This week Ron Edmondson and Jenni Catron got the teams of Cross Point Church and Grace Community Church together for a day to connect, think, worship, and equipp. We were all wondering what this would look like, how it would work, and if the experience would be worth our time! Honestly, as long as I have served on a church staff I have never had a time where 2 churches came together just to connect and learn from each other. I could go on and on about why we refuse to learn from each other but I am sure you know the real reasons boil down to pride and tunnel vision. To excel at leadership we have to be consumed with learning…why not learn from other churches doing an amazing job at reaching their community? Why should churches choose to connect and learn from each other…here are some things we discovered…

• Shared PASSION inspires fresh perspective // each church is different but our passion to reach people and see changed lives is shared. That passion provides a bridge for each team to view ministry from a different perspective quickly. Our shared passion allows us to let our guard down and see a different side of ministry quicker.
• We inspire each other // hearing how God is stretching each other inspires us to stay focused on the mission. It is great to be reminded that God is on the move outside of our ministry setting!
• Fresh voices help learning happen quickly // because we trust each other and we believe in the mission of each church we learn from each other quickly. Many times just hearing a leadership principle from a different trusted voice helps us make progress.
• Collaboration is taken to the next level // because our staffs spent time together each area of the church now has a new connection to collaborate with. Each church has important insight for the other and now when we need to work through an issue we have new connections to collaborate with and share ideas with.