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Follow-up after the event
I wanted to follow up on the previous post about promo for events now that the event is over. (You can visit the blog for the event if you want more details, a few video clips and such if you’d like.) Our numbers were marginally down from last year, but there are a number of parameters that could have contributed to that.
One is that the venue was further from the city. Every year we have some who tell us we need a venue either closer to, or *in* the city. Perhaps there is some truth to that. I don’t know. I have often wondered what effect it would have if we did a one-day event instead of overnight residential… That would certainly make it easier to do it in the city!
Another thing that I sensed even before the event, is that those I have worked with in planning and running the event seemed to be waiting for the brochure to be printed before they were prepared to take promo seriously. Since we didn’t DO a brochure, some didn’t take promo seriously until a couple of weeks before the event, when they were hearing reports of very little response in terms of registrations.
So…the issue bridges between Gen X/Gen Y’ers, and the Baby Boomers who were planning and implementing the event. If Baby Boomers are the ones doing promo and they believe a brochure is the main way to advertise, how do you handle it? How can we bridge the gap?
The event went well, by the way! The speaker, a baby boomer understands postmodernism well, and was one of the best I have heard in this type of conference for relating to post-moderns in contemplating our world, and missions and how to respond. It was very good overall. We have things to learn from the experience, of course, but I was really pleased with the response and feedback.
It was my last time at this event, since we are moving in a couple of months. I have been a part of this event since before it was conceived. I suggested it at the first meeting that it grew from, and have been a part of it ever since. Now I have to give it up, hand it over and pray that it will grow up to be a productive “citizen” in my absence. It is hard to give up your “babies” and let them grow up without you, isn’t it?! 
Gen Y…what do we need to do differently?
I am heavily involved in a mobilization event in my work in Western Australia. We have had a lot of discussion about the best ways to do promo for the event. Some say that we really need to have a printed brochure so they “have something in their hands” and I contend that the web is NUMBER 1 for promo, word of mouth is probably #2, and Relationship is the key. It is a gamble to consider that we have done a brochure in prior years, but think it MAY not be a crucial factor in promo of the event to our focus audience. The only way you can really be sure is to try it for one year and see what happens.
A lot has been written about the differences between Baby Boomers, GenX and GenY, but I guess I haven’t ever seen much written about the specifics of how mobilizers should communicate with the current group…at the “nitty-gritty level”. What have you learned from your experiences?
When is a wall a wall?
Jon, at Missional Hands has brought up a good point that I think is worthy of discussion. In his post, “There is a wall,” Jon points at that virtually ALL of us will face what seem to be insurmountable barriers in our journey of obedience to the Great Commission. Some call them “roadblocks” while others call them “barriers”…etc… Call it what you like, but they are obstacles to reaching the place we sense God is leading us.
When you hit “the wall” you have a choice. Do you accept it as God’s leading and divert your path? Sometimes this could be the right choice….maybe we didn’t hear a call we thought we had heard. Or is it like “the wall” that distance runners hit at a point in their run? Any runner will tell you that the wall seems insurmountable at the time, but if you perservere, there comes a “second wind” and a grand feeling of accomplishment that it was the WALL that crumbled, not you!
So…as a mobilizer, how do you counsel people when they come to the wall? Is it time for them to give up? Rethink the call? Or is it time to persevere? What are the indicators you encourage them to look for to discern what God is saying in their situation?
What is Mobilization?
What is Mobilization??
I was reading at The Traveling Team’s Website earlier and found an article that makes a nice topic for conversation as we start out discussing Mobilization issues. The article “Mobilization: The Key to World Evangelization” contains a number of interesting concepts, but I would like to “zero in” on one of them:
What is mobilization, you ask? Wesley Tullis, formerly a Director of Prayer Mobilization for YWAM states: “Essentially mobilization refers to any process by which God’s people are awakened and kept moving and growing until they find their place for strategic involvement in the task of completing world evangelization. Mobilizers are those who channel key resources, training and vision for world evangelization to the Body of Christ. It has been said, that to improperly appreciate and support the role of the mobilizer is to seriously hinder the functions of the goer, sender, and welcomer.”
I sincerely believe that mobilization is an extension of the prayer of Jesus when he was emotionally moved by the unreached masses around him. His response was for his disciples (That’s us, isn’t it??) to pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send more workers to the field. As a Mobilizer, that is exactly what I do. And I take it a step further. I pattern my life in such a way that I not only pray for the workers to go. I look for the available candidates. I work with them to help them develop in their relationship with Jesus. I encourage them to remember the needs of our world. I do whatever I can to “fan the flame” that is alive in them…that spark of inspiration for involvement in the Great Commission. That is mobilization.
What are some of the ways that you relate to the people around you to encourage them to consider the claims that the Lord of the Harvest has on their life?
Welcome to Mobilization Cafe’
Welcome to Mobilization Cafe’!
Can you smell the coffee? Good. This is a place that has been set aside to share a good coffee and discuss Great Commission issues. As the name implies, we will focus our attentions on the task of mobilizing the next generation of workers and resource for cross-cultural work, in response to the Lord of the Harvest.
When Jesus saw the crowds, and was moved by their need, he immediately turned to us and said, “Pray that more workers would be sent!” We like to think of this place as an extension of that prayer. Let’s live it!