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Over 500 photos from the US National Conference have been posted on Flickr. They are divided into sets according to day. Use them to build your own PowerPoint presentation to show to your church. Or, use some of the photos in others ways, like in a church newsletter.
Bishop Ron Ramsey (right) leads in prayer during the installation service for Phil and Sandy Whipple.
The US National Conference held its concluding service on Sunday morning, June 7.
Phil Whipple will take office August 15. But the Executive Leadership Team took action last fall to allow for a two-week overlap with Bishop Ramsey, prior to August 15. In the past, the changeover happened rather abruptly–one bishop one day, a different bishop the next.
Pray for Phil and Sandy Whipple as they busy themselves with all the arrangements for moving from one state to another. They don’t have a home to sell in Michigan, so that’s a plus. But they will need to find a place to live in the Huntington/Fort Wayne area, and soon.
Additional updates from the US National Conference business session.
Clockwise from top left: Steve Dennie, Paul Hammel, Steve and Phil Whipple.
In 2007, we needed lots of easels for the many signs posted around Saw Mill Creek. Unfortunately, we only had a few. So this time, I decided to be prepared. A basic easel costs 30-50 bucks, but I found a place in California that was offering a dozen easels for $120. I decided that, no matter how cheaply made, they would be a good investment for many national conferences to come.
They arrived in a big box, which I didn’t open until yesterday. Inside the big box were 12 smaller boxes. I envisioned opening a box, pulling out the easel, and simply unfolding it and letting it expand to its final glory.
Not so easy. Instead, I found myself sitting on the floor of the Saw Mill Creek lobby amidst eight sticks, a few bolts, a chain, and absolutely no directions. Now, I had to figure out how to assemble these random sticks. We’re talking ME, the guy who is baffled by Tinker Toys. Who can’t grasp the concept behind Leggos. I’m sure somebody in China, while stuffing these sticks into the boxes, was laughing thinking, “Those Americans will never figure it out.”
But never underestimate the ingenuity of the American farmer. Along came Paul Hammel, father of Finance Director Marci Hammel (who’s also an accountant, though I can’t imagine that part being any help). He played around with the pieces, and figured it out. Or close, There was some screwing and unscrewing of bolts, but we got it eventually. Or he did, while I mostly watched. We assembled the first easel together, then tackled the others on our own. Yes, even I could do it. We also pulled in Phil Whipple, who gets credit for four of the twelve.
Bishop Ron Ramsey in front of the entrance to the registration area, which, come tomorrow, will be swarming with over 800 people.
Several dozen people are at Saw Mill Creek (Huron, Ohio), getting everything set up for the XLR8 US National Conference, which starts Thursday afternoon. It’s a lot of work–decorating the hotel in a racing theme, setting up the main conference hall (lights, video, stage, screens, you-name-it), stuffing packets, hanging signs, and much more.
A number of photos have been posted here. You can also follow the UB Twitter feed for updates throughout the days of the conference.
The main hall is a busy place. By Thursday night, it will be set up with 900 chairs, ready to go. But right now, Chris Kuntz and his crew is setting up the stage, lighting, and lots of elaborate computer and video equipment.
Heather Umbaugh and her decorations crew are transforming the hotel with the racing theme. Pieces of actual Nascar vehicles are everywhere. Not to mention all the checkered flags.
Some of the ladies spent hours putting together the packets for all attendees–nearly 900 packets.
The sound table is filled with computer, monitors, and all kinds of gadgetry–not to mention a multitude of cords. And it all needs to work together.
Bishop Ron Ramsey (right) and Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries, in front of the loaded trailer. Among all the supplies, printed materials, etc., are many pieces from actual Nascar vehicles. They’ll be used in set decoration by Heather Umbaugh, who is heading up that part of the conference.
The trailer will head to Huron, Ohio, Wednesday morning, and we’ll spend the day–along with many other volunteers–getting everything set up. Then, Thursday noon, registration starts.
Oh ye of little faith. Registrations keep climbing toward the 900 mark, which we hit in 2007. Here’s how things look right now:
857 people registered.
182 ministerial delegates
195 lay delegates
120 teens and children
138 people attending the UB Historical Society banquet.
26 signed up to play golf each day (Thursday and Saturday)
22 attending the LEAD Team (church multiplication) lunch on Friday.
We also have 47 former missionaries registered. They’ll be recognized Saturday on Missions Night. Global Ministries is using the theme “Looking Back, Looking Ahead,” to recognize both our rich history in missions and where the Lord may be taking us in the years ahead.
All of the reports have now been posted online. Delegates received most of them by mail a couple weeks ago, and will get the rest when they arrive.
If you’re attending as a delegate, you might want to download a copy of the UB Discipline. It may come in handy during the business meeting. At the least, you can use it for devotional reading.
A one-day workshop on “Strategic Planning for the Local Church” will be held July 16 in Fort Wayne, Ind. It’s limited to 30 persons–the first 30 to register. This seminar was previously held in February, and it filled up.
The presenter is Dr. Rick Upchurch, director of the Huntington University EXCEL adult education program. His office, along with all other graduate school offices, is in the Healthy Ministry Resources building (and all of us agree that he’s a great guy). Rick is an ordained Nazarene minister who has worked with local churches the past ten years as a consultant in leadership-related areas.
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2009
Time: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: Innovation Center, 3201 Stelhorn Road, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Cost: $99 (or $79 each if 3 or more persons come from the same church). Includes lunch.
CEU Credit: .5 CEU
The class will focus on:
You can register online. You can also contact Dr. Upchurch by email.
Wow, things are a bit crazy around Healthy Ministry Resource as we put together a big packet of materials for all delegates to the National Conference. Which is just three weeks away.
The packet contains:
Bishop Ramsey stresses: READ THE REPORTS. We’re not going to spend a lot of time going over them during the conference. That would be redundant. We have too much ground to cover.
The packet of reports will probably go out Thursday or Friday. But right now, you can download most of them, and also view them online at the US National Conference site.
Delegates are also advised to download the UB Discipline from the US National Conference site. Perhaps pastors could print out a copy for each delegate. It may come in handy when we’re doing Discipline revision.
