Church at the Mount
Ekklesia Communities
Verge 2012 ConferenceVOTE FOR US
For those of you who don’t know what verge is I have included a description and a video. Following the information I have included a bit about our story and why Randie and I want to attend Verge 2012.
Verge 2012 is For The Gospel \ For The City \ For The Nations – an experience in Austin, Texas, on February 28 to March 2, 2012, for everyone pursing the mission of God everywhere. Featured speakers inlcude: Matt Carter, David Platt, Dr. John Perkins, Alan Hirsch, Darrin Patrick, Dave Gibbons, and many more.
VERGE is a four-day experience for anyone pursuing the mission of God, in community, whatever the context, for the sake of the Gospel – everyday leaders, students, entrepreneurs, artists, urban innovators, business leaders, community development specialists, non-profit leaders, church planters and church leaders.
Verge will resource you to make disciples who make disciples in every sphere and domain of society, advocate for the poor and oppressed, mobilize urban and global mission leaders, and champion movements of gospel-centered missional communities.
Verge 2012 is here to encourage, build up and renew all kinds of leaders engaged in the mission of God to redeem and renew. Verge is made up of pre-conferences, post-conferences, two-days of challenging main sessions, music, workshops, networking opportunities and more.
What Verge 2012 means to us…
Over the past two years Randie and I have been on a journey to serve in God’s earthly kingdom through missional communities. Starting with our home church Ekklesia Communities in Gilbert, Arizona. We now live in a 30ft Motorhome and lead missional communities with people in the RVing community. It is estimated that over 400,000 people full-time (live in an RV as their only residence) in the U.S. primarily these are people who choose to travel as a lifestyle, this does not include those that have purchased an RV and setup in an RV park because of necessity. We have met many families had little choice when they lost their home and instead of signing an apartment lease for seven or eight hundred dollars per month have chosen to pick up an RV and live in it.
Breaking Bread
Many days each week we gather with our neighbors and cook meals together. We find that this enables those who are on a very tight budget to have a good healthy meal even if all they could bring was a can of vegetables. This week we will skip Thanksgiving dinner with our families and instead enjoy a meal and lead prayer at our RV park. We have found that many people on the road are away from their home churches an average of 7 months per year and many more don’t attend a regular service because of their travel schedules.
Most of our guests are retirees traveling for leisure. Some of them are cynical and wary of my generation. Some have had rough lives and while they blossom financially they wither spiritually. We want them to get to know God and connect with Christ’s church.
Through working with campgrounds we are able to host holiday services and bible studies.
Needs
Over the past two years we have met families with young children in very desperate positions. We have met wonderful people dealing with sin and vices. We have loved, counseled, and prayed with the people that come in and out of our community. We love people and love to share the Gospel message with them. We have been blessed to be able to connect people in our community to services and resources in the area. We have even joked that we have one set of keys to our car and the other set is floating around the park.
Why We Want To Attend Verge 2012
For the past three years we have been part of an Acts 29 Church and fortunate enough to see Christ’s Kingdom advanced through missional churches. I have attended a few lectures and conferences and benefited from the leadership in the missional community, my wife however has not been able to attend these with me. This year we would like to attend as a couple. We really feel that our community, our church, and our neighboring communities will benefit from our attendance. We have no fear of stepping out in faith and answering God’s call. We are ready to attend Verge 2012, network with others at the conference, be uncomfortable in an unusual environment, and see our King glorified through His people.
