I have the privilege of leading Pastors Connect, a ministry of the Calvary Chapel Cooperative. I’m very excited to let you know (or remind you) that starting the first Thursday of September (9/3) at 9:00 a.m. Pacific, we will host the first of many online Gatherings. These Gatherings are going to be conducive to greater spiritual and emotional health for our family of churches. I cannot wait to see and hear many of you despite the miles that separate us physically. We will be connected!
In this post, I plan to explain: 1. The value of encouraging and equipping, 2. What to expect at these Gatherings, 3. A schedule of planned content from September 2026 through May 2027, and 4. How to get involved in this as well as other Cooperative Gatherings.
The value of encouraging and equipping
First, let’s consider the value of encouraging. To encourage means to come alongside, and strengthen, comfort and give hope. Frequently we know the cost of something, but often we are ignorant of its value. Encouraging our family of churches is not only a value in the sense of a core conviction, but it is valued in the sense that we prioritize the time to give and receive strength, comfort, and hope. Why is encouraging a value and valuable?
There is an expectation of constant availability. I recently worked a 15+ hour day, and came home and immediately went to bed. Less than two hours later, my wife woke me from sound sleep to tell me that our friend, a leader at the church, had been killed. I told my wife I simply couldn’t deal with it. There was nothing left to give. The widow expected me to be there, my wife expected me to be there, and I could not manage to be there. I’m not able to be constantly available (unlike a convenience store, I can’t function 24/7 as a pastor).
There is a tendency towards isolation. Pastors are frequently stressing the importance of meaningful community and accountability. Yet, when their own lives are examined, community and accountability are lacking, and isolation is a pattern. Part of the problem is the dynamic. It is hard to have real friendships at the church when you are either in a role of pastor to congregant, or you’re an employer to other staff. Try as you might, it is not a level playing field. So, unless pastors cultivate meaningful relationships where vulnerability and authenticity are modeled, isolation will be the norm.
The sharing of shared experience. Being a pastor has a whole set of unique challenges that are not common to most careers. Therefore, when fellow pastors strengthen, comfort and give hope because they have been there and done that, literally and figuratively, it provides encouragement to our fraternity (brotherhood). The participants are all current or former lead/senior pastors. The Gathering space is a safe place.
Second, let’s consider the value of equipping. To equip is to provide skills, resources, training, or teaching to prepare for challenges. All of our in-person Gatherings include intentional elements to ensure equipping and encouraging. Similarly, the online Gatherings are both equipping and encouraging (rather than either or). We have all likely attended an event where we walked away feeling that it was all relational but the equipping was missing. Similarly, we are all just as likely to have been showered with equipping content, but felt parched from an absence of relational encouragement.
In an effort to experience the value of equipping and encouraging, these online Gatherings are curated with great, relevant, practical content presented by respected Calvary Chapel leaders (equipping) and relational encouragement woven into every Gathering. Every gathering is a both/and rather than an either/or.
What to expect at these Gatherings
The Gatherings are scheduled for the first Thursday of each month from September 2026 (9/3) through May 2027 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific. The Gatherings will last 60-75 minutes.
We will spend around 20 minutes checking in to see how the participants are doing. People can share their proverbial triumphs or tragedies.
We will spend about 20 minutes with a presentation on valuable equipping content.
We shall engage in 20 minutes of discussion related to the content.
We transition to prayer.
Before concluding, we ensure that any who are struggling are reminded of the Care and Coaching Team that exists to support and encourage our family of churches as part of Pastors Connect.
The Schedule from September 2026 through May 2027
Schedule of presenters and topics:
Nick Cady - Creating a healthy team culture – September 2026
Mike Neglia - Church discipline – October 2026
Ted Leavenworth - In-person pastoral cohorts – November 2026
Justin Thomas - Leading from vulnerability – December 2026
Brenda Leavenworth - What pastors should know about women who serve – January 2027
Brian Kelly - Leveraging technology in your church – February 2027
Bob Franquiz - Evangelistic preaching – March 2027
Bruce Zachary - Care + Coaching – April 2027
Shaun Sells - Poimen ministries content – May 2027
How to get involved in this and other Cooperative Gatherings
This online Gathering is for lead/senior and former lead/senior pastors. If you are interested in participating, use the “Contact Us” feature on this site or email Bruce@calvarychapelcooperative.com.
For those of you who are not in the lead/senior pastor role, there is good news for you too. Preliminarily, our in-person Gatherings (listed under the events tab) will continue to be populated with expanding opportunities for Gatherings in diverse places. And if you serve in another role in the context of one of our Cooperative churches (e.g., Associate/Assistant Pastor, Youth, Worship, Kids’, Community, Care, Admin/Executive) and you would like an online Gathering for your group, let us know as noted above.
We want to create as many meaningful opportunities for relational community that equip and encourage as possible. It is why the Calvary Chapel Cooperative exists!
