Church Planters Assessment Center: A Peek Behind the Curtain

The Converge Church Planters Assessment Center is an intensive four-day event designed
to encourage and evaluate church planting candidates. Staffed by trained assessors, the center brings together candidates and assessors from across Converge, as well as from partnering groups and denominations.

Each assessment center typically hosts about 12 candidates or candidate couples, along with a team
of assessors who represent the candidates’ sponsoring or sending agencies—these may be churches, networks, or Converge regions. In most cases, someone from their potential sending agent, coach, or parent church representative will attend as an assessor. The
center is also staffed by a core team consisting of a director, a counselor, and an administrator.

What happens at an Assessment Center?

For the Candidate

Exercises and Presentations

Candidates participate in several exercises and presentations, including:

• A mini-sermon
• Sharing their call to ministry and church planting
• Presenting their philosophy of ministry

Each presentation is followed by a Q&A session. Candidates also engage in:

• A case study (ask anyone who’s been through the Converge Assessment Center about Don Johnson)
• An evangelism exercise
• A Bible knowledge quiz
• A Listening Encounter

Spouses fully participate in all these exercises as well.

Assessments

Both the church planter and their spouse complete four assessments:

• The Portrait Predictor
• The Golden Personality Profile
• The Leader Portrait
• The ACE Test

These assessments are administered by Strategic Team Makers, a long-time partner of Converge and the
assessment center. Many CNC churches also use the first three tools in their hiring processes and team-building efforts.

Interviews

Candidates go through several interviews:

• Micro Interviews: These begin the week and are conducted in a round-robin format. Candidates respond to a series of questions about their ministry experience,
  leadership style, and more.
• Assessor Interviews: Two assessors meet with each candidate couple for a deeper dive into what emerged during earlier presentations, exercises, or in
  their registration paperwork.
• Counselor Interviews: Led by the professional counselor on the assessment team, this final interview provides additional insights and support.

Final Project

On the last day and a half, candidates and their spouses work together on a capstone project: creating
a plan and presentation for a hypothetical funding agency committed to planting 10 churches over the next 10 years.

Debriefs, Teaching, and Inspiration

After many activities, the team gathers for feedback, debriefing, and teaching moments that highlight
how each exercise connects to the realities of church planting. Each day also begins with a time of worship and prayer.

For the Assessors

Assessors spend the week getting to know the candidates: reading their applications and references,
sharing meals, observing their exercises, and engaging in interviews and informal conversations.

When the formal activities conclude on Thursday evening, the assessors retreat to their designated
space for a focused time of prayerful evaluation. Each candidate couple is discussed in detail, drawing on observations, assessment results, interviews, and team insights. The goal is to discern—through prayer and collaboration—whether the essential elements
for successful church planting are present.

Central to the process are the Sixteen Building Blocks of Church Planting, which form the
foundation of all the assessment center activities. Outcomes are based on how well candidates demonstrate these building blocks, even if some are still in the early stages of development.

The assessors then prepare a personalized and thorough assessment report for each candidate couple,
including recommendations and potential next steps. This entire process typically takes five to six hours.

The Final Morning

On the final day, the group gathers one last time—often encouraged by a message from the pastor of
the host church. Each candidate couple then meets with an assessment staff member and a representative from their sending agency or parent church. Their personalized report is reviewed, questions are addressed, and regardless of the outcome, their calling
and ministry gifts are affirmed.

From there, the sending agency or church begins working on the next steps with the couple, equipped
with clarity and direction.

A consistent prayer among the assessors is that God would use their insights and time at the assessment
center to speak into the calling and ministry of each couple. They also pray that the couples leave with renewed passion and a clear sense of the next steps God has prepared for them.

For more information about the Assessment Center contact

Joel Nelson.

At Bethel, we prepare students to step into their calling with
clarity, direction, and purpose.

The

Bethel Career Commitment provides a clear path forward. If a graduate has not secured a job offer or acceptance to graduate school within six months, we offer meaningful support through

The Studio for Vocation and Calling to help them take the next step.
They may be eligible for up to eight graduate-level credits at no cost in select Bethel programs or transitional employment opportunities at Bethel, based on staffing needs and availability.

This reflects our confidence in the
education and formation students receive—an experience shaped by rigorous
academics, deep
faith formation, and a strong, Christ-centered

community. It’s all part of how Bethel equips students to launch confidently into their next chapter.

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