In 1979, I attended my first Christian conference. I was just a young kid at the time. The conference was called Jesus ’79, and I still remember some of the speakers (Tony Campolo was one of them).
I’ve been to countless Christian conferences since as an attendee and then as a speaker.
To be frank (and I am 
), in all the years that I’ve attended Christian conferences, the most appealing part for me was in getting to know the people outside of scheduled sessions. Fellowship, connecting, building new relationships, and networking were the highlights.
With few exceptions, the speaking generally didn’t impress me. Only those speakers who knew how to unveil Jesus Christ made an impression.
I’ve often said that the difference between good preachers and great preachers is that good preachers leave you saying, “What an excellent sermon,” while great preachers leave you saying, “Wow, what a Christ!”
Fast forward to five years ago.
In 2007, some of my close friends and I were persuaded by a number of people to begin holding a different kind of conference. And so Threshold was born. Our first event launched in 2009.
Threshold isn’t really a conference in the traditional sense. It’s more of an equipping-connecting event.
At Threshold, there is just as much time given for fellowship and connecting as there is for spoken ministry. In addition, all spoken ministry seeks to unveil the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ, and each message contains practical exercises that are carried out in small groups.
(Note: we won’t be holding a Threshold 2012, but we desire to have another one in the future, God willing.)
One of the young men who attended last year’s Threshold wrote about his experience, comparing it to a Reformed conference that he attended the same year.
In his comparison, he uncovers insights into the spiritual life that I personally find remarkable. I’m reposting his report here because I think it will help us all to rethink Christian conferences in general.
We by no means have our event perfected. We’ve made many adjustments from our first Threshold, and each year gets better than the previous one. More importantly, we’re open for new ideas for improvement.
Here’s his report:
I’ve been to two conferences this year. I was very excited about going to both. I deeply appreciate good preaching and teaching and neither of the conferences disappointed in that regard. Yet, there were some drastic differences between the two events. What follows is an observation of those differences.
The first one I attended was the Ligonier conference in Orlando. It was hosted by First Baptist Church of Orlando, a massive complex with ample seating and extensive facilities for eating, a bookstore, plenty of parking and a state of the art multimedia system.
The sheer size and capability of the place was impressive. The speakers preached on the topic of Light and Heat. It was mostly a tribute of sorts to the ministry of John Piper (Desiring God) and R.C. Sproul (Ligonier).
It was really cool to be able to sit and listen to these men. Their teaching has had a profound impact on me over the years. When I left that conference, I had a deeper sense of the Holiness of God. His marvelous “otherness” left me feeling wholly unworthy of Him. This, I think is very true and a good thing.
What I realize now as I look back on it is that I also felt very distant from our great and Holy God. It was as though I felt like He could not be defiled by my sinful, fallen, human hands. So, while I praised Him for His grace in electing and saving me, I was still left with a sense of great distance between He and I.
The conference I was at over this past weekend was entirely different. It was the Threshold 2011 Missional Organic Church conference. It was held in a quaint little conference room in a Holiday Inn hotel.
The hosts had to cut off registration months ago because they had filled to capacity. This was a good and a bad thing. Good because it kept costs down (this conference was completely free to attend), but bad because there were many who were left out and unable to come because of space limitations. The room where we gathered was less than a quarter the size of the bookstore at the former conference. (Threshold is intentionally small, holding no more than 300 people.)
The Threshold conference was unlike any I had ever been to. The focus of the conference was obviously to build relationships. The speakers would share what the Lord had led them to prepare, and then they gave out an assignment of sorts that we would then share with those at our table.
Yes, we sat at tables of no more than eight people rather than in stadium style seating in rows. This gave us an opportunity to get to know the others at our table and see what Christ has been doing in their life.
This time led right into a six hour break. This time was spent having lunch together and spending the afternoon sharing more stories and hanging out with folks who were strangers only a few hours ago and were quickly becoming much more like family.
In contrast, at the Ligonier conference the only conversations I had were about the weather, our travel to Orlando, or the speakers at the conference. Nothing any deeper than that.
If the relational aspect of the Threshold conference were not enough, the teaching was phenomenally different, and in my opinion much better. It seemed as though all these speakers intended to do was display the magnificence of Christ and lead us to embrace our unity with Him. To yearn for Him, search for Him, and feast on Him as never before.
This reconciliation between myself and Christ was much more than just sensing a closeness to Him. I realized the powerful truth that Christ is IN me and I am IN Him. Words cannot express.
Another major difference between the two conferences was the accessibility of the speakers. At the first event the speakers would emerge out of a back door from some inaccessible part of the building, stride onto the stage and give their presentation, and then disappear into the back again. 
At the latter gathering (Threshold), the speakers sat at the tables with the other brothers and sisters until they stood up to speak, and then after each session they stayed in the room for hours answering questions and encouraging those who wanted to speak with them.
Their accessibility was reflective of the relationship we have with our Lord. They were not distant and fleeting, but they stayed near and were ready to listen and share themselves with us.
There is so much more I want to share about the conference. I’m sure the impact it had on me will spill forth into my writing in the future. For the meantime, I thought I would share these few observations on the two conferences.
Some of you have asked to hear some of the messages from the first three Threshold Events. You can do so by clicking here. If you wish to be on the mailing list to be notified about future events, click here.
If you were in charge of putting together the ideal Christian conference, what would some of its features be?
The first time I not only heard about but practiced turning to the Lord who dwells within was at one of Frank’s conferences held in Alexandria, Va. and it was during the six hour break. My wife and I met a brother we did not know and through a small series of God ordained circumstances, he ended up hanging out with us during the break. That six hour break forever changed my life because I was introduced to a real life example of what I had previously only read about. To this day my heart still jumps when I hear about our Lord living inside us. This is an unexpressable truth and reality and I thank God that someone continues to remind us of this. Now my small band of brothers and sisters are also learning what this means corporately and individually. It’s a slow journey but it is worth it!!!
I have to say that Christ really changed my life through Frank and the other brothers who shared at the Threshold conference in 2009. I haven’t been the same since. The difference was both an inspiration and equipping to really know Jesus Christ as a person. (Not talking about salvation; I was saved years ago. I mean having a real, ongoing relationship with Jesus and learning to live by his indwelling life.) This is dangerous territory, because getting close to Jesus will turn so many things on their head, but the result is more of him being known and expressed.
Thank you all for stepping out in faith and following Jesus and not the mainstream. You all presented Christ and the Scriptures in a way that was new to me and that in my personal experience is lost to much of the church today.
I especially appreciate your words “I’ve often said that the difference between good preachers and great preachers is that good preachers leave you saying, “What an excellent sermon,” while great preachers leave you saying, “Wow, what a Christ!” This same concept has been resonating in me as Ive been reading your and Sweet’s book, Jesus Manifesto, An excellent book by the way, for you readers out there. With that said, I just want to thank you for making Christ preeminent in your ministry. This is so refreshing and is definitely fanning a flame in me that was flickering down. There are just so few these days preaching and living CHRIST. May He continue to be exalted and revealed as his body reawakens to His grandeur!
Thanks Frank,
I’m refreshed and pointed to Christ everytime I read a post here…so grateful…Thanks for taking time to lovingly and scriptually tackle ministry, church, and life with us! I love reading all the great comments- blessings-
I’ve been musing over something similar recently, viz., the way so many pastors are returning to seminary for Ph.D.’s. (I’m on a pastor-search committee…) This is great continuing ed. for older pastors, but I wonder at the resources required to do this sort of thing.
What if, instead, we gave these pastors Ph.D.’s in discipleship by connecting them with young seminarians. Not for internship, or apprenticeship, but relationship. Fact of the matter: many, many aspiring pastors are lacking in one crucial element: fathers.
And those who have fathers, well… they are not always the greatest. Young people heading into ministry don’t need another trip to Montreat, or the conference X. They need some time to be vulnerable and intimate with a mentor.
How on earth can we do this?
Nathanael: You’re thinking in a biblical direction. My book “Finding Organic Church” answers your specific question. It was written for those called to the Lord’s work. Would love to get your feedback when you finish. http://www.ptmin.org/books
Far too often, I leave a conference feeling like I’ve been drinking from a fire hydrant. Hurray for more time to process and connect. Re-creation is needed far more than information.
This is exactly why I started hosting more conversational events a few years ago, starting with the Non-Con. The smaller groups, interactive presentations, and closer connections mean greater content that is more easily digested, and longer-lasting.
As someone who used to try to convince people to attend large conferences for a living, I’ve since grown tired and bored of big events where speakers hawk their books, worship leaders tout their new CD’s, and the notes I took are still forgotten at the back of my Bible, or in a drawer somewhere.
This smaller, conversational model is what we’re planning for Momentum 2012 next weekend. I’ll never go back to “big” again.
Great posts as always, Mr. Viola. I have been following your ministry for a couple of years now, and I am blessed by your gift as a Christian writer.
I have come to notice throughout this journey of rethinking my past theology that Christianity as a whole needs to be reexamined and reaudited. I have come to understand that Hebrew thought is completely different than Hebraic thought….Hebraic being concrete and Greco-Roman being abstract. I think it is time for the ekklesia to go back to her Hebraic roots of our Hebrew Savior, Yeshua. There is so much more depth and richness within their culture and history, especially within the language itself. I am utterly amazed and speechless sometimes.
I have got it all figured out and arrived where I need to be, but once I have started to understand our roots, it has be easy to see where we have gotten lost in translation.
I know this coment may be a bit off topic, but thanks again for your ministry, Mr. Viola.
Thanks. One word: Be careful not to get seduced into the ‘going back to all things Hebrew’ movement. This typically ends up in Legalism of one stripe or another. The church is a new creation, neither Jew nor Gentile. And Jesus Christ Himself preexists both Jew and Gentile. His “beginning” is found before creation outside of time. As I explained in “From Eternity to Here,” He is the New Man. Physically and culturally Hebrew, but all together OTHER. A new species. A new creation. A new race, the “third race” as the early Christians called themselves. Neither Jew nor Gentile, but Christ as all in all, Paul said. When we begin with Abraham rather not John 1, we miss this and lose our way. You owe me $1,000 for that.
Lol.
I agree, Mr. Viola…a new creation, indeed!
Interesting…I’ve been to many conferences, assemblies, etc…even if I know there probably will be good teaching, worship etc..I really go for the relationship building..meeting new people and reconnecting with some I haven’t seen in a while. I enjoy going to the smaller one where we can eat and fellowship together and no name speakers actually interact with the attendees.
My thoughts: Most of my “conference” experiences have been more like the first example. A lot of hype, high-class worship, world-class speakers, lots of WOW, some practical workshops… but in the end (for the most part) returns to business as usual. Most memorable is the impact the shared conference experience(s) had on those that attended together.
I noted as I read the two that these “conference” experiences really mirror to broad ways of “doing church” overall. The first is filled with echoes of clergy vs. laity (experts/gifted leaders/priesthood on stage, giving out to the masses but shielded from interaction), with little time for the “laity” to interact much either. Afterall (just like Sunday mornings), we are there to “receive” the “word” and learn from the “gifted/anointed” leaders/preachers so we can either a) Be changed or b) Go home and “apply” what we have learned. The preaching and teaching CAN in fact be fantastic, but is usually centered on the given topic (leadership, prophecy, giving, holy living, etc. etc.), and the content is mostly forgotten within a few days.
The second example echoes a way of doing church where the clergy/laity dynamic is absent. The focus is on meeting together, building relationships, and sharing revelation and experience of Christ together. The “leaders” are not “experts” to share and then be ushered away, but fellow learners there to equip the saints (ala Ephesians 4), and dialogue about real life in the trenches.
Final thought: On one hand, our conferences are a reflection of our ecclesiology and theology, and how we “do church.” On the other hand, (I have observed) we tend to cycle back around and try to replicate our “conference experiences” back in our churches on Sunday mornings. Following the first model, this replication may work well – even extremely well – if you have a charismatic, star-quality clergy leader at the helm who can make it happen. (The opposite is also true, of course, and smaller churches with more “average” leaders struggle to measure up. Saw this play out a lot in the Vineyard movement in the 90’s, for example.) The second model — following and feeding on Christ together, and being in real relationships with each other — may also be replicated of course. Thank you for this post!
Thanks Brian. This is very good. Yes, there is a great deal of spoken ministry at Threshold. But the *content* is different from most “sermons.” I spoke about this in a previous blog post entitled “Unveiling Christ.” The practical handles given at the end of each message sets it apart from the norm as well. Appreciate your feedback. Helpful.
Brother, the Lord’s life and message through you has caused me to continually say, ‘Wow, what a Christ!’. Thank you!!!
I love hearing about conferences like Threshold. This takes the celebrity of the speakers away and puts in on Christ, where it belongs!
Frank, Threshold 2011 was by far the best conference I have ever been to. It is the only conference where I established relationships (although long distance ones) and we stayed in contact over time. Some of what was spoken during that time still lingers with me and sometimes pours out of me onto others. That is how you know you were ministering Christ’s life to the body, it cannot be contained in a single vessel.I’m so glad I got these thoughts down shortly after the two conferences. They seem to be bringing encouragement to others who have had or desire to have similar experiences.
Thank you for sharing this post with your readers. I’m eagerly waiting for the next conference close to home, if the Lord wills. In the meantime I have been giving thought to visiting with the church plants that I can drive to. I miss them all so much and we only spent a weekend together.
Sounds like what my heart craves.
The conferences I’ve attended by well-known, multi-million dollar ministries left me with a sinking feeling that it was all about entertainment misnamed ministry, and that “my Father’s house [was made into] a house of merchandise.”
“His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” (John 2:17) And His people abiding in Him are that house He is consumed with zeal for!
Sounds to me like the Threshold Conference is pretty much the ideal conference. I also like the idea of the accessibility of the speakers. I have been to many Christian Conferences and one thing that always bothered me was how a lot of the speakers were ushered onto stage surrounded by “body guards”. Are they really that much more spiritual that they have to have someone guarding them? Also, when they were done speaking they were rushed out the back. They never had time to talk or answer questions. It’s good to know that there is a different kind of Christian Conference where Jesus is the center and not man! Thanks for the post Frank!
I’ve been to many conferences and Threshold was by the far the best. Phenomenal!
Yes, it was Amazing!! Loved how so many people were my age too (early 30s).
That conference sounds like heaven! We all have so much to share of God it can be stifling when we become spectators only.
I hope you have another one soon.
Inspiring and enlightening post and I believe one that brings real glory to Jesus. The names of the speakers in the report on the 2nd Conference are conspicuously absent, which is a message in itself.
My thoughts on Conferences (for what they’re worth)
We need to have a specific reason (burden from the Lord)to call for a Conference, rather than “we’ve organized a Conference, now lets think of a theme”. There should be ample time given to the floor to contribute to the subject. It is amazing how beneficial it is to hear from the Lord through the members of His Body. This could be done by small groups discussing together, appointing a spokes person, who could then report to the whole Conference, what their conclusions were. I fully endorse and identify with the need to unfold the riches of Christ in all that is said and done, to His glory.
I never before realized that I left out their names. You’re right that is a message in itself because these men were seeking to illuminate Christ and not themselves or their ministry. It was a very edifying time.
Bobby: That’s one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received, bro. And it happened without us ever asking. That made my day then and now!
That’s an awesome testimony. Any plans on equipping/assisting believers in other countries to start something similar?
This made me smile. I’ve only been to two conferences, and they were a number of years apart. One was a large, youth-worker conference that I went to in my early 20s. The other I went to about 3 years ago, and it was a small one, organic/missional-based. while I learned a lot of good information at the first one, and I think at the time I needed to, the second one is the one that really touched me and people who I only met those two short days that I was there I would still consider friends today (and some of them are, in a Facebook-kind-of-way).