Sojourn Network
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Alignment

 
 

Do you want to be a healthy pastor of a thriving church?

 

Sojourn Network can partner with you to help you joyfully lead a thriving church. We know how hard it is to plant a new church. Last year we helped plant 13 new churches and adopted 3 existing churches. Our network family has grown to include 85 churches across the United States. 

 
 
 
 

WHO IS THIS EVENT FOR?

If you are a church planter or an existing church pastor and are interested in learning more about what partnership with Sojourn Network looks like, the Alignment Intensive is for you! Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from and interact with some of our network pastors and staff as we discuss how Sojourn Network seeks to partner with pastors to help them plant thriving churches.


WHAT CAN I EXPECT?

The Alignment Intensive is a great way to experience the leadership and culture of Sojourn Network. We offer a digital (via Zoom) Alignment in March and an in-person Alignment in October, in conjunction with our Leaders’ Summit in October. Both formats aim to answer these questions for your leadership team:

  • Is God leading us to partner with this network of churches? 

  • Do we feel aligned with this network's mission, vision, and values? 

  • Do you believe you can joyfully partner with Sojourn Network to plant thriving churches?  

The advantage of the digital Alignment is there’s no need to pay for travel expenses, which we know can be an obstacle. The advantage of the in-person Alignment in October is that you do get to be with our leadership team in person, so naturally the in-person alignment event is more relational. However, we still desire for you to get to know us during the digital format, so there will be plenty of chances for you to ask questions!


WHAT IS THE REGISTRATION FEE?

The registration fee for the digital event is $50 - you are free to fit as many of your team around a computer screen as you’d like. 

The registration fee for the October in-person Alignment is $125/person, which covers light food on Monday evening, plus breakfast and lunch on Tuesday. It also helps to pay for the network pastors and leaders who will be facilitating the sessions. 

 

What topics will be covered?

“What is Sojourn Network?
What do Sojourn Network churches believe?
What practices and values unify all Sojourn Network churches?
What does partnership with our network look like practically?
What kinds of services and ministries does Sojourn Network offer to its pastors and church planters?
Is Sojourn Network the right home for me and our church?

How can I get the most out of this event?

Here are some resources you can explore to get a deeper understanding of the network so that you can have a contextual framework prior to the Alignment Intensive. These papers, videos, blog posts and podcasts will give you a flavor or the network, and hopefully help prepare you for the topics covered during the event.


ENJOY THESE SOJOURN NETWORK STORIES…


READ OUR “HOW-TO” BOOKS, PASTORAL PAPERS, AND BLOG…

There’s a growing number of books and papers in our store. These are packed full of helpful content that will also give you an idea of some of the beliefs, values, ministry philosophies and practices that Sojourn Network churches are aiming towards.

Take a read through this blog series by Aaron Gray, lead pastor of Sound City Bible Church, which articulates why their church joined Sojourn Network in 2017.

 

Subscribe & Listen to This Is Sojourn Network.


Everyone has a family. And every family has a story. This Is Sojourn Network is a podcast that chronicles the journey of a family of pastors and churches through the years and across the country. These conversations are grounded in real relationships and demonstrate how the collaboration we share with each other in the gospel can transcend culture, distance, and even death. This is our family. We invite you in. It’s little, and broken, and beautiful. This is Sojourn Network.

 
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Frequently Asked Questions

 

Is this a good event to bring my wife to?

Yes!


Will there be childcare?

No.


What is included in my registration?

The registration fee covers light food on Friday evening at the Hangout, plus breakfast and lunch on Saturday. It also helps us pay for the network pastors and leaders who will be leading the sessions and facilitating the weekend.


How does the Alignment Intensive help potential church planters?

In our experience of working with church planters who are exploring both a call to ministry and church planting, as well as exploring the right network partner, we found that we needed something to serve these men and their families in between the “exploring” phase and the “assessment” phase so they could:

  1. gain clarity on the life and mission of a church planter;

  2. self-evaluate their call to ministry and church planting;

  3. understand that vocational church planting is not something to embark on without great consideration;

  4. provide a venue for early conversations that help direct a potential planter and his family on the right path towards planting a new church.







Do I have to be a member of a Sojourn Network church to attend the Alignment Intensive?


No. The Alignment Intensive is meant to serve prospective church planters and existing church pastors both in and outside our network of churches who are interested in learning more about partnership.


Where does the Alignment Intensive fall in Sojourn Network’s church planting process?

Attending the Alignment Intensive is the first phase of our church planting process. Attendees who are both ready to plant a church and who have strong alignment with Sojourn Network will be encouraged with appropriate next steps.


Does attendance at the Alignment Intensive guarantee my acceptance into Sojourn Network?

Attending the Alignment Intensive should help answer the question: are you a good fit for the network, and are we the right network for you? The goal of this event is to help identify potential planters and pastors that are aligned with our beliefs and values who can then move on towards a more formal assessment process. Likely, this will not be the case for everyone. If, after the Alignment Intensive event, both parties feel like the network is a good fit, then we’ll extend an invitation to the next phase of the process, called Assessment.