Last week Patrick Snow, (pictured above with Becki and Gordon West) and Nick Diliberto were at the KidMin Conference in Chicago, IL. Here are Patrick’s latest reflection on the experience:
I just go back from Group’s Kidmin Conference and I have to say that I was highly impressed by it. I’ve been to quite a few children’s conferences in the past but this may have been the best I’ve attended. I’ve never been to Orange so to all Rethink fans, forgive me. I thought I’d take a minute to jot down a few things that stuck out at me this weekend.
First, I loved the way Group set up the conference in a way that allowed everyone ample opportunities to connect with each other. There were many times when I found myself talking and discussing preteen ministry with others who either have a heart for it or are now beginning to realize it’s importance. For those of you who have been to the FourFiveSix Preteen Leaders Conference in Rocklin, CA, the connection time felt a lot like that.
Second, I truly saw this conference get and respond to the need for preteen ministry. At most of the other conferences I’ve been to, if there’s anything about preteen ministry, it’s usually a last minute thought, not highlighted very well, and thrown in a back room with little attendance expected. Which is honestly what happens to the Preteens in most of our churches. But that wasn’t the case at Kidmin. My fellow FourFiveSix-er, Nick Diliberto, and I were given an eight hour deeper learning track that allowed us to really talk about and discuss our philosophy on preteen ministry and give great examples of what it looks like. We saw anywhere between 45-80 leaders of Preteens, all of which seemed excited and engaged in the possibilities of what their preteen ministries could be like. Outside of our workshops, Kidmin also put together a preteen connect group that gave designated times for preteen pastors to sit, discuss, and learn more about preteen ministry from each other.
Finally, I was very encouraged to see the need for preteen ministy on the rise. I got to sit and talk to many other leaders in children’s ministry who are realizing the importance of this age group. It was exciting to hear from leading children’s ministry publishers and leading children’s ministry bloggers that they see a need for more of an emphasis to preteens and would like to stop losing them in our churches.
Like I said before, it was a great conference and I had an amazing time getting to speak into and even learn more about ministering to Preteens. I think the highlight of weekend for me was getting to eat lunch with Gordon and Becki West, two people who when no one else thought it was important, began pioneering preteen ministry. When I first began my own ministry, their resources were the only things that I had to get me started. Thanks Gordon and Beckie for what you do and thank you Group for a conference that allowed preteen ministry to continue forward.
