I just spent half a day with some of the greatest “dudes and dudesses” this side of heaven. I passed through Chicago on my way to Nashville and stopped off to talk a little and listen a lot to a bunch of “barbarians” committed to reaching folks in the inner cities of America. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 70% of American people live in urban areas. America’s urban centers are complex cultures comprised of a diversity of ethnicities and preferences. Ministry in these fast pace places is not for the feint of heart! These folks are all battle hardened on the outside but soft hearted on the inside. They are the definition of revolutionaries on a mission with God.

US Missionaries Tim and Sharon Thomas were the catalysts behind this get together. They were helped by great team members David and Marie Robinson who have been life long friends of the Thomas’s. Tim was also assisted by his daughter Andrea, son Cory and his wife Tammy, along with Jay Covert and Scott Marcinec (I hope I didn’t forget anyone, but I know you guys will forgive me if I did!).

The list of attendee’s reads like an Assemblies of God Inner City Ministries Hall of Fame. Craig McGee, church planter, Memphis, Tennessee; Richard Smith, urban ministry veteran extraordinaire from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brian Bolt and his wife were there from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania…the Bolt’s are a daughter church of Allison Park AG where Jeff Leake is Pastor; Jim Hall, US Missionary who directs Urban Bible Training Centers and specializes in one on one discipleship strategies; David Bienneman, church planter who currently resides in Chicago, but is headed to Harlem; Jessica Norman, recent North Central graduate with a degree in Urban Studies; Ed Ackerman, inner city church planting in San Antonio, Texas; Darrell Chapman, ministry friend of Jay Covert, East Saint Louis, Illinois; Ben and Rachael Marcelos (sorry Ben and Rachael if I’ve spelled your names incorrectly…in fact, I apologize to ANY of you guys for misspelled names), inner city church planters in Kansas City, Missouri; Brian and Heidi Nicholson, inner city planters in Indianapolis, Indiana; Jay Covert, legendary East St. Louis, Illinois planter, Chris Delaurentis, whose heart is so big he and his wife Monica are wrapping their arms around two cities…Minneapolis and Chicago; Scott and Ester Marcinec, church planting in East Chicago; Tim and Sharon Thomas, 17 year Chicagoland veterans and multiple church church planters; and last but not least Zollie Smith, current Executive Director of U.S. Missions and a guy who loves reaching folks in the inner city and has planted a church in the inner city himself! And then there was me.

Being with this collection of characters reminded me of the old Sesame Street song, “Which of these things is not like the others?” and of the course the answer would be me. But these Kingdom hearted folks have adopted me as their friend and I’m really honored by that. I shared with them some of my thoughts on incarnational planting and let them know that I think the Lord is using them to help us all figure out what “church next” is going to look like! Please remember to pray for these friends who serve out on the edge!

For the past two days, I’ve had the privilege of being part of a truly historic event…the Southern California/Southern SPLAD District BootCamp. Historic because…
1. This is the first time we’ve used our new “Version 3.0″ BootCamp material.
2. This is our first BootCamp held in Southern California.
3. This is our first BootCamp with four training rooms (two English language and two Spanish language) working through the material concurrently!

Just so you know…PLAD stands for Southern Pacific Latin American District. And Southern California refers to the Southern California District. Thanks to Ray Rachels and Dr. Sergio Navarrete for their visionary partnership to make these events possible. A huge thanks to US Missionaries Steve and Becky Preston and David and Doris Godwin for their hard work to ensure that all the logistical details were covered!

Altogether we’ve got over 120 participants and although I don’t have their feedback forms yet, the direct feedback they’ve shared with me is that they are finding BootCamp to be a valuable experience! I believe this is the 71st BootCamp we’ve done somewhere in the United States. Several have also been conducted in other nations. It’s a privilege to be part of this excellent event that prepares leaders to launch vigorous new churches and lead existing churches toward health.

Here are some more pictures from the SoCal event…

This past Sunday I spoke at Covina Assembly of God where John Johnson is the pastor. You can click here to listen to his sermons. He is a great leader and this is an awesome church in every way. They are committed to multiply themselves through every means possible in every possible way and in every possible place! Bob Roberts would say they are a “Glocal” church-harvesting in their neighborhood with a heart for the whole world.

Here’s a picture of me with John. John has been at Covina Assembly for 8 years. When he came, the church was predominantly “Anglo” and did not reflect the ethnic diversity of its neighborhood. Today, the church is a wonderful mix of the nations all worshiping together in unity. It’s really an incredible experience to be there!

Covina AG is also serving as the host church for our first ever Southern California/Southern Pacific Latin District BootCamp. More on the BootCamp in my next post!