Chesapeake Hosts Church Planting Conference

Over 70 church leaders gathered at the Double Tree Hotel in Columbia, Md., on Nov. 19 for Chesapeake Conference’s annual church planting conference, “Seeds Vision.” The attendees represented 20 congregations in the Chesapeake and Allegheny East conferences. 

The event was held in partnership with the North American Division Evangelism Institute (NADEI) as part of Chesapeake Conference’s ongoing “35 by 25” initiative, which aims to plant 35 new churches in the conference by 2025. The conference is currently halfway toward meeting its goal.

Featured speakers included Alexander Bryant, president of the North American Division, Tim Madding, director of NADEI, and Bledi Leno, multiethnic ministries director for the Greater New York Conference.

“We know from the data that the best way to move the mission forward is to plant churches,” Bryant said during the opening remarks of his sermon.

In addition to the presentations, attendees were allocated discussion time to reflect and share takeaways for their local ministry context. During breaks, several attendees studied maps to identify possible locations for new churches.

“It was exciting to see a room full of people passionate about church planting and reaching the unentered areas,” says David Klinedinst, Chesapeake Conference evangelism and church growth director.