Reflecting on our time in the USA this summer takes me to the almost bookends to our time which were two conferences. Early in the summer I was able to attend the Vineyard National Conference in Denver Colorado held the second week of July. I was able to attend the conference with the support of HUB City Vineyard and the Recher family who funded my portion, as well as good friends Steve and Layne Fish, and Ron and Nancy Burnett, who allowed me to crash their AirBnB and freeload transportation.
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| Martha Perez pastor of La Viña Jinotepe (our church in Nicaragua) attended the Vineyard National Conference with us. |
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| A portion of the contingent from Vancouver Vineyard Church |
It was an excellent conference with some amazing memories. Most memorable was a point where old school Pastors and leaders were acknowledged for helping to build a movement and second generation pastors and leaders were then acknowledged for taking the baton. We all prayed for one another during our kum ba ya moment.
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| Some of our new Hispanic friends from La Viña churches through out the US. |
One of my goals for attending the conference was to meet Hispanic pastors and leaders of La Viña churches in the US. Pastor Martha Perez and I were able to make contacts with many Latino leaders with hopes of hearing their stories and possible opening up opportunities for ministry exchanges between La Viña churches in the US and our church in Nicaragua. This possibility brings many benefits, the biggest being that their would not be a language barrier in ministering cross culturally.
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| Martha to my right with headphones on listening to translation, Steve and Layne Fish to her right. |
The back end of my time in the states took me back to Colorado again. This time Colorado Springs to the Vineyard Missions conference held a Glen Eden. This conference was the most impactful to me. I was able to meet missionaries and mission partner leaders from throughout the Vineyard movement. The teaching throughout the 5 day even was incredible. The worship intimate, and the fellowship connective.
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| Steve Fish was my room mate (or I was his). Steve has been my pastor since 1991 and a friend since '87. |
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At Glen Eden, I was able to pick up a coach who will help me walk through problems and challenges we experience in ministry and life. I now meet with my coach once a month via video conference call. It has been one of the most beneficial things I have received from the conference. I only wish I would have had a coach 17 years ago when I first went into the mission field. Coaching has become one of a set of options that the Vineyard movement is making available to church leaders to help them in their growth and development as a leader.
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| Some hills from next doors Garden of the Gods. |
The backdrop for this conference is stunning. Nestled in the spectacular mountains of Colorado Springs, there are hiking trails and nature walks abound.
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| Ministry time during the conference was powerful. Communion on the final day brought lots of emotions. |
Generally speaking, I'm not a conference person. I don't attend most available conference. I don't care for the travel nor do I like large groups too much. Having said that, I have attend three conferences over the past 4 years (one in 2015 and two this year) and each conference had special moments that gave me new perspective and increased vision for the work we do in Nicaragua. I am thankful to those who made these events possible for me.
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