My ORANGE Experience #5-b

THIS IS PART TWO OF KAARINA ALTMAN'S ORANGE CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE!

My most memorable moment….Francis Chan. I think he had the whole arena in tears. He has such a heart for God and is seriously concerned for the lost. Since I am rambling on (and other have touched on him already), will try and make this short…

• He really helped me to “see” God for all his glory. He asked questions like…Is it the Holy Spirit or just a marketing scheme?
• He challenged me as a volunteer to KNOW it is God and not something we have manipulated.
• He reminded me that it is not my responsibility to save the lost but that Jesus commands us to teach like Him and trust that the Holy Spirit draws the lost to Himself.
• He encouraged us, you and me, as volunteers to set an example-to shoot for the Biblical standard and not the American standard.

There was this guy, Donald Miller….what a wacko (in a good way). I think I connected with him because he too shared how he didn’t really “feel” like a leader. He was all over the road and it was hard to take notes but he gave us 5 Keys to leadership…See if some of these sound like FRC and our ministry over in Children’s-it’s cool how God works!

• Influence
• Environment/teamwork -> taking ownership
• Unity (people and family)
• Ambition- think BIG…huge and absurd
• Speak something into nothing

Oh, so much to say….

Andy Stanley

• If you create irresistible environment, people will come….
• When you capture the tension, you get peoples attention….
• What is spiritual growth? What are you trying to accomplish?

Louie Giglio

• The church is not poised to take the lead in culture
• Let’s just be the Church of Jesus Christ because it will endure forever. Nothing will stand in its way!
• Transcendent-> relevant to Jesus not culture

Sue Miller

• When we serve as Christ followers, we are to serve wholeheartedly; not as unto men, but as if we are serving the Lord Christ Himself.

Craig Jutila

• Those around you will determine the level of your success
• I have the power in me to make someone better then they are when I release them to do what they do.
• 80/20 Rule

I’m gonna be done, coz I could go on for another 4 pages….

Please talk to me about the conference and what ORANGE really means. I can’t wait to share all that I have gained from this unforgettable experience..

Thanks God : )

and…..

FRC, thanks for investing in me; releasing me to do what I do…
Charlotte, thanks for creating an irresistible environment…
Jackie, thanks for seeing in me what I didn’t…
Holy Sprit, thanks for using me to help draw the lost…
Jesus, thanks for being transcendent…

Kaarina Altman, Lagoon Coodinator, Volunteer Admin. Assitant

FRC Kids Podcast Episode 11: Honor

To honor is to "value", and what you value is held in high importance and esteem. Join us during this week's Podcast as we talk about how we can honor those we service with at FRC Kids. This will conclude our discussion of traveling the right ministry P.A.T.H.

FRC Kids Podcast Episode 10: Teamwork

Three Are Better Than Two!

Do you believe Jesus could have accomplished his work on this earth by himself? After all, he is God! And yet Jesus modeled teamwork with his disciples. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reminds us that “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has not one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, [or overwhelmed – can anyone relate?], two can defend themselves [or share the work!] A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Joining our teamwork discuss today is Matt Miller, Sawgrass Campus Pastor. Listen now as we continue our ministry “P.A.T.H.” discussion and talk about the importance of teamwork in our ministry here at Flamingo Road Church.

Also, remember to RSVP for our Ovations event coming up on Friday, May 30th! You will not want to miss this! We’ll have food, games for adults and kids, bounce houses, and an incredible program time geared to inspire and celebrate what you do! Click the Ovations link above and sign up right now!





In His grip,

Charlotte Allison

Jackie

FRC Kids Podcast Episode 9: What Is Your "Attitude" Reader Indicating?

Hey FRC Kids Leaders!! Check out the FRC Kids-Cast this week as we discuss “Attitude” in the P.A.T.H to our potential! You don’t want to miss this series geared around the book “Leadership Essentials in the Children’s Ministry” by Craig Jutila. Joining us on the topic of “Attitude” is FRC’s Hallandale Beach Campus Pastor Chris Brown. Remember......we value and want to hear your thoughts, experiences, and input!! Have a great week. See you all this weekend!!

Jackie

My ORANGE Experience #5-a

There was so much to take away from this experience that it is impossible to pick just one. However, I was really struck by the opening by Reggie Joiner titled The Prodigal Generation. How do we make the church different but still accomplished what it is supposed to?….teach truth and the message of Jesus, provide community and support the family of believers while displaying strong leadership and creativity. I’m not sure which version of the bible they were using, but it was stated that Luke 15:1-2 says Jesus came to build a bridge to sinners. (I looked it up in the NIV and it says that He welcomes sinners and eats with them-so, same thing). We looked at the story of the Prodigal Son and its approach to sinners. The Pharisees symbolized the older brother and Jesus the loving father. The goal is to be like Jesus and I think we do a great job of that at FRC and in FRC Kids. Just some reminders on how to keep evolving as a Loving Father church:

• We need to stay pre-occupied with whoever is missing (how do we reach the ones we are not reaching)
• We need to operate from the context of forgiveness
• We need to throw a party when a lost son or daughter comes home
• We need to confront the “older brother thinking” and keep the lights on for as long as it takes

I’d like to challenge all of the volunteers to take another look at this parable and see how it fits into our vision of partnering with parents to help kids reach there God potential.

Stay tuned! I've got more! :-)

Kaarina Altman, Lagoon Coodinator, Volunteer Admin. Assitant

My ORANGE Experience #4

The first thing I would like to say about the Orange Conference is what an honor I felt being asked to attend being that I’m “just” a volunteer. But being “just” a volunteer means I’m “just” one of the biggest influences in the lives of many children each and every week. I “just” may be the only one who tells these kids about the love of Christ and how very special they are to Him. I’m “just” the person that they can talk to when they don’t talk to their parents. One of the speakers at the conference pointed out that being “just” a volunteer can change the lives of many, many children and we have one of the most important jobs in society.

This really challenged the way that I think about how I serve and interact with the kids AND their parents. Part of what we do is try and get the parents involved more in the spiritual development of their children because they have much, much more time than the approximately 40 hours a year that we have at the church. When you’re as busy as most of us stay running around getting things set up, broke down, fixing , finding, etc., it’s easy to lose sight of this. Because as Francis Chan, the pastor of Cornerstone Community Church, stated the church is all about community. His message burnt like a branding iron on my heart because I’ve often noticed when reading the New Testament how much more devoted to each other were the members of the early church. They gave sometimes all they had in order to support each other. They broke bread together, which was a really big deal in that time. Pastor Chan told of how he and many members of his congregation had taken vows to support each other and their families to the extent that some were canceling their life insurance, others were living day to day from where they could (even out of their cars) and giving the money to the church. They are taking the idea of community to the Apostle’s level.

I think I can speak for all who attended, from FRC anyway, that it was a life changing experience. Some of us arrived as strangers and went home as a community of FRC believers with heads full of ideas and hearts full of desire to make the children’s ministries at all of our campuses better, growing and alive in Christ.

Mac Cumpton, Storyteller, Sawgrass Campus

My ORANGE Experience #3

Let me first start by saying thanks to FRC for the opportunity to attend this awesome conference!

The #1 thing that I personally took with me from the Orange conference was passion. Hearing all of these wonderful speakers reminding us why we do what we do and why it is so important renewed the passion I have for all that we do here @ FRC Kids. There were so many memorable moments-some where I laughed so hard, it was hard to stop (thanks Lanny Donoho!), and many where I was moved to tears. More importantly, I got the opportunity to deepen my friendships with some and create new ones with others (each of these amazing people are pictured below) while we shared this experience together.

I have been feeling so very inspired and I know that the real challenge lies ahead...to find the ways (and time & energy!) to carry through on the many new ideas that came out of this experience.

I am sure in the coming weeks and months you will hear more about what we have learned. The future of the church and the world really are in the hands of our children. Think about that statement...what we do is THAT important! Sue Miller said something that touched us all, and I want you all to think about this one: How many times have you heard someone say they are "just a volunteer" or "just a small group leader"? How many times have you said it? How many times have you thought it? To the children, we are much more than that, to the parents and families of these children we are much more than that...to God we are much more than that! Now, I am going to repeat that same thought: The future of the church and the world really are in the hands of our children. What we do is THAT important!

On a more personal note, I want to challenge all of you to do something...maybe you have been thinking of taking a missions trip, maybe you have been thinking about diving further into the ministry, maybe it's joining a small group...to renew yourself and your passion in our ministry. It is so important! You see, I didn't realize how badly I needed to do something along those lines to re-ignite that passion and to renew my spirit & re-energize me.

Orange is a color of change...are you ready?

-Gina Asada, Coach, Cooper City Campus