THRIVING - how You Can Help

We want to bring THRIVE to your world!

We started with 26 people in 2001 and worked our way up to 200 people at our most recent conference. In order to grow we need to reach small churches, counseling ministries and introduce them to maturity and Thriving – Recover your life. Without your help this expansion is going to go very slowly. And the best time for us to do our work is in these brief years before we start our family.

Our goal is to help individuals, couples and groups live to their potential and be their best. THRIVE training equips you with the 19 skills that are essential for a thriving life. These skills are what you and I rely on for successful marriages, strong churches and healthy communities. We acquire these skills from people who already have them - then we improve our use of them with practice and training. THRIVE gives everyone the opportunity to learn, rehearse and apply the 19 skills in a relational setting. These skills not only allow us to stay flexible when upset but let us effectively overcome and resolve difficulties, pain and stress. We become a source of life, hope and inspiration to others.

When we are effective at interactive quieting, which is Skill 15 for example, we know when others around us have reached their limits and we avoid overwhelming them. This skill, when practiced, prevents violence and abuse. Dads, moms, pastors, teachers and bosses, when upset, can lose their cool and forget how they are coming across to other people. Most of us can think of a time in our lives when someone was intensely angry with us and we received a scolding or a reaction that frightened us or scared the children. Think about how that felt. If this skill had been used with you, the end result would be peace and joy rather than fear, hurt or dread. Skill 15 improves the way you interact, parent, communicate and learn. Each of the 19 skills promotes abundant life and prevents relationship failures.

Our vision is to reach the world with these skills and resources. We already have interest from places as far away as Africa and Australia but we have decided to start in our area of Peoria, Illinois. We plan to begin with the churches around us then spread out from there. Our ambition is to reach 150 churches in the next three years as well as 75 counseling ministries.

Our goal is to implement a solid structure of earned maturity and recovery opportunities within churches. We know of no other program or ministry that is involved in bringing maturity to God’s people especially in small churches. We reach our potential when we pay attention to maturity and who doesn’t want to be their best? Lives are transformed when churches provide the Thriving - Recover your life program along with maturity solutions. People come alive. We hope you will support us on this endeavor to cultivate earned maturity and instill recovery for God’s people.

History

THRIVE first began in 2001 with a little over 20 attendees. Each year THRIVE has basically doubled with recent conferences consisting of roughly 150-200 people. More and more people are investing in this training and seeing the value in THRIVE. We expect attendance to increase with each conference. Our challenge at this point is having the resources to provide what churches and ministries so desperately need.

Ways you can help:

There are various ways you can support this conference and the distribution of the training to those who need it.

Pass this THRIVE DVD on to your friends, your pastor, your church and your community and invite them to THRIVE.
Come with a bonded partner to THRIVE
Purchase THRIVE merchandise and share it with your friends. Choose from an assortment of videos, books, skill guides, tote bags, T-shirts, coffee mugs and more. Click Here to see the most updated selection.
Sponsor A Clergy Spouse Program – Many smaller congregations need the THRIVE training but they lack the resources to send both their pastor and spouse. Our solution is to offer the opportunity for you to send the pastor’s spouse to THRIVE. This way, a church can send the pastor and, along with your support, their spouse can attend as well.

i. $625 includes registration costs, a $50 certificate for a nice evening meal and all preparation materials for the conference

ii. Donors can send a note of encouragement to be passed along to the couple to bless, encourage and pray for them

Reach a Church Cluster – this program lets you contribute specifically to help us meet our goal of reaching 150 churches in the next 3 years, after that point we hope our program will be self-sustaining to continue toward our vision of reaching churches all over the world. We want to help churches recognize the need for and receive the THRIVE training materials to facilitate Christian community. We have developed a way pastors can build their relationships with other pastors and enhance the ones they already have. As churches work together it increases their chances of having a positive impact in their communities. We are interested in churches everywhere but we want to begin in our hometown of East Peoria, Illinois and expand from there.

This step is vital because many churches do not see the need or even recognize that there is a solution to problems in their midst. When you contribute to this program you not only help connect the church with needed resources but you give us the opportunity to research, locate, meet and team up with church pastors to introduce new solutions and offer them needed support. Currently, we have high interest for THRIVE all over the country. However, we lack the training structure and staff to transmit the 19 skills to those who desperately need them. To reiterate, if you support Reach a Church Cluster we will:

Research, locate and contact church clusters
Provide these clusters with Life Model materials
Sit down with three pastors who represent their churches
Follow up and oversee their efforts

The estimated cost is $1000 per church cluster which includes fees for Life Model books, Study Guides, THRIVE DVD’s, THRIVE stationary, time for research, communication and personal meetings with pastors. The biggest challenge we face is doing the research to locate churches then reach the pastors. You can save us time and resources if you provide us with a church cluster in our area. In this case the cost is only $200 to provide leaders with the materials and follow up.

2007	2008	2009
20 churches	50 churches	80 churches
10 ministries	25 ministries	40 ministries

Our desire is to have a home base of churches that are thriving and use this momentum to impact the Body of Christ on a global scale.

NEW!
Monthly Audio Teachings

Starting in 2008, as a way to bless our supporters, we have monthly audio teachings available on THRIVE related topics by Chris and Jen Coursey, Dr. Jim Wilder and special guest speakers. Those of you implementing the Life Model into your life, ministry, marriage and relationships will enjoy these teachings. Learn, practice and use the 19 skills so you and your friends reach your potential. Change fear to love. Build joy. Overcome negative emotions rather than being overcome. Pass on the skills that change lives.

These teachings are a thank you from us to those who support THRIVE with monthly gifts of $21 or a yearly gift of $250. All funds support the THRIVE Conference training. Help us reach our goal of bringing the world the 19 skills. Imagine what churches would be like if they knew how to suffer well, endure hardship, return to joy and rest at the right times. If you would like to contribute toward the expansion of THRIVE, please include your mailing address along with your gift so we know where to send each teaching.