Whether here in the United States or abroad, Sovereign Grace Ministries is committed to church planting as the primary means of advancing the Great Commission. We've established 30 new churches since 2000, and more than 750 members of our churches have participated in church-planting teams in that time.

While we're deeply encouraged by this growth, a lot of work remains to be done. That's why in March we are hosting Plant!, a new conference designed to equip pastors and church members to engage in the gospel work of planting new churches. If you've ever wondered how you can participate in taking the gospel to new neighborhoods or new nations, please join us!

Watch the video below for more information, and keep in mind that everyone who registers between now and December 12 will be entered in a drawing for a free iPad. 

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At our Pastors Conference earlier this month, Curt "Voice" Allen performed the rap he wrote about Kevin DeYoung's book on the Heidelberg Catechism. Kevin and C.J. Mahaney, who challenged Curt to write the song at Next 2010, are in the front row. (Curt is a pastor at Solid Rock Church in Riverdale, Maryland.)

In the coming weeks we will also post video of several pastors' testimonies that were shared at the conference.

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We've planned the topics, invited the speakers, booked the venue, negotiated down the hotel rates (free wifi!), and even lined up a concert with Shane & Shane for you. 

Registration opened this morning. Your move.

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Last weekend Jerry Bridges gave six messages and a Q&A at Sovereign Grace Church (Fairfax, VA), all of which are available to download at their Jerry Bridges Roundup page (seminar outlines are also available as PDFs).

Interested in joining a church plant near Charleston, South Carolina? Sovereign Grace Church of the Lowcountry, an upcoming church plant in Summerville, has posted the schedule for their next four monthly meetings at their website.

For those of you in the East Lansing area, C.J. Mahaney is speaking at University Reformed Church tomorrow (we'll post a link to the audio next week).

Thank you to everyone who prayed for our Pastors Conference. We have received a number of encouraging testimonies from it over email, and pastors from these churches have posted reflections as well: Covenant Fellowship Church (Glen Mills, PA), CrossWay Community Church (Charlotte, NC), Grace Community Church (Ashburn, VA), Sovereign Grace Church of Orange County (CA), and Sovereign Grace Fellowship (Bloomington, MN).

How loud is too loud? Dave Wilcox, Covenant Life’s Technical Director, answered some questions about the church's sound system management that might be helpful for other sound techs. 

Steve Bice, a pastor at Sovereign Grace Fellowship (Bloomington, MN), shared his story of joining Sovereign Grace at our Pastors Conference. The audio is now available on the church's blog.

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A helpful follow-up on the Pastors Conference from Bob Kauflin:

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of leading the worship in song at the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors Conference. It was a wonderfully full schedule, which resulted in us singing primarily at the night sessions. On Wednesday night it was a joy to lead with my son, Devon, and the Na Band. On the last night, we were led by  Tom Fluharty, a member of Sovereign Grace Church in Minneapolis, MN, and a brilliant illustrator. Here’s what we sang:

Tuesday PM
We Sing (Sczebel/Sczebel/Twining) - from Sons & Daughters
How Great is Your Faithfulness (Redman/Myrin) - from We Shall Not Be Shaken
Psalm 62 (My Soul Finds Rest in God Alone) (Keyes/Townend) - fromNot Guilty Anymore
Completely Done (Baird/Baird/Gunderlock) - from Sons & Daughters
O Church Arise (Getty/Townend) - from In Christ Alone

Wednesday AM
Come Thou Fount - Trad. hymn
His Forever (Pat Sczebel) - from Worship God Live

Wednesday PM
How Great is Your Faithfulness
The Father’s Love (Joel Sczebel) - from Sons & Daughters
Greatest of All (Pat Sczebel) - from Sons & Daughters
Jesus I My Cross Have Taken (Bill Moore) - recorded by Enfield
Revelation Song (Jennie Lee Riddle)
All I Have is Christ (Jordan Kauflin) - from Next Live 2009

Thursday AM
Jesus, Thank You (Pat Sczebel) - from Worship God Live
Let Your Kingdom Come (Bob Kauflin) - from Valley of Vision

Thursday PM
Oh the Deep, Deep Love - Trad. hymn
Oh, What Grace (Zach Jones) - from Fuse
And Can it Be - Trad. hymn
What Wondrous Love is This - Trad. hymn
I Bow Down (Steve & Vikki Cook) - from Everlasting

Charts for Sovereign Grace songs are available for free at the Sovereign Grace store.

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On November 22 we'll be opening up registration for Next 2011. Next is about faithfully holding fast to the gospel and passing it on to those coming after us, and this year's focus will be to answer the question, "How does Christ transform the way I look at the world?" 

General session speakers including D.A. Carson, R.C. Sproul, and Kevin DeYoung will be addressing that question from a number of angles, and a small army of professionals will be leading specialized breakouts for people who work (or want to work) in government, the arts, science, law, journalism, and more. See the schedule for details. 

Below is the Next 2011 promotional video. Take a look, and feel free to post it on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter if you'd like to help us spread the word! We'll keep you posted next week when registration opens.

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In 2008, C.J. preached a sermon titled "Don't Waste Your Sports" that provided a biblical worldview of sports and answered the question, "How do we play sports for God’s glory and not our own?"  We've had it available as a DVD since then, and the response from athletes, coaches, and parents has been encouraging. Now the same content is available in a pocket-sized booklet (just slightly larger than an iPhone), with the addition of two sets of application questions: one for athletes, and a second for parents of athletes. 

The booklets are now on sale individually ($4) and in bulk discounts ($3 each for orders of twelve or more). For more information on the booklet, to download the sermon MP3, or to watch the sermon video, visit dontwasteyoursports.com.

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It's been another busy week around our family of churches. Some highlights:

• Sovereign Grace Church Sydney shared another recent baptism story on their blog.
• The Covenant Fellowship blog reports on a medical mission trip to Uganda. Over one week, 20 professionals from ten churches worked with 1,850 patients. Also during the trip, "Sunday service...brought together congregations from Kiburara Gospel Center and the three churches it has planted in the last ten years in the surrounding communities."
• Dave Taylor shared some reflections on our Pastors Conference
• The Crossway blog posted an article by Dave Harvey, "Rescuing Ambition for the Workplace" (PDF link at the end of the blog post).
• The website for Next 2011 launched with details about the conference. We'll post more details when registration opens later this month.

Finally, Andy Alonso, the photographer for our Pastors Conference, put together this slideshow from his collection. Enjoy!

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C.J. Mahaney recently contributed a chapter to the book For the Fame of God’s Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper. The publisher generously allowed us to post C.J.’s chapter, “The Pastor and the Trinity,” online for free.

The chapter is an exposition of 2 Corinthians 13:14, an easy-to-ignore passage that Gordon Fee calls “in many ways…the most profound theological moment in the Pauline corpus.” C.J. endeavors to help pastors care for their churches by daily applying the grace of the Savior, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

The chapter is posted in eleven parts on C.J.’s blog, and you can read the whole thing here.

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For a Spanish version of this announcement, click here.

The newest release from Sovereign Grace Music is intended to serve Spanish churches: Allí en la Cruz (There at the Cross). A free download of track 2, “Somos Tus Hijos,” is available at our music site, SovereignGraceMusic.org.

All ten songs on the album are in Spanish—and not just translations; they were written in Spanish for Spanish-speaking churches. The lyrics focus on the gospel, our need for Christ, God’s character, God’s Word, and our faith-filled response. As with all our music, our goal was to produce songs for congregational worship, characterized by biblical truth and consuming passion that honors God. Several of the songs were written by Mauricio Velarde, a member of Iglesia Gracia Soberana de Gaithersburg, and were first sung at that church’s Sunday meetings.

And last month, we were very happy to learn that Worship Leader Magazine included the album in the top five Spanish releases in their annual “Best of the Best” issue.

Because our primary goal is to serve churches and worship leaders, we’ve made the album as inexpensive as we can—and the sheet music is free. You can…

• purchase the downloadable album ($7.00)
• purchase the CD ($10.00)
• download sheet music (free)
• purchase accompaniment tracks: downloads ($6.00) or CD ($8.00)

And for even more about the music, here are four short videos produced by Bob Kauflin and others behind the album.

The story behind Allí en la Cruz

Bob Kauflin explains how the album began and introduces Mauricio Velarde, who wrote and sang much of the music:

 

How English speaking churches can use Allí en la Cruz

Pastors of English-speaking churches, you can still use this album:

 

How the songs on Allí en la Cruz developed

Producer, songwriter, and singer Mauricio Velarde on the songwriting process:

 

“Somos Tus Hijos” (“We Are Your Children”)

Behind the scenes of the album’s production, including a cameo appearance by intern and co-producer John Behrens, and the only known footage of Bob Kauflin playing the accordion:

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Nueva música para iglesias de habla Hispana

El último lanzamiento de Sovereign Grace Music tiene como propósito el servir a iglesias Hispanas: Allí en la Cruz. Un descargue gratis de la segunda canción, “Somos Tus Hijos,” está disponible en nuestro sitio de música, SovereignGraceMusic.org.

Todas de las doce canciones en el álbum son en español—y no son solo traducciones del inglés; fueron escritas en español para las iglesias de habla hispana. Las letras se enfocan en el evangelio, nuestra necesidad de Cristo, el carácter de Dios, la Palabra de Dios, y nuestra respuesta en fe. Como con toda nuestra música, nuestro objetivo era el de producir canciones para la adoración en congregación, caracterizada por verdades bíblicas y una pasión consumidora que honra a Dios. Muchas de las canciones fueron escritas por Mauricio Velarde, un miembro de la Iglesia Gracia Soberana de Gaithersburg, y estas fueron cantadas primero en las reuniones de los domingos de esa iglesia.

Y el mes pasado, nos dió gusto el enterarnos que Worship Leader Magazine incluyó al álbum en los cinco grandes lanzamientos Hispanos en su revista anual “Lo Mejor de lo Mejor” (“Best of the Best”).

Porque nuestra meta primordial es la de servir a iglesias y a sus líderes de adoración, hemos hecho que el álbum sea lo menos costoso posible—y las láminas musicales son gratis. Tú puedes…

• comprar el álbum para descargar ($7.00)
• comprar el CD ($10.00)
• descargar las láminas musicales (gratis)
• comprar las pistas de acompañamiento: para descargar ($6.00) o el álbum ($8.00)

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