On many occasions I’ve said, “If you show me that you love my kids and have a passion to help them grow, then I will love you.” Now don’t read to deep into this. As a believer, I know I’m called to love everyone—and I do. However, when I see someone choosing—or better yet, volunteering—to intentionally pour into my kids, then my love for that person goes up astronomically. This is true with their teachers at school, their lacrosse coaches, their small group leaders or a neighbor who takes time to listen to our boys and engage them in meaningful conversation.
As a lead pastor, I believe this idea, concept, theory or whatever we choose to call it, is true in the church as well. I believe that when we fully grasp and support what is going on in our Family Ministry environments, parents notice. Then, when parents see that we are passionate and love what goes on in Family Ministry, they love their church even more. Now, merely walking through the hall and “glad handing” and giving everyone a pastoral smile doesn’t count. Everyone sees right through that. When I say we should passionately support our Family Ministry environments, I mean we should know what is going on to a point that we can stand up in “Big Church” and trumpet our strategy for partnering with families so they can be the most effective spiritual leaders in their home.
If you are a lead pastor and your church utilizes the resources Orange provides—or better yet, your Family Ministry staff is doing their best to implement the Orange Strategy to partner with families, then I highly recommend you join your staff and attend Orange Conference. I’ve listed five benefits that I believe all lead pastors will experience from attending Orange Conference—and if not all five, at least three!
- Attending Orange Conference is way more fun and engaging than any adult ministry or senior pastor conference.
- When families realize the lead pastor truly cares about what is going on in Family Ministry, (i.e., He attends a family ministry conference) families will actually want to attend “your” church even more.
- When families realize the lead pastor supports what is going on in family ministry, they actually serve more and give more to the church.
- When the family ministry staff realizes their lead pastor cares so much (and attends Orange Conference with them) about what they are pouring their lives into, the staff will be happier and more productive.
- When the lead pastor realizes how incredibly well Orange has thought through a strategy for the church and the family to work together, in order to pour into the next generation, he will be excited to share this in “Big Church.”
Powell is the lead pastor at Rock Point Community Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., a North Point Ministries Partner. He is married to Amy Grisham, an Orange Specialist, and has two sons.
