launch plan Archives - Passion for Planting

Church Planter Pitch Lab

Sean Cronin — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 03:19:45 +0000

See the vision.
Test the strategy.
Strengthen the launch.

Pitch Lab is a one-day event where our residents practice casting vision for their future church. In the morning, they present in small-room Pitch Labs and receive coaching. In the afternoon, everyone regathers for the Showcase to hear each resident’s refined pitch from the main stage.

Stakeholders, prospective donors, and observers get a front-row seat to learn, give residents feedback, and leave excited about church planting.

Reserve a Seat

Pitch Lab — Wednesday, June 3, 2026 — Raleigh, NC

In-person + Live on Zoom

Because great launches are built on shared clarity.

Church planting isn’t sustained by passion alone. Healthy launches happen when vision is clear, strategy is tested, and support is aligned. Pitch Lab creates a single, focused moment where planters sharpen how they communicate their vision and strengthen their strategy. It also creates an opportunity for others to listen, learn, and be inspired.

**You don’t want to hear just vision without a strategy and a plan.**

Vision can move hearts, but strategy builds confidence. When the plan is fuzzy, even strong residents can struggle to communicate what comes next, what success looks like, or how others can help. Pitch Lab gives them a chance to practice, refine, and grow before those conversations matter most.

Residents need a safe place to strengthen how they communicate vision and next steps
Stakeholders want alignment so their support is practical, not scattered
Prospective Donors want clarity before committing meaningful resources
Observers want a real picture of what “ready” looks like

Clear plans, honest feedback, and practical next steps.

Pitch Lab helps residents grow in confidence as they communicate their church planting vision. It also gives attendees a helpful, honest window into what wise preparation, thoughtful coaching, and real launch readiness look like.

Residents leave with stronger clarity, better language, and greater confidence
Stakeholders leave aligned on priorities and next steps for support
Prospective donors gain clarity on where generosity can accelerate the mission
Observers leave inspired—and equipped with a model worth repeating

Reserve Your Seat

Who is Pitch Lab for?

Church Planter Pitch Lab

Pitch Lab is a meaningful training milestone for you. You’ve been doing the hard work of prayer, planning, preparation, and refinement—and this day helps you bring it all together in a live environment where you can practice communicating with clarity, receive honest feedback, and leave more ready for the road ahead.

Get real experience casting vision in front of others
Use feedback to sharpen both message and strategy
Build confidence, not just exposure
Be encouraged by Stakeholders, Prospective Donors, and Observers

Stakeholders

You’ll hear your resident’s strategy, ask better questions, and align your church’s support around what matters most. You’ll gain:

Shared clarity around the launch plan and priorities
A practical way to align encouragement, connections, and resources
A chance to learn from your resident while they’re learning

Prospective Donors

You’ll get a clear view of vision and readiness—while seeing how residents are being coached to communicate more effectively and faithfully. You’ll gain:

A focused, no-pressure way to understand the opportunity
Clarity on readiness, strategy, and real needs
A front-row seat to how planters learn to better cast vision and resource their church plants

Observers

You’ll see what strong preparation looks like, catch a vision for multiplication, and learn how this kind of process could strengthen your own work. You’ll gain:

A real-world view of what preparation and coaching looks like for church planters
Insight into how to improve what you’re already doing
Inspiration to apply next year—or to explore hosting a residency

How It Works

A simple flow that makes for a high-impact day.

Step 1: Preparation
Our residents have been prayerfully crafting their strategy and pitch so this day helps them refine and strengthen what they’ve been building—not start from scratch.

Step 2: Pitch Labs
Small-room sessions where residents present their plans, receive guided questions, and get structured feedback that helps them improve.

Step 3: Showcase + Next Steps
Main-stage pitches that help residents communicate with even greater clarity—followed by clear pathways for connection and follow-up.

Reserve A Seat

Pitch Labs are where residents grow in clarity—and confidence.

presenting a clear plan, respond to thoughtful questions, and receive coaching that helps strengthen both their message and their readiness.

Lab Flow:

8-minute pitch
Coaching Feedback
Pitch Refinement
Repeat the process to build confidence

The Showcase lets everyone see the progress.

The Showcase is the main-stage moment: short, clear pitches that help the full audience see what residents have been building and how their vision is taking shape. It brings everyone into the same story while giving residents another meaningful opportunity to communicate with clarity.

Purpose:

It helps residents practice communicating to a broader audience
It creates shared momentum around what God is doing
Makes follow-up simple and relational

Here’s the rhythm of the day.

Timeline (9am-5pm)

Welcome + orientation
Pitch Lab Round 1
Pitch Lab Round 2
Lunch + connection time
Main Stage Showcase
Closing + next-step instructions
Optional stakeholder/prospective donor debrief

Exact times and room assignments will be provided via email.

Can’t be in the room?

Join live on Zoom.

Whether you’re a stakeholder, a prospective donor, or an observer, the live stream gives you real-time access to the Showcase and key moments of the day—so you can learn from the residents while they’re learning.

Clarity supports wise partnership without hype or pressure.

This event helps our residents confidently communicate their church planting vision. Feedback and recommendations will help them be more effective building their plant team and raising financial support.

Residents present plans and respond to real questions
Leaders discern readiness and next steps
Follow-up conversations happen with clarity

You’ll leave with practical tools, not just a good experience.

Included for all attendees

Simple follow-up guide (who to contact + how)
Digital program book (resident summaries + schedule)
A clear view of next steps

Role-specific packets

Stakeholder Packet
Prospective Donor Packet
Observer Packet

A well-led day creates a meaningful experience.

You’ll be guided through the day by a team that keeps things moving and makes sure the focus stays on clarity and encouragement. Our team of coaches includes leaders with experience in church planting, sending, coaching, generosity, and strategy. Their job is to ask helpful questions and give feedback that strengthens the plan.

Pitch Lab Lead Team

Sean Cronin

TRAINING LEAD
Achiever | Context | Belief

I lead the Residency Cohort focused on helping church planters gain a clearer vision for the church God’s calling them to plant. I don’t focus on offering answers but asking questions to help them discern how Jesus wants to build His church through them. My goal is to help them develop a plan that guides their efforts to pursue the vision God’s giving them.

Patrick Bradley

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Ideation | Developer | Strategic

I equip church planting leaders by creating tools and systems that keep church planters focused on people. I want church planters to experience the confidence of having a contextual strategic plan and the enjoyment that comes from spending less time on the details.

Todd Wilson

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Futuristic | Strategic | Activator

I serve leaders and ministries who are pursuing multiplication, and help them develop vision and strategy for 100X impact. I’m an entrepreneurial engineer, passionate about creating pictures of future possibilities and strategies for turning them into reality.

Date: June 3rd

Location: Raleigh, NC

What to expect:

Multiple breakout rooms for Pitch Labs
Comfortable main room for the Showcase
On-site team to help with directions and flow
Practical next steps for stakeholders, donors, and observers

Optional add-on: $10 Lunch

FAQs

• What’s the difference between Pitch Labs and the Showcase?

Campus Planning Dashboard

Esther Ritchey — Sat, 15 Aug 2020 09:00:00 +0000

By: Portable Church Industries

For multiplication minded leaders in the church while deciding on where to church plant or launch your next church campus…

A wise decision-making process is most comfortable and satisfying when ALL of the information is available. Making fully informed decisions with “all hearts clear” speaks of the wonderful intersection of The Spirits direction coupled with real-time data.

When God’s hand is on a ministry, and leaders are challenged to accommodate the blessings of growth, DATA INFORMED (versus data driven) DECISIONS are a crucial part of stewarding the resources God is providing. For example, your leadership team sees your church is being blessed with growth, and you are considering 3- 5 neighboring communities in which you believe God is leading you to launch a new presence. How do you decided where God is leading you next?

Our newly released resource, The Community Finder – A Campus Launch Dashboard is simply meant to be a tool that leaders can use to accumulate all relevant information to make bold kingdom-multiplication decisions. When a leadership team is considering where God might be leading them NEXT, this tool will help bring the data to the table of prayer.

This guide accumulates detailed data while walking you through these sections…

Potential new communities/neighborhoods
Target campus essentials
People from sending campus
Demographics of targeted community
Facility detail
Outreach ministry insights

The resource gives a brief explanation on how to use it by section, but then you are off to the spreadsheet for you to customize and fill it out according to your specific ministry. Download and start planning your next campus location, OR email our Multiplication Specialist Jeff at jeff.beachum@portablechurch.com. Get a personal online tour of the Dashboard and a 1 hour -no cost- consultation to get you on the right track to help you process through your next campus

Complete this form to download the resource now!

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Source: Campus Planning Dashboard

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Launch Plan Tip #288 — Select Church Name

Passion4Planting — Mon, 16 May 2016 17:47:42 +0000

Every legal entity must have a name. In the case of the church, the name communicates many things about who you are. The name of the church should flow directly out of your philosophy of ministry. Once you have defined the mission, vision and core values for the church, you’re ready to choose a name. The church behind the sign we found, Church of Uncertain, might be a really great place, but is “uncertainty” really one of your core values?

If you have to stop and think about the name, it probably isn’t good.

Since the church name precedes the experience people have at your church, it plays a significant role in shaping important first impressions. Every name communicates something:

Fresh or stogy
Formal or informal
Alive or dead
Churchy or edgy
Boomer or postmodern
Artsy or businesses like

Locality

Some planters select a “locality” name that communicates this is a local church. For example, a church in Pittsburgh may select a name such as “Steel City Church.” You may also consider naming the church in a way that communicates vision about the church. A church that emphasizes discovering God may choose the name “Discovery Church.” Some planters are required to use a denominational title as part of the name.

Understand Your Community

It is important to understand your target community before choosing a name. It would be a bad idea to name the church Discovery only to find out later that it is also the name of a local “adult” establishment. Spend time locally learning the community before selecting a name. Test the name by going to a local coffee house and ask at least five locals what they think of the name (the “Starbucks” test).

Legal Requirements

The name needs to be selected early in the planning process since it is required for completing many other actions (e.g. setting up checking account, marketing, filing articles of incorporation, etc.). Many of these actions have very long lead times and are required to gain maximum benefit from tax-exempt status (e.g. direct mail costs can be cut nearly in half for churches who have obtained non-profit status).

Some Advice

Don’t use a temporary church name. Not only due to the additional costs and paperwork involved but also due to the loss of any branding accomplished under the other name. Instead, work hard to understand what God has called you to do with his church in this place and at this time. Struggle to define who you will be and name the church accordingly.
In our experience, you can check online to see if anyone has registered the name you’ve chosen in your state. It is very important to make sure no one is already using the same name in your area. By checking with the state, you will ensure that other new churches that may be starting when you are do not use the same name.
Pay attention to names that are like the one you’ve chosen and see if there are websites that are using that particular name. There is nothing more embarrassing (to say the least), to discover your name is linked to an organization that is the farthest thing from Christ-like activity.

Recommended Actions

Determine name availability (or distinguishably) with your state corporation commission (should be available via an online).
Consider using a Branding Company to select a name.
Read the Igor Naming Guide:
Do a Google search to determine what names are already in the target area.
Make a list of all other churches and think about what each name communicates about that church.
Look at maps and consider whether a “locality” name is a good path to take
Brainstorm possible names (see Church Name Brainstorming List)
Solicit input from people in the target area, especially non-Christians, to determine if the intended meaning is clearly understood.
Verify there are is no local history or bias that would give the name a bad reputation

PlanterPlan Task

Along with hundreds of details required to launch a new church (or relaunch an existing church), we cover this task in detail in PlanterPlan. Follow the link below to jump directly to your PlanterPlan project’s task.
Select Church Name

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