I’m not saying this to brag, but I’ve become a bit of an expert when it comes to church conferences. I’ve been to a bunch. I’ve attended, spoken, and even directed. I visit at least three or four every year – big and small.
So I feel like I can speak some wisdom here. I believe a lot of people approach these conferences wrong. And they can often do more harm than good.
Here are four ways you should approach a church conference so you get the very best from the experience.
1. Understand Context
A conference is a conference. A church service is a church service. They’re different beasts.
You church service doesn’t have 1,000 people who paid $300 and traveled on a plane to get there. Your service also isn’t filled with worship leaders. So the atmosphere is going to be different. And that means the conference can do things differently.
They can do every creative element they’ve ever thought of all at once. They can sing a song nobody knows and response will still be epic. They can make one simple point and the room will erupt in applause.
Your church service will probably never be like that and that’s okay.
2. Listen for You and Your Context
Next. you can only listen to the information for yourself. You can’t try to apply it to other people. For instance, you can’t hear something someone says and think, “Man, my worship leader needs to start doing that.” Even if they’re in the same room as you, you can’t think that. They will hear from God for themselves; you need to hear from God for you.
If you don’t approach the conference this way, you’ll be frustrated that you’re the only person who seems to get it. That’s an arrogant place to be.
3. Take One or Two Ideas, Not the Whole Thing
You need to understand, that conference is just one way of doing things. There are tons of church conferences out there giving you way different approaches. And they’re all kinda right. There are thousands of ways to do church well. You can’t shift your whole approach to ministry based on what you see at that conference.
Take one or two ideas. If you can do just that, you’ve gotten back the worth of your ticket.
4. Remember No One Else Was There
Finally, you have to remember that nobody else from your church was at that conference. They didn’t experience the energy or that unique word from God. So you’ll go back to your church revved up. But you can’t expect anything to have changed while you were gone.
Use that energy to bring new ideas into your church. Don’t expect your church to match your energy. Yes, you can start encouraging them to be more energetic. And they do appreciate your new energy. But unless they experience what you experienced, they won’t ever get to where you are. Again, refer to #1 in this list.
Pardon the analogy, but church conferences can be a lot like a night out drinking. If you don’t pace yourself and just binge, you’re going to have a hangover when you get home. Moderate your intake of goodness. Understand that there is a tomorrow and the real world will be hitting you again. Get the good from the experience, but keep context.
