Thank God for Conference Planners!

I recently returned from Phoenix where a great gathering of Lutheran congregation leaders convened. Of course, it’s a sacrifice for any Chicagoan to have to leave the “windy city” in February to go to Arizona! I must admit that our strange “winterless” winter here made the usual draw to the south less compelling than it is most years. That said, Arizona was as beautiful as ever.

Participating in the “Best Practices for Ministry” Conference has me appreciating, once again, the skills and service of people who know how to put together conferences and meetings with excellence. I know from personal experience at Wheat Ridge Ministries what a challenge this can be. We are fortunate to have several individuals on our staff who are great at event planning. In fact, they are engaged at the moment planning for two major spring events – our annual Seeds of Hope Awards Dinner here in Chicago and our President’s Circle Retreat that will be held in San Diego in April (see our website for further details). In this month’s “reflections,” I’d like to focus on one example of the impact of good conference design as a way of praising God for all those who are called to this unique service.

Clearly, Christ Church – Lutheran in Phoenix knows how to host a conference. It’s also a congregation with an exciting vision for ministry that reflects their serious intent to share the love of Christ in word and deed. Their outreach is multi-faceted and includes a very large Christian day school. Their most recent venture is the establishment of the Christ Cares Clinic, designed to provide medical services to the many uninsured individuals and families who live in Phoenix. Wheat Ridge awarded a seed grant to Christ Lutheran to assist with the start-up of this important ministry.

One of the unique features of this national conference is that it was conceived, sponsored and hosted by the congregation itself. Pastor Jeff Schrank and the leadership team at Christ Lutheran decided to invest the revenue earned from their summer camp program by serving leaders from other congregations across the United States. If you could get there and find a place to stay, the conference, including all of the food, was free (really!). Keynoters and workshop leaders volunteered their services, too.

The purpose of the conference, quite simply, was to gather inspired Christian leaders for two days of sharing “best practices” in ministry and engaging in mutual support and encouragement. All sessions were led by practitioners … pastors, teachers, lay leaders.

Is there a need for yet another conference when there are already so many? Apparently so. I was told that the original vision was for a couple of hundred people to attend. If you’ve sponsored or helped lead a conference recently, you know the usual quandary is what to do if the turnout is lower than planned. Guess what? Almost 500 people showed up! As an example of their conference hosting abilities, the good folks at Christ Lutheran stepped up, seamlessly and graciously providing, for the needs of all of these additional attendees. Even with the unexpectedly large numbers, great food was provided in abundance throughout the conference – sort of a “five loaves and two fishes” experience. Facilities were made available, volunteers showed up and workshops were added. Impressive!

There was a point on the first afternoon of the conference when, within a span of a couple of hours, 400 school children were picked up by their parents, followed shortly thereafter by the arrival of 250 people coming to attend Christ Lutheran’s weekly addiction recovery program, which includes dinner. The 500 conference attendees enjoyed presentations in the family life center while these folks made it through the buffet lines in the lobby and went to another location to eat. Then it was our turn at the buffet. It was amazingly seamless from a participant perspective. Wow!

As impressive as all of these arrangements were, of course, they were not provided for their own sake. Rather, they helped set the tone and the spirit for the conference. God’s spirit was indeed present in and among these inspired leaders as we discussed ways to serve others and impact lives, as we worshipped together, and as we encouraged and supported one another. It was a celebration of hope, health and healing made possible in Christ.

So, thanks to Pastor Jeff and all the good people of Christ Church – Lutheran for their servant hearts and for investing time, talent and treasure so that those who came to Phoenix could leave with new ideas, new connections, and especially renewed energy for ministry.

And, thanks to all who plan and lead conferences that inspire, educate and encourage others – challenging work that requires the special gifts of planning, hospitality, creativity and extra measures of patience. You are a blessing to many!!