Participants: The participants represent a variety of NAMB’s Acts 1:8 partners: States, Seminaries, Missionaries, Strategists, and Pastors. They depict a wide geographical spectrum, and also bring diverse points of views, because of their ministries, on Hispanic church planting. (* See the list).

Purpose: A gathering of Hispanic church planting practitioners from across the nation to dialogue with NAMB’s Hispanic staff in the Church Planting Group. This dialogue, related to a Hispanic church planting vision for first generation Hispanics, is a first step leading to a future strategy for reaching and planting churches among Hispanic people groups of North America.

Issues covered:

A. End-vision

• The Think Tank was presented with a vision describing a desired future. One that is biblical in its inception and content, contextual to Hispanic people groups, and reproducible by NAMB and its Acts 1:8 partners across North America.• The vision was analyzed, discussed, and tweaked by the Think Tank. The vision in its final form reads as follows:“We see the day when, God willing, a Kingdom focused church planting movement flourishes among disciples of Hispanic churches across North America. This movement is well supported and fed by a spectrum of learning communities where collaborative learning takes place through the latest technology and/or centers, and by NAMB church planting resources that excite, inspire, and motivate Hispanic disciples to be involved in planting reproducing Hispanic churches across North America. Through gospel sowing efforts and a church planting process, every Hispanic congregation is producing one new start every year in a multiplying mode. These new starts have a healthy and vibrant attitude towards reaching Hispanics and other people groups in North America. We see this happening not only in major urban cities, but also in rural communities, anywhere and everywhere there are Hispanics: Spanish speaking only, bilingual, and English speaking only”.

B. Hispanic Church planting data

• The NAMB Hispanic church planting data for 2002-2008, on appendices 1 to 4, was presented and discussed among the attendees. It helped inform the group of the current realities of Hispanic church planting among SBC State Conventions and the need to develop a master plan to reach the vision.Appendix 1 shows the amount of Hispanic congregations by State Convention.

Appendix 2 presents the amount of new Hispanic congregations by State Convention.

Appendix 3 illustrates the total, new, lost, and percentage growth of Hispanic congregations.

Appendix 4 compares the amount of missionaries and FPAs to new Hispanic starts by State Convention in 2008.

C. Diagnostic Questions

• The questions were designed to initiate a potential process that will set a framework for the development of a NAMB Hispanic church planting master plan among first generation Hispanics for the coming years.

• The Think Tank, during the dialogue based on the diagnostic questions presented, performed as a learning community exercising collaborative learning.

1. What are the critical components of a comprehensive church planting process

• Spirit lead prayer.

• Vision (planter and church).

• Defined focus group (discovering, field assessment).

• Recruitment (calling, assessment).

• Partnerships (NAMB, States, Associations, Churches, Pastors).

• Healthy church strategy (multiplication).

2. What must we do differently that will result in multiplication among Hispanic churches?

• Emphasize the Calling out the called, not only “professionals”.

• Indigenous leadership mobilized.

• Cast a vision and create awareness of it among individuals and churches.

• Empower the laity.

• Equip for multiplication.

• Regional training centers.

• Cross-cultural evangelism and church planting.

3. What does a network of Hispanic church planters look like?

• Has a reason and purpose for existing.

• Helps develop relational skills, support, and accountability.

• Operates as a learning community.

• Needs to involve mentors and coaches.

• Can be done through technology (but not exclusively).

4. How can NAMB’s Church Planting Group best interact with its Acts 1:8 partners?

• Identify participating and non-participating partners.

• Seek appropriate and most effective channels of communication.

• Engage in encouragement and prayer.

• Mutual consideration and respect of established agreements.

• Regional approach.

• Create/encourage networking environments.

5. With limited resources how do we resource church planting across North America?

• Story driven/Chronological/story telling.

• Reproducible curriculum.

• Mentor/coaching process.

• Learning communities.

• Bible Training centers for pastors.

• Virtual training center.

• BTJ/CLD/MAWL/Charles Brock/FLET.

• Resource Bank.

• Farm system of trained leaders.

6. What does church planting success look like?

• Reproduce missional mentality.

• Celebrating mile-markers along the way.

• Church stewardship emphasis that leads to self-supporting.

• Credibility in the community.

• Church plants that reproduce themselves.

• Allows for a multiplicity of church expressions.

• Produces resilient church plants.

7. How is a church planting climate created?

• Prayerfully.

• Intentionally.

• Church planting regional events.

• Through servant leadership that is flexible and teachable.

8. How does GPS help church planting occur?

• GPS is a movement that can lead to plant churches through evangelism.

• GPS is Kingdom focused.

• Elements of GPS relate directly to elements of CPP.

9. New Hispanic church planting resources?

• Resource on technology.

• Resource on Hispanic newcomers adapting to North American culture.

• Resource for church planter’s wives written by Hispanic ladies.

Outcomes:

• A better understanding by NAMB of the current church planting needs of its various partners, and a better understanding by NAMB’s partners of NAMB’s positive role in their church planting efforts.

• Received unique input from the participants’ different backgrounds, (State, Association, Missionary, and Church), that should ultimately help in producing a comprehensive strategy that leads to a reproducible Hispanic church plant movement full of innovative ideas.

• Established clear links between GPS and CPP among Hispanic congregations.

• Provided valuable insights into the use of technology in Hispanic churches, and how to promote its use to form networks.