About the Spence Network

• Imagine an innovative network to connect you with peers and coaches for Kingdom results.
• Imagine an efficient, client-centered clearinghouse that connects your congregation with transforming conversations that will rekindle ministry passion. 
• Imagine investments in straight-talk leadership development driven by practitioners of certified, widely recognized ministry excellence.
• Imagine the prospering of cultures of congregational leadership.
• Imagine Spence Network.

The Ray and Ann Spence Network for Congregational Leadership (“Spence Network”) is a router for networks that helps to connect churches and church leaders with each other and with best ministry practices in order to impact the world with the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.  Spence Network is designed to facilitate connections between individual leaders, networks, and congregations, enabling fruitful exchange of innovative ideas and best ministry practices. 
Spence Network was started in partnership with Virginia Baptists and will serve them, but will also strive to impact the North American evangelical Protestant church by connecting them with “helping networks” from the national and world evangelical family.  Our conviction is that there is a frustrating isolation in North American congregational life, and that leaders and churches are hungry to be connected with other leaders and churches around shared ministry affinities and initiatives.  Moreover, we believe that classic denominational structures are waning in their ability to connect individuals and congregations in this way, and that Spence Network can be more agile and mobile in enabling a kind of networking that will feed Kingdom leaders and churches.
Our networking services capitalize on the following “assets:”
a) Values: We uphold and spread Kingdom values of connecting peer-to-peer and leader-to-learner networks in order to maximize the impact of receptive leaders and congregations.
b) Relationships: We offer an expanding network of connections whereby interested leaders and congregations can collaborate with others on initiatives and work toward mutual development of key ministry skills.
c) Venture Capital: We offer venture capital to fuel innovative ministries for the connectional church.

Spence Network receives support from Virginia Baptists, user fees, and from gifts from individual donors. 

After World War II, denominations became a primary hub for North American Protestant churches. However, after a half-century, it is clear that while denominations still have a role to play in church collaboration, they also have limits – thus the need for post-denominational networks.

In The Post-Denominational Network:  Church Collaboration in a World Beyond Denominations &
The Ecclesia Network:  A Practical Proposal For Moving Forward (Christopher J. Backert, paper toward Doctor of Ministry degree, Fuller Theological Seminary, 2006), the author lists eight core practices of the first-century church network:

1. This early church network ignited missional communities of faith
2. This early church network collaborated on strategic cities
3. This early church network provided coaching and shepherding to local pastors
4. This early church network provided theological training and teaching to local pastors and the wider church
5. This early church network gave generous financial resources to spread the gospel through the planting of churches
6. This early church network facilitated the giving of more wealthy churches to poorer churches
7. This early church network appointed and authorized new leaders
8. This early church network promoted inter-church unity

From this list, one may see how Spence Network is a biblically-based means (practiced through the history of the Christian church) of connecting leaders and collaborating on mission opportunities:

Clearly, these Spence Network initiatives fulfill the final objective of the earliest church network:  promoting inter-church unity.  This unity is achieved through church leaders collaborating on the shared values of equipping congregational leaders for missional objectives to advance the Kingdom of God.
To this end, Spence Network is designed to facilitate connections that will serve Virginia Baptist leaders and the larger North American Evangelical Protestant church by connecting leaders and churches with each other and with best ministry practices.
Our objectives (in Virginia and beyond) are:

• Discover and feed emerging collaborative church networks of leaders who both “consume” information from each other and “contribute” to that body of information about ministry practices.
• Fuel innovative connectional ministry opportunities.
• Identify and deliver world-class ministry practices to local church leaders.
• Acquire additional start-up funding in 2007 to fund initial ministry network opportunities through private donors.
• Raise an additional three million dollars from private donors in 2008-2009, and continue to grow the endowment at a compounded rate of 15% with sound investments (5-10% annual return) and by seeking additional donors (accounting for 5-10% growth in endowment) by 2012 to endow ongoing networking opportunities, network infrastructure, and Kingdom venture capital initiatives.

The mission of Spence Network is to feed networks of congregational leaders to advance Kingdom initiatives. We will do this with services include creating, affirming, and funding ministry forums for church leaders, as well as providing venture capital and networking for “best ministry practices” that connect churches and leaders.  Quite simply we are “Connecting congregational leaders to advance the Kingdom.”

1. Creating a “Spence Network seal of approval” that signals affirmation of screened networking opportunities with Kingdom values.
2. Not only knowing our mission, but also clearly understanding how our mission can positively impact congregational leaders, and finding opportunities to capitalize on strategic initiatives which are aligned with our core values.
3. Focusing on small clusters of key, influential, eager, innovative leaders who will impact the local church.
4. Attaining donor funding that will enable Spence Network to identify, affirm, and launch key networking ministry initiatives to stimulate and equip congregational leaders and local churches.
5. Demonstrating and maintaining autonomy while remaining connected with denominational organizations and local churches.

Spence Network is a nonprofit entity under the 501(c)(3) umbrella of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board.

Spence Network start-up funds total approximately $640,000, given to the Virginia Baptist Mission Board ("VBMB") by donors invested in elevating the quality of congregational leadership, particularly in Virginia. The VBMB also currently pays salary and other costs associated with the Leader of Spence Network. The VBMB also supplies auxiliary support to Spence Network (i.e. website creation and maintenance, print collaterals, etc.).

Beyond salary, benefits, and expenses of the Leader, Spence Network's current costs are funded through interest income earned on the principle. Costs are for networking initiatives as selected by the Leader and Board (of directors).

The Spence Network leadership team consists of a Board and a Leader. The Leader is supervised by the Executive Director of the BGAV and is accountable for regular reports to the Board and an annual report to the Executive Committee of the BGAV. The Board consists of Ray and Ann Spence, and two to seven at-large members appointed by the Executive Director of the BGAV in conjunction with the Executive Committee. The Leader, Executive Director of the BGAV, and Executive Director of WMUV serve as ex-officio members of the Board. The Board may also invite "friends of the Board" for occasional or seasonal input in an advisory capacity at its own discretion. Spence Network will be funded almost exclusively by donors. There may be negligible future income from user fees and other cost-recovery mechanisms.

Spence Network is funded almost exclusively by the generosity of Kingdom donors.  Spence Network’s endowment is managed by the Virginia Baptist Foundation, Inc. Vice President Todd Fuller can be reached at 800.868.2464 or 804.672.8862, or at tfuller@vbfinc.org.  Mr. Fuller would be glad to assist you with questions about and protocol for donations of stock, cash, or other assets.