Disciple Making Conference

July 13-17, 2009 • Ridgecrest, NC

One conference can train them all! Equip your church leaders in key aspects of discipleship and evangelism at a single conference during 2009, the Disciple Making Conference at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center, July 13-17. This unique training event is for all leaders who serve your church through childhood, student, adult, men's, women's, family, and chaplaincy ministries, in both small-and-large-group experiences.

The Disciple Making Conference features top church leadership practioners providing the best in discipleship and evangelism training through ministry-specific seminars. David Platt, senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL, is keynote speaker for the week. Joining David is a faculty comprised of leaders from the North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, and LifeWay.

Centered on the theme Ministering, Multiplying, and Mobilizing, the conference trains your leadership to

Connect (Obeying God)
Grow (Exercising Biblical Faith)
Serve (Serving God & Others)
Go (Sharing Christ)

The Disciple Making Conference, set in the heart of the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center, is for pastors, chaplains, church staff, lay leaders, age-group leaders, senior adult ministers, family ministry leaders, women’s ministry leaders, and other discipleship leaders.

Special features of the Disciple Making Conference include

Growing Disciples Weekend Training with David Carter
Receive training to plan and conduct a Growing Disciples Weekend as an innovative way to help churches re-launch a discipleship emphasis and recapture their zeal for making disciples of all peoples beginning with members in their own congregation. You will learn to use the six disciplines of the Disciples Cross (abide in Christ, live in the word, pray in faith, fellowship with believers, witness to the world, and minister to others) to assist believers in developing a well-balanced spiritual maturity. Follow-up to the weekend in churches will point people to participation in small groups studying The Call to Follow Christ followed by other books in the Growing Disciples Series and/or MasterLife.
MasterLife Reunion with Avery Willis
Join Avery Willis, David Carter, and Claude King to celebrate what God has done and is doing in our lives through MasterLife discipleship training. What’s your story? Hear a renewed call from Avery to become catalysts for a discipleship revolution. Receive guidance and inspiration to return to your church, association, and state to assist in calling up the “discipleship reserve corps” to active duty. Learn how to use the new Growing Disciples Weekend to help churches re-engage in obeying the final command to make disciples of all the nations, starting at home and to the ends of the earth. Rekindle their zeal for the process of making disciples that goes beyond a church program. The Reunion is Wednesday, July 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and is a free bonus feature of the Disciple Making Conference (or you can register for only the Reunion, $25.00 per person, lunch included). Persons wishing to come in a day early or stay over night following the reunion may make housing arrangements with Ridgecrest.

This conference is also for the whole family! Students attending with their parents participate in Centrifuge throughout the week, and younger children have a great time at Ridgecrest’s Day Camp.

More Information

Track Topics and Descriptions

Boomers — led by Dan Allen

Learning the Truth — Application for Boomer Adults
The Christian life is a journey of learning and applying biblical truth. Genuine spiritual formation for boomers and senior adults cannot and will not take place without significant and consistent exposure to God’s revealed truth that results in life transformation.
Sharing Christ with Boomer Adults
Sharing Christ is essential to true discipleship and spiritual formation. God’s strategy calls boomers and senior adults in their second half of life to be equipped and to go into the world with His message of love and redemptions.
Serving God and Others
Without service, spiritual transformation is impossible. A mark of spiritual maturity is service. Boomers and senior sdults must be compelled to teach and model an excellence of service fueled by a servant’s heart and compelled by our Father’s love.

Children/Preschool — led by Jeanne Burns

Childhood Ministry
A goal of every children’s minister is to help children grow to become strong Christian disciples. Jeanne Burs helps equip you as you strive to lead children and their families in learning truth, evangelism, and service.
New! Preschool TeamKID — “All Around”
Experience this new TeamKID series which leads preschoolers to explore “All Around” their world. New features include missions and a Bible skill every week, holiday meetings, and an enhanced CD that includes seven bonus meetings.
Discipling Kids Means Involving Parents
Learn ways to minister to and with the parents of the children you serve. Discover ways to maximize your efforts as you extend your ministry by connecting with the parents and families in your church.

Coaching — led by John McInnis

Building a Coaching Culture for Your Discipleship Ministry
Church leader, are you searching for specific ways you can develop leaders who will enhance the work of your discipleship classes and small group ministry? Learn how to apply foundational principles of coaching to real life, the definitions of Christian coaching, and how to determine when coaching is effective in helping people, in contrast to other tools such as counseling, mentoring, discipling, and supervising. Learn the value and benefits of various types of coaching to build up individuals, class and small group members, and leadership teams. Explore the role of Jesus as a coach and examine Scriptures that demonstrate His coaching style. Apply the foundational principles and processes of leadership coaching to real ministry scenarios in order to connect the practice of coaching to your church leadership role.
Developing Coaching Skills to Transform Church Leaders and Members
The most effective coaches learn to listen for discovery, ask powerful questions, and set action goals. Learn how to use the skill of discovery listening as the basis for building trusting relationships with people you coach. Explore how to ask open questions in guiding the person being coached to find the best solutions to the areas needing the most improvement. Learn how to lead persons being coached to set appropriate goals and actions to bring about significant improvement in their church leadership role, and learn the power of the coaching process as you understand the value of supporting, encouraging, and holding accountable the persons being coached.
Starting a Coaching Strategy for Your Discipleship and Small Group Ministry
Beginning a coaching process for your church leaders and members requires intentional commitment, planning, and training. Apply the coaching skills in a practice coaching session in order to develop better coaching skills. Examine four key steps in planning your first coaching session with your church leaders and how to develop a coaching agreement with those leaders. Discover the basic elements in a coach multiplication strategy that expands the impact of coaching as a valuable leader improvement tool in your discipleship and small group ministry. Learn about resources and training systems you can use to continue to grow in your coaching competencies.

Deacons – led by Roy Saint

Deacons Making Disciples Through Transformation
This conference will allow your church the resources to encourage your deacons to intentionally become strong, committed disciples for Jesus Christ. A blueprint is a detailed photographic plan to build something. God has already given us His blueprint. It is His written Word which gives proper instruction for the church to carry out His ministry. This blueprint includes a team effort. Churches accomplish more when a TEAM of people band together to work on improving the health of their church. The deacons and the church staff must: band together as disciple-makers to encourage and guide each church member to be the disciples God has called them to be.
How to Build Effective Pastor/Deacons Relationships
If the church is going to carry out its task of ministry then obviously there is a need for the pastor and deacons to have a good and harmonious working relationship. Pastors and deacons are in the unique position to demonstrate to the church and community an ideal relationship. The pastor and deacon must adopt a team concept.
Deacon Ministry Today
Acts 6:1-7 describes for us the reason as well as the need for Deacon Ministry in the local church. This conference deals with the practical ministry opportunities that Deacons have to serve their church.
How Deacons Help Manage Church Conflict
Conflict is often viewed as contradictory to the mission of the church to carry the message of redemption and reconciliation to the world. Deacons have a responsibility to serve the church in conflict management.
A Bible-Based Deacon Ministry
Deacons who seek to fulfill their biblical qualifications will accomplish ministry action. Deacons, who understand the mission of the church and their position as servant leaders, will understand their call and role as church leaders. A Bible-based deacon ministry can only be accomplished when the deacons involved in it are Bible-based deacons.

Discipleship Strategy/Enrichment — led by Claude King

Core Conference: Simplified Disciple Making Strategies
Call the discipleship reserve corps in your church, association, and state to active duty! Equip them to use disciple making weekends, rallies, retreats, campaigns, and other events to engage all God’s people in intentional plans for being transformed into Christ likeness, so they think and act like Christ.
Here's Hope Pastors Workshop
This workshop for smaller-church and bivocational pastors encourages, ministers to, and equips pastors so they can return to their congregations refreshed and hopeful with specific plans and tools to move their people toward revival, harvest, and spiritual maturity. Leaders who work with pastors are equipped experientially to conduct in their areas workshops that minister to pastors. Where possible, each participant is encouraged to bring a layperson to be equipped as a ministry partner with his pastor. [Cost for the workshop is included in the conference center fee, but separate (email registration is required.

International Missions — led by IMB leadership

Mobilizing Your Whole Church in Missions
In this workshop, IMB leaders help you to
- (1) Discover God's Heart for World Missions
- (2) See what God is actively doing in the world today
- (3) Create the skeleton of a master church plan to mobilize your whole church
- (4) Learn how to personally engage with missionaries and the work on the field
Can You Help Me and My Church get to the Mission Field?
Uncover and answer the most important questions a pastor / missions leader have to negotiate in order to guide his/her church to increasing levels of missions' involvement. This workshop shows you not only HOW, but WHO can be a behind-the-scenes coach and assist you to go from ZERO involvement in personalized missions to a TEN.
Discipleship in the Nations
Transcultural Biblical principles of discipleship that are applicable in every culture and generation.
- (1) The principle of “The Word”
- (2) The principle of “Life Application”
- (3) The principle of “Community”
- (4) The principle of “Worship”
- (5) The principle of “Mission”

Men’s Ministry — James Walker & Joe Conway

Learning the Truth: Building an Effective Men’s Ministry Strategy — James Walker
Men’s ministry in the local church is struggling. Discover how to effectively develop a ministry strategy designed by you for your church. Begin to establish a vision for men and develop next steps for them as they engage in the church.
Evangelism: Reaching the Men in Your Community — James Walker
The men in your community are unique to your area. Discover the uniqueness and work toward a plan to reach them through the men already in the church. Every community has groupings of men that can be reached; what can you do to reach them?
Serving: Mobilizing Men for Missions — Joe Conway
Missions has many shapes and forms. From prayer-walking to church construction, the world is anxious to see men who live their faith in dynamic and tangible ways. Learn how to mobilize men, both locally and beyond their hometown. Instruction includes finding and planning mission projects.
Men’s Fraternity: Starting and Continuing — James Walker
The basics of starting Men’s Fraternity and keeping it strong for the long haul can help you reach the men in your community and move them to a disciple-making path. Starting right is a key but continuing with strength will help you see long term return on your ministry to men.
BMEN on Mission: Developing Men for God’s Mission — Joe Conway
How is your church preparing men to accomplish their Acts 1:8 assignment from God? BMEN provides the context to develop men wholistically for the purpose of aligning their life and family for God’s mission. Receive an overview of the ministry, learn about BMEN Online, and discover how BMEN offers their men one-stop shopping for resources.
Men as Missions Mentors — Joe Conway
Men bring a special perspective to missions, one that can serve as an encouragement to boys. In Southern Baptist life, men have several contexts that allow them to build mentoring relationships with boys. Learn about the power of a Christian man’s influence on their community, church, and family and how to challene men to invest in the future of missions through Royal Ambassadors and Challengers.
Special Events for Men, by Men — Joe Conway
Churches can celebrate the role of men in the life of their church and attract lost men to interest events. BMEN offers a host of options ranging from men’s weekend retreats, outdoor events, Father’s Day celebrations, and more. Learn how to plan and conduct special events that affirm men’s giftedness for ministry and how to conduct evangelistic events for men and boys.

Minister’s Wives — led by Leighann McCoy

Telling His Story as a Minister’s Wife
His story becomes your story when you allow Christ to open doors to share Him with your world. Learn how God has already called, equipped, and empowered you to influence His kingdom and be His witnesses. Develop an action plan for Telling His Story when you return home.
Girlfriends and Ministers’ Wives
Learn how to develop healthy friendships as a ministers’ wife. Do you find it hard to maintain friendships with women in your church? Is there anyone with whom you can share laughter or tears? Learn the importance of having friends, how to build healthy friendships, and the traps to avoid in being both the “minister’s wife” and friends with other women.

Small Groups — led by Rick Howerton

Small Groups That Transform
Small Groups are no longer just another ministry in the church, they are a movement. Learn how to make small groups all that God designed them to be.

Young Adults — led by Jim Johnston

What Matters to Young Adults?
If you’re interested in helping disciple the Millennial generation, it’s time you got to know them better. Learn about the characteristics of today’s young adults, what keeps them involved in churches, and what causes them to abandon the church.
Spiritual Formation in Young Adults
The essentials of discipleship have not changed since Jesus asked the 12 to follow him. But the way disciple making is applied in the lives of young adults is different, based on the way they have grown up and the challenging world they are living in today. Look at practical approaches you can use in discipling young adults.

Women’s Ministry — led by Chris Adams

Life in Ministry as a Woman
Serving in leadership roles, whether on staff or not, brings new challenges and responsibilities to women that sometimes seem overwhelming. Acquiring skills to help navigate these new opportunities can be challenging but rewarding. Women in ministry can learn to use their relational abilities to benefit others, and can explore ways to increase their skills in effectively communicating with male staff members. They can set healthy boundaries and balances to make the challenges less daunting and more exciting. And yes, they can effectively minister when all their efforts are supported with personal disciplines that keep them close to the Lord.
The Journey: Helping Women Connect
As leaders of adult women, our goal is to lead women to become spiritually balanced disciples. Spiritual growth occurs incrementally and concurrently as women interact with biblical concepts. Discover the outside factors that are influencers in each woman’s personal and practical life experiences that may cause her to become stuck in her journey. This session highlights the importance of connecting with God with passion, prayer, intelligence, and energy, and of building positive, long-lasting relationships that bring needed support to reach the destination of being a spiritually balanced disciple.
Reaching Young Women for Christ
Everyday our younger generations are being discipled by culture, rather than by the unchanging Word of God. Many individuals feel isolated, disengaged, and overlooked in the context of the local church. They are single, married, and in all the stages in between, and they are in desperate need of you! As we study Scripture together, find encouragement to engage the next generation in your current ministry. This breakout includes a time of Biblical teaching on the importance and how-to’s of discipling, a group discussion, and a personal testimony time on how to involve others in leadership. Leave with practical application for your current ministry as it relates to younger generations. We urge you to join us as we look at this influential generation God is raising up!
The Basics of Women’s Ministry
Do we have a responsibility to reach the women in our sphere of influence? Do you have a heart to disciple other women? Scripture mandates that we are to touch lives as we mentor, witness, and teach. God is working mightily among women today. Are you ready to join Him? Discuss how women’s ministry can reach and disciple women for Christ, how to benefit the body of local believers, and where to start when God calls you to begin a ministry with women (or re-establish an existing one). Discuss the steps to planning for a well-balanced ministry by using Bible study, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, worship, evangelism, and missions.
Revision Your Ministry
Do you ever just need to step back, think about where you are and where God wants you to be in your ministry, and re-evaluate your strategy? Do you need some time to spend quietly thinking about the overall picture of where those are leading are heading? Bring your ideas, concerns, and plans, and work on them with your team or independently as a leader directs you through a practical “hands on” experience. Ask questions and get direction as you seek to dream God’s dream for your ministry. Enjoy exciting interaction and brainstorming with other leaders as we share the challenges and joys of ministry.

Women's Ministry — led by Leighann McCoy

Discerning and Living God’s Truth
“The truth shall set your free.” Why then is it that so many women participate in Bible study yet continue to live lives of bondage? Discover how learning to love surrender, sacrifice, and submission lead you beyond the workbooks and into genuine Christ-like living.
Worn Out and Weary
Although Scripture warns us “do not grow weary doing good…” we still grow weary. Learn the warning signs for weariness, the antidote to burn-out, and what to do when you get to your wit’s end.
Involving Women in Missions
Why is it so difficult to get women to care about and reach out to those either they don’t know or with whom they have nothing in common? Address possible answers to this question and discuss practical tips on getting women involved in impacting their culture for Christ. A resource packet is given to each conference participant.