Designing a Meaningful Breakout

Adrian Molina

June 16, 2022
5 min read

We are praying that these four days are not simply an event or experience but that everyone who attends would walk away differently than they came in, with a better understanding of who God is and how much He loves them.

Adrian Molina

Today is special because TONIGHT is the first night of VOUS Conference 2022! The anticipation in the air is tangible. It’s been three years since we have been able to gather and host VOUS Conference and the day has finally arrived. I already know the energy in the room will be electric as thousands of people stand in one room worshiping our Creator, ready to receive everything He has prepared for us.

VOUS Conference is not a moment but a movement. Our prayer, and the heart behind conference, is for people to encounter God, be empowered as leaders, and to equip the local Church. The next four days are packed with powerful messages and worship, breakout sessions focused on all kinds of topics, leadership lunches, and fun add-ons and afterparties so everyone attending can design their own experience.

Between you and me, one of my favorite parts of VOUS Conference is the breakouts. They are smaller, more intimate gatherings with a room full of people hungry to learn about the same thing. We designed the breakouts to give practical resources and host meaningful conversations with world-class speakers and church leaders. Breakouts are not an afterthought but part of the full conference experience, planned with care and intentionality to provide valuable content for people to implement in their lives. As we have hosted VOUS Conference over the years, we have learned that there are three questions we need to answer to put together a meaningful breakout.

WHAT ARE PEOPLE ASKING ABOUT?

Above anything else, we want the breakout content to answer questions that people are asking. One of the cool things about being part of VOUS Friends + Family is that you have inspired many of the conference breakout topics. The breakout choices directly reflect the most highly engaged subjects in the Friends + Family network. We also comprise topics from conversations we have with other pastors and church leaders and the frequent questions that our team receives. At the end of the day, we want our breakouts to cover subjects that people actually want to know about. This year, we have a wide variety of breakouts planned (over 24!) with topics ranging from church planting and team building to mental health and theology.

WHAT DO WE FEEL CALLED TO SPEAK ON AS A CHURCH?

While we want to make sure we answer questions people are asking, there are also areas we feel that God has specifically called our church to have a voice. Of course, we want these areas to be included as conference breakouts. For our church, this includes topics such as leadership, creativity in the church, communication, marketing, and building healthy relationships and marriages. Because these topics matter to the heart of our pastors, they align with the mission and vision of VOUS. They are continual topics of conversation coming out of our church, making them a natural extension into conference.

WHO CAN BEST COMMUNICATE EXPERTISE AND WISDOM ON THE SUBJECT?

We have invited incredible pastors, teachers, and speakers to share their wisdom on any given breakout subject. We provide a skeleton agenda for them to follow to ensure they stay in the desired flow and ask them to fill in content from there. In addition to the guests we have invited, we also asked our team members to lead breakouts. We have phenomenal leaders on our VOUS team, serving in areas where they use the strengths, talents, and gifts God has placed in them. We always want to share the resources we have, and who better to do that than the people who utilize those resources on a daily basis?

Our staff and servant leaders have planned and prepared for months, and the time is here. However, the most essential preparation we have done has not been logistical or task-focused. Above everything else, we have covered these four days in prayer. We have been praying individually and together as a church. Our prayer team has been interceding over all aspects of this year’s conference. We are praying that these four days are not simply an event or experience but that everyone who attends would walk away differently than they came in, with a better understanding of who God is and how much He loves them. That they would have an encounter with the one, true, living God because one encounter with Him changes everything — we cannot leave His presence the same way we entered into it. The sessions and breakouts we have planned are simply an avenue for God to come and do what only He can. We cannot wait to celebrate the testimonies of God’s faithfulness that will come out of conference.

If you are on your way to conference and have not registered for a breakout, it’s not too late! You still have time. Our team has put together an incredible resource for all things conference. You can click here to sign up for breakouts, Friends + Family lunches, and find any other information you might need. We don’t want you to miss a single moment. We can’t wait to see you there!

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