This time last week I was finishing up at the "Innovate" Conference at Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana. I came away from the two-day event feeling it was one of the very best conferences I've ever attended. I have taken the last week trying to figure out why.
There are a number of reasons...and I will try to make sense of them for you.
Top-notch quality from beginning to end. Granger makes it easy to register and they send you a pre-conference package that gives you all the info you could need. When you arrive on campus you are greeted by happy, helpful folks that know the real meaning of "guest services". The "Innovate" notebook was incredible from the colorful tattoo-style logo to the information inside to the spacious area left for note-taking. Another small but helpful feature: on the back a "quick look" guide to "what's next". I found myself checking that page often. The "Innovate" t-shirt and temporary tattoo were nice surprises. And I loved the merch stand and the snack tent...and the vendors were all helpful and articulate.
Useful & Practical Information. The speakers were engaging, helpful, and practical. We began Thursday with a general session with Guy Kawasaki who spoke to us about the "art of innovation". Granger Senior Pastor Mark Beeson had two great sessions. Granger's Executive Pastor Tim Stevens hit a homerun during his "director's commentary" as he encouraged us to study the culture so we can speak their language in sharing the gospel. Another Granger staff member Rob Wegner blew me away with his session on how to cut through the noise to communicate the gospel. All the general sessions were excellent as were the breakout sessions I attended. The best breakout of the conference for me was lead by Granger's Jack Magruder. Jack spoke to us about the 7 Mission Metaphors Granger uses to cast vision for outreach. I will share some of the great information I gleaned from this conference in an upcoming entry.
Humble & Helpful Church. What I love best about going to Granger and it was shown over and over again in this conference...there is a real humility and spirit of helpfulness at Granger. I heard more than once that they don't have everything figured out and they just want to help other churches for the Kingdom. That's how all churches should be!
Mark your calendar. If you missed this year's conference...mark it down for next year. "Innovate 2008" will be on September 18-19, 2008.
A terrific conference...I'm already looking forward to next year. More on what I learned and plan to use in our church coming soon.
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