DRIVE conference - Day 3

I am back home now after a crazy day that began with 5 hours of sleep. At the conference, we had 2 more breakout sessions. The first was a question and answer session based on North Point's children's ministry: Kidstuff. It has been a ministry of theirs that has gained in popularity in many churches. The basic premise is: parents come with their kids to a production that is filled with excellent staging, decor and lighting, great singing, dancing and acting, all trying to bring across a spefic truth of the Bible that the whole family can respond to. However, it is probably not something we can pull off or that would be a fit for us. So, what I took away from that was that we needed to consider how to minister to the family, giving them ways to experience something with their children and disciple them.

Session 2 was about funding, the financial aspects of doing ministry. This was probably the least interesting and applicable to us, because the principles shared are things I have already embraced. The finances of a mega church such as North point and our small church are quite different. Putting margins into your budget, planning on having some money not already designated to something was the best idea I gained from the session.

After lunch, we went into the final, general session. I really enjoyed the worship times of singing througout the conference. For me personally, I connected with the music background and words of the songs we sang. It prompted me to really consider what I have in Christ and to focus on Him for an extended period of time.

Andy Stanley, the senior pastor of North Point, decided not to talk about his planned topic: Making it stick, which had to do with presenting and holding to the vision of the church. Instead, he shared "Recent Random Thought on Church and Leadership". In is office, he posts certain quotes that has made him really think about ministry, so that he will see them often and let them bother him until something tangible is done about it.

I will share the quotes and the application of the quote for him:
Quote 1: "To reach no one else is reaching , we must do thing no one else is doing." - Craig Groeschel

Application: Become preoccupied wit who you haven't reaches as opposed to those you are trying to keep.

Quote 2: The next generation product almost never comes from the previous generation." - Al Reis

Application: Be a student, not a critic

Quote 3: "What do I believe is impossible to do in my field but if it could be done, would fundamentally change my business"? - future edge

Application: Pay attention to teh people who are breaking the rules

Quote 4: "If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new leader, what would he do? Why shoudn't we walk out the door, come back in, and do it ourselves?" Andy Grove

Application: Acknowledge what is not working and own up to why you are not willing to do anything about it.

Quote 5: "When your memories exceed your dreams the end is near." unknown

Application: Don't let success or momentum overshadow your vision. keep the vision out in front.

I may come back to these later and really consider them for my own ministry; but these thoughts certainly had an effect on me and Steve, as we traveled back home after the session. That is what made it a little crazy, as we tried to get to the Atlanta airport to get on standby for an earlier flight - we made it, but it was crazy.

All the way home we discussed our own ministry, in light of what we have been talking about for a year now, and what we just experienced at the conference. We will see how God leads us in the future;but for now, I just want to thank God for the opportunity to have the time to experience another ministry and to have a fresh perspective of what we are trying to do for His glory.

all for now.