18 April, 2011
Last week we had the privilege of hosting the Colour ONE DAY conference in Cape Town. This was exciting for a number of reasons, it was the first time Colour has come to South Africa, the first time for many women to understand they can be part of this 'Global Sisterhood movement' led by Bobbie, and the first time we have attempted something of this magnitude as a church!
Its this final 'first time' that I want to focus on...As a church leader one of the big questions we ask ourselves is when will we be ready to attempt something 'BIG'? Whatever 'BIG' is...?? Could be to run a conference, could be to host a special concert, could be a missions event, could be an outreach type gathering, a new campus etc. As much as we want to wait until things are right before we attempt something BIG, I don't think they ever are 'just right' and so my advice to you today is plan to do something BIG anyway!!
The thing about BIG is that it changes...and that's good, because as you attempt things that are 'BIG' they somehow become 'SMALLER'. Because you and your team become bigger... We are all at different stages and therefore we should never compare what's BIG with another church, just what's BIG for us.
When we discussed hosting Colour ONE DAY I didn't know if we were ready, our church is only 2.5yrs old, we've just moved into a permanent facility, we have a young team, there were many reasons why not, but in the end we decided we would do it anyway. Why? Because we believe in what Colour is all about, and because in leading our church for last 2.5yrs I have realised the only way to grow is to try something you've never done before.
I'm not saying you should go out and run a women’s conference, or any conference for that matter...but what I am saying is no matter what size your church is you need to do something this year that makes everyone from the key team down go...'That's BIG!!' It could be an idea to bless your community, it could be a youth festival and outreach program, it could be a missions event there are a myriad of different 'God ideas' to stir your heart. What I have found is when the senior leadership is passionate and committed to attempt something BIG everyone gets behind it...
This is what I observed from our BIG EVENT:
- People who have sat in church every week actually volunteered, because they recognised we couldn't do it without them.
- People's unique gifts were highlighted and utilised, (we found gifted people we never knew were in church!)
- Everyone felt a sense of accomplishment that we did this TOGETHER!
- Everyone took pride in the BIG event and our building has never looked better!
- People from our community who don't come to church heard about the BIG event and got excited wanting to be part of it.
- Everyone took personal ownership...our BIG event was a Women’s Conference, but the guys understand their role to serve the women. They showed up in great numbers walking women in to conference down red carpet and cheering them as they left...(And no one had to remind them, they just did it!)
- There was purpose...women’s lives we changed and we have many, many testimonies to back this up. (We didn't just do something BIG for Big's sake, we had a purpose.)
What happens if the BIG event fails? Well learn from it and move on, we've tried some things that haven't worked out as we planned...but here's the thing, there's enough wisdom out there to help you do a BIG event your team can cope with that stretches you, and actually takes you forward. Establish an accurate budget, ask questions, watch what others do, and learn from them.
Sir Edmund Hilary the first man to climb Mt Everest failed on his first attempt...but legend has it that after coming back down as a 'failure' said of Mt Everest, 'Its not got any bigger, but I am!'
And you will get BIGGER to as you attempt something BIG for GOD!
Yours getting Bigger,
Phil
For more information and to register for Colour Conference please visit colourconference.com
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