01 Oct 5 Things I Love About the Orange Tour!
#OrangeTour
We are headed to the Orange Tour in DC tomorrow and I’m so excited. Our Children’s/Student Ministry is taking our largest team ever and I can’t wait for them to experience it. I attend the Orange Conference every Spring and the Orange Tour each fall. (Can you say groupie?)
In all seriousness, I look forward to these two events all year long. While I LOVE the Orange Conference and all that it brings… there is something special about the Orange Tour. There is a reason we bring a team year after year… well, actually there are a lot of reasons. Here are my Top 5:
1. REFRESHMENT!
As I said, I attend the Orange Conference each spring and I always come away so inspired. I learn so much. I have pages and pages of notes. I feel rejuvenated, refreshed, and excited about all that I want to implement when I get home. I always have the best intentions and when I first get back – I am ready to tackle the world. Then, life settles in, that “Sunday’s coming” thing takes over and before I know it, the things I had in mind to accomplish or the refreshment I felt for ministry have somehow slipped back into the pages of my Orange notebook and remain in the to-do pile on my desk.
But then, October comes, and the Orange Tour makes it’s way to Baltimore/DC and I get a chance to be reminded of all that I learned, all that inspired me, all that reminded me of why I do – what I do each week. Of course, the Orange Team is brilliant and has this fascinating way of keeping the theme from the Orange Conference the same, but making everything else new and once again – I am inspired and refreshed!
2. TEAM ATTENDANCE!
We have brought a few team members with us to the Orange Conference each spring, but it is a lot harder to make that happen. Taking several days off from work, along with the expense of travel makes it difficult for many of our volunteers to attend the 3 day conference in Atlanta. But, the Orange Tour is only one day and it’s usually within a 90 minute drive for us. So, we get to bring more people from our team to the Tour.
I cast vision and share the Orange strategy with my team as often as possible, but nothing beats the energy of being at a conference and getting to hear it from Orange Leaders themselves. I love being able to share this with the members of my team. I love that they can hear from the people who have created this strategy and can choose breakouts in areas of interest specific to each of them. And, I love the time together as a team. We drive to the conference together each year, we sit together for lunch, and we go out to dinner together afterward. It’s so great to be have this time with team members outside of the hectic pace of Sunday. I especially love the opportunity at dinner, or on the ride home, to debrief and share our individual take aways.
3. A MORE INTIMATE SETTING
Again, I LOVE the energy of the Orange Conference. There really is nothing like being in a room of 6000 leaders that are all in the same boat as you, and worshipping and learning together. But, the Orange Tour provides something that an arena filled with 6000 people just cannot. It allows for a bit more of a personal experience. Orange Leaders are on stage speaking, but then they may be sitting in the same room as you, listening to another speaker. Conversations happen in the hallways and there are more opportunities to meet people and connect. Everything seems to move at a little slower pace than at the Orange Conference, but the energy is the same!
4. NETWORK!
I love that Orange does these tours in various regions throughout the country. It’s awesome to meet other ministry leaders from the same part of the country and be able to talk through the challenges that might just affect those of us in the mid-Atlantic or Northeast (i.e. NFL Football controlling the universe on Sundays!). We have a children’s ministry network in the mid-Atlantic and we meet two or three times a year, but the Orange Tour provides another opportunity to meet with people from our region and connect about what is happening in our various ministries.
5. AMAZING ENVIRONMENT!
Since this is a blog about environments, I would be remiss if I did not mention the awesome environment that Orange creates at each stop on their tour. I am always amazed at how these leaders come in to town for a day and a half and somehow put together such a fun, engaging place to learn. The set and backdrops are always eye catching, functional, and help you engage with the content. I love the way the theme of the tour is laced throughout and the setting is always fun and exciting! Check out this gallery of photos for some pics from previous Orange Tour environments:
If you haven’t attended a tour stop yet, I hope this list will encourage you to get there. If you have attended – what do you love about the Orange Tour?
