Every year at Exponential, we take advantage of the fact that so many incredible church planters and leaders of church planting churches and organizations are gathered together to capture videos that we use for the rest of the year to talk about church planting. I love being nearby as those videos are made not simply because I love hearing people passionate about church planting talking about church planting. I certainly love that, but the real reason I love watching these videos get filmed is because every single one of them has bursts of laughter.

In the church planting experience, risk and the anxiety that comes with it run rife. The pressures of fundraising, crafting a vision, forming discipleship strategies, developing lay leaders and new staff, finding a location, pulling trailers, and preaching every Sunday are real. Much of the time, they are exciting (well, except maybe the pulling of trailers, which in my experience is never exciting.) However, sometimes, all those pressures feel like a weighted jacket.

At Exponential, you’ll find yourself in rooms that are full of people that understand the weight of that jacket. Many of them have worn it or are still wearing it themselves. And because of that, they know just the right things to say or do to help you take the jacket off and put it aside for a few minutes. And when you get that deep breath of unweighted air, it gets really, really easy to laugh.

Last year at Exponential, we captured hours of footage of people talking about their church plants and their experience with Stadia’s services, but the video I will remember most, and for the rest of my life was a church planting couple cracking each other up and filling several minutes of film with guffaws. Seriously, guffaws. Our Videographer, Alex, was tearing up and holding his side. Our Marketing Manager, Josie, couldn’t read her notes to move on to the next question. Guffaws!

We need that. There are so many books and podcasts out there to tell us how to develop leaders, write sermons, meet our community’s needs, find a location, craft a vision, and yes, even pull trailers. What I think we need more of is connecting with people who are experiencing the same excitement and the same pressures we are. We need a place to be with people who understand our situation. We need to laugh – sometimes, we need to guffaw.

Since 2013, Exponential has been that place for me, and for years before that, it has been that place for many other people. Combine that with exceptional teaching, opportunities to network with thousands of other leaders, a few free meals, and warm Orlando winter weather, and you have something not to miss.

In 2020, Stadia Church Planting is hosting hundreds of church planters and church planting leaders at the Rosen Plaza during Exponential. Don’t miss on this opportunity to learn, share, commiserate, and most importantly, guffaw.

Prices for hotel rooms and Exponential tickets are the lowest you will find, but they are going to go up on November 4, so act now!!

(PS – Here are some outtakes from those videos I mentioned. I’m not kidding. Guffaws.)