November 2022

“I Am Going Back Changed”
Global Leaders Gather at Pastor Renewal Retreat

“A unique and wonderful moment that God arranged—and we were privileged to be part of it.” That’s how Tim Innes, vice president of global ministry, reflected on the Pastor Renewal Retreat at the Billy Graham Training Center at the The Cove in September.

Church leaders representing 13 countries and more than 300,000 congregations, traveling from Africa, India, the Middle East, Latin America, the Philippines, and Malaysia, all gathered together for three days in North Carolina for a time of connection, rest, and training.

“We wanted to provide these brothers and sisters with a few days of ministry, encouragement, and refreshment,” Tim said. “From the moment they arrived, the Living on the Edge team wanted to extend love and care to these special friends. Our purpose is to serve and support them as co-laborers.”

The leaders were also introduced to Chip Ingram’s training content, appropriately named The High Impact Church, with the goal of each pastor deploying the content in their respective region in 2023. “We viewed this as a ‘think tank,’ an opportunity for these leaders to interact with this material, evaluate it, and begin the process of adapting it to their cultures and settings,” Tim said.

Throughout the retreat, these leaders expressed a sense that this was timely material and a message urgently needed in their churches.

“God used the pandemic and the painful circumstances around it to help us reach out to these leaders quickly during a season when they were desperate for help,” Tim said. “We believe that God orchestrated these connections and that the disciple-making emphasis of The High Impact Church will transform hundreds of thousands of people’s lives in the days ahead.”

An unexpected blessing of the retreat was interacting with Rev. Father Joseph Mutie, the chairman of the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya and general secretary of the Organization of African Instituted Churches. Because of his connections and influence, two pastors struggling to secure their visas to travel to this conference reached out to him for assistance. Father Mutie was happy to help them and asked about the event they planned to attend. When they told him they’d be attending the Pastor Renewal Retreat, he asked if he might join them.

A leader in the Coptic Orthodox Churches throughout Africa, Father Mutie is highly respected throughout a network of 60,000 congregations.

“Father Mutie’s humility and kindness endeared him to so many at the conference,” Tim said. He enjoyed visiting with people, meeting Chip, and learning.

“Thank you for allowing me to come,” Father Mutie said to Tim when getting into his airport shuttle. “This is the most rest I have experienced in many years.” He went on to share that he received a clear word from God regarding his future ministry in Kenya.

Rev. Dr. Esther Obasi-ike from Kenya said, “This has been very enriching, very inspiring, and very transformative. I am going back changed and ready to make a difference with my people.”

A Return to Discipleship:
The Ripple Summit

Living on the Edge launched the first-ever Ripple Summit at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, North Carolina, on September 16-18. Participants included 150 influential pastors, denominational leaders, and marketplace leaders. Twenty-two of them were global pastors and church network leaders representing 13 countries. All share a passion for discipleship.

“It was a taste of heaven to be with brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world to connect, collaborate, and worship together,” said one leader.

This Summit was birthed in Chip Ingram’s heart following his back surgery a little over a year ago. “I could only walk for 5 to 10 minutes at a time,” Chip recalled, “and I had many days and hours to think
and pray.”

During this season, Chip became deeply burdened for Jesus’s Church, as he pondered the pain and challenges pastors were facing. He observed that the pandemic had unveiled new levels of disunity, dysfunction, brokenness, and spiritual immaturity in the church.

“After decades of focusing on programs, buildings, budgets, strategies, and conferences seeking to ‘scale’ church attendance and growth,” Chip said, “I was deeply convicted that we have failed our Master’s one last instruction: to Make Disciples.”

According to Chip, “For far too long, we’ve measured ministry effectiveness by how many people are coming to our churches or engaging in our ministries—instead of by what kind of people we’re sending into the world.”

“In times like this,” Chip believes, “God wants to raise up a small group of people with fresh resolve and passion to go back to the basics—to seek His face, join together, and make disciples—and then, little by little, make ripples in their spheres of influence that will change the world.”

This message of being disciples who make disciples permeated the Summit from times of worship, to teaching sessions led by Chip, and breakout sessions with several presenters.

Citing Romans 12:1-2, one Summit participant reflected on her experience. “I must be equipped—by fully surrendering, renewing my mind, and not allowing the
world, the ‘other lover,’ to steal me from God. He must work in me deeply before He will significantly work through me. I am called by God to make disciples. Sometimes I forget that my life rubs off on the people around me, causing a good or bad ripple. As I’m faithful to abide in Christ, God blesses and causes a ripple of growth and fruit.”

Another attendee said, “I am renewed and refreshed and ready to go with new ideas and a deeper conviction that what we do is critical to effectively passing the torch to the next generation.”

Many participants left the Summit with a fresh sense of calling to disciple-making, realizing that God has placed them among people ripe and ready to grow in Christ.

“I signed a blank check, handed it to the Lord, and told Him I would go wherever He leads, and disciple whomever He directs me to,” said one participant. A pastor who had attended the Summit said, “I’m arranging my early mornings—my best time—to give Him priority over any other thing I might think or do, so that my mind can be renewed and sensitive to His voice and leading.”

Reflecting on the atmosphere and people who attended the Summit, Chip said, “They were humble, they were hungry, they had a bias to action, they were teachable, and they were passionate to put things into practice. People at Ripple told me they felt loved, refreshed, encouraged, and engaged… and that they’re challenged to revise whatever they have to in order to actually make disciples.”

Chip was blown away by the number of influential leaders who attended. “The level of great communicators in the room was just off the charts. They came and loved each other, taught each other, and encouraged each other in beautiful ways.”

“Something special happened at this gathering. God had the freedom to work in profound ways,” he concluded.

We are looking forward to the “ripples” that will be created all over the world through the seeds God planted at the Ripple Summit.

Have a story to share? We’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected].

We Thank God For…

1. Blessing the Disciple Makers conference at The Cove last month.
2. Moving powerfully through The High Impact Church pastor training in Kenya.
3. His faithfulness in the launch of The Real You resource. Thousands of believers are engaging with this new tool and sharing positive feedback of their experience.

We ask God to…

1. Enable our Atlanta headquarters to be fully restored to full operations after the flood and to keep our building free of mold.
2. Bless The A.R.T of Survival launch in the Dominican Republic to pastors through our partnership with evangelist Mike Silva. Over 100,000 people are expected to attend this festival.
3. Give us and our ministry partners greater deeper trust in God for His faithful financial provision in this season of economic and personal challenge.