This is one of the things I really love about my church, Gateway Community Church.

We’re in a series called “Dialed In: Conversations with the World.” Actually, it’s a series about other world religions. I’m sure many people would ask, why would you devote an entire series to other religions? Isn’t that something you’d teach in a small group or special extra-curricular class? Yeah, I think we actually do that as well. But you may not know our audience. Although Texas is a good ‘ol conservative/right-winged/republican state, Austin is not. Austin is an odd city with a weird vibe. It’s definitely Texas to the core, but with a liberal twist. A significant number of our church came to Christ at Gateway and a significant number of those who came to Christ were not your “grew up in the church but never made a decision” type of people. There are many people sitting in our audience every week wondering if this route is any different or better than the alternatives.

So, this last weekend was supposed to be about Hinudism and Buddhism. I think that both a Hindu and a Buddhist were either going to be interviewed or maybe it was just an expert in these religions. Unfortunately, our pastor, John Burke, called in sick. It was the first time in the 10 years of Gateway. Becasue he was out, we watched a video of a message recorded a few years ago that tied into the message from last week. It was still very good.

But what was really cool was the worship set. There was a very small set of standard instruments. Added to this was a little Indian (No, I don’t mean Native American) band. One guy was playing a very tribal looking set of hand drums. Another guy was playing the Sitar and another guy playing a Veena (I’m pretty sure). How cool is this? And these were not some local musicians who are versed in all kinds of instruments. These guys looked like the real deal. What a great experience. Totally Austin.

Excuse the quality of my photos. I was sitting at the very back and the room was dark.

Technorati Tags: Hinduism, Buddhism, Austin

At staff meeting a few weeks ago, we spent a little bit of time talking about the Great Commission. Yes! This is my verse. As someone who is very committed to the cause of reaching the unreached, the Great Commission is my motto. But I learned something that kind of shook my understanding of this verse.

Don’t worry. My new found revelation has not changed my feelings or passion for world missions. But I do look at this verse a little differently now.

“Go Ye Therefore!” I’ve listened to countless sermons where this was the thrust of the message. The last thing Jesus said to his disciples was to “GO!” This verse has been the catalyst for pushing people out of their comfortable lives a out in the world making a difference.

Then I learned something very interesting. In staff meeting someone asked, “What are the verbs in this command?” Easy. Go, make (disciples), baptize and teaching. Then someone asked, “What is the “main” verb in this command?” Duh. Everyone knows that. Go!

Wrong.

Go is not the main verb. Make disciples is the main verb.

Go, baptize and teach are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.” A better way to say this verse would be “As you go” or “In your going” make disciples. It is thought that as Jesus gave this command, the “Go” was assumed. In the three years Jesus walked with his disciples, they were always on the go. He often spoke about “all nations.” The point that he was making here was that we are to “make disciples.”

Here’s some more information on the context and language of this verse: Site 1 Site 2 Site 3

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. For me I’ve “GONE” many times. I’ve been obedient to “The Great Commission.” I’ve spread the gospel.

However, how many disciples have I made? (Awkward silence)

Sure, I’ve been a part of helping kids grow in their faith over a period off years. I’m very proud of that. However, when I step out of my role as “Kenny Conley: Children’s Pastor,” and become “Kenny Conley: Average Guy” or “Kenny Conley: Next Door Neighbor,” how many disciples have I made?

Rhetorical question: How well have I obeyed “The Great Commisssion?” How well have you?

Technorati Tags: Great Commission, Missions, Discipleship

I hope this got your attention. As someone who loves seeing kids come to Christ, I get very excited about this. I imagine you would too. So, please read the paragraph below and click on the links. All of this will only take 3-4 minutes and you’ll get a glimpse of something very powerful happening in the lives of kids… just a few thousand miles away.

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Typically after every event I do, I make notes for the following year. On the server where we keep all the files, I’ll usually open a folder under “Surge” called 2008. In it will be a single word document with all the recommendations for the next year. I try to do this within the week of the event and then close the file out completely and not think of it for a while. It feels very good to close the file and move on rather than dwelling on it continually. So, here are the things I would do differently (but I must preface… there is very little I would have done differently… it was an amazing experience).

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Putting together this mission trip was a lot of work, but not nearly as much as it was putting together Venture Quest (our VBS type program) or summer camp. Actually the most frustrating thing was tracking down donations (we had some issues that were beyond our control). I would have anticipated that a 2008 trip to Mexico would have taken significantly less time because I had so much of the ground work done. So, if you’re thinking about doing a mission trip, feel free to borrow as much of this as you need to maximize your time!

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Like I said before, I had to reinvent the wheel here as I couldn’t get any help from anyone who had done this before. Fortunately I have participated on many mission trips (as an adult and as a teenager) and have led trips for adults, so I had a pretty good idea of what to do. I boiled all this down in the context of presenting to kids and their parents.

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Goodness, I’m not even sure where to begin. I guess I’ll start from square one… when I first decided to take kids on a mission trip.

I believe it was in 2003, I was sitting in an all-day pre-conference with Craig Jutila at CPC in Atlanta. I sat there like a sponge, taking in everything he had to say about purpose driven children’s ministry. For me, it was a new approach to ministry that I desperately needed. I had a lot of great things going, but it was inspiration from this session that helped refine, polish and add structure to ministry. Having a huge heart for international missions, I knew that I’d eventually take kids on missions, I just didn’t know how or when. It was after I developed a “process” for ministry that I saw how missions might fit. Four years later the time was right. Continue reading »

About 9 months ago I wrote this post on taking kids on a mission trip. I was in the planning process of taking twenty 4th and 5th graders to Mexico. Unfortunately, I hit one of my blogging lulls when I actually went on the trip and I never followed up on the post. Let me tell you, it was one of the single most memorable experiences in my children’s ministry career. Absolutely incredible!

The trip was amazingly smooth. There are very few things that I would change. However, I did learn a few lessons. If you’ve ever thought about involving kids on a mission trip, you should totally start planning to do it.

Beginning tomorrow, I’ll start my Surge series. I’m spilling it all. Every detail, every plan, every document. So, if you’re ever interested in doing this kind of trip, you’ll have a good place to start. I had a very difficult time getting information from those who’ve done this before. I essentially had a reinvent the wheel. Now I present to you my wheel. Don’t reinvent… just tweak!

 With great excitement I’m embarking on a great new ministry for kids at Cross Timbers. This July I’ll be taking a team of 40 to Mexico on a missions trip. Although mission trips to Mexico are about a common as Baptist Churches in the South, the unique element of SURGE is that we’re taking 4th and 5th graders. Continue reading »

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No condemnation here at all, just offering perspective. My problems really aren’t nearly as big as I thought they were. My heart swells with pride when I read this article. Yes it’s sad, but they’ve given more to Christ than I ever have. May I be more like these brothers and sisters of mine!