Epic Leadership Development is a vital part of our ongoing mission to equip and empower leaders within our ACOP Family for effective ministry.
Join us for Module Three, “Developing Your Leadership Potential,” this fall: November 2-5, 2026.
We are thrilled to welcome Mark Buchanan to EPIC. Mark is an author, speaker, professor, pastor, and gifted communicator known for his ability to bring Scripture to life and connect the truth of Christ with the realities of everyday life.
Mark will spend significant time with us focusing on preaching and communication—helping us think more deeply about how we handle Scripture, tell stories, develop our voice, and communicate in ways that engage both the heart and mind.
Mark has recorded a personal invitation for you. Take a minute to hear from him about what we’ll be exploring together at EPIC: Watch his video here
Communication doesn’t only happen from a platform.
Some of the most important communication we do as leaders happens in moments of tension, disagreement, and conflict.
That is why we are also excited to welcome Dale Anderson. Dale is a pastor and educator with a Master’s degree in International Relations and Conflict Resolution. His years of ministry across cultures, including ministry in Poland and within a global prayer ministry in the United States, have shaped a deep love for Jesus, the Church, and developing the next generation.
Dale will help us explore how we can approach conflict with greater understanding and develop practical skills for navigating difficult conversations well.
10 years ago, EPIC Leadership Development was introduced to our Fellowship.
EPIC began as an in-service leadership development program that was Experiential, Practical, Interactive, Clustered, where a group of ACOP members would come together for a week of intensive leadership development.
EPIC 2.0—is an enlargement of the original program. EPIC 2.0 is a comprehensive competency-based Leadership Development Program that will take place in 8 modules over a two-year period.
Most ACOP credential holders have been to Bible College and some to seminary, most care deeply about people. They are good students of the Word and have a good grasp of theology. Some have honed their preaching gifts—but often times have not had the opportunity to develop their leadership gifts.
Ps 78:72 – David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands, he led them. In order to be effective ministers of the gospel, we need both integrity of heart and skillful leadership.
We have some great leaders in ACOP. Many have intuitive leadership instincts, but there are a lot of ministers with undeveloped or underdeveloped leadership skills. Not everyone will be a great leader – but everyone can be a better leader. EPIC was started to help ACOP members hone their leadership gifts.
EPIC 2.0 involves 4 face-to-face, week-long encounters over a 24-month period. In addition to the face-to-face encounters, we are exploring some online platforms that may allow us to deliver some of the EPIC Training online.
Each participant of EPIC 2.0 will be assigned a coach, who will work with the participants to help them apply the leadership skills they are learning.
Anyone who wants to be a better leader!
Epic 2.0 is designed specifically to equip pastors, youth workers, church planters, and global workers who are already involved in vocational ministry. However, it is also suitable for people who are seeking to be involved in vocational ministry but have not accepted a vocational ministry position.
We will meet at retreat centres and local churches in a variety of locations across Canada. We envision having each of the training sessions in a different region of Canada.
By moving the training to different locations, it equalizes the travel costs for participants. It also allows us to utilize leadership experts in various parts of the country.
This training will be cyclical; participants can join at any point during the cycle, and continue until they have completed all 4 encounters. These training encounters will be limited to between 12 and 20 participants per module to ensure that each participant receives maximum personal benefit.
Please Note: When plans have been made for our next encounter it will be posted here and on our Website!
In order for ACOP to thrive in its second century, we must give attention to leadership development today.
We are encouraging local churches to cover the largest portion of the costs to allow their pastors/leaders to participate in the program. This is an investment in pastors and an investment in the future of our ACOP fellowship.
We are happy to advocate for pastors by meeting with local church boards to answer any questions they might have about the program.
Participants will become more effective leaders, who will be able to lead at a higher level than they currently are. Churches and ministries will be healthier because they are being led by more effective leaders. We will create a larger pool of ministry candidates for ACOP churches and ministries to draw on in the future.
We believe that Epic 2.0 can equip ACOP pastors, global workers, and church planters for greater ministry success.
Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
Matthew 28:19 “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
The primary mandate of the church is disciple-making – therefore every ministry leader needs to have a disciple-making strategy or strategies. Some of the topics for consideration would include:
Since the primary mandate of a Christian leader is to make disciples, every program and ministry should contribute to disciple-making.
Ministry leaders need to develop a comprehensive philosophy of ministry that:
2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction.”
Effective ministry requires effective communication. Ministers of the gospel must be proficient communicators. In this model we will be dealing with:
Preaching is both a gift and a competency for every minister of the gospel. It is important that ministers continually hone their preaching skills while relying upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Preaching Skills Include:
Other sources and resources for improving your preaching skills will be reviewed.
Matthew 20:25-28 ” Jesus called them together and said, You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you, it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Fundamental principles of leadership:
Tactical leadership competencies to be considered:
Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”
2 Timothy 4:5 “Do the work of an evangelist.”
In this module, we will focus on how you as a ministry leader can connect with your community.
In this module, we will give attention to church culture and leading as an agent of change.
Ephesians 4:30 “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 5:19 “Quench not the Holy Spirit.”
Ephesians 5:18 “Be filled with the Spirit.”
In this module, we will be considering ways of opening ourselves and our ministry to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. Here are some of the topics we will cover:
Although a majority of the competencies will apply regardless of the ministry context or function, one module will be dedicated to ministry-specific competencies.
If you would like more information about Epic 2.0 or to enroll in the program please contact your Regional Director or send an email to epic2.0@acop.ca.
Your Regional Director is available to meet with local church boards to encourage churches to support their pastors in this training program.