About the Acts 29 Network
The Village Church is part of the Acts 29 Network. Below is a little bit about Acts 29, our relationship with the network, and what it means for us as a body.
Vision of the Acts 29 Network
The Mission of the Acts 29 Network is to band together Christian, Evangelical, Missional, and Reformed churches, who, for the sake of Jesus and the gospel, plant churches across the United States and the world.
Acts 29 Network exists to build a unifying and an uncommon alliance of smaller networks to advance the mission of Jesus through church planting churches. We pray that this will lead to millions of changed lives by the power of the gospel. We are planting churches that are missionaries in their respective communities sent by Jesus with the gospel (John 20:21). It is our commitment to focus our efforts on planting multiplying churches and training leaders. We count it an honor to partner with you and to serve you.
Acts 29 is a network of Spirit-empowered pastors following Jesus united with this gospel community of planters on mission to all people groups for the glory of God. If God has called you to plant or replant, apply to Acts 29 and our pastors will shepherd you in that journey. As a member, you will be in relationship with other planters through coaching, training—formally and informally, shepherding, networking, resourcing and funding as we train other men and plant other churches collaboratively.
What is the relationship between Acts 29 and The Village?
Practically, being a member of Acts 29 helps us gather resources, unite in consistent, gospel-centered mission, and grow by shaping and being shaped by other church plants and planting pastors for the sake of God’s kingdom.
What qualifies The Village to be an Acts 29 church?
- Acts 29 churches are actually just churches with approved Acts 29 Lead Pastors.
- The process for Full Membership in Acts 29 begins with gathering a great deal of background information and performing an initial assessment (theology, pastoral counseling and application, personality profile, family life, etc.) of the Lead Planter and his wife (in the case of The Village, Michael and Kim Graham) to confirm their call to plant.
- If approved after the initial assessment, they are then formally assessed at an Acts 29 Bootcamp by a panel of more experienced Acts 29 pastors. (Roughly half of the planters assessed at the Bootcamps are declined altogether.)
- If the Lead Planter is affirmed after this full review, he becomes a Candidate within Acts 29 and is given a set of conditions based upon his current situation, strengths, and weaknesses (e.g., gather a core group of 40 committed adults, enter into a coaching relationship with a current Acts 29 pastor, read some books, submit preaching samples, etc.).
- Once these conditions are met, the Lead Planter will then be recommended for full membership by the coaching pastor and the original assessment team.
What are The Village's responsibilities as an Acts 29 church?
- We must give 10% of our internal income to church planting, including 1% to Acts 29 directly.
- The beauty of this is that each church is given the freedom to support church plants horizontally as it sees fit, rather than having to give money vertically to a central Acts 29 fund, which would then have to be reallocated back down to local church plants.
- We must be led by a plurality of qualified male elders.
- We must uphold the theological framework that is shared throughout the Acts 29 Network.
What are the benefits of Acts 29 membership for The Village?
- The most important aspect of Acts 29 is the training, equipping and coaching that is readily available to us. -The City: an extensive network of forums for Acts 29 pastors and staff to share ideas, struggles, documents, etc.-Support & Accountability: Each Acts 29 pastor has to establish an Elder Advisory Team that invests in and keeps him accountable.-Free Resources: Acts 29 pastors gain access to books, blogs, articles, etc.-Partnership: An opportunity to partner with like-minded churches who can support each other.
- Promotion via www.acts29network.org.
- Annual Lead Pastors & Wives Retreat: All expenses paid trip to Vail Colorado for Lead Pastors and wives to get away and renew vision, clarity, challenge, and to generally be re-energized for the burden of ministry.
Is there any type of hierarchy to the Network?
In short: no. There is accountability, but this accountability is typically horizontal (pastor-to-pastor) rather than hierarchical from the top-down. As a non-profit, there is a governing body of individuals including the Director, Scott Thomas, Mark Driscoll, Ed Stetzer, Matt Chandler, and other qualified men.
