It's not too late to join us for the 2023 NACFM National Conference! We have family and spouse activities, so bring the family! For information and registration, click  HERE.

Conference Fellowship: Things to Consider

MESSAGE FROM NACFM PRESIDENT HOMER CLARK

A very happy June to all my brothers and sisters across the country! Summer is here and in less than 18 days the 2023 NACFM Annual Conference convenes! Everyone on your Board is so excited about seeing all our long-time members as well as new faces at the opening festivities.

Wait just a minute! You may be thinking, "Did I register for this year's conference?" Well, your luck has not run out! There's still plenty of room for you to attend, but you must act quickly. Simply click HERE for information and registration. It won't be the best conference possible without you, your fellowship, wisdom, and good-natured laughter.

That's a good transition into this month's topic of “Fellowship.” The word fellowship has fallen on hard times in the previous years; kind of like the word encourage has been emptied of much of its power by casual overuse. Why do we need fellowship? Why does in-person communication mean so much to us humans? Thanks to good old COVID we now have all kinds of options like Zoom or Google Meeting Place or other internet video conferencing platforms. But nothing takes the place of a face-to-face conversation! The in-person experience allows us to share one another’s joy, pain, sorrow, humor, and wisdom. "Aloneness" is not healthy for the human spirit or body when the isolation is constant. Even while seeing other faces on a video call, it's too easy to fake emotions and miss much of the connectivity of in-person visits.

We tend to underestimate how much our souls are fed, and stay healthy, through the regular rhythms of in-person corporate worship and face-to-face fellowship. Our own technology has advanced to the point that we now can boost “thousands of friends” just a few keystrokes away. Reality is, technology removes the real flesh and blood friendships we all crave. Of course, technology is a good and meaningful thing with respect to our careers and even our ability to stay in touch with long-distance family and friends. It boils down to this - God gave us other people for fellowship, encouragement, and happiness. Consider the following verse:

Hebrews 3:12-13
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Verse 13 directs us to encourage each other daily. We all face hardships in our personal lives and difficult challenges at work. It may be a pastoral staff issue, a problem with a team member, a church attendee, contractors, the list goes on and on. These are times that require God's wisdom, scripture, and godly input from faithful friends. With regard to our National Conference, we come together once a year as kind of a sabbatical and retreat. Of course, there's great learning and fun to be had, but at the core of it all we find healing and encouragement from old friends and new ones as we fellowship together. God's word says it this way:

Hebrews 10:24-25
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Folks, we simply cannot do this over a video chat, FaceTime, Zoom, or a phone call. The essence and true meaningfulness of human communication can only be had in-person.

In 2010 I attended the National Conference with a heavy heart. I was considering departure from my church over a decision to leave me out of the construction project. The resulting construction experienced countless mishaps and challenges. I was ready to quit. During one lunch at the Conference, I started whining about all my “problems.” Several members surrounded me with love, wisdom, and shift kick in the rump to help me come to my senses. This intervention provided me with the understanding of how to face the project that ultimately gave me a voice at home. This allowed me to turn my heart and my attitude around and thrive. If I'd not attended that Conference, I may have missed the message (and the help) that God had prepared for me. I'm fairly positive that those few moments with cherished fellow members would not have been as impactful on a Zoom call.

Now, God may not have a Conference experience planned that will put your career back on track, but I can assure you that your sacrifice to come to the Conference will be meaningful and a contribution to your spiritual walk as well as your vocation.

I hope to see you all In Sevierville, TN in a few days! Blessings...

Homer Clark 
NACFM President

Featured Member: Kim Wells
Director of Operations & Campus Safety
The Family Church Network, West Palm Beach, FL

The NACFM is comprised of a unique and talented group of men and women intent on serving the Lord and serving other people. And the words "unique" and "talented" are by no means exaggerations when it comes to Kimberly Wells.

Kim is the overall Operations & Safety Director for some ten campuses, a lover of Turkish style Doner Kebap (a type of kebab, made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie), and, for the past few years, has been teaching herself to play the drums, garden, and paint. And her life events get more interesting! When free time allows, she enjoys reading, writing, puzzles, podcasts, and anything else that keeps her mind engaged. Football season is focused on her two favorite teams - the Florida Gators and the Seattle Seahawks!

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