Spring is here. The trees are starting to bud and the scent of new life is in the air. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. One thing that comes with every spring for me is the little conference I attend every year in Atlanta called Orange Conference. Ha! There’s nothing little about Orange Conference!

This year makes my fifth year to attend this great conference. From time to time, people ask me why I keep going back. “Once you get this whole ‘Orange’ thing, can’t you move on to something new?” For me, Orange Conference has become a part of my annual routine because each year, it’s a totally different experience. I come home with different ideas, have different conversations and each event inspires me in a fresh new way. It’s less about the “event” and more about the people and conversations that accompany the conference (but I must say, the “event” is spectacular). There are very few places where so many people are gathered in the same place for a few days that challenge and inspire me so much within the context of the ministry I’m currently in. Why wouldn’t I make my way to participate each year?

Now, I must say that this year is very unique for me. Something is happening at OC13 that is not happening anywhere else, and I think it is incredible. This year, Orange Conference is hosting a specialized breakout track for NextGen/Family Ministry leaders. Not just people who are responsible for family elements of ministry, but those in the unique staff role of both student and children’s ministry oversight. It’s a very new, but rapidly growing role within the church and there’s so much to learn. Orange has put together some amazing communicators to talk about the things NextGen/Family Ministry leaders are dealing with. These breakouts attempt to define the role and the family ministry team. This track aims to process through the biggest hurdles leaders in this role will face. What I’m even more excited about is gathering and rubbing shoulders with others in this role as we all learn together.

Breakouts include:

• Leading a NextGen Meeting with Kenny Conley
• NextGen/Family Ministry Leadership: Leading 360 Degrees with Michael Bayne
• The Art of Delegation with Powell Grisham
• Family Ministry 101: Defining the NextGen/Family Ministry Team with Darren Kizer
• Leading Through Conflict Resolution with Kenny Conley and Jim Wideman
• Clarify the Win: Narrowing Down What is Most Important in Your Ministry with Jonathan Cliff

So, if you are in this role, or you work with someone in this role, OC13 is the place to be this April.

If you’d like more info about the various tracks at OC13, we’ve added for 2013 are Track Champions and a greater explanation of our tracks. You can read more about the goals of the each track here (http://www.whatisorange.org/orangeconference/2013/new) and watch the videos here (http://vimeo.com/whatisorange) to offer further explanation.

I had a feeling that this would happen. Just finished the weekend and there were only five Orange Week posts for Day 5. That’s expected because most people are off today.
So, enjoy the short recap:

Michael Bayne wrote about how his Family Ministry team had a pretty big miss. For years, they avoided a large group gathering for preschoolers for a variety of reasons. Turns out that they had been wrong. Great post Michael, thanks for sharing it.

Today I wrote about ways we’ve missed it when it comes to being Orange. Mostly we’ve seen failure or something less than success when it comes to take-home papers, seasonal outreaches and the way our children’s and student teams integrate.

Jonathan Cliff announced a contest for his blog. Leave a comment or two on any of his Orange Week posts and you’ll get a chance to win a free digital edition of CUE Box.

At Kidmin1124, Barbara Graves shares about a mid-week program that she walked into. A great perspective about seeing what is wrong with a program and going after it. Barbara asks the right kinds of questions.

Well, a lot of people take Friday and Saturday off, so there’s not nearly as many posts on the 4th and 5th day of Orange Week. We’ll post Kenny’s recaps for each day.

Pete Wilson’s blog, Without Wax. Pete starts off with a very strong statement, “There are few things more important to me these days than figuring out how to help our kids and students … I do know that we’ll never figure this out until the church gets more serious about partnering with parents.”

Michael Bayne talks about a giveaway he’s doing in conjunction with Orange Week with a series from XP3 curriculum that greatly impacted his students.

Chad Swanzy wrote about partnering with parents in student ministry and offers a family scavenger hunt resource.

Sam Luce hosts YouTube Friday with a funny “Annoying Orange” video series and ideas of ways he’s empowering parents with specific types of events.

Jonathan writes a great post about the family side of all the changes he’s been making.

Over on the Ministry to Children blog, Sue Miller guests posts about the frustration some Kidmin workers feel about the impact they’re making (or not making) in the lives of kids. The great thing about Orange is that its not either/or, but both/and.

At Kidmin1124, Lindsey Whitney writes about how her church has been transitioning to Orange by using staff meetings to integrate their ministry efforts.

Anthony Prince writes about how a curriculum shift helped them become more Orange. Their switch to 252 Basics and My First Look help set up ministry for the rest of the week.

Dan Scott invites the Middle School “guru” to post about Yellow Student Ministry. Guru Jon shares about the Cell Family concept he’s been leading for the last ten years.

Matt McKee shares his favorite memory from a past Orange Conference. I’m just honored to have been a part of that memory.

At Kidmin360, Greg writes about language. As a church, are we speaking the same language as our parents? Are we speaking the language they need to hear?

Later– Day 5 recap coming your way!

Day 2 of Orange Week– lots more posts from a variety of perspectives. Love it!

*Michael Bayne wrote about engaging with parents of students.
*Chad Swanzy shares a resource that helps you figure out a student’s view of home.
*I (Kenny) wrote about my struggle of really defining what it means to be red.
*Sam Luce’s post has red in the title, but talks powerfully about the church being yellow.
*Jonathan Cliff continues telling about his transition to Orange Curriculum, specifically how he uses 252 Basics.
*Barbara Graves wrote about the influence parents have on their kids.
*Nick Blevins showed a diagram of how his church lives out Orange, Yellow and Red strategies. In addition, he posted a video that teaches parents how to use God Time Cards and Refrigerator Cards.
*Anthony Prince provides an incredible example of a family event for mom and sons.
*Dan Scott posted about seeing red and asking a parent to tell him from their perspective what it means to be a part of an Orange Church. Dan also wrote a killer post about how he and his team made age specific events more family friendly.
*JC wrote about how families were the fabric of creation–extra points for creativity!
*Matt McKee wrote about Reggie’s “Stock Family” illustration. It’s through whacked out crazy families that God has done some of his greatest works!
*Henry Zonio wrote a phenomenal post about the heart of Orange, which is families. Zonio hit the nail on the head when he said parents will always love their children far more that the church.
*Keith Tusing joins the conversation today by sharing about his experience at Orange last year. He shares about three “slices” he took away that impacted him greatly.

Wow, I think these posts are getting better every day. Can’t wait to see what I’ll be reading by Monday! Which of these will be just what you need to read?

Okay, so here’s how things got started:

Chad Swanzy started of with a post comparing the story of Elisha and the Widow’s Oil to the situation that many of our families are in today. He shared how the Orange Conference is a movement that will equip ministries to impact broken families.

Micael Bayne wrote an incredible post about the challenge of helping parents with the red side of the Orange equation. He talks about how most parents just want the student ministries to fix or entertain their kids. He’s got some great advice on how to engage parents to be red!

Anthony Prince dives right into Orange week with his post titled “Code Red.” Great post on really practical things his church is doing to help families be RED. Great stuff Anthony!

Nick Blevins pens his first post about what Orange is and why. He’s simply setting up his readers for what is coming in the following days. It’s going to be some great stuff!

Wayne Stocks kicks off Orange week on his blog Kidmin1124 with a review of the Family Times pack produced by Orange. This is a great way to help families live out the red side of Orange. It’s a great review, so if you’ve been thinking about using them, read what he has to say.

Criag Baird wrote about something he’s believed and tough for years, the two bookends to ministry… which just happen to be the same things as the Orange Strategy of Yellow and Red coming together to make a lasting impact. Be sure to read, it’s a great perspective.

Sometimes timing works out perfectly. Unaware of Orage Week 2.0, Henry Zonio begins writing several posts revisiting the Orange Conference last year. So, check out what he’s been writing this week. If you attended last year, it will serve as a great reminder. If you didn’t, I’m sure you’ll learn something!

Stacey Waldmann breaks down the word Orange… literally. Check it out, she offers a very fresh perspective of Orange unique to her team. I love the way she ended her post. #kidmin needs to bleed orange. YES!

Zeremy Zach nailed it when it comes to student ministries become Orange. He addressed the stereotype of student ministries being isolated and “black sheep” of the church. He gives specific steps for student pastors to take to “drink the Orange juice.” I love it!

Kendra Golden wrote a guest post on the Swerve Blog about what it means to be Orange. She did a great job communicating the importance and the impact being Orange makes. So glad she was giving that platform to spread the word.

Chad Swanzy posted an incredible resource on his other site, YouthLeaderStash.com. I know it’s great because we worked on it together for a project with Leadership Network. It impacted me significantly and helped me see many things that I was blind too. It’s funny how you think things are really important and then when you start asking people, you find out that what you though was wrong. I highly encourage you to do this with your team.

Matt McKee, in his unmistakable style, writes a great post about why he’s Orange. Read it, you’ll really enjoy it. In case you didn’t know, he and his wife work for Orange now. I’m really excited for him. Ha! I love that guy.

JC just announced Orange Week to his readers. Nothing significant content wise, but it’s coming this week, so be sure to check in and read it.

Yesterday, Dan Scott wrote two posts. The first post was on the importance of synchronizing your strategy, which is really good stuff. He followed it up with another post about structure. It was insanely helpful 8 months ago when he posted his staff structure so people could see how they carried out the Orange Strategy in a practical way. This time he gives an update on what has changed. This is great stuff!

Gina McClain wrote a great post, I see RED people. Ha! I love it. She very clearly explains what it means for a family to live out the red part of the Orange Strategy. Gina, thanks for the clarity. Your post has helped me identify something I’ve been overlooking lately and even think about how I communicate to parents what families need to look like.

If you get into the Orange Strategy, you’ll find that Orange also signifies CHANGE (like the the orange leaves in Autumn). That’s what Jonathan Cliff wrote about. Change. This year he transitioned his church to 252 Basics and My First Look and he loves it. He did it so he could have a stronger strategy for impacting families. Check it out, it’s good stuff.

Sam Luce reposted something from the past, “Orange is the new green.” In it he talks about what Orange looks like in his church. There are few churches that I know of where the Chidlren’s Ministry and Student Ministry work so well together. This is worth a read.

Finally, I wrote about “What is Orange.” Simply defining what the Orange Strategy is in relation to Red and Orange. I also posted to great videos from Orange. You know you want to read it.

Thanks for doing this Kenny.  You can check out his site at http://childrensministryonline.com

So a few weeks ago, we took 70 kids and leaders to summer camp. There were 400 kids there overall and I had been hired by the camp to be the Camp Pastor at one of the three weeks of camp. They had chosen reThink’s Live it Out curriculum in a box to use as a camp theme and curriculum. We use both 252 Basics and My First Look every Sunday, so I was pretty familiar with the material. As the Camp Pastor, I was given the DVD of video elements as well as the small group materials that had been selected for small group breakouts.

In the 8-10 years that I’ve taught at kids camp, this is the first time I’ve ever used a curriculum. I’ve always developed the theme, written the messages and put together the small group/develotional materials. So, this was a very new experience for me as well. After using a curriculum, would I do it again? Yeah, I think I would.

Live it Out was the first curriculum I’ve used for camp and it was a good/great experience. As far as the theme goes, it was fantastic. Take it In and Live it Out is based on the scripture in Matthew, “However hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like the wise man…” The first day of camp was this main point as well as the parable of the wise and foolish men who built houses on the rock and sand. The next four days we chose lessons that were parables of Jesus and they all tied in so well to the theme overall.

It was a GREAT message and theme for camp. I know that hundreds of kids were powerfully impacted. Many to begin relationships with God, others to truly “Live it Out.” In addition, the theme song was a lot of fun and very well done. The kids loved it… especially learning the rap. We only used 5 messages/lessons, but there were more to choose from. There was also tons of small group activities to take part in… tons. So, there was no shortage of material. Overall, “Live it Out” is pretty much consistent with what you would expect from 252 Basics.

–To read more great posts by Kenny, check out http://www.childrensministryonline.com/