A Taste of Idea Summit 2023

Blog Manager
Jan 16, 2023
7 min read

The Idea Summit is just two short weeks away, register today!

There are many knowledgeable speakers with intriguing session topics. We want to give you a sneak peek of the content offered to you at this year's Idea Summit. Here's a few samples from the excellent sessions that will be available at this epic event.

Leading Your Family Through Ministry Hurt

By Stephen Ashmore

One of the other things we chose to do was to be open and honest about everything we were feeling and what was happening. Nothing was off the table, except the details about finances. We chose to let our kids know as much as we could. Many would look at us funny when we would talk about this, but we realized that if the kids knew the reality of the situation, they would be able to more clearly see God work through it.

One of the lessons we learn from reading the Psalms is that no matter how bad it gets, God is still good, and He is working for His children. One of the verses I quoted a lot was Psalm 37:25 "I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread." We wanted our kids to see the wondrous works of God. The reality of the pain made it easier to see the hand of God working and providing.

The Psychology of Perfectionism

By Jason Shuler

One thing you must rationalize: did God ever ask you to be perfect? If you feel that He did, why do you feel this way? Were you raised in a home where this was normal or expected? Furthermore, could your desire for perfection be insulting to God for you to think you have attained perfection in your life or ministry or that you ever could?

So then if not perfection, what are we called to strive for and how do we live with the tension that we oftentimes place on ourselves due to our constant desire to be perfect in our personal lives, marriages, raising children, and public image and ministries? In this session, we will discuss the concept of perfectionism and suggest four ways to better strive in these areas that are more healthy ways of operating outside the realm of perfection.

Successful Church Planting

By David Teis

What does it take to successfully plant, feed, and grow a New Testament church? Fifty years ago, as a 17-year-old boy in Las Vegas, God planted in my heart a desire to reach this city with the Gospel. I stood on the side of Sunrise Mountain which overlooks Las Vegas from its east side. I heard about the great Scottish reformer John Knox praying, “Give me Scotland or I die.”

And so, I prayed, “Father, give me Las Vegas or I die.” I began to think that if God would just put a passion in individual servants around the country for individual cities, as he had put a passion in my heart for Las Vegas, that there was hope for this nation and hope for revival.

Single Moms Want Community Too!

By Sean and Jackie Teis

Throughout the past 14+ years of running Life Factors Fatherless Ministries we have

heard many things from single moms voicing how they fit in the church including statements similar to the following: "I don't have a group I fit into, I don't fit in the

singles group because I have kids, I don't fit in the couple’s groups..." One of the

things we have found is that single moms want community too. We often focus on the

main groups of the church. The teens have their groups. The couples have their group. The senior citizens have their group. We ensure the widows are cared for, but what about the single moms? Oftentimes the common feeling is that they do not feel like they truly fit.

Many people do not understand the complexity of their family situation. But this does not negate the fact that they are looking for community as well. Through a single mom-focused ministry, churches have the ability to meet these needs and provide a community. We have seen amazing results from the ministry that was started in Las Vegas less than a year ago. We launched the group using our Single Mom Journey devotional book that we released in 2014 and have distributed all over the country and started walking through the 30 topics covered in the book. One a week. During these sessions, we also established a community.

Let's Get Back to Our Real Calling

By Thad Bergmeier

I have been a witness to hundreds of pastors self-identify to me that less than 10% of their church is active in disciple-making. This is the issue. Attractional churches are not building disciple makers. Preaching centered churches are not building disciple makers. We are failing at reproducing ourselves. This is why the church is on decline. We are reaching people with the gospel, but not helping them make disciples who reproduce others. Our churches are informing people on biblical content, but not expecting them to take what they know and teach it to others. We are gathering people for worship, but not sending them out into the world to take the gospel to those who do not know.

I have one last thought that has haunted me the past several years. Are we finished making a disciple if they are not investing in someone else? Let that sit there a minute. Grab your Bible again and read Matthew 28:19–20. Am I content with investing in someone who does not invest in others? Answering that question may get the church back to the original calling of multiplication as we make disciple makers. If we do, I am confident Jesus will use us in the building of His church.

7 Key Spiritual Disciplines

By Jaysen Brown

1 Corinthians 9:25 "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible."

Maintaining a dynamic relationship with God is of the utmost importance to the believer. Our hearts are in continual need of replenishment and direction. Developing personal systems and disciplining our lives to operate in harmony with our creator will provide massive spiritual strength and health benefits for a long, blessed life.

1. Practicing Contentment. "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." 1 Timothy 6:6-8 Giving thanks shows our appreciation for our blessings in life. It's not about expressing it with our lips once a year but cultivating an attitude of gratitude in our daily lives. The devil is constantly trying to steal our joy by capturing our attention and alluring our desires for things that don’t belong to us. God wants us to be content with such things as we have and trust Him in good times and bad. Jesus is enough to satisfy our souls.

Building a Kingdom Family

By David and Anna Teis

Several years ago, at our annual missions conference, I was approached by the wife of a

missionary who asked me to speak on the subject of raising children. She said, “Dr. Teis, I have watched during this missions conference all five of your children love serving the Lord. How did you do that? How did you raise five kids in Las Vegas, Nevada that love being in church and have a desire to serve the Lord?” I thought that was a great question. So, I went home and asked my wife.

My wife and I prayed together that night, and then we sat down and wrote out 13 principles that we felt were instrumental in helping us raise our children to love the Lord Jesus Christ. This session will give you a brief overview of those principles. My desire is that these principles will help you raise your family to love Jesus.

Sustainable Bi-Vocational Ministry

By David Beaty

It’s not just the average church member. Many Pastors consider bi-vocational pastoring, where a full-time pastor also works full-time in the community, as an untenable proposition. A fragile, transient state. A try-before-you-buy condition where, if the church doesn’t grow by x%, the pastor melds back into his full-time job, saying, “well, at least I tried.”

But what if BiVo pastoring is not a short-term arrangement? What if it's actually a biblical, healthy, and sustainable model for churches? According to many surveys, 65% of churches have less than 100 members. With the rising cost of living and the number of pastors stepping down from their pulpits, it’s time to change the modern perception of pastoral ministry. We need more thriving, sustainable bi-vocational pastors, not less. But thriving only comes after congregations and pastors embrace a different paradigm of ministry. BiVo pastors, we must lead this shift by believing in the sustainability of our calling.

How to Raise Ministry Kids Without Messing Them Up

By Thomas and Lysandra Osterkamp

We interviewed over twenty adults who were raised by pastors, missionaries, and evangelists. We asked them several questions about their view of their upbringing now that they're adults looking back. Of the "ministry kids" we interviewed, some are in church, some are not, and others are in full-time ministry today. We asked questions such as, "What do you wish your parents would have done differently?" and "What advice would you give a young pastor and his wife?"

Using what God has taught us and comparing the answers given to these questions, we created ten do's and don'ts to help those in full-time ministry raise their kids without creating adults who resent the ministry, the Bible, or God.

We are all trying to raise kids who love Jesus and love others. Unfortunately, church ministry can take first place in our lives, if it does, we may lose our children. We must make our children and our family our first priority. Our family is, after all, our first ministry.

Rest Will Come for You

By Josh Cheney

In the same way we learn to manage our cash flow, we also must learn to manage the flow of other resources, including one of the more important resources that we manage – our energy. There are some jobs that are very physically demanding, while others demand attention, creativity, decision-making, or problem solving.

Regardless of which type of energy is required, we need to learn to manage our energy in the same way we needed to learn to manage our money. We have demands placed on our energy every day, and after it is used, we need to engage in rest to replenish that energy. We take breaks throughout the day, we sleep at night, we take vacations. These activities are not just enjoyable leisure time, but they are the deposits that we make into our energy accounts so we will have sufficient energy available when we need it. But, like our bank accounts, we need to manage our energy accounts carefully.