THRIVE West Coast Spring Conference 2007
This year’s Spring West Coast Conference was another success! With sixty some attendees from the West Coast as well as others from all over the country, we spent six days getting to know each other and practicing many of the mostly nonverbal 19 skills. For many attendees, this was their first THRIVE experience and we had several ‘returnees’.
Everyone in Track I spent the week learning to tell 4 plus stories, listening to God, building joy and learning to quiet individually and corporately. One of the highlights several attendees mentioned was the synchronization training where we practiced how to avoid overwhelming other people with our face and presence. This exercise proved to be significant for many attendees who discovered they tend to overwhelm others and need to work on their ability to synchronize internally and externally. Another highlight mentioned was the synchronized dance practice. Jessie, as usual, gracefully led group members into the synchronized dancing that lets us practice synchronizing our bodies and minds with other people. There was a high level of energy and excitement among the group this year. Between the practice times, interactions and the serene campus environment with mountains resting in the background, the conference was stimulating and joyful. Many attendees reported high levels of interest to see THRIVE expand as well as excitement for our next conference. We expect to see many familiar faces again.
Track II members had a small but intimate group this year. Led by Pastor Kitty Wilder, the group practiced returning to joy stories, acting like myself in the big six among a variety of exercises designed to further equip them with the 19 skills. Track II people walked away with more skill training and stronger relationships with one another. They enjoyed Pastor Kitty's teaching, training and toys throughout the week!
Look at a few comments made from attendees:
“I want to tell you that I really, really loved this conf. it’s the best. Chris and Jen and all the people involved have done a great job! They are easy to talk to, very approachable and I feel like they are authentic, honest and compassionate, thank you for letting God use you all in this ministry…” A registered nurse – homecare case manager and single mom
“I appreciated the balance of interaction between practice, rest, hearing God and lecture. It was a good well rounded experience…”
“Love (d) dancing, having fun and the feeling of community worship…” Architectural Drafter
Regarding the synchronized dancing – “I realized that it’s ok to make many many mistakes while I dance and it’s ok if everyone else makes lots of mistakes because there are 52 of us dancing to lovely praise music and we look beautiful to the Lord because we’re dancing together. All together, the dance goes on and is lovely no matter who had individually made a mistake. And the others are all around you holding your hand and dancing to remind you of the next step you need to take even if you forgot or got scared that you looked stupid or felt ashamed. It’s like that in life – when we all work together, resting and being in relational joy with each other and living from the hearts Jesus gave us, then we dance a beautiful fragrance of worship before the Father…” Interim youth pastor
Here are some pictures taken from the Spring West Coast THRIVE Conference:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |