15 Best Church Networks to Join in 2026

Choosing the best church network can shape your ministry’s impact and your leadership journey. Explore top networks and find the support, collaboration, and shared vision you need to lead with confidence and grow your church’s reach.

Best Church Networks Shortlist

Here's a shortlist of the best church networks I think are worth joining:

1. The Lead Pastor - Best for effective church leadership
2. Association of Related Churches (ARC) - Best for church planting funding
3. Acts 29 - Best for global theological networking
4. Exponential - Best for church multiplication leaders
5. Global Leadership Network (GLN) - Best for cross-sector leadership growth
6. Church Multiplication Network (CMN) - Best for funded AG church planting
7. Vineyard USA - Best for charismatic church affiliation
8. Stadia Church Planting - Best for child-focused church planting
9. Evangelical Covenant Church - Best for multiethnic denominational support
10. The Gospel Coalition - Best for reformed church leaders

The 15 Best Church Networks

Below are my summaries of the best church networks that made it onto my shortlist, plus others worth mentioning. My reviews offer a look at each community's audience, size, cost, and more.

2. Association of Related Churches (ARC) - Best for church planting funding

• Audience: Church planters, lead pastors, and ministry leaders
• Size: 1,200+ church planted
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, app, in-person events, coaching sessions

Founded in 2000, ARC is a cooperative network of independent churches united around one goal: seeing a thriving church in every community. Since then, it's helped plant over 1,215 churches and has invested more than $100M in church-planting efforts worldwide.

Why join? If you're planting a church and need more than moral support, ARC is worth a serious look—it offers financial investment, hands-on coaching from experienced pastors, and connection to a global family of like-minded churches. You'll also get access to the ARC All Access app, leadership resources, and marquee events like the ARC Conference and ARC Gather, a free one-day event designed specifically for pastors and ministry leaders. 

3. Acts 29 - Best for global theological networking

• Audience: Church planters, pastors, and global ministry leaders
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, in-person gatherings, conferences, coaching sessions

Acts 29 is a global church-planting network that unites churches across the world ons through shared theological relationships and a commitment to multiplying healthy churches. It's built for pastors and planters who want more than a resource library — they want a doctrinally aligned community with real accountability and global reach.

Why join? What sets Acts 29 apart is its theological intentionality — membership is application- and assessment-based, so the people you're connecting with have been vetted for the same gospel convictions you hold. 

Once you're in, you get access to field-tested training built around 11 Core Competencies, coaching from experienced planters, and a multilingual network spanning North America, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. 

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4. Exponential - Best for church multiplication leaders

• Audience: Church multiplication leaders, pastors, and network directors
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, conferences, learning communities, webinars, roundtables

Exponential is a nonprofit community built around one mission: helping the church multiply. Co-founded by Dave Ferguson, it serves 100+ networks and denominations — making it one of the most denomination-agnostic, broadly accessible church multiplication networks available.

Why join? If multiplication is your focus, Exponential puts you in the room with the people and ideas driving that conversation forward — through national and global conferences, peer-based Multipliers Learning Communities, and forward-looking research tracks like AI NEXT and Generation NEXT. 

Unlike networks built around a specific theological tradition, Exponential is open to leaders across the evangelical spectrum, so you're learning alongside planters, pastors, and network directors from a wide range of backgrounds. 

5. Global Leadership Network (GLN) - Best for cross-sector leadership growth

• Audience: Church leaders, pastors, and leadership teams
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, in-person summits, local host sites, online streaming

Global Leadership Network is a nonprofit leadership development community best known for its annual Global Leadership Summit — a two-day event reaching 350,000+ leaders across 2,200+ locations in 100+ countries. 

It grew out of Willow Creek Association and has since become one of the largest leadership gatherings in the world.

Why join? What sets GLN apart from other church networks is its deliberately cross-sector speaker lineup — you're learning alongside and from business executives, nonprofit leaders, and creatives, not just fellow pastors. That outside-the-church perspective is genuinely useful for leaders wrestling with vision, culture, and organizational health in their congregations. 

I'd especially recommend it if you want to develop as a leader broadly, and if you're looking for something you can bring your whole staff team into — GLN's team-training modules and local host site model make that easy.

6. Church Multiplication Network (CMN) - Best for funded AG church planting

• Audience: Assemblies of God church planters and pastors in the U.S.
• Size: 8,500+ members
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, in-person conferences, cohorts, online seminary, coaching

Church Multiplication Network (CMN) is the official church planting network of the Assemblies of God, launched in 2008 to equip, fund, and support AG planters across the U.S. Since then, it's helped launch 5,000+ churches and trained 8,500+ leaders — with notable names like Mark Batterson and Herbert Cooper in its broader community.

Why join? What makes CMN stand out from denomination-agnostic planting networks is its CMN Matching Fund — real financial grants that have put $22M+ into the hands of qualified planters. Beyond funding, you get a full planting infrastructure: assessments, cohorts, coaching, credentialing support, church chartering, and even a seminary.

7. Vineyard USA - Best for charismatic church affiliation

• Audience: U.S. pastors, planters, and churches seeking Vineyard affiliation
• Size: 138,000+ members
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, in-person regional gatherings, online training, national events

Vineyard USA is a national church network rooted in Kingdom theology — a blend of evangelical and charismatic traditions that traces back to founder Kenn Gulliksen in 1974 and was shaped significantly by John Wimber throughout the 1980s. Today, under National Director Jay Pathak, it connects roughly 450 U.S. churches and 138,000 attendees as part of a broader movement of 2,400+ Vineyard churches worldwide.

Why join? What sets Vineyard USA apart is its "empowered evangelical" identity — if you're drawn to the gifts of the Spirit but want a theologically grounded, Kingdom-centered framework, this is one of the few networks built specifically around that tension. Beyond affiliation, you get a full ecosystem: church planting support, ordination, Vineyard Seminary, pastoral health and formation resources, and regional coaching. 

8. Stadia Church Planting - Best for child-focused church planting

• Audience: Aspiring and active church planters focused on children
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, virtual coaching, online cohorts, in-person retreats

Founded in 2003, Stadia Church Planting is a nonprofit organization that walks alongside planters from initial discernment all the way through post-launch growth — with a distinctive mission to ensure every child has a church. Since then, they've helped launch 2,200+ churches across 5 continents, all without charging planters for their core services.

Why join? What makes Stadia stand out is its rare combination of a child-focused mission and a fully free coaching model — their services are funded by a partner network, so you get a dedicated startup coach, peer cohorts, retreat support, and an on-demand training library at no cost to you. If you're planting with families and kids in mind, Stadia's entire framework is built around that vision in a way I haven't seen matched elsewhere.

9. Evangelical Covenant Church - Best for multiethnic denominational support

• Audience: Pastors, planters, and churches seeking a denominational home
• Size: 850+ covenant churches
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, local churches, regional conferences, national events

Founded in 1885 by Swedish immigrants in Chicago, the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is a full denomination of 850+ churches across North America, organized around a Pietist evangelical tradition with a strong commitment to multiethnic, intergenerational ministry. 

It's one of the fastest-growing multiethnic denominations in North America, with ministries reaching five continents.

Why join? The ECC offers more than a peer network — you get a full denominational home with clergy credentialing pathways, retirement and health benefits through Covenant Benefits, pastoral care and mentorship, and access to church planting resources through their Start & Strengthen Churches initiative. 

One thing worth knowing upfront: joining means formal denominational affiliation and theological alignment, so it's a bigger commitment than a coaching cohort or peer community.

10. The Gospel Coalition - Best for Reformed church leaders

• Audience: Reformed pastors, church leaders, and gospel-centered churches
• Membership Cost: $100 per year
• Platform: Website, regional chapters, national conferences, online courses

Founded in 2005 by D.A. Carson and Tim Keller, The Gospel Coalition (TGC) is a network of pastors and churches in the Reformed evangelical tradition, built around the conviction that the gospel should shape every dimension of church life and ministry. Current president Julius Kim leads a council of 50+ respected pastor-theologians, making TGC one of the most recognized voices in evangelical Christianity today.

Why join? TGC is a strong fit if you're a Reformed pastor looking for both a theological anchor and a practical network — you get access to a trusted Church Directory listing (which over a million people search each year for gospel-centered churches), regional chapter membership with local pastoral fellowship, and a deep library of free courses, articles, and podcasts from scholars like Kevin DeYoung and Ligon Duncan. 

I'd say upfront that it adheres to a Reformed and complementarian framework, so if that's not your tradition, this network may feel like a narrow fit.

11. Converge - Best for Baptist church planting

• Audience: Baptist pastors, church planters, and independent churches
• Size: 1,400+ churches
• Platform: Website, local churches, regional conferences, national events

Founded in 1856 by Swedish Baptist immigrants and now led by president John K. Jenkins, Converge is a Baptist denomination of 1,346+ churches built around the idea that independent churches are better together. Notable alumni include John Piper and Bob Merritt, both shaped by Converge's affiliated Bethel University and Seminary.

Why join? Converge's Church Planting Assessment Center is one of the most respected models in the country — many other denominations have built their own processes around it — so if church planting is central to your ministry, this is where I'd point you first. Beyond planting, you get real regional support through 10 U.S. conferences, leadership coaching, and a global missions arm operating in 35+ nations. 

12. Ecclesia Network - Best for post-denominational leaders

• Audience: Missional pastors, church planters, and ministry leaders in the U.S.
• Platform: Website, national and regional gatherings, coaching, cohorts, in-person training

Founded in 2007 by a group of six pastors, Ecclesia Network is a post-denominational fellowship of missional leaders and churches focused on reaching post-Christian culture — and it's been instrumental in forming networks like Fresh Expressions and Missio Alliance. 

Why join? What sets Ecclesia apart is that it doesn't ask you to fight over secondary issues — charismatic gifts, women in ministry, and baptismal views are held openly, so you can focus on mission together. You get access to Genesis Church Planters Training, Leaders Circles, an Emerging Leaders Cohort, and a biennial National Gathering, all within a deliberately small and relational network. 

13. Missio Alliance - Best for theological dialogue

• Audience: Pastors, theological practitioners, and ministry leaders in North America
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, Writing Collective, in-person gatherings, immersive experiences, newsletter

Launched in 2013 out of the Ecclesia Network, Missio Alliance is a cross-denominational theological fellowship for pastors and ministry leaders navigating the cultural and spiritual challenges of the North American church. National Director Lisa Rodriguez-Watson leads the organization alongside a rotating Writing Collective of theological practitioners from diverse traditions.

Why join? Missio Alliance is where you go when you want to think deeply — not just act quickly — about what faithful ministry looks like in a post-Christendom world, with diverse voices wrestling through issues like multi-ethnic leadership, women in ministry, and cultural engagement. 

You get access to a curated Resource Hub, the Writing Collective's ongoing theological content, and in-person gatherings and immersive experiences designed for formation, not just networking. I'd be clear that this isn't a church affiliation network — it's a theological fellowship best suited for leaders who want substantive dialogue alongside their primary denominational or network home.

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14. Send Network - Best for SBC church planting

• Audience: Southern Baptist church planters and sending churches in North America
• Size: 12,000+ churches
• Membership Cost: Free
• Platform: Website, in-person events, assessment retreats, regional partnerships, podcast, newsletter

Send Network is the church-planting arm of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention, and since 2010 it's helped plant 12,000+ new churches across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. If you're an SBC-aligned planter, this is the most resourced network you'll find anywhere in North America.

Why join? What sets Send Network apart is that it doesn't just connect you to a community — it actually funds your plant through a Sending Church and Supporting Church partnership model, which is rare in church planting networks. You'll go through a formal 2-day in-person assessment retreat, then get plugged into ongoing training through regional One Day events, Sending Labs, and Residency Build.

15. Fresh Expressions US - Best for dinner church leaders

• Audience: Pastors and lay leaders launching non-traditional church communities
• Membership Cost: Free to access resources
• Platform: Website, in-person events, online training, coaching, podcasts, regional outposts

Fresh Expressions US helps pastors and lay leaders plant church in everyday spaces—dinner tables, recovery groups, and arts venues—rather than traditional buildings. Rooted in the UK-born global Fresh Expressions movement, it now partners with denominations across the U.S., from United Methodist to Assemblies of God.

Why join? The Dinner Church stream is their flagship, with a dedicated School of Leadership, 1-on-1 coaching, and an annual West Coast Dinner Church Summit. Beyond that, you'll find specialized tracks for rural ministry, arts, recovery, and Spanish-speaking contexts, each with training, incubators, and peer communities of practice. 

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