A few years ago, I had this great idea for a cheap, local children’s ministry conference specifically tailored to volunteers. Unfortunately, I did not have the resources to make something like this happen. Fortunately, at the same time, God gave the idea to some who did have the resources to make it happen and Illuminate was born from the mind of Kenny Conley.
What’s been really fun for me is watching how his heart and excitement for this conference has grown. Illuminate has become an amazing conference in multiple locations with some serious top-notch speakers.
Check this out!
Speakers this year include (not all speakers will be at all locations):
Reggie Joiner: Orange – Cumming, GA
Sue Miller: Orange – Cumming, GA
Jim Wideman: World Outreach Church – Murfreesboro, TN
Gina McClain: Faith Promise, Knoxville, TN
Jonathan Cliff: Athens Church – Athens, GA
Matt McKee: Orange/ROAR – Cumming, GA
Jason Underhill: Long Hollow Baptist Church – Hendersonville, TN
Jenny Golden: Church of the Highlands – Birmingham, AL
Meaghan Wall: Stonebriar Community Church, Frisco, TX
Dan Scott: Orange – Cumming, GA
Kenny Conley: Gateway Church – Austin, TX
Adam Duckworth: First Baptist Ft. Lauderdale – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Andy Savage: High Point Church – Memphis, TN
Dale Hudson: Christ Fellowship – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Jenny Funderburke: West Bradenton Baptist Church -Bradenton, FL
Amy Fenton: People’s Church – Franklin, TN
Cass Brannon: Calvary Baptist Church – Tuscaloosa, AL
Annette Boorman: Hill Country Bible Church – Austin, TX
Illuminate will be hosted in five cities nationwide and is easily the most affordable children’s ministry conference of this scale available. If you live within driving distance of any of the locations, you DO NOT want to miss this. You probably want to bring your whole team along.
This year, the theme is The End. Here’s what Kenny has to say.
Ministry to kids has come a long way in recent years. Great strides have been taken to leverage parents, resources and technology to impact kids in more significant ways. However, are we looking at ministry from the wrong perspective? We determine success by the number of leaders we have this year over last year. We determine victories by the number of kids in our ministry this year over last year. Our primary focus is this Sunday, this quarter and this year.But what about the end? Do we think about ten years from now when our current 2nd graders are leaving home for college? Will they be equipped to face the challenges that will come against their faith? Will they stand firm in moral and ethical issues in their 20’s and 30’s? Will they still have a loving relationship with Jesus to pass along to their own children?What would happen if every volunteer in every church ministry set their sights on The End? What if The End specifically determined how they teach and lead kids every Sunday? Perhaps if we focus on The End, we’ll have confidence that we’re truly equipping kids for their future.
Some of the registration deadlines are near, so make sure you check it out today. www.IlluminateConference.tv
Thanks for post this. Hopefully we’ll get an Illuminate in your neck of the woods sooner rather than later!