When Debbie and I were younger parents, we often looked for ways to expose our kids to the bigger picture of what God is doing in the world. Part of the problem for us was our location…we live in an area where most everything we need is at our fingertips. While you might think that living with such convenience would generate thankful hearts and a desire to serve the less fortunate, in reality the opposite is true.  The affluence of suburbia can be anesthetizing—it has the effect of putting us to sleep to the needs of the world.

One of the most important things Debbie and I did to fight against this was to take our family to World Mandate—a conference that’s filled with worship and powerful stories of what God is doing in the world. Our kids were inspired to worship Jesus and they began to get a vision for joining him in revealing his love to the whole world. Our kids—and Debbie and I—got a clearer picture of how we fit in to God’s big plan.

Every year our family would go to World Mandate and Jesus would renew our passion for his purposes. World Mandate was one of the ways, Jesus popped the bubble that our kids were at risk of growing up in.

World Mandate has been so influential in our family—and in others at CrossBridge—that when we had a chance to host the conference as a satellite location last year, we jumped at it. This year, CrossBridge has added an even stronger children’s conference. It’s a new opportunity for families to experience missions through a child’s perspective, to develop their passion to be included in what God is doing around them, and to be immersed by transporting our kids to mission fields like Rwanda, Indonesia, and Tacoma.

World Mandate is coming again February 1-2. We sold out last year, so I want to encourage you to register this week. A second way to attend World Mandate is to volunteer in the children’s conference, where you’ll get the best of both worlds; directly influencing the next generation, while still hearing the powerful conference speakers at your volunteer appreciation night! Either way, it’s one of the most powerful and least expensive family growing experiences. Come to World Mandate and discover how you fit into God’s plan to change the world. To volunteer, please reach out to Lauren here.

On the adventure with you,

Kirk