Tag Archives: Austin
Four years and counting
Posted on 02. May, 2012 by Kenny.
Yesterday I celebrated my fourth year of coming on staff at Gateway Church in Austin, TX. I vividly remember driving from the Orange Conference in Atlanta with my little family and my car fully packed halfway across the country. Not only was excited about moving to a new city and taking on a new job that was fresh and exciting, but I was amazed how God seemingly directed events on a major scale to move me into a job that was exactly what I needed and exactly the right time. 12 months earlier, I’m not sure how I would have felt about this kind of role, but as God had been shaping my heart for a different strategy for ministry in recent months, God provided an opportunity to do what he was preparing me for. I have a pretty cool story of how God called me to each church/ministry I’ve been a part of and Gateway was no exception. I know that God called me to this church.
The past four years have been very rewarding, but not without challenges.
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Gateway Church: Easter – Your Great Story
Posted on 08. Apr, 2012 by Kenny.
I just have to write about why I love my church so much.
There’s something amazing when you get to be on staff at a church that you’d certainly attend if you weren’t ministry. I’m about to celebrate my 4th year at Gateway and I’m so proud to be at this church.
Two of Gateway’s core values is to be a church for those who are far from God and to place a high value stories. Both of those values were carried out at our Easter services this year.
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Austin Illuminate was EPIC!
Posted on 14. Nov, 2011 by Kenny.
I’m excited to say that Illuminate has year two behind it now with just finishing the second event in Austin, TX. Although we had a very high retention of churches come back again (in addition to many new churches), I was amazed by how many people were brand new this year. It felt like the whole room.
I’m incredibly blessed because everything went so exceedingly well. Other than the little tweak here and the adjustment there, there isn’t much of anything that I would change. It was a fantastic second year event. I’ll be sending out email evaluations later this week, but that hasn’t stopped the emails from coming in already. Here are what some people are saying:
“Again I wanted to say great job! … Read the rest
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Illuminate comes to Austin
Posted on 09. Nov, 2011 by Kenny.
Today is Wednesday and the Austin Illuminate begins in three days. I’m so excited!!! We have over 50 churches from all over the state of Texas (and even one from Oregon) gathering at my home church this Saturday. Although the registration are not exactly where I had initially hoped, we have experienced very healthy growth this year over last year and I think we’re going to have a great crowd with some dynamic energy for this little event. So, let me tell you why I’m so stoked about this weekend.
- Connecting with people who I love and respect – I’ll be perfectly honest. There is some selfish motivation behind me starting the Illuminate Conference. There are several people who lead in the local church that I have gotten very close to over the years.
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Illuminate Updates
Posted on 01. Nov, 2011 by Kenny.
It’s been a few months since I’ve posted anything about Illuminate, so I thought I’d catch everyone up. It’s truly been a wild and exciting ride this year.
The Austin event is just 11 days away. I’m expecting about 500 kidmin folks to converge on the Gateway Church campus on November 12th and it’s going to be amazing. I’ve got a stellar line-up of speakers. Check it out:
- Jim Wideman
- Sam Luce
- Michael Chanley
- Gina McClain
- Dan Scott
- Amy Fenton Lee
- Jonathan Cliff
- Matt McKee
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Doing ministry alone
Posted on 29. Sep, 2011 by Kenny.
I just had lunch with the Austin Kidmin Network. A year ago this group didn’t exist. Currently the group is up to 50 people, represented by about 15 churches. We’ve got a long way to go to connect other churches in our city, but some amazing relationships are developing. Yesterday I spend a few hours with one Children’s Pastor talking about doing some radical things together so we can truly collaborate and be the church in a city. I love it.
You know, I totally get it that there are many who really aren’t going to network a lot online. Some people are going to lurk and read and not really connect online. However, there really isn’t any excuse for not networking with others in your city.… Read the rest
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Come to Austin for Illuminate!
Posted on 17. May, 2011 by Kenny.
Almost a month ago, I announced the second year for the Illuminate Conference and with the special announcement of an event in Birmingham, AL. Today I announce that registration for the Austin event is now open! Woo hoo!
In case you missed it, Illuminate is the premier #kidmin conference targeted toward volunteers. It’s an affordable and local conference that you can bring your whole team to. Oh, and your volunteers will be treated well as they get to learn from some of the top #kidmin leaders in the country. Check out the lineup for the Austin event.
- Jim Wideman
- Gina McClain
- Dan Scott
- Matt McKee
- Jonathan Cliff
- Sam Luce
- Amy Fenton Lee
- Michael Chanley
- And more to be announced…
Yeah, this is huge.… Read the rest
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Easter Services @ Gateway
Posted on 20. Apr, 2011 by Kenny.
I’m very excited about our services this weekend. We’re having two Good Friday services and seven Easter Services. Here’s the promo for the Easter services. I love my church.
… Read the rest
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Big Announcement: Illuminate 2011
Posted on 20. Apr, 2011 by Kenny.
Last year my team and I created a new volunteer conference called Illuminate. You can read about what we did here, here and here. Essentially, the idea was to create an incredible experience for our volunteers at Gateway. Many times I’ve walked out of an incredible breakout at a national conference and said, “Wow! I wish all my volunteers had experienced that!” Unfortunately, most churches can’t provide a “national conference” experience for all the volunteers… unless that church brought the national conference to their volunteers. That’s what Illuminate is.
On Saturday, November 12, 2011, Gateway Church in Austin, TX will host Illuminate for the second time. I’m expecting 600-800 kidmin volunteers/staff for this incredible experience. The breakout and speaker lineup is amazing!… Read the rest
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Sign Wednesday: In honor of Matt McKee
Posted on 09. Feb, 2011 by Kenny.
Although he doesn’t do Sign Wednesday as often as he used to, I took this picture months ago and figured this would be right in line with McKee’s Sign Wednesday series. The fun part is that this sign perfectly fits the culture of Austin, TX. I took this picture this Summer while getting an Ice Cream at Amy’s Ice Cream. If you’re visiting Austin, you’re visit is not complete without stopping in at Amy’s. If you don’t believe me, ask Michael Chanley.
When I first saw it, I didn’t get it? Huh? “Sorry, I’m a Mirage.” Â What is that supposed to mean? Oh, a mirage is typically when you think you see water but it really isn’t there. Kind of like this broken water fountain.… Read the rest
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