“It seems like a rhetorical question.\u00a0 The answer seems simple.\u00a0 Of course, we all want our conferences to grow.\u00a0 But the answer is not really that simple.\u00a0 Our conference was not only not growing, it was shrinking!\u00a0 At one time we had 28 churches in the Pennsylvania Conference (now River of Life Conference).\u00a0 Over the past two decades we found ourselves with just 14 churches and some of those didn\u2019t look to healthy. \u00a0So what did we do?\u00a0 We reached out to EVUSA.<\/p>\n
The reason the answer to my question is not so simple is because there is usually a reason why your conference is not growing.\u00a0 It takes courage to ask the hard questions or to allow someone else to come in and ask the hard questions.\u00a0 Here is where I have to tip my hat to our former Bishop, Charles Hawes, and the rest of the executive council I now work with.\u00a0 Charles had the courage to invite EVUSA into the equation.<\/p>\n
In 2010, we invited Garry Bryant from EVUSA and Dayton Birt from Redemption Ministries to lead us on a three day prayer and planning retreat.\u00a0 For three days they prayed for us, instructed us and asked us the hard questions.\u00a0 It was not the most pleasant three days.\u00a0 However, the outcome of those three days were the turnaround for our conference. We came away from that weekend with six action points we felt were absolutely vital if we wanted to change our direction.\u00a0 Over the next two years, we implemented all six of those action points.<\/p>\n
Over the last four years, the EVUSA team has exhorted us and challenged us but I also know they have prayed for us. Their response was one of genuine care and concern.\u00a0 They did not come and \u201chijack\u201d our conference.\u00a0 They simply helped us become the conference we could be.<\/p>\n
I am happy to say our conference is growing.\u00a0 Finances are up 17%.\u00a0 We revitalized one church this year and planted a new one.\u00a0\u00a0 We have another one scheduled to go in the first quarter of 2015.\u00a0 It may not seem like a huge difference, but it sure is nice to be headed in the right direction. I want to challenge the other bishops and their executive councils to call on EVUSA if you want to grow your conference.<\/p>\n
Thank you Chris Thompson and the EVUSA team.\u00a0 We seriously could not have done it without you.<\/p>\n
Bishop Dale Adams”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n “It has been the sincere pleasure of EVUSA to \u201ccome along side\u201d the River of Life Conference.\u00a0 Members of the EVUSA have made several trips each year to Pennsylvania.\u00a0 We have carried them in our hearts and offered many prayers up to the Lord for them.\u00a0 It is a joy to share in their joy and their sense of excitement.<\/p>\n The Lord is at work in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n D. Chris Thompson A Letter to EVUSA “It seems like a rhetorical question.\u00a0 The answer seems simple.\u00a0 Of course, we all want our conferences to grow.\u00a0 But the answer is not really that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-evusa","7":"entry"},"title_es":"","content_es":"","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbhxDC-41","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/evangelism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nExecutive Director of EVUSA”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"