Ian McConnell, who helped to revitalize Grace Bible Church in northeast Philadelphia several years ago, will be one of three speakers at Revive & Plant, "a conference seeking to promote the centrality of the gospel in our churches through church planting and revitalization so that the gospel will be advanced through our cities." From the conference website: 

It probably does not surprise anyone that the church in America is struggling for a number of reasons; but, perhaps, the most significant reason is the loss of gospel centrality. However, we have a sure foundation in Jesus who is still building his church. Further, we believe that Jesus through his Spirit is constructing a growing movement that is restoring the gospel to its rightful place within the life of the church. It is through this rediscovery of the gospel that the church is beginning to thrive again. 

There are two ways we see God restoring the gospel to a position of primacy within his church at large: church planting and church revitalization.  Church planting is needed because of the great disparity between the number of churches and current population growth. In addition, it is typically easier to lay a gospel foundation than to try replacing an existing foundation. However, revitalizing dead churches or churches that are not centered on the gospel is necessary too! Though this route is often longer and more difficult, it is absolutely essential if the church is going to recover and grow in maturity.

The conference will be held March 22-23, 2012, in Chesapeake, Virginia. Visit the conference website to view the schedule or register ($25 for individuals, $35 for married couples).

Sunday marked the launch of Sovereign Grace Church of Miami. The plant is led by Jose Prado and was sent out by Palm Vista Community Church (Miami Lakes, FL).

The church meets at 11:00am on Sundays at 7130 SW 30 Road in Miami. You can also follow them on Facebook. 

January 8 was launch Sunday for Redeemer Church (Lake Nona, FL), a plant led by Benny Phillips and sent from Metro Life Church (Casselberry, FL). 

Benny preached a sermon from Mark 1, which you can listen to at their website.

You can follow the church via Facebook or Twitter. They meet at 11221 John Wycliffe Boulevard in Orlando.

If you're interested in submitting written input to Ambassadors of Reconciliation as part of their evaluation of Sovereign Grace Ministries, tomorrow (December 16) is the last day to do so. Use the online feedback form to submit your request by midnight, or send your request directly to mail@hisaor.org.

For more information on this process, see Dave Harvey's original announcement.

If you're interested in requesting an interview with Ambassadors of Reconciliation as part of their evaluation of Sovereign Grace Ministries, today is the last day to do so. Use the online feedback form to submit your request by midnight, or send your request directly to mail@hisaor.org.

For more information on this process, see Dave Harvey's original announcement.

If you’re interested in an in-person interview with Ambassadors of Reconciliation staff at the Pastors Conference next month, please note that the request form closes tonight at midnight.

Also, some have asked if AoR will review all the information they receive regarding SGM, whether or not the information is received through interviews or the AoR forms. This is how Ted Kober answered:

AoR is collecting all information received regarding its work with SGM and plans to review it, keeping in mind what the Scriptures teach such as in Proverbs 18:17: "The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him."  This means that while AoR desires to collect all thoughts and feedback, Scripture indicates that one-sided reports have a more limited value in understanding the entire situation. A one-sided report does not render a perspective unhelpful or unnecessary, just it is limited in what can be derived from it.  

Those who listen to the seminar and complete the AoR forms provided will be better prepared to present their information in a way that will be most helpful to AoR's work for SGM in this process. For those who meet with an AoR Reconciliation Team member (in person or by phone), AoR will have opportunity to speak with those providing input, discuss and ask questions regarding that input, and thus receive better information. For those who agree to meet together with an AoR Team member and a representative from SGM (such as in mediation), AoR's Team will have the best opportunity to understand both sides of the stories presented.

For those of you who want to take part in Group Reconciliation Assistance but can't make it to Gaithersburg, we will provide means for online and telephone participation around November 10.

Everyone who wrote with questions about Group Reconciliation Assistance over the weekend—thank you. Below are answers to two common questions that seem pressing to clarify to all our readers.

Is there a way for me to participate if I can’t attend the seminar?

Yes. This concern came up pretty early in the planning for Group Reconciliation Assistance, so here is what we worked out the following with AOR. For those who want to participate but can’t attend, there will be an alternative option after the Pastors Conference concludes. We will record and publish on this blog the “Getting to the Heart of Conflict” seminar. Those who listen to the seminar online will have an opportunity to complete feedback forms regarding SGM and send them to AOR for inclusion in their review of SGM (similar to the forms that seminar attendees will fill out). People may also indicate in those forms if they desire a phone interview. If a large number of people make this request, AOR will select a sample from them for phone interviews.

Because the interviews are not just for receiving information but also for coaching, AOR prefers to meet in person as much as possible—so we (SGM and AOR) do hope that many people will attend the in-person event and interviews. At the same time, the second option is designed to give others a meaningful way to participate, receive helpful teaching, and provide input for AOR’s review.

Can a single woman participate?

Yes. The uncertainty arose from the portion of Saturday’s blog post that read, “Women may attend an interview together with their husband, or they may request a separate interview with our woman coach.” This was meant to add, not limit, options. I updated the post to read this way instead: “Married women may attend an interview together with their husband, or they may request a separate interview. If a woman (single or married) prefers to be interviewed by a female from AOR’s team of trained conciliators, they can note that on the registration form.” I hope that's more clear for everyone.

Earlier this summer we confirmed plans with Sovereign Grace churches for two church plants: one in Miami, Florida, and another just outside of San Diego, California.

Sovereign Grace Church Miami is being sent out from Palm Vista Community Church, and they plan to have their first service on January 15, 2012. They’ve been thinking hard about how to use a bilingual model to reach both Spanish- and English-speakers in one of the least-churched cities in the country, and we're excited to see how God uses their efforts. If you'd like to know more, you can watch a video with lead pastor Jose Prado at Palm Vista's website or follow their updates via Facebook. 

The church plant near San Diego (in East County) will be sent out in mid-to-late 2012 from Grace Church in San Diego, which also planted Grace Church in Frisco, Texas, several years ago. The lead pastor for the plant is traveling a bit farther, however: Tab Trainor, formerly the senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church (Oswego, IL), is moving to California to lead the team. Tab planted Sovereign Grace Church in 1998 and handed off the senior pastor role to Josh Fenska at the beginning of this month. 

We’re grateful for the faith and sacrifice of these sending churches and the planting teams. And beyond that, we look forward to seeing what role these new churches will play in our shared mission in the future. If you want us to email you when either church is ready to begin public meetings, sign up at our Join a Church Plant page and note your location as being in Miami or San Diego. We will contact you with details when the launch date nears. 

Both of these churches are being assisted by start-up grants via the domestic portion of our annual Mission Fund. If you're a Mission Fund donor, thank you for helping to make these two new churches a reality. They are both a work of partnership among Sovereign Grace churches and would not be happening without your prayers and generosity. 

Last week Dave mentioned that we were putting together a webpage to provide details about and an outline of our independent evaluation process. 

Today I posted an initial version of the page which lists the steps we have taken so far with Ambassadors of Reconciliation. There are several important things we still need to add, but I'm publishing it now so that readers can start submitting related questions and suggestions for improvement. As I get your input I'll update it to answer questions and clarify the most common points of confusion. Many thanks to those of you who suggested this to us!

If you want to find sermon video from Sovereign Grace leaders, the most complete online archive available at present is the Sovereign Grace Ministries Vimeo page. Here are some of the collections we offer there:

• C.J. Mahaney's sermons
• Sermons from Sovereign Grace leaders and conferences
• Mission Presentation videos (updated annually)

The Vimeo archive is still fairly small, so if there are any old sermons you would love to see prioritized as we build it please let us know in a comment on this post. 

We also have a Youtube channel which we use primarily for videos related to Sovereign Grace Music, such as music videos for our songs or training videos for worship leaders.