Our whirl-wind summer is finally slowing down a bit, and I have a little time to post some reports! Two months ago, my dad (with the help of my brother Stephen, my grandpa, and others from our church) ran a “Just Men Conference.” This was a weekend event for men of any age – 16 and up. As my dad puts it, “The need in our day is for a new generation of young men to rise up who are ‘just’ and whom God can use for His glory and His Kingdom.”
Fifty men attended with an even distribution of ages from 16-60.
This weekend was a highlight of the summer for our family: we were very excited by the many ways we saw the Lord’s working and blessing — and super grateful to all who participated.
Stephen is presented a talk called “Men in Focus” — equating principles of photojournalism from his work with spiritual application for men. Other topics that were taught by my dad and others over the weekend included:
“The Offense of the Cross”
“Boldness with the Gospel”
“Enemies that Defeat Christian Young Men”
“Facing the Battles”
“Foundations of Marriage”
“Reconciliation”
“Spiritual Leadership”
“Church Basics (Principles of Assembly and Leadership)”
“Stewardship”
“Having a Ministry Mindset”
Many mentioned how much they appreciated the fellowship with such a great group of other men who were seeking the Lord. Attendees had come from a wide range of states, including Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Kentucky.
My dad mentioned how impressed he was that the attendees jumped into instant fellowship with each other. Within five minutes they were in good discussions on significantly deep levels. Even though many of them had never met before, they were there with the same purpose: to learn and strengthen each other in godly leadership for this dark generation.
Each attendee was assigned to a small group where they had discussions, prayer, and worked on a few projects together.
Although I spent most my time in the kitchen, I did sneak up to the balcony to get a little video of the singing!
My dad asked my grandpa (92 years old) to be one of the speakers and share anything he thought younger men needed to hear from an older man. He gave a passionate talk about the importance of having priorities straight. His talk seemed to resonate with everyone, proven by the fact that it was a part of the conference the guys commented on the most.
A few comments from attendees:
“We were all encouraged and had such a wonderful time at the conference. I hope that there will be more of these around the country. It is such a need in the body of Christ!”
“The time the men in our family spent in Iowa was edifying and greatly beneficial. We appreciate that you made it possible for those of us with limited financial resources to be able to participate. Our whole family has had so many good conversations around the conference, the people there, the topics covered, etc.”