Planting a church is a challenging task and Acts 29 exists to support the local church as it identifies, raises up and sends out new church planters. On these pages you will find out all you need to know about our assessment process. Follow these quick links for more details:
Acts 29 has developed a set of core competencies that provide a standard against which we assess all church planters and pastors who wish to undergo assessment. Click here to learn more.
Our goal for all church plants is to be healthy, established church-planting churches.
- Acts 29 wants to recruit, assess, and develop new church planters; setting them up for long-term success.
- Acts 29 also wants to partner with existing church plants and churches to facilitate further church planting.
Church planters and churches wishing to join Acts 29 will need to submit to our rigorous assessment processes. Once approved, churches are supported through their planting by the provision of coaching and training resources within the context of their local Networks. Follow the button below to engage further with our assessment process.
The following is an overview of the different stages to our assessment process; Applicant Church, Candidate Church and Member Church:
Initial Application: A short online questionnaire enables us to know whether now is the right time to apply, and whether Acts 29 is the right organization to apply to.
Online Assignments: Successful applicants and applicant churches are then invited to complete a series of online assignments which take around 10/15 hours to complete in total. These assignments vary depending on the selected assessment track.
Phone interview: A telephone interview enables an Acts 29 assessor to get to know and assess the planter or lead pastor and to hear them articulate in person their vision for planting. Here a final decision is made on whether or not to proceed to the Assessment Conference.
Assessment Conference:
- For those on the church planter assessment track, the applicant and their wife (if married) will be invited to attend a two-day Assessment Conference. Through a series of different assessment environments, experienced Acts 29 church planters seek to get alongside applicants, to understand their context and assess their readiness to plant. A full assessment report is then sent to the applicants within 2 weeks.
- For those on the existing church assessment track, the eldership of that church are requested to attend a 1 day Assessment Conference. This will provide an opportunity to learn and engage with Acts 29 both on a global and local network level. An interview will also take place between Acts 29 Assessors and the eldership. This is a two way interview to ensure that Acts 29 is the right home for the church.
There are four potential outcomes:
- Recommended: Ready to plant or join Acts 29.
- Recommended with Conditions: Ready to plant or join Acts 29, subject to some conditions that can be completed within 1 year.
- Potential with Strong Conditions: Not yet ready to plant or Join Acts 29, but has the potential to, subject to strong conditions that can be completed within 2-3 years.
- Not Recommended: Not recommended to plant or join Acts 29.
Each of these outcomes provides planters and churches with valuable feedback and support moving forward.
Planters and Churches that are Recommended or Recommended with Conditions become Candidate churches. Their churches are listed as Candidate churches on our website and planters and elders are to access The City – our online forum for church planting. During the Candidate stage, any conditions set by the assessors are worked on and a coach is often assigned. Once Candidates have completed their conditions and have gathered a minimum number of core team members, they can apply for membership.
As a Member church, the eldership signs the Acts 29 Covenant, which includes a financial commitment to Acts 29 and to church planting in general. As a Member, churches and planters benefit from local and global partnership, training and support.