In a time when many church planting organizations are narrowing their focus, limiting their vision to superstar leaders and urban cores, the Intermountain Church Planters Association (ICPA) is choosing a different path.
We believe church planting is not just for the elite few or the booming city.
It’s for every follower of Jesus. It’s for every community, no matter how remote or overlooked.
Planting Isn't Just for the Top 5%
Ola Community Church, Ola, ID (Derek started preached here 2005-2007). Photo taken May 2025.
Some organizations focus exclusively on the "top 5% of leaders" to launch their churches.
While we deeply value strong leadership, we believe every Christian carries the DNA of a disciple-making, which means many have the potential to be church planters, like an acorn with the potential to become an oak tree.
The real task is discernment and development. Not every leader is called to plant a church of 500 in a major metro. But what if they’re called to gather a community of 50 in a rural town where no gospel-preaching church exists? Or to start a house church, 20 or a microchurch that multiplies?
At ICPA, we’re committed to helping emerging leaders:
Discern what type of church fits their gifts,
Develop a customized leadership pathway, and
Deploy with support that matches their context.
We don't believe in one-size-fits-all leadership pipelines. We believe in growing oaks, slowly, sustainably, and contextually.
Church Planting Beyond the City Limits
We love cities. We believe in planting thriving churches in Spokane, Boise, Salt Lake City and Missoula, the primary metro areas in our region. But we also believe the Great Commission doesn’t stop at the city limits.
Too often, rural towns are forgotten, treated as too small to matter or too difficult to reach. We reject that mindset.
ICPA exists to plant churches in both metro hubs and rural outposts. From the booming suburbs to towns like Horseshoe Bend, ID, and Oakley, UT, we’re raising leaders to go wherever the gospel is needed and that means everywhere.
Developing Leaders for the Harvest
Relational Discipleship Training - Enterprise, OR (March 1, 2025). These men lead 30+ leaders in Enterprise, OR on how to make disciples in their communities. (Left to Right, Scott Williams, Randy McLachlan, Bryan Brutsman, Jeff Sadler, Derek Murphy)
This spring, we launched our first cohort of ICPA Residents, eight individuals preparing to plant churches across Idaho and Utah.
Some will plant in growing cities. Others will step into forgotten places. All are learning the skills of disciple-making, team-building, and biblical leadership.
And this May, we hosted a School of Ministry planning retreat to design the next layer of leadership training for our region. We’re praying God would raise up more “ordinary” leaders with extraordinary faith, men and women willing to go where others won’t.
We are planning to launch the school of ministry in the fall of 2026 with 12-20 in our first cohort. We do not have an application up yet, but reach out or keep your eyes open for more information coming soon.
Left to Right, Top to Bottom. Brian and Cloe Crase (Spanish Fork, UT), Jorge and Karine Desouza (South Jordan, UT), Ryan and Emily Gillat (Boise, ID), Chris and Crystal Combs (Meridian, ID), Randy and Jacki McLachlan (Lewiston, ID), Joshua and Lilli King (Moscow, ID), Greg and Mary Woodward (Oakley, UT), Dustin and Allie Weiss (Middleton, ID).
Join Us in Prayer
Leader Prayer Breakfast Salt Lake City, UT February 2025. Robert Marshall (praying) has 40+ years of service in the harvest fields of Utah.
We believe God wants to saturate the Intermountain West with the gospel through every kind of leader, in every kind of place.
We invite you to pray with us:
Pray for our current residents.
Pray for our church planter assessment the first week of June
Pray for our upcoming School of Ministry (2026).
Pray that more workers would be sent into the harvest—not just the “top 5%,” but the everyday saints ready to say yes.
People Are the Prize!
Let’s keep our eyes on the harvest field because every person, every community matters, and together, we can advance the gospel to places others have overlooked.
Derek Murphy
May 2025