Last week I attended the National Conference of the United Brethren in Christ denomination. It was an opportunity to connect with supporters, speak with pastors, and spend time with my parents.
There was a lot of worry going into it. Our Bishop resigned quite suddenly, so there was some question of what would happen. There were also a couple of resolutions that would directly affect the future of the denomination. I don't normally attend the business session, and to be honest, I didn't attend much of it this time, either. Part of that is because non-voting people were kicked out for an executive session to discuss the Bishop issue. But I have connections, so I knew what was going on anyway.
I was a little disappointed with the communication side of things. I didn't have a booth, so it was a little harder to make connections with people. I didn't set up as many meetings as I would have liked. I don't think I gained any new supporters. And I didn't really communicate the goals of Train & Multiply to anyone except the wife of another mission leader.
Let's face it. I'm not naturally gifted in the area of fund raising. I prefer to have a relationship with someone before I ask them for money, and that takes time and common ground. Time is always an issue because there is so much stuff going on. I think it's harder for stateside people because we're still expected to get our jobs done. Field missionaries take a year specifically for funding. Granted, stateside people have weekends to work on it.
Common ground is also hard for me. Sure, we all love Jesus. But there are a lot of areas in which to love Jesus. People are passionate about different things. I'm passionate about grammar. And history. And science fiction. And being alone. These are not always conducive to conversation.
I guess there isn't much of a point to this post after all. Just an update.
There was a lot of worry going into it. Our Bishop resigned quite suddenly, so there was some question of what would happen. There were also a couple of resolutions that would directly affect the future of the denomination. I don't normally attend the business session, and to be honest, I didn't attend much of it this time, either. Part of that is because non-voting people were kicked out for an executive session to discuss the Bishop issue. But I have connections, so I knew what was going on anyway.
I was a little disappointed with the communication side of things. I didn't have a booth, so it was a little harder to make connections with people. I didn't set up as many meetings as I would have liked. I don't think I gained any new supporters. And I didn't really communicate the goals of Train & Multiply to anyone except the wife of another mission leader.
Let's face it. I'm not naturally gifted in the area of fund raising. I prefer to have a relationship with someone before I ask them for money, and that takes time and common ground. Time is always an issue because there is so much stuff going on. I think it's harder for stateside people because we're still expected to get our jobs done. Field missionaries take a year specifically for funding. Granted, stateside people have weekends to work on it.
Common ground is also hard for me. Sure, we all love Jesus. But there are a lot of areas in which to love Jesus. People are passionate about different things. I'm passionate about grammar. And history. And science fiction. And being alone. These are not always conducive to conversation.
I guess there isn't much of a point to this post after all. Just an update.
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