Mars Hill Church donates 10 percent of its general income to the Acts 29 Network, a church-planting organization based out of Mars Hill. I serve as its director and as a pastor at Mars Hill Church. Acts 29 has over 120 member churches in North America, and seven internationally. Acts 29 seeks to start church-planting churches that collaboratively promote the Gospel with a vision for the entire city or region through the local church. Acts 29 provides church-planting boot camps four times a year around the country and in foreign countries--including DR Congo and Thailand--and a pastors' conference in India. At each Acts 29 church-planting boot camp, some participants complain that they do not receive pragmatic methodology and "how-to" steps. These are the men who may be looking for easy answers and a quick fix to a mission reserved for the pastors with strong character, competence, and calling. Church planting is not for those who are fearful of mankind or those who are weak in character. It is the aim of Acts 29 boot camps to provide a theological compass that will guide the church planter and pastor with the tools necessary to lead their church according to the Gospel. The reasons why we do not dictate methodology in our church plants:

1. We believe first that theology drives method.
2. God's methods determine ours.
3. The Gospel both enables and informs our participation in God's purposes.
4. Faithfulness to the Gospel--not results--must be our measure of success.

Our church planting boot camps are always open to all people and are beneficial to all church leaders. The next boot camp will be in Chicago January 29-30 on the campus of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS). "Chicago at the end of January?" you ask, doubting our sanity. I told you: church planting is not for wimps. Scheduled to speak: Mark Driscoll, Ed Stetzer, Mark Dever, and Darrin Patrick. I will provide a final session to help everyone appreciate the quality of the other communicators! We are thrilled to have Mark Dever participate in his first boot camp with us. He is the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church and founder of 9Marks Ministries. His book, The Deliberate Church, is extremely helpful for building a church on the Gospel. In the chapter "Looking for a Few Good Men," Dever talks about the necessary courage of a church pastor and his ability to stand up against the pressures of the culture--including the evangelical church culture. No wimps are allowed to pastor a church. Register for the Chicago Acts 29 Boot Camp.