Michael Goheen Bio

Dr. Mike Goheen occupies the Geneva Chair of Worldview and Religious Studies at Trinity Western University, and is a Teaching Fellow in Mission at Regent College, Vancouver. A long-time pastor, worldwide lecturer, and author, he speaks and writes on mission and worldview for folk in many different confessional traditions. He lives with his wife of 32 years, Marnie, in Burnaby, British Columbia, and has four married adult children and three grandchildren. His favourite activity is playing with his grandchildren and working out daily to keep up the stamina to do so!

• Church of the Cross - Peoria, AZ
• Ekklesia - Gilbert, AZ
• Imago Dei - Phoenix, AZ
• Kineo - Phoenix, AZ
• Life Connection Church - Phoenix, AZ
• Missio Dei Communities - Tempe, AZ
• Mosaic - Peoria, AZ
• New Valley Church - Chandler, AZ
• Old Town Bible -Scottsdale, AZ
• Roosevelt Community Church - Phoenix, AZ
• Redemption Church - Phoenix, AZ
• Revolution - Tucson, AZ

That is what “Surge” is.  It is an attempt to Surge the Valley with transformational leaders committed to living out the mission of God and committed to their local church.

Laboring for a Surge in Phoenix,

Tyler Johnson on behalf of the Surge Leadership Team

Kind words form our friends:

I am thankful for the leaders of Surge and their heart to thoroughly equip leaders, pastors and planters for the sake of the Gospel work in the greater Phoneix area. It’s a humble privilege for me to be able to serve alongside these men in this work as a guest equipper.”

-Jeff Vanderstelt

Surge is the best leadership training program I have seen. I appreciate its combination of biblical faithfulness, theological rigor and ecclesial relevance. I wish we had a Surge program in Vancouver to train leaders for our churches.

-Dr. Michael Goheen

Surge is a valuable training resource. Surge is a well balanced combination of “classroom and laboratory” training. Participants are exposed the world’s best thinkers and at the same time they benefit from interactive discussion with their peers. The Surge is an effective tool for preparing faithful men.

– Tom Shrader

Dr. Larry Osborne
Larry Osborne has served as a Senior Pastor and Teaching Pastor at North Coast Church since 1980. He has helped oversee the growth of the church from a fledgling group of 128 meeting in a rented school, to a multi-site ministry that reaches nearly 7,000 in weekend attendance.
Larry is also an author and a nationally recognized trainer of pastors. His books include STICKY CHURCH: Slamming the Back Door Shut, 10 DUMB THINGS SMART CHRISTIANS BELIEVE, SPIRITUALITY FOR THE REST OF US and THE UNITY FACTOR: Developing A Healthy Leadership Team. He travels extensively speaking at conferences and mentoring pastors and church planters across the country. His latest book, STICKY TEAMS, was released by Zondervan in April 2010.
In addition to his work as a pastor and writer, Larry also serves as an adjunct professor in the doctoral program at Trinity Evangelical Seminary and as president of the North Coast Training Network – an arm of North Coast Church dedicated to helping pastors across the country maximize their ministry.
North Coast Church has been recognized as one of the ten most influential churches in America as well as one of the most innovative. Pioneers in the use of Video Worship Venues, North Coast launched the first ever Video Venue in 1998, starting what is now known in ministry circles as the “Multi-Site Movement.” Each weekend, North Coast offers over 20 different worship options on multiple campuses – each targeted at a specific demographic or geographic audience.
North Coast Church’s Sermon-Based Small Groups take the weekend sermon and dig deeper into its application with a participation rate of 80% of the weekend adult attendance. It’s a model that has spread across the nation as churches discover its power to both disciple and slam the back door shut.
The church also has an extensive community outreach, averaging nearly two service projects a day throughout the year. In 2007 and 2008, they closed the doors for the largest weekend of service ever held by a single church. During a 48 hour span, over 5,000 members from North Coast Church fanned across the community to complete nearly 100 projects and over $1,000,000 in finished work.
Larry holds both a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctorate from Talbot Theological Seminary. He and his wife Nancy live in Oceanside. They have three grown children.

Bob Moffitt is president of the Harvest Foundation and cofounder of the Disciple Nations Alliance. For over thirty years he has developed and directed Christian organizations designed to encourage and enable Christians to demonstrate God’s love, especially to broken people and their communities. He writes and teaches curricula designed to enable lay Christians to live out their faith in practical terms, particularly in the context of their local churches. He and his wife, Judy, live in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bob’s Books -
God’s Unshakable Kingdom
The Worldview of the Kingdom of God
God’s Remarkable Plan for the Nations

Bob spoke at our Surge lunch on April 6th.  We have attached a PDF of Bob’s notes, if you would like to download, Click Here.

Surge Network is excited to partner with Acts 29 to bring Phoenix it’s first boot camp.  Acts 29 Boot Camps are church planting conferences open to the public that focus on the vision of church planting, calling of the planter, mandate to multiply churches and the theological foundation for gospel-centered church planting. The Phoenix Boot Camp will be hosted by Praxis Church in Phoenix, AZ

Boot Camp Location:

Praxis Church
2150 E. Southern Ave. Tempe, AZ 85282
Phoenix, AZ

Speakers:

- Wayne Grudem – “Theology and the Surge”
- Darrin Patrick – “Leadership and the Surge”
- Jeff Vanderstelt – “The Gospel and the Surge”
- Matt Carter – “Mission and the Surge”
- Scott Thomas – “Networks and the Surge”
- Justin Anderson – “Leadership Development/Preaching and the Surge”
- David Kinnaman – “The Future and the Surge”

Cost:  $149

For registration and more information, click here.

Identify support. Recurring givers and faithful members are the lifeblood of any church, and it’s no different for a church plant. Before setting any kind of budget it’s critical to gain a good understanding of the amount of financial support you’ll start with as well as a reasonable assessment of the amount that can be counted on regularly each month. Both one-time gifts and recurring tithes are important. Don’t be afraid to ask for money from the people who have it. The money in determines the money out.

Set priorities. As a new planter there are really only two major things you can spend your money on—salary or rent. A new planter needs to ask what will create the most value for the church. Is it vital for you as the planter to be supported with a full salary, or is it more important to use your funds on a meeting space and take a part time salary—or none at all?

Be conservative. There are few things more stressful for a new church planter than running out of money and having to change everything or close up shop. Build savings into your budget. Even if it’s a small amount each month, building in savings into the budget from the get-go is extremely important. If there’s a month or two when a few people forget to give and income doesn’t quite meet the expenses, you’ll still be ok. You may have to have some uncomfortable conversations with your members, but the church isn’t going to shut down.

Set a culture of generosity. If the leaders and the church exemplify generous giving, it’s natural that the people will follow. Scripture calls believers towards individual generous giving and sacrificial living. The leaders of the church should boldly proclaim this and not be scared to talk about giving or the church’s financial situation. Plan to give as an organization, and let the people know they’re a part of a generosity cycle that does not end with their giving to the church.

Planting a church is difficult and money is a stressful but important aspect of planting. Remember that God always provides for our needs, and we’re responsible to be good stewards. Spend your money on eternal things.