Next Incubator Starts August 14-16, 2025

Ventura

Starting and Strengthening Churches in Ventura

Our Next Church Planting Incubator Starts

JANUARY 2026

A church planting training program that provides practical tools, coaching, community and funding for starting and growing a new church that is grounded in the gospel and rooted in its neighborhood.

January 2026 | Incubator Intensive Launch

Start with gospel Fluency & Renewal

What is the value of the gospel for personal growth and not just our conversion? What is the difference between gospel-centered growth and self-help growth? We will be exploring these crucial themes. We will also discuss the anatomy and effects of idolatry, particularly those that are common to church planters. The Incubator starts with Gospel Fluency & Renewal.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 | Personal Life of a Leader
Participants will develop crucial self-awareness skills essential for effective ministry leadership. Leaders will learn to recognize the vital connection between personal health and successful church planting, develop emotional intelligence to identify and process their feelings, and address personal wounds through gospel-centered healing. This session equips participants to understand their family systems through genogram work, recognize how these patterns influence their ministry, and manage leadership anxiety in key relationships during the church planting journey.
OCTOBER 28, 2025 | City Vision and Contextualization
Develop a gospel-centered vision for your city that reveals the complex forces shaping your community. Learn to identify cultural blind spots while growing in your understanding of local context. Master the art of contextualizing ministry approaches that allow Christ's message to resonate authentically within your specific neighborhood. Equip your church to respond effectively to the systemic challenges present in urban environments.
NOVEMBER 20, 2025 | Discipleship Pathways
Developing and training is different than teaching or preaching. People need opportunities to suggest ideas, give input, practice, and have greater buy in. Come learn a model for apprenticeship for your core team that includes internal goals that strengthen your infrastructure and external goals that build missional habits.
DECEMBER 4, 2025 | CTC SoCal Gathering
Gospel Community Gathering to connect, share and encourage one another.

Gospel Community refers to a spiritually vibrant, relationally connected group of people shaped by the gospel of grace. Rooted in Keller’s emphasis on the gospel as both the means of salvation and the pattern for all of life, Gospel Communities embody the redemptive power of the gospel in everyday relationships.
JANUARY 20, 2025 | Networking and Gathering (Evangelistic Pathways)
Learn to develop intentional pathways that effectively lead people into your church community. Equip yourself with strategic approaches to evangelistic networking and community-building that will transform your church's culture. Through this module, you'll gain practical tools to foster authentic relationships and create engaging events that naturally cultivate a missional mindset throughout your congregation.
FEBRUARY 24, 2025 | Cultural and Community Engagement
Develop the skills to meaningfully connect with your community through our Cultural and Community Engagement module. You'll learn to identify your cultural engagement style, explore four proven models for cultural interaction, and gain practical frameworks for authentic community connection. This transformative training equips you to discern appropriate cultural engagement strategies specific to your ministry context, fostering continual growth as a cultural bridge-builder in your city.
MARCH 24, 2025 | Ministry Design
Transform your church planting journey with our Ministry Design module. Learn to articulate a compelling kingdom vision that brings goodness, beauty, and justice to your city. Develop a biblical framework centered on communion, community, and commissioning while mastering the art of creating meaningful gathering spaces.
This comprehensive training equips you to build a balanced ministry that integrates evangelism, discipleship, faith and work, and mercy and justice. You'll craft contextually relevant language that resonates with non-Christians, identify effective missional strategies, and cultivate core teams characterized by curiosity, ownership, and multiplication. Leave with the skills to evaluate your church plant's greatest needs and create a sustainable path for growth and impact.
APRIL 2025 | CTC SoCal Gathering
Gospel Community Gathering to connect, share and encourage one another.

Gospel Community refers to a spiritually vibrant, relationally connected group of people shaped by the gospel of grace. Rooted in Keller’s emphasis on the gospel as both the means of salvation and the pattern for all of life, Gospel Communities embody the redemptive power of the gospel in everyday relationships.
MAY 18, 2025 | Kingdom Prayer
Deepen your understanding of spiritual warfare in church planting through our Kingdom Prayer module. Learn to recognize your complete dependence on God's Spirit while developing transformative prayer practices. You'll master both individual and collective prayer approaches that are Christ-centered and directed both inward for personal growth and outward for community impact. This foundational training equips you to build a prayer-saturated ministry that fuels spiritual breakthrough in your family, church, and community.
JUNE 23, 2025 | Preaching and Effective Communication
What differentiates a gospel-centered sermon from other types of sermons? How do we preach the gospel from every text to benefit the non-believer and the Christian? Come learn various values and skills for delivering your sermons. You will be asked to preach in front of panel of leaders and be given feedback.

JULY 28, 2025 | Mercy and Justice
Gain profound insights into the historical, theological, and spiritual foundations of justice and mercy in our comprehensive module. Learn how the gospel revolutionizes your approach—shifting from power-based benefaction to Christ-like servanthood through incarnational presence. Acquire practical principles for embedding biblical justice as a communal lifestyle in your church, creating lasting transformation in your community.

Meet the team.

Regional Director

Matt & Kristen Larson

Matt and Kristen were married in 2001 and have had the privilege of raising five amazing kids. They planted  Anthem Church in Thousand Oaks, CA in the Fall of 2009 and have been a part of the Genesis Collective Leadership since 2017. Jesus has captured their hearts and they love talking about Him wherever they can. Whether at home or abroad, their family has been so grateful to be a part of this global Gospel adventure!