In Discussions

It's been two years since we started this blog and I have enjoyed every minute of it however, we've decided it's time to move on.

If you're like me, when you find something you really like, you want to tell your friends about it. Maybe it's a new restaurant, a new museum exhibit or an amazing live show.

Well, I want to tell you about our Facebook Fan pages and hope you’ll head over to Facebook and check us out.  The Glorieta and Ridgecrest Fan pages are where we will be continuing to update you on the happenings at our Conference Centers and hope to connect with you about your experiences there.

To join the Ridgecrest Fan Page, click here.

To join the Glorieta Fan Page, click here.

I hope you'll join us on Facebook today, I'll look forward to seeing you there. And remember if you're a meeting planner check out our Ministry Serving Ministry blog where you'll find helps for planning your next event.

In our first summer of Glorieta Family Camp, we asked a few families to tell us what they thought of Family Camp. Here it is!

Family Camp Interviews from Robert Suggs on Vimeo.

Do you ever get so focused on finding that new guest that you overlook the discipline of retaining the guests you have?  It can happen to the best of us.

Here are some practical strategies that will help.

1.  Empower your employees - let them fix the small stuff.  Employees are typically the ones that your guests are dealing with on a day to day basis while they are at your property.  Sometimes a small issue can become big while an employee is looking for their manager to provide a solution.

2.  Listen and Act - take the time to hear what you long-term guest's are saying and let them know you were listening by acting on what you heard.  Guests will love seeing the results of their feedback and that will make them ambassadors for you.

3.  Solve problems and meet needs - if your dealing with guest group's inevitably your meeting planner will encounter problems. It will only strengthen your relationship if you are helping to solve those problems and meet those needs.

4.  Be Hospitable - If you aren't, your employees won't be.  If you and your employees treat people well, your property will become a place that people want to be.  Make sure your policies don't limit your hospitality to guests.  Hospitality is the key to re-booking business.

Remember -
     *  Make it easy for groups to come back another year
     *  Keep in touch - make sure your meeting planners know they are wanted
     *  Remember that history is valuable
     *  Fight for your group - it's about ministry not convenience

If you take the time to consistently, thoughtfully and intentionally care for your guests, you will succeed in keeping them.

I was recently in a Bible Study where they shared these emergency numbers.  I thought it was a great quick reference guide so I thought I would share them with you.

 FEED YOUR FAITH, AND DOUBT WILL STARVE TO DEATH

When...
You are sad, phone John 14
You have sinned, phone Psalm 51
You are facing danger, phone Psalm 91
People have failed you, phone Psalm 27
It feels as though God is far from you, phone Psalm 139
Your faith needs stimulation, phone Hebrews 11
You are alone and scared, phone Psalm 23
You are worried, phone Matthew 8:19-34
You are hurt and critical, phone 1 Corinthians 13
You wonder about Christianity, phone 2 Corinthians 5:15-18
You feel like an outcast, phone Romans 8:31-39
You are seeking peace, phone Matthew 11:25-30
It feels as if the world is bigger than God, phone Psalm 90
You need Christ like insurance, phone Romans 8:1-30
You are leaving home for a trip , phone Psalm 121
You are praying for yourself, phone Psalm 87
You require courage for a task, phone Joshua 1
Inflation's and investments are hogging your thoughts, phone Mark 10:17-31
You are depressive, phone Psalm 27
Your bank account is empty, phone Psalm 37
You lose faith in mankind, phone 1 Corinthians 13
It looks like people are unfriendly, phone John 15
You are losing hope, phone Psalm 126
You feel the world is small compared to you, phone Psalm 19
You want to carry fruit, phone John 15
Paul's secret for happiness, phone Colossians 3:12-17
With big opportunity/ discovery, phone Isaiah 55
To get along with other people, phone Romans 12

ALTERNATE NUMBERS
For dealing with fear, call Psalm 47
For security, call Psalm 121:3
For assurance, call Mark 8:35
For reassurance, call Psalm 145:18

ALL THESE NUMBERS ARE DIRECT.
NO OPERATOR ASSISTANCE IS NECESSARY.
ALL NUMBERS ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY.

At Ridgecrest and Glorieta, we host a significant number of senior adult groups each year. In addition, we also plan and host several of our own senior adult events. As a result, we have an opportunity to interact with a great number of senior adults and senior adult ministry leaders.

The following post was written by Ron Pratt. Ron is our national event planner and has more experience working with churches and helping them with their ministry they he sometimes cares to admit. I recently asked Ron to write an article on the changing face of senior adult ministry. The following is the first part of what he sent me.

If your ministry is working with senior adults, then I want to thank you for what you do. The most exciting days of senior adult ministry are yet ahead and I'm looking forward to them. I am one! And, so is my 84 year old mother who is very involved with a great group of senior adults in her church. Their Senior Adult ministry has made a world of difference in her life, especially since the passing away of my father just over two years ago.

Where to begin? As you are probably aware, today's senior adults bring incredible blessings and challenges to ministry. In a humorous way, I have always talked about senior adults in three different categories. There are the "go-go's", the "slow-go's" and the "no-go's".

There are those senior adults who are incredibly active, yet they have no desire to sit in a rocking chair or get on a bus for a long trip. They are physically active and want to do ministry that they can get involved in physically, spiritually and even financially. They are the "go-go's".

Next are the "slow-go's". These are the senior adults who can't wait to get on the bus, anywhere, anytime as long as they can play their card games, eat their home-made goodies and stop at some interesting points along the way. They love "going", just as long as someone else is driving or coordinating the trip and they have rest stops along the way.

Finally, the "no-go's" are those senior adults who are mostly (or totally) home-bound, yet want and need to stay connected to their friends and their church.

In future posts, Ron will share some strategies churches can use to reach each of these 3 groups. Please feel free to share your thoughts or comments with us here on the blog, or you can email Ron directly at ron.pratt@lifeway.com.

I recently read an article called "Property Law as Viewed by a Toddler" by Michael V. Hernandez. It made me laugh because if you have a child-or spent any time with one-you've heard some of these before.

1. If I like it, it's mine.

2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.

3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.

4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.

6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.

7. If it looks like it’s mine, it’s mine.

8. If I saw it first, it’s mine.

9. If I can see it, it’s mine.

10. If I think it’s mine, it’s mine.

11. If I want it, it’s mine.

12. If I need it, it’s mine.

13. If I say it’s mine, it’s mine.

14. If you don’t stop me from playing with it, it’s mine.

15. If you tell me I can play with it, it’s mine.

16. If it will upset me too much when you take it away from me, it’s mine.

17. If I (think I) can play with it better than you can, it’s mine.

18. If I play with it long enough, it’s mine.

19. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it’s mine.

20. If it’s broken, it’s yours (no wait, all the pieces are mine).

So, hopefully you had a laugh too as you read these. Let me know what you think.

In today's fast paced world with busy schedules, smart phones, laptops etc.  I have found that sometimes I think I forget to just breathe.  I have had to learn to take a time of solitude each week.  So, I thought I would share with you the benefits i see in  taking some time to just be still.

1.  Time to think, focus and relax

2.  Physical and mental rest

3.  Reflection on life, relationships, goals, what's working and what isn't

4.  Perspective and sense of priority

5.  Peace of mind and peace with God

6.  Appreciation of what God has done

What other benefits do you see when your still?

• Sit in the front row of your life
• Quiet the negative voice in your head
• When you make a mistake, say "how interesting"
• Speak possibility
• Look for shining eyes
• Lead from wherever you stand
• Give people a possibility to live into - not an expectation to live up to
• Recognize the downward spiral
• Give everyone an "A"
• Don't take yourself so seriously
• Philippians 4:13