders can make to become better at making and releasing disciples. The event features 27 national and regional leaders in 10 main sessions. The live webcast, available for free to anyone who registers, will include 10-plus hours of nearly continuous programming, organizers said.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"This webcast offers leaders who can't make it to Los Angeles, or are leaving a spouse or team members at home a solid solution for encouraging and equipping them through game-changing conversations for the church," says Exponential Director Todd Wilson. "It's the second best thing to being on site."
Collectively, webcast viewers will hear from Rick Warren, Choco De Jesus, Larry Osborne, Michael Frost, Jim Putman, Obed Martinez, Alan and Deb Hirsch, Miles McPherson, Derwin Gray, Jon Ferguson, Dori Gorman, Shawn Mitchell, Chris Hodges, Dave Ferguson, Laurie Beshore, Gene Appel, Ray Chang, Efrem Smith, Matt Larson, Robert Coleman, Lance Ford, Hugh Halter, Jeff Vanderstelt, Brandon Hatmaker, Caesar Kalinowski and Neil Cole.
The webcast is the second one Exponential is hosting this year in partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources. In April at Exponential in Orlando, more than 40,000 leaders from 93 countries tuned into the free webcast featuring 25 leaders, including Francis Chan, Wayne Cordeiro, Craig Groeschel and 22 others. Anyone registering for the free webcast was asked to indicate how many people would be watching.
Wilson and Exponential President Dave Ferguson are encouraged by the numbers of entire teams that have already signed up to participate in the Exponential West webcast.
"This topic is an important one for all of the church; Jesus gave the Great Commission to everyone," Ferguson says. "These early registration numbers indicate that churches see this webcast as an important equipping tool to challenge and inspire everyone in the church."
Early registrations for the webcast already reflect a growing passion among church leaders around the world to become better at disciple making, stated Exponential through a press release about the event. "Registrations have consistently come in from individuals and church teams throughout the globe. In the historic Filipino city of Caloocan, a team of six will participate in the discipleship conversation, as will a group of five in Tenancingo, State of Mexico. In Poland's fourth-largest city, Wroclaw, a group of five has registered, as well as a group of 12 on the Southern Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago. A group of 10 in Linden Alberta Canada will be watching along with 65-plus others spread out throughout Canada's provinces. And in Western Australia, a group of 14 will hear the same speakers and discussion as a team of 15 in Fall River, Mass., a group of 25 in Tahoe City, Calif., and 25 people in Wadsworth, Ohio."
Exponential officials say the webcast is also attracting individual interest, as single registrations have come in from the Horowhenua district on the North Island of New Zealand, Honduras' largest city of Tegucigalpa, Hungary, Murska Sobota, Slovenia, the port city of Lagos, Nigeria and the capital city Athens, Greece.
"We're seeing registrations come in from all over the world," Wilson says.
"New technology is helping us take powerful ideas that are changing the game in the United States and make them accessible across the globe," says author Alan Hirsch, a key mission strategist for churches in the Western world and a webcast speaker. "It's all about movement. Very exciting."
Missional leader and webcast speaker Jeff Vanderstelt commented on the potential impact: "Thinking of the Exponential West webcast, it's invigorating to consider the impact of tens of thousands of church leaders syncing up hearts and minds around the clear commission of Jesus for us to make disciples while He tends to building His church."
For a detailed schedule of the webcast's 10 sessions and a full list and description of the five key discipleship shifts that Exponential West will explore, go to exponential.org/webcast.
Anyone wanting to participate in the webcast experience can register for free at exponential.org/webcast. During the live webcast, everyone who registers to watch the webcast will receive periodic emails alerting them to upcoming sessions and speakers.
.
Founded in 2008, provides a national platform and distribution channels for championing church planting. Exponential states that it spotlights and spreads actionable thought leadership (principles, ideas and solutions) through conferences, magazines, books, digital media and learning communities. Exponential is considered one of the premiere distribution channels of church planting resources for hundreds of national influence leaders, including Francis Chan, Alan Hirsch, Rick Warren, Matt Chandler and Mike Breen.
On the Web: exponential.org.
