Welcome to Orange Week. This week several leaders and voices for Children’s ministry will be posting about Orange. It’s something that so many are very passionate about, including myself. This series of posts (more like a blitz) is for anyone. Those familiar with Orange will find my posts and those of others a refreshing reminder. Those who aren’t familiar with Orange… hang on tight, you’re about to drink from a fire hose! Hopefully by the end of this week, you’ll have a very clear picture of what Orange is.
So in a nutshell, what is Orange?
Orange represents change. It’s the color of transition. What color do you think of in the Fall? Orange. Similarly, many feel some serious changes confront the church. Business as usual hasn’t been working. Children growing up in the church are leaving their faith once finishing High School in alarming numbers. Change is needed.
Orange represents partnership. It’s the merging of two colors to become a third. With Orange, this partnership is between the church and families. It’s when the church, heavy with resources combines with parents, who have significant influence, begin working together to make a bigger impact. Two combined influences will make a greater impact than two influences.
Simple, huh? Really it is. But there’s more. Central to the Orange “philosophy” are five core elements:
- Integrated Strategy
- Refine the Message
- Elevate Community
- Reactivate the Family
- Leverage Influence
Over the next five days we’re going to look closely at these five elements to see how we can be agents of change that will impact THIS generation.
During Orange week others are blogging on the same topic each day and links to their posts will show up in the comments. Be sure to visit their posts to see how the elements of the Orange strategy are being carried out in real-live scenarios. If you want to share your thoughts surrounding this topic you can either by replying in the comments or writing a post on your own blog and linking back to this specific blog post (so the link to your post will show up in the comments.
What exactly is “Orange Week”? Who started it? I’m familiar with “Orange” as a ministry philosophy, but is there any connection between “Orange Week” and the Orange Conference other than spillover of ideas? Sorry for the dumb question, just wondering. Thanks!