The Equipping Group Annual Report 2022-23

JULY 2022 - JUNE 2023

ANNUAL REPORT

PREPARED BY

THE EQUIPPING GROUP

www.equippinggroup.com hi@equippinggroup.com

WHAT IS THE EQUIPPING GROUP? Our mission is to empower everyday disciples of Jesus, church and ministry leaders, and church planters to take your next step in gospel-infused mission and ministry.

We are committed to providing engaging, practical training and resources to equip individuals and communities to live out Jesus' good news, in community and on mission, for the glory of God and the expansion of his kingdom.

“What is the Equipping Group?” As you might imagine, I get asked that question a lot. Such is true, I suppose, of any leader of any organization.

The answer can be complex: We’re a training organization.

We offer support and advising for leaders as they call and equip people for gospelinfused living & leadership, everyday discipleship and mission in community, or church planting.

We partner with other organizations who need help shaping training and curriculum for kingdom impact.

We’re a relational group, who tries to go deeper more than wider.

We offer training for the next generation of leaders, with a focus on those who need it most but can’t afford it And so much more!

We’re learning that much of the complexity can be summarized in one simple statement: We help disciples and leaders take your next step in gospel-infused mission and ministry.

That’s what drives us; that’s why we exist. That’s also what you believe in, and why you partner - with prayers, presence, and finances - to see those other things happen. This report is a glimpse of what we’ve gotten to do, July ‘22 - June ‘23, together with you, to see many of the complex things above happen, all with the heartbeat of helping disciiples and leaders take their next step.

Ben Connelly The Equipping Group Founder

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WHAT WE DID IN ‘23 ONLINE + IN-PESRON TRAINING Four free online workshops, with Hannah Anderson, Carl Johnson, Daniel Yang, and Trillia Newbell, on various areas of ministry discipleship and leadership Multi-week Learning Communities throughout the year, and produced self-paced courses, each with content, prep work, & assignments, from Alan Briggs, Dhati and Angie Lewis, Bill Clem, and Ben Connelly First in-person ‘Round the Fire event - an intentional, intimate, important training format on the topic of embracing limits in leadership, with Ben Connelly and Zack Eswine Ben Connelly and other trainers spent time with churches and organizations across US and Canada and spent nearly 10% of the year on the ground with groups in Australia MINISTRY RESIDENCIES In partnership with Plant Fort Worth, our church planting and ministry discernment residencies saw six couples find more of their fit and/or prepare to plant a church Rebuilt our whole residency process, “stripping it to the studs” in preparation for future rounds: this will ensure the best content, trainers, and exercises for residents Prepared for a new, third year-long residency: an “early years” cohort for planters in their first three years of a church plant ADVISING + “CLIENTS” Helped His Voice Global and Global Education Ministries revamp their missionary training curriculum, which is now being implemented across Latin America and Africa Created a ministry assessment process for Church Venture Northwest to discern the fit of new planters or pastors in the Pacific Northwest (US) and Lower Mainland (Can) Came alongside multiple churches and organizations, to bolster their leadership, discipleship and organizational needs, planting efforts, and training curricula RESOURCES Produced dozens of free articles and downloadable exercises, to help everyday disciples and leaders implement tangible changes in spiritual/organizational growth ORGANIZATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE The Equipping Group established its first independent Board of Directors in May 2023 In addition to working with 20+ trainers in various areas of mission and ministry, our central team now includes Ben Connelly (founder), Erica Joosten (training operations), and Dana Staley (finance). Our FY24 budget will add Zac Simmons (communications) Began a process of updating our website - it was great for the first 18 months, but as we add content, training, articles, downloadable courses, and more, it needs a boost

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CHANGING LIVES Our trainers in Uganda and Kenya are thrilled with the new curriculum. Last month we had multiple copies of the instructor manual printed for me to put in their hands. It went really well. They are excited to have all the modules and are also considering having them translated into Swahili. They feel this would be a huge aid in the teaching given the more interactive nature of the materials.

- Global Missions Training Agency

Though this is a development program for church planters, the end goal is not to manufacture church planters, but to help every participant better understand in what way their story and gifting fits into the mission of God. This happened for 100% of our cohort. My cohort brothers and their wives will be lifelong friends and partners of ours who are committed to the flourishing of our marriage and our ministry as we are to theirs. Now, pastoring a church in Eastern Europe that is currently planting another church, my wife and I bring up our thankfulness for these formative years often. Jesus cared for us and is caring for us still through this residency.

- Church Planting Resident I read your article published September 9th, 2022 about "Don't Ask God for Forgiveness". It along with some self reflection has changed the course of my life. I recently made a very poor decision which hurt my wife and her trust. I had been living my life as a "believer" thinking that I believed, when in fact I was not. I accepted Christ for real in my life and I feel like a changed person literally overnight. I wanted to just personally thank you for your words. I am grateful for people like you who are able to interpret the bible and help laymen understand it in a better way.

- Equipping Group Participant

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OUR LATEST ENGAGEMENT

JULY ‘22 - JUNE‘23 Email list of 900+ subscribers

272

ONLINE REGISTRATIONS

95+ hours of free advising 320+ hours of free/reduced-cost training Serving orgs/leaders in US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone, England, Romania, Slovakia, Japan, & Nepal Sent dozens of free copies of Ben’s books to leaders around the world!

Key partners FY23: Exponential, Acts29, Western Seminary, Saturate, Moody Bible Institute, His Voice Global, Church Multiplication Institute, Leaders Collective, SOMA, & Village Church

40% RECEIVED FREE ONLINE TRAINING

46%

RECEIVED ONLINE TRAINING SCHOLARSHIP

6

YEAR-LONG CHURCH PLANTING RESIDENTS

THIS IS BIG: $51,989 = value of training, advising, & resources you helped us donate in FY23!

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BUDGET NUMBERS Expenses

Income Training 19%

FY24

Admin 6%

Resources 1%

Admin 19%

Training 29% Training 12%

Support 54%

Advising 26%

Team 63%

Advising 2%

Team 67%

Advising 2%

Total Income: ​$179,757 Total Expenses: $160,015 Training/advising/resources given away: $51,989

Expenses Total: $183,175

Will you partner with us?

Training is often expensive which means those who might need it most often can’t access it. Following the Apostle Paul’s example (see 1 Cor. 9 & 2 Cor. 8), we raise financial support from gospel partners like you to make gospel-infused training accessible to those who need it most through scholarships. Your donation can help provide access to resources and training that will not only benefit ministry leaders but also the people they serve. If you’ve been blessed by The Equipping Group, will you help us pay that forward?

Partner with us at equippinggroup.com/give

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MEET OUR BOARD Amelia Banks

Jeff Lowndes

Dallas, TX

Los Angeles, CA Secretary

Toby Cotton

Camp Rollings

Dallas, TX

Fort Worth, TX Board Chair

Gord Fleming

Tomy Wilkerson

Vancouver, BC Vice Chair

Tampa, FL Treasurer

Tina Howard Fort Worth, TX

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www.equippinggroup.com