Chris Willard has more than 30 years of experience in ministry leadership. He served as the executive pastor of Discovery Church in Orlando, FL. During his tenure there, Discovery launched three multi-site venues and experienced a season of unprecedented growth. Discovery was twice named by Outreach Magazine as one of the 100 fastest growing churches in America.

Currently, Chris serves with Leadership Network as Director of Generosity Initiatives and is a Senior Generosity Strategist at Generis. He is the co-author of Contagious Generosity: Creating a Culture of Generosity in Your Church, published by Zondervan. Since 1999, Chris and his wife Susan have been on the national speaking team for FamilyLife's Weekend to Remember marriage getaway, providing encouragement, hope, and practical tools to build and grow marriages and families.

Chris and Susan have three young adult children and live in Orlando, FL.

SESSIONS

PRE-CONFERENCE: Collaborate: Working Together to Advance the Church – Hosted by Leadership Network
In this Exponential Pre-Conference, hosted by Leadership Network, you will collaborate with trusted thought-leaders in the Church, discover new insights, and develop implementation pathways that will help you advance your capacity to pursue the Great Collaboration. Topics covered: Deploying Church Online, Multiplying Leaders through Discipleship, Becoming a Data-Informed Leader, Removing the Leadership Lid, Unleashing the Wisdom of Team, Funding the Vision, and Releasing Your People – Faith and Work. More details for this pre-con here.
Day / Time: Monday 1:00pm – 5:00pm and Tuesday 8:00am – 11:30am
Location: Faith Hall - Room 301B

Workshop Session 1: Pre-Launch Fundraising — Getting Started on the Right Financial Footing
You decided to plant a church, and you were so excited about it until you remembered you are going to have to raise the funds. Is there anything more daunting than raising support for a church that doesn't yet exist? Pre-launch is one of the most important phases of a church plant. It is extremely important to line up funding for your church plant so you will be able to make it through the first 18 months, a time when the offerings of your church will likely not be sufficient to cover the costs of ministry. In this workshop we will focus on the fundamentals of success in the pre-launch phase. There are few other factors more tied to launching well and sustaining growth than getting started on strong financial footing. Join us to learn practical tools for launching well!
Time: Tuesday, 2:30 – 3:30pm
Location: Tent 12
Speakers: Chris Willard and Julie Bullock

Workshop Session 2: Building a Culture of Generosity Post-Launch
Your church now has real people who are showing up on a weekly basis and they are beginning to give. You are still making ends meet from the support you raised in the pre-launch and launch phases, but you know you have to work on a plan to become self-sustaining as a body and on discipling your givers. What does that look like? How do you navigate the challenges? This session will focus on post-launch funding as well as continuing to nourish your givers as they grow in their giving.
Time: Wednesday, 8:45 – 9:45am
Location: Tent 12
Speakers: Chris Willard and Julie Bullock

Session 4: Funding the Vision
Understand different types of givers and giving trends to better invite your people to collaborate in resourcing the ministry.
Time: Thursday, 8:45 – 9:45am
Location: Faith Hall - Room 301B
Speaker: Chris Willard

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