Have you ever attended a conference and left so pumped? Sadly, a lot of this excitement tends to fade after a couple weeks, and you’re left exactly as you were before you even attended that conference. It’s an ongoing problem that will continue, unless you take steps to start a new trend.
I’m going to be attending the Southeast Calvary Chapel Pastors conference next week, and I’m so excited! I’ve attended many conferences, with different styles, in the past but here’s what I’ve found to be The top 4 ways to make the most of a Christian conference.
1. Don’t go alone
If at all possible, take someone with you. Whether this is your mentor, or someone you’re mentoring, the time you’ll get together in the car, before/after sessions, mealtime, etc is always a blessing to not only discuss the conference, but to simply be with someone for an extended period of time. This is often a missed opportunity to raise up new leaders and people you’re pouring into. I first started going to pastor and leader’s conferences when I was 16 and I was so glad that I was asked to attend and be ministered to by the conference and my mentor.
2. Meet new people and pray with them
One of the most blessed experiences I’ve ever had a Christian leader’s conference was when I intentionally found people I didn’t know, and I took the time to hear a little about their story, what God was doing, and to pray with them. We can so often gain a “I’m all alone” mentality, and meeting new people slaps that attitude in the face. It’s extremely encouraging to hear what God is doing in and through others, and what a better time to come before God together than at a Christian conference?
3. Pray for revelation/guidance
Understanding God Word, and following after God requires the grace of God. There will be many awesome things you see at any conference, but they aren’t all for you. I doubt that God wants you to implement every idea and possibility you find at a conference, and it requires us to go to God for guidance in what He would desire us to do and how He would desire us to lead.
4. Decide Two things you will change/implement
One of the biggest problems with conferences is that we can feel so accomplished when we leave without ever having done anything at all. The only way we’ll leave a conference able to press forward in what God had told us through step three is if we take just two things that you have a plan to change and/or implement in your life and ministry. You can have a list of things you will do AFTER the first two are done, but you have to have a set of priorities and goals to act on otherwise it’s too easy to get lost in the high of a conference.
Do you have any ideas to add?
Anything you’ve done that has made your conference experience amazing? You can let me know in the comments below!