Hello Friends!
Last week our staff was blessed to be able to attend a simulcast of the New Room Conference put on by Seedbed. Every year New Room provides valuable resources, Spirit- filled moments, and calls to deeper discipleship. While the actual conference was in Birmingham, Alabama, this year we hung out at Blanco Methodist Church and enjoyed amazing speakers and worship. There are a few highlights I want to share with you:
• The first Speaker, Andrew Forrest, presented on his book “Love Goes First” and challenged us to not be afraid to engage with those who don’t believe in Christ or are even “enemies” to Christ. Our calling from God is to go make disciples, and if we forget where the graveyards are, then how are we going to raise people from the dead?
• We also heard from John Thompson about spiritual gifts and how to better integrate them into the local church. John’s contention is that when we all live into our spiritual gifting then the body of Christ can function at a higher level. He did a great job of pointing out that many of the spiritual gifts are also spiritual disciplines, meaning that some come very naturally to us as believers and some take a bit more work. We should honor that and not feel bad about it.
• Another impactful speaker was one from the Barna Group who does a lot of sociological research for the Church. He presented some important statistics:
o Church attendance is on the rise for the first time in approximately 60 years. o Men are attending church regularly more than women.
o Gen Z (roughly ages 13-28) is the main driver of increased church attendance in the U.S. His talk tied nicely to the panel discussion that was primarily about how people – especially those of older generations - need to find ways they can spiritually mentor, or “parent,” the younger generations entering the church.
Friends, the feeling of this conference and those attending was the same we are having here in Marble Falls. Something is happening. The Holy Spirit is on the move. This is what The Revival Project is all about. Spiritual revival is always our main goal, above all else. It won’t end when the physical upgrades are done around our campus. The Revival Project is where we intend to live on a daily basis so that we can make sure the ground is tilled and prepared for the growth of the kingdom through the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you’d like to find out more about the New Room Conference, please check out www.newroomconference.com. If you want to hear the talks from this year’s conference, they are available from Seedbed for $25 at https://my.seedbed.com/product/2025-new-room-conference-talks/
God Bless, and Come Holy Spirit!
