5 Ways To Get The Most From The Orange Conference #OC15

The Orange Conference is here,and thousands of children, student, and family ministry leaders have flocked to Atlanta, GA to be inspired and resourced to reach the next generation for Christ.

Just like any conference,

Here are 5 ways to get the most from #OC15.   

1. Set Expectations

Whether you are by yourself or with a large Children’s Ministry team, you will get the most out of the Orange Conference if both you and your team set expectations for the week.

Ask yourself and each other:

• Am I here to be inspired or to solve specific issues in our Children’s and Family Ministry?
• What are the specific questions I would like to be answered before I leave #OC15?
• Is our team going to divide and attend different breakouts, or are we all going to the same breakout sessions?

Setting expectations ahead of time will allow your team to feel unified and focused on the purpose of why you decided to invest the time and resources into attending the Orange Conference. 

2. Daily Digest

One of the biggest mistakes attendees make at conferences is not taking the time at the end of a conference day to digest their takeaways. They wait for the plane ride home to jot down notes but then get frustrated when they can’t remember “that one thing that guy said.” No matter how tired you are at the end of the day, take five minutes to write down the key points you learned that day and include next steps for action items.

To take this to the next level, bring your team together to discuss everyone’s takeaways from the day. This allows the team to learn from each other and find alignment in vision for the week.

3. Network

The smartest children’s pastors are well connected with their peers, brainstorming new ideas and asking, “How can we better serve our kids and families?” With the concentration of children and family ministry leaders at the Orange Conference, take advantage of the brainpower around you. Find peers that are at churches similar to yours, ask them questions, and learn from them.  Seek out other teams from churches of a similar size or demographic and ask them what is and isn’t working on their ministry team.

4. Resources

There are hundreds of resources available at Orange from the breakout leaders, the bookstore, to the Orange Conference partners. Take time to peruse the resource areas of the conference. Grab a book to read on your flight home or to walk through as a ministry team. Meet the Orange Conference vendors who are there to provide solutions for pain points in your ministry. Take advantage of having these hundreds of resources at your fingertips to ask questions and find solutions to challenge points in your ministry.

5. Social Media

Take #OC15 home with you through twitter, facebook, and instagram. Make memories, take pictures, and post them so that a year from now you and your team can say, “Look at how far we have come!”

Using the Orange Conference hashtags is a helpful way to keep track of takeaways from the breakout sessions and speakers. You can also read takeaways from other attendees that you might have missed by following the hashtags:

• #OC15
• #OC15live
• #thinkorange
• #justaphase
• #whatisorange

A few members of our team (Bob, Danny, and me!) are at Orange this week. We’d love to connect with you! Come find us hanging out at our photobooth in the arena lobby where you can come get an orange mustache and take your photo. We look forward to meeting you at #OC15!

Enjoyed this insight? Check out this free resource: The Secret Sauce To An Effective #KidMin Volunteer Strategy.