Last week I had the privilege of heading to Duluth, GA with Derek and Nicole for the 2009 Orange conference. We had a great time! (Even if Derek was freaking out about the Swine Flu…) The Orange Conference is all about combining the influence of the church with the influence of our families to make a greater impact on our kids and youth for Christ. A visual to picture what the Orange Conference is all about would be something like this:
It’s the light of the church (yellow) combined with the heart of the family (red) to make a bigger impact on the lives of our kids and youth (orange!).Did you know that there are 8,760 hours in a year? Of those hours, did you know that the average parent has 3,000 hours in a year to influence their child? The average church only has 40 hours to influence that same life! What an amazing privilege and honor God has given our families to influence the next generation, leading them to be fully devoted followers of Christ. Reggie Joiner has lots more about thinking Orange in his book titled just that – Think Orange. (I hope to read it soon!)
Anyways, with this as the foundation of the Orange Conference, I was so encouraged by the passion, enthusiasm and heart the speakers, presenters and attendees had for sharing Christ’s love with our kids and families. I was blown away by the radical discipleship of Francis Chan (check him out at www.crazylovebook.com). And I was encouraged to hear the positive stories of Carey Nieuwhof’s church in Canada that has gone completely Orange! Check him out at http://connexuscommunity.typepad.com/carey_nieuwhof/. Of course, there was the energetic and enthusiastic worship led by kids and pre-teens at the Family Ministry Showcase. I could just see our new preschool worship team jammin’ out with God and worshipping Him with our kids just like these kids were!
I came home with tons of ideas, lots of laughs (I mean, after all, I did spend 4 days straight with Derek and Nicole!), and a real calling on my heart to see what God has in store for Horizons. The idea of thinking Orange has me stretching my comfort zone, thinking big, and looking for God to show us what’s coming next!
Lisa Heinert
