Archive for Conferences
One Sign Ups!!! (Updated) June 1, 2009
OK…REALLY…here is the link to the website where you can sign up for ONE!
(I blogged about it here first…and then did another post about it here! Just to make sure everyone knows…this particular “conversation” must include at least two people from each church, one being the senior pastor!!!)
To say that we are excited about this is an understatement!!! It’s limited to the first 100 people who sign up…and it is on a “first come, first serve” basis.
The website has all the details…but if you have more questions then please contact Caroline Miller at our Anderson campus (864-226-6585) or you can email her at Caroline.Miller@newspring.cc
Can’t wait!!!
One May 28, 2009
We’re getting pretty excited about here about “One.” (Here is the original post I did about it.)
Here are some random questions we are getting about the “conversation.”
#1 - When can I sign up?
Monday, June 1st is the date the website for signing up will go live. I will link the site here…and there should also be a link at the NewSpring Church website. And remember…we’re keeping it small on purpose…the first 100 people to sign up get in.
#2 - You said the senior pastor must attend…are there any exceptions?
Nope! Seriously…I refuse to foster an environment where youth and children’s staff and volunteers get absolutely fired up about a vision…but feel like they have to go and “fight” with the senior pastor to “make things happen.” When a church staff and volunteers begin to work as “ONE”…SO MUCH can be accomplished for the Kingdom!
AND…PLEASE be ethical about this!!! (It’s sad that I even have to write this!) BUT don’t sign up the sp…and then bring someone else claiming that “something came up.” It’s one thing if that really happens…it’s another if you completely lie about it!!!
#3 - Who should I contact at the church if I want more information?
You can contact Caroline Miller - her email address is Caroline.Miller@newspring.cc
#4 - Will there be any production, worship and such?
Nope–the entire format will be some teaching, roundtable discussions and interviews.
#5 - What is the purpose of “One?”
To assist churches in establishing a DYNAMIC vision that allows children’s ministry and youth ministry to be incorporated into the BODY…and not be merely a “babysitting” service. We don’t have a system to pimp…nor are we selling any products…we simply want to teach how we have managed to bring every ministry in the church under a common vision…and how we are working together to equip and empower the next generation to take this churches minisry and impact to levels that we could never even imagine.
There are too many churches where the youth and children’s ministry COMPETE with each other instead of COMPLETING each other. AND…there is WAY too much staff friction in churches because people think that they must “fight” to accomlish vision. We want to bring the right people around the table (thus the reason the sp MUST be there) and help begin the conversation.
A Conversation…Not A Conference May 18, 2009
Pastors…youth pastors…children’s pastors - mark you calendar for Thursday, August 13th and make plans to join us for “One,” a one day conversation that will cover the importance of youth and children’s ministry, the lessons we’ve learned in the journey, why it is necessary for a healthy relationship to exist between the senior pastor and these areas and quite a few other things as well.
Here’s the deal about this “conversation.” (Let me hit the “whats” and then talk about the “whys!”)
- The “conversation” is limited to the first 100 people that sign up…we’re keeping it small on purpose.
- (Sign ups will open up on Monday, June 1st.)
- It cost $100 per person to attend.
- There MUST be at least two people per church attend…and one of them MUST BE the senior pastor, the other MUST be either from the childrens team or youth team (doesn’t matter whether they are paid or a volunteer.)
- This “conference” will have no music, no production…we will begin with a teaching time for everyone by me…THEN I will do a Q & A with the leaders from our youth and children’s team…THEN we will have lunch (included)…THEN we will have round table discussion that will be broken up with your specific group of interest (youth, children’s, senior pastor), then we will have a final discussion/Q & A with the audience asking myself and our ministry leaders questions.
Now…let me explain the thought pattern as to why we are doing it this way…
First of all…we really wanted to be able to pour into every church and ministry leader that attends, thus the reason for keeping it small.
AND…the reason the senior pastor MUST attend is because I do not want to set a youth or children’s team up to not succeed. There are too many churches today where the senior pastor and the youth and children’s teams seem to be working against one another…not WITH one another.
I am a FIRM believer that a strong youth and children’s ministry is ESSENTIAL for a church to be healthy!
AND…I HATE IT when people say, “the youth/children are the church of tomorrow.” BULL CRAP…they are the church of TODAY!!! One of the reasons the church is losing them in droves is because we think they will be there “tomorrow” for us to reach…but the time is NOW!!!
Senior pastors and youth and children’s teams need to work as “ONE!” We are all on the same team…and it should always be our passion to complete one another instead of competing with one another.
SO…the senior pastor MUST attend…no exceptions will be made. Because…youth and children’s ministry can’t just be a youth and children’s thing…it must be championed by the Senior Pastor.
So…we’ve set aside the day (Thursday, August 13th) for this…and are really looking forward to pouring into ministry leaders.
Once again…sign ups will open up on Monday, June 1st…and once the first 100 spaces are gone…they’re gone. It is first come, first serve.
Senior Pastors…let me challenge you to LEAD THE WAY ON THIS!!! Don’t wait on your team members to come to you and beg you to attend! LEAD!!!
Our youth and children’s teams are absolutely pumped about getting to spend some time with all who are able to attend…and I can’t wait to be in this environment either. I believe God is setting the church up so that the next generation can see Him do things that we only DREAM of!!!
Unleash March 12, 2009
A few thoughts before heading to bed…
I really felt the conference overall was a tremendous success.
THANK YOU to everyone to took the time out of their schedule to attend. We are seriously honored that you came to spend time with us today…and feel like we learned so much from all of you!
THANK YOU to all of those who were able to watch online. We had over 900 viewers in each of our main sessions…amazing!
THANK YOU to all of our amazing volunteers that showed up early and stayed late to make things happen! God used you to encourage and influence people today…and KINGDOM impact will be the result. You probably won’t see it this side of eternity…but you will definitely see it on the other side.
I have SO many things running through my mind right now…will probably blog about them later…REALLY can’t wait to get into bed!
A Few Pre-Unleash Thoughts March 11, 2009
I’m sitting at my desk at home trying to wrap my mind around all that God is doing…and it is causing my head to hurt.
I am…
SO THANKFUL that over 500 volunteers are going to be up at the butt crack of dawn to serve people from other churches.
SO AMAZED that around 3,000 church leaders from all across the country would descend upon Anderson, SC to hang out at NewSpring Church for a day. We are HONORED that you are here!
SO EXCITED about all that the staff and I are going to learn from people tomorrow. We are NOT the experts…just a bunch of former screw ups trying our best to keep our eyes on Jesus and do what He says!
SO ENCOURAGED by the emails and text messages I am receiving from my friends telling me they are praying for me. THANKS, it means more than you know!
SO SCARED that I am not going to sleep tonight!
OK…NOW I am going to TRY to go to bed!!!
Want To See Unleash For Free? March 10, 2009
So I got a twitter today from a guy saying that he REALLY wanted to come to Unleash…but could not make it this year and wished that we had live video of the event as it takes place.
Uh…WE DO! I mean…WE WILL. What I am trying to say is that here is the website you can go to if you want to see the main sessions on Thursday LIVE.
We are PUMPED UP about being able to provide this service. YES, it is FREE (someone was wondering!)
NOW…it’s not going to compare to what is happening here live (wink!) BUT…it is a chance for people to participate that didn’t get to make the trek to Anderson (and we ALL know you have ALWAYS wanted to come here…there will be next year!)
SO…log on Thursday and join us. Once again…main sessions only…schedule is on the web page (THIS ONE)…can’t wait!!!
Thr3e March 3, 2009
Pastor Steven Furtick is one of my best friends on the planet…and so when I heard that he and the crew at Elevation Church were putting together an event I called him and told him I was going to blog about it…he didn’t ask!!! I wanted to because I believe in him and the ministry God has blessed him with.
Church planters…ALL of us have that ONE question that we love to ask when meeting with a mentor…are you ready…
“What do you wish someone would have told you before you started your church?” OR…we can phrase it this way, “what are the things that you really think I need to know that will be essential for success in this church plant?”
Pastor Steven is going to be dealing with these issues…as well as SEVERAL other things...at THR3E…and if you are a church planter, thinking about becoming a church planter, a senior pastor…then you NEED to be there!!!
It’s not a conference! It is one of the most stripped down events you’ve ever seen…just Pastor Steven and a microphone…BUT…I can promise you that it will be raw, insightful…and I believe will have a significant impact on your ministry!
One of the most awesome things about this event is that you won’t be hearing a lot of formulas but rather the real behind the scenes stuff…the victories and the struggles…what they did right and what they did wrong. And how, in the end, it needs to be all about Jesus!
You should go…seriously…AND…you should register ASAP…spaces are filling up!!!