Discovery Center
A three-step process designed to help new church leaders explore, discern, and discover their calling, readiness, and competency to start a new church.
Is God Preparing You For Something?
Stadia’s Discovery Center can help you discern your own calling, readiness, and competency to be successful as the leader of a new church. Start with us to thrive, grow, & multiply!

The Three-Step Process
Exploration
Am I Called
to Start a Church?
-
- Explore your calling personally and with your community
- Gain beneficial information on your wiring
- Discover your strengths and gifts in ministry
Discernment
Am I and My Family
Ready to Start a Church?
- Examine your personal story
- Receive psychological insights
- Consider your holistic readiness
Discovery
What is My Skill Set?
What is My Next Step?
- Learn about your skills in the context of community
- Align your calling with your competencies and context
- Identify next steps as you consider starting a new church

FAQ
Stadia’s Discovery Event is a 3-day experience through which you will have the opportunity, in the context of community, to explore, demonstrate, strengthen, and be affirmed in your competencies and skills for starting a new church. Below, you will find a list of questions that candidates typically have about the Discovery Event, along with helpful answers to those questions.
Q: Who can participate in a Stadia-hosted Discovery Event?
A: Stadia’s Discovery Center is a three-stage process. The first two stages, Exploration and Discernment, must be completed first. At the end of the Discernment stage, after you have submitted your Discernment Capstone and have completed the Opt-in form for your next steps in Discovery, your complete Discovery folder will be reviewed by a Stadia Discovery team member. This review includes everything you have completed and submitted throughout both the Exploration and Discernment stages. After a review of your Discovery folder, you will be notified of your possible next steps, which may include an invitation to participate in one of Stadia’s upcoming Discovery Events. We are unable to accommodate hosting every potential new-church leader through a Stadia-hosted Discovery Event and therefore, must be selective in extending our invitations.
Q: Is there a cost for participating in the Discovery Event?
A: There is no cost or fee associated with participating in Stadia’s Discovery Event. Through the generosity of Stadia’s strategic partners, denominations, sending churches, and individual donors, Stadia is able to offer these types of important events for potential new church leaders. Participants are responsible for their own travel to the Discovery Event, and hotel accommodations near the event location. During your travel, you will be responsible for your meals. However, during the event, Stadia provides your lunches, dinners, and an ample supply of snacks and beverages throughout the 3-day event.
Q: Does my spouse need to attend the Discovery Event with me?
A: Yes, if you are married, your spouse must participate with you throughout the entire Discovery process, starting with Exploration and Discernment. You will see throughout the various instructions specifically where your spouse should submit something separately and where you are able to submit items jointly.
We believe married couples are jointly called to start a new church. For this reason, if you are married, it is important that your spouse fully participate in this process alongside you. Your shared participation will give you the opportunity to explore your joint calling and your unique gifts and abilities as well as the implication this has for the role each of you might play in starting a new church.
Q: Will I need to bring anything specific with me to the Discovery Event?
A: The only thing you need to bring with you to a Discovery Event is a computer or tablet. If you are married, and your spouse has a separate computer or tablet, they should bring it as well. Most of the Discovery Event relies on technology to keep our event as paperless as possible. Please let the Discovery Team know if you have any questions or needs regarding technology and/or accessibility.
Q: What can you tell me about the requirement to bring a “observer” with me to the Discovery Event?
A: During the Discovery Event, you and your spouse, if married, will have the opportunity to explore, demonstrate, strengthen, and be affirmed in your competencies and skills for starting a new church. The Discovery Event, being a community-guided event, means that it will be important for you to have someone that knows you and your experience well from within the context of your own current ministry, and who can help observe and affirm your competencies through that lens.
Your observer should be someone who knows you from your current ministry context. Participants often invite the pastor from their sending church, a deacon or elder, someone from another church planting organization or network they are partnered with, or even a denominational leader or mentor. The role of the observer at a Discovery Event is to work alongside the other leaders and guides at the event to provide valuable feedback to the candidates.
If you receive an invitation to participate in a Discovery Event, it will be very important to invite your observer as soon as possible and provide them details about the dates and location. Your observer will be responsible for their own travel and hotel accommodations.
Important Notes About Stadia’s Discovery Center
Participation on specific dates is not guaranteed and is dependent on completion of both the Exploration and Discernment Phases of the Discovery Center Process. Upon completion of both phases, you will be prompted to choose which upcoming Discovery Event works best for your timeline. Dates listed below are for informational purposes only and are subject to change.
2023
January 24-26, San Diego, CA
March 21-23, Cincinnati, OH
June 5-7, Houston, TX
August 14-16, Chicago, IL
November 7-9, New York, NY

Stadia’s vision is that “every child has a church.” We believe this requires all kinds of church leaders and all types of churches. For every child to have a church, it is vitally important that we have a diverse pool of candidates and actively champion the increased representation of persons of color, women and other underrepresented groups in our training pipeline. We are open to learning and invite your feedback on this process to ensure we truly accomplish our vision.