Latest / Our Community, Our Mission / Ep #229 - Citygate Conference 2024: Empowering Leaders and Building Connections

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Ep #229 - Citygate Conference 2024: Empowering Leaders and Building Connections · Our Community, Our Mission

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Father, you're good to us, god.
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: We're just so thankful for this time, god.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: We're thankful for the things you're revealing to us, god, the things you will reveal, god, we're just so thankful that we get to have this time.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: God, I pray for the listeners listening right now and I pray that we just honor you and glorify you in everything we do.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Hello everybody, thank you for joining us on our community, our mission, a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission here on Wednesday, july 3rd 2024, the day before the 4th of July.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: If you're counting, this is episode number 229.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: This has been going on for a while.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: So, marian Crable, amanda Broyles, good morning, good morning, good to see you.
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's still morning.
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: It is.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Okay, this is kind of a you know day before a holiday, independence Day, those kind of things.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: This is a little bit goofier this morning.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it has been.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: We don't know if we're coming or going, but really what's goofy coming up is our questions about what's significant on this day, and so I suppose most of you don't know we're going to get into some serious talk here in a minute about rescue ministry work, but we start this out.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: If this is your first time listening to our community, our mission was some really important events that are important for the day that we're on, july the 3rd.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: So I didn't know it was National Eat your Beans Day.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Did you know that, mary?
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: I did not know that, and there is just many concerns related to that.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: There are many concerns with that.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: Lamanda, I'm sure that you knew about that.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Don't you, nationally, eat your beans?
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: Of course, I celebrate it every year.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Okay, Every year once time.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: So, in honor of our research department, which Isaiah, who is a man in the booth here today because we have Josh Turley, it's going to join us on the program.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: Isaiah, would you please read what National Eat your Bean Day is about, and do it with finesse.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: okay, there were tons of options, but today, for National Eat your Beans Day, I want to let you know, barry, that I am a bean very lean.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: I am not fat, I'm sure of that.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: Like all beans, I'm small and round, but unlike others, I don't grow in the ground.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: I feel so much enlightened now.
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: Eat your beans.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: And you know what?
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: I was not going to read that, so I'm glad you did.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: None of that applies, so we're glad that today is National Bean Day.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Eat your bean day.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Not National Bean Day, but eat your bean day.
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: Do you like beans?
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: I've never seen you eat beans, well, I don't know.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: You know I'm good Mexican food's one of my favorites.
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: I was going to say They've got beans.
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: That's right.
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: Yep, that's why you couldn't read that.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: No, I don't.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: I don't protect the Okay, so we'll stop with that and go to the next important part of today.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: It's National Chocolate Wafer Day.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Okay, that's always a good follow-up to eat your bean day.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: Bean day Okay.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: You got to have dessert.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: Mary, you got to have dessert, yeah.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: So National Chocolate Wafer Day on July 3rd is a big day for all chocolate lovers.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: There's a few of those in this room.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: On this day, you can allow yourself to indulge in this sinful treat without having to worry about the extra calories.
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: That's not true, because Miriam and I still have to log it on our app Exactly.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: Well, it means you don't have to worry about it.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: It doesn't mean you don't have the extra calories, but anyway, to enjoy this day to the fullest, we recommend having a chocolate wafer for breakfast, lunch and dinner or dinner no and dinner.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: Having a chocolate wafer for breakfast, lunch and dinner or dinner no and dinner.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Chocolate wafers are also known as wafer cookies, sugar wafers, sugar biscuits and fairy wafers.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: While most of us enjoy these wafers as snacks, they can also be enjoyed as a dessert or served at tea time and all your tea parties that you have buried.
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: When is tea time at the restaurant?
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure.
• 3:46
  Speaker 4: I didn't even know there was chocolate wafers.
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: I mean, I've had strawberry wafers, oh, there's chocolate.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: And I've had vanilla.
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: I've never had a chocolate wafer she's from Arkansas, that's like the OG we were talking about we have chocolate gravy in Arkansas, and that's just odd, oh my gosh.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: She's from Arkansas.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: The dollar store wasn't open that day, Except I will tell you when we were in Kentucky, on the menu was chocolate gravy.
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, because we were in God's country.
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: Well, it was Kentucky, not Arkansas, so you're probably right.
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: No, it's on Arkansas menus too.
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: Chocolate gravy.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: Did you get that Razorback University?
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: You went to Okay.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: I'm not done yet Lightly flavored and layered with a rich chocolate filling.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: Chocolate wafers are loved by everyone except for Amanda, because she's never had one.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: She's never had one.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: Okay, all right.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: Lastly, and we always generally have three of these, this one is really good, so it's national.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: What kind of appreciation day.
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: Air conditioning.
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, air conditioning and that is important these days.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Last week we talked about something about air conditioning and when it was started, like 300 years ago, with putting stuff in the ground, that was a refrigerator that was a refrigerator, Barry.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: What's the difference?
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: You don't put stuff in an air conditioner, depending on how cold your air conditioning is have you ever had your air conditioning go out and you stick your head in the refrigerator just to cool off?
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: There you go, my point Okay, so anyway.
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: Is that before or after you eat the beans?
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: While you're eating the beans because your head's in the fridge it's the leftovers.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: And your tea party.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: We got to stop now.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: Okay, Folks, if you tune in for something serious sorry not today for something serious.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: Sorry, not today, but anyway, no, we are going to talk about something serious here today.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: We have John Roberts with us, deputy Director of Community Needs and Services.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: Good morning, john.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: Good morning, yes.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: And Josh Turley, director of Strategic Development.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: And good morning, josh.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: Good morning.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: You're usually doing the Isaiah thing, aren't you glad you're not him today, I feel very it's weird.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Like, I'm not sitting behind the board, you're a participant.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: Josh is normally the guy that pulls the levers and says the prayer, and so, um, yeah, we got this new guy down here and he's the research and development department that came up with these wonderful questions, and, uh, so blame him.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: And, uh, and, and and Josh, you, you've actually been on the podcast one other time, you, him and Josh.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: You've actually been on the podcast one other time.
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: You've contributed periodically, but you were on it once.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: Do you remember that day?
• 6:08
  Speaker 6: Yeah, a long time ago you said hey, we don't have a guest, so it's you.
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: You were our plan B.
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: Bless your heart.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: So Josh and Isaiah, they do some tremendous work in Facebook and videos and promotions and newsletter stuff and the whole 10 yards about promoting the ministry of Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: John, you came as an intern to Topeka Rescue Mission working in the men's shelter services and you came into deputy director of that and you've moved into this deputy director in the ministry with community needs and services.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: What does that do?
• 6:47
  Speaker 5: Yeah, so what I do is just kind of oversee some of our departments our food services distribution center, volunteering, so all of those auxiliary support type of departments just make sure that those are running smoothly and serving people.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: And they are running smoothly right.
• 7:07
  Speaker 5: Well, since I'm sitting next to my boss, I'm going to say absolutely.
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: He's rocking it, he's rocking it Anyway.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: Well guys, thanks for joining us today.
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: We're going to talk about what's called CityGate Network today.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: This is an organization that has been around for over 100 years in the United States.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: This is an organization that has been around for over 100 years in the United States.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: It was started to be able to network rescue ministries together clear back in the early 1900s and it has grown substantially over the years to be able to be a place where an association of rescue ministries come together, all independent from each other.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: It's not like a organization where there's a hierarchy there and there's leadership top down, but it's a great place to be able to connect with other people doing the same stuff, wherever they are.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: There's around 300 rescue ministries in the United States.
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: Since I've been here, this is the third name change since I've been here.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Since I was involved with rescue mission work, there's been three name changes.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: When I first started in rescue ministry, it was called the International Union of Gospel Missions IUGM.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: When I first heard that I thought it was some MGM, like a movie theater or something like that.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: But anyway I learned that it had a great history.
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: It was stationed in Kansas City.
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: Eventually they moved to Colorado Springs and then they became the AGRM Association of Gospel Rescue Missions.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: And then here in about 2018, 2019, 2018, I believe it was they changed the name to City Gate Network and there's some biblical tie-ins to the gate and people coming through the gate for help and city leaders and people really making big decisions and rescue ministries have been in that position to help communities to address some very, very challenging topics, but to not just be that place over there but actually be a significant part of a community, and so today it's called the CityGate Network.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: Topeka Rescue Mission was blessed to be the recipient of the very first ever CityGate Network Award back in 2018.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: Went to Milwaukee to receive that and they said, hey, we're looking for an example, and so they picked five top ones.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: Topeka Rescue Mission came out on top that year and that little award sits around the rescue mission somewhere and so it's a networking 300 rescue ministries, it's staff, it's boards, it's volunteers.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: It's also invited inside the gate, as they call it, or inside the association non-rescue ministry organizations like Teen Challenge is a part of this now and so forth to really have that impact.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: Miriam, I know that you and I have.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: Before LaManda got here, we were involved with the leadership of CityGate Network.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: That was very influential in Washington DC and had the DC Forum which they still do to really bring ministries, rescue ministries, together with elected officials, both Democrat and Republican, both liberal, conservative, to be able to talk about the issues of homelessness.
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: Right, absolutely, and I think that's so important that we do have a voice that is allowed to advocate right, to advocate for the folks that we serve, to advocate for the challenges of nonprofit organizations, to advocate for the challenges that that nonprofit ministries kind of face.
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: So it was a wonderful way to kind of get us involved in different ways than, I think, what we had been used to in the past.
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you're right.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: And again, it's not just those places over there.
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: It actually is a place on a national level that Rescue Ministries, citygate Network, have been very influential in helping make some decisions of a very complex issue that exists in our country.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: One last thing on the kind of the history.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: When I first went to my first district meeting, as they called it back in those days, in Lincoln, nebraska, I drove up to a brand new rescue mission.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: I'd only been at Topeka rescue mission for about a year and I saw this brand new rescue mission in Lincoln.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: I didn't know you could do that.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: Ours was falling down and so, just by that association, the director there mentored me on how you build a new rescue mission, and so we did more than one of those but here and so we've been able to really enjoy this association.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: It has grown and grown.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: Lamanda, since you've come on board, there's been a significant connection of you with the network.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: We want to talk about that.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: But before we jump into that, each year there's an annual conference and you guys just got back from one.
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: Everybody that's in this room here except Isaiah and me, we didn't go, but anyway you guys went to a conference lasted several days in Kentucky this time.
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: So I kind of want to talk about that.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: Lamanda, you decided to, since you became executive director over two years ago, to attempt to take some different staff members to this, and that's why we have John and Josh and Miriam went with you on this trip to go.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: So what was it like?
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: You go to a place in Kentucky.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: Talk about what you experienced, and I want to hear from these guys of their first time what it's like, because Miriam, you've been to these before and LaManda you have as well.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: So what did you experience walking into this room where there was how many people?
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: Over 1,200.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: 1,200 from around the United States, primarily but also other places.
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: Yes, you know, it's just such an incredible experience on so many different levels, and I think that at the end of this podcast you will see whether it's because of the worship, because of the networking, because of the general sessions.
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: Overall it's just such an impactful experience.
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: So this year it was against all odds, and so I was already very curious about what was going to be impact during this time.
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: You know, if we look over the last 12 months, you could probably say four decades, but over the last 12 months there's a lot of odds, and CityGate Network chose to use 1 John 5, 4 as kind of the pillar scripture for this against all odds, where he says and his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.
• 13:13
  Speaker 4: This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith, and so that was really kind of the pivotal foundation for everything that was done during this time.
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: And so I was pretty intrigued myself personally, but also professionally, because there's just been a lot going on and sometimes we get this tunnel vision of what everything seems that's right in front of us, whether it's the growing numbers of unsheltered, whether it's lack of affordable housing, whether it's the challenges we face when we're trying to house 215 to 250 people every night in our shelters all of these practical things that are so important, but sometimes you just have to remove yourself from that and recognize that there is this whole different spiritual realm and spiritual focus, that we are called to do this and that we are given the power of prayer, we're given the power of the Holy Spirit that whatever odd is against us personally, whatever odd is against somebody experiencing homelessness or another CEO, we can overcome that and we overcome it through our faith in him.
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: And so it was an incredible time and I'm so excited that we get to share that today.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: I think it's you've been to like three or four of these now Baltimore, san Antonio.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: Miriam, you've done the same thing Kentucky.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: This time Was there another place?
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: You got Orlando, orlando.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: Yes, right, so you're coming from Topeka, Kansas going out and seeing all these people from all over the country just happen to be in a place where they've got rescue mission services.
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: It's pretty amazing to I know.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: What I always felt was we're not alone in this.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: We're not the only ones doing this, and sometimes you can feel that way, josh, john, this was your first time.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: Josh, you've been hearing about these for a number of years, and Kim's gone too.
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: Your wife has gone to one of these before.
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: This was your first time.
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: What did you think about being invited to this and what were you expecting and really, what happened when you got there?
• 15:12
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 15:13
  Speaker 6: So I was very honored to be chosen to go.
• 15:15
  Speaker 6: So it was.
• 15:16
  Speaker 6: I didn't I don't think I had any particular.
• 15:19
  Speaker 6: I've been to some conferences before but I didn't really know fully what to expect and so I kind of just went praying Lord, show yourself like you know what.
• 15:28
  Speaker 6: What do you want to reveal to me during this time?
• 15:30
  Speaker 6: And I think for me one of the there was tons of great nuggets and tons of awesome things, but I think for me one of the biggest things was kind of like what Amanda talked about, but I think the word for me is like camaraderie.
• 15:42
  Speaker 6: We have, there's a group of that they call the emerging leaders, which is focused kind of on the what is it?
• 15:48
  Speaker 6: The under forties is kind of the age range for that.
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: And I don't get to go to that.
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: I'm sorry.
• 16:00
  Speaker 6: Why, well, I said we would grandfather you in because you're special.
• 16:02
  Speaker 6: But and so we, we got kind of you.
• 16:03
  Speaker 6: You know, we all got to meet together and then they also kind of even broke us up into like your job, like what's your specific job you're doing, and so for me that was like development, marketing, and so not only was I getting to meet, you know, people kind of in my age-ish range, but also like specifically in what I'm doing.
• 16:19
  Speaker 6: And so immediately, you know, we had a couple, had one uh girl we were in our group.
• 16:24
  Speaker 6: She said who if he does podcasting.
• 16:25
  Speaker 6: So I was like oh, we do.
• 16:26
  Speaker 6: And several of us raised our hands and so we got to give her some stuff on on podcasting, and so we all kind of were able to network and and just being in kind of like-mindedness was just really refreshing.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: So is a podcast um like our community, our mission, fairly common in rescue missions, or not so common.
• 16:44
  Speaker 6: Not particularly.
• 16:45
  Speaker 6: There was a couple of people but ours was.
• 16:49
  Speaker 6: I was able to say how long ours has been going and ours has definitely been going the longest by far.
• 16:54
  Speaker 6: So it was cool because I think it's starting to kind of get bigger and more people are starting to do it.
• 16:58
  Speaker 6: But you know tap, you know pat on the back a little bit.
• 17:02
  Speaker 6: We've been doing it for a while.
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: Well, it's a commitment.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: You've got a schedule that you've got to have good guests on, you have to have all the right equipment to put it out there, and you also have to have interesting topics that people listen to, and apparently that's been part of why we're at number 229 now.
• 17:16
  Speaker 6: Yeah absolutely People like what we're talking about.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: They do and again, you're the listener.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: Thank you for being a part of this, because we actually can not know who you are, but we can tell that people are listening and what geographic area they're in.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: What was your biggest surprise going to this conference?
• 17:33
  Speaker 6: Biggest surprise?
• 17:34
  Speaker 6: That's a good question.
• 17:39
  Speaker 6: I don't know if anything, I think, because I didn't really go into it preconceived.
• 17:43
  Speaker 6: I don't think I was really surprised necessarily by anything.
• 17:46
  Speaker 6: Um, there were definitely some experiences where I felt the Lord pulling more on my heart and maybe we'll get to those more.
• 17:51
  Speaker 6: But um, but yeah, just um, yeah.
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: Oh, I have.
• 17:57
  Speaker 4: I have a moment you were surprised on.
• 17:59
  Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, what'd you do?
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: Like why are you blaming me, friends?
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: Um, maybe that moment you and Miriam shared.
• 18:07
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: Yeah, why don't you talk about that?
• 18:09
  Speaker 6: So I'm sure we'll unpack this more too, but during one of the general.
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: We can just let you unpack it.
• 18:14
  Speaker 4: Oh, okay, go ahead.
• 18:14
  Speaker 6: So during one of the general sessions they talked about receiving kind of compliments is the word that comes to mind but receiving love, yeah, from people, and so I am one of those who has difficulty with that.
• 18:31
  Speaker 6: I'm sure a lot of people do.
• 18:32
  Speaker 6: But he was unpacking that and how you know, one of the important steps to really doing that is listening and then saying I received that.
• 18:40
  Speaker 6: And so then he did a this.
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: The speaker said all right, so now I want you to turn to the person you're sitting next to, cause you all come, you know most of us came in groups where we all know each other and so and give compliments and then say I receive it, give love.
• 18:54
  Speaker 6: And so I uh turned to Miriam and I quickly tried to jump in and give mine first.
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: Which means he's already failing the activity.
• 19:04
  Speaker 6: Get it over with, which means he's already failing the activity.
• 19:07
  Speaker 6: Um, she said she received it, and then Miriam proceeded to pour love into me and.
• 19:11
  Speaker 6: I quickly started to cry.
• 19:13
  Speaker 6: So thanks for making me show that.
• 19:15
  Speaker 6: No, but it was.
• 19:16
  Speaker 6: It was a really special moment and, miriam, I appreciate you and and uh, so so, yeah, that was.
• 19:23
  Speaker 6: That was probably one of the I don't know if I call it a surprise but definitely a kick in the face.
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: Yes, I don't think we were prepared.
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: There's so much about what we do that's serving others, right.
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: And so I think we were all kind of caught off guard.
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: When Jason Jaggard was like, okay, here's the activity that you're going to do.
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: You're going to look at each other and love people and love each other, like you so often look into others.
• 19:51
  Speaker 4: So instantly I was like, well, shoot, I'm not turning to Josh or Miriam.
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: And then my other option was John, and he's so incredible too that I really was like bathroom time.
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: And then I realized, shoot, I just failed.
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: But what was incredible about it?
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: I think we were all shocked.
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: Might not be the right word, but we're taken back because we're so used to just like either learning or pouring into others.
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: So when we had this 45 seconds that none of that was happening, no one was talking to us.
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: We turn to each other quote, unquote the helpers to say this is what I appreciate about you, or this is what I notice about you, this is what I love about you.
• 20:30
  Speaker 4: You're almost like wanting to crawl under the table Right.
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: And then we all, kind of four, have unpacked.
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: That the Lord has really revealed to us after that.
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: That's a pride issue, that it's sometimes false humility, sometimes it's our own hurts that we don't want to do that, and so then we've kind of taken it a step further of that also is so important for you to understand the person that's giving the love, because if there's any question of that love or that compliments not coming across authentically, then your guard goes up and that could be part of the problem.
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: You receive it too, so it's been not receive it, and so it's been just interesting, all four of us, how that one, literally 45 second activity has just kind of planted the seed and constantly thinking about how we love people and then how we're receiving it and issues we could or could not have with that.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: It's a huge nugget to take out three and a half days of conference and meetings and those kind of things.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: You know, rescue ministry personnel are first responders in some very, very critical situations and you kind of got to be on your guard all the time to be able to be there, strong for the person you're trying to respond to, and it's hard to let it down.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: Um, whether it be at home, whether it be at the workplace, whether it be a grocery store, you go into a place like this and you get to be real and with other people who are getting to be real, and that's um, it's, it's helpful, um, it's therapy, it's, it's great.
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: And you take those things away.
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: John, uh, you're the newest guy in this room to the peak of rescue mission, uh, in regards to, uh, people that went, and so what were you expecting and what maybe was your biggest surprise going?
• 22:19
  Speaker 5: Yes, um, similar to Josh.
• 22:21
  Speaker 5: Um, you know, I was very excited to be able to go and didn't know exactly what to expect, but was just excited to learn and just was wanting to make myself open, just to kind of soak up everything that I could, all the different opportunities, all of the wisdom that was there, and it was just really a great experience.
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: One of the things that, you know, maybe surprised me or really was my biggest takeaway was From it was just going back to some of the things that you all have said is realizing that you're not alone.
• 23:06
  Speaker 5: So you know this, the work that we do here is really good and I love it, and it can be hard for to explain it to people who aren't in it every day.
• 23:29
  Speaker 5: You know, even to close friends, to family members, to your spouse, it can be challenging to you know how are things going, you know, and it's like because it's so much right, it's going good, it's really exciting, there's all these things happening, but it's also hard and it's like because it's so much right, it's going good, it's really exciting, there's all these things happening, but it's also hard and it's stressful and it's messy and there's, you know, it's the ups and downs of life, that we're walking with people and so, but it's hard for them to really understand that, you know, and so sometimes you can just go into the cliches, you know, and just like that's something that I'm dealing with and working through and everything.
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: And so it really struck me that first night we were there as we were all in a room together and there was worship and there was a speaker, and then there was some time where they were talking about different aspects of the ministry that CityGate does and kind of going through some profiles of success stories but also stories that weren't necessarily successes, right, or something that the world might view as a failure.
• 24:42
  Speaker 5: You know that a lot of time and energy was poured out into and this individual was growing and then they left the program and we don't know what's happened since then.
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: And it really struck me right there that, ok, you know, that was just so real, you know, especially after you know spending my first couple years here in the shelter every day and seeing those stories, and so you just knew I'm in a room full of people who really get this and we all know how that is to have the successes and then sometimes to not know I don't know where this person's at, I just know that they've left and some of that opened, and so that was heavy.
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: But then also just really help, take a guard down to know, okay, I'm in a room where we all get this and where we're all striving for the same thing.
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: There can be a great sense of failure when we invest in people and it doesn't turn out like a Cinderella story, yeah.
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: But to find that there are other people who.
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: It doesn't end the way we want it to yet, and I think that's kind of what they stressed.
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: It's that, okay, we don't know where this person is right now, but it doesn't mean that they're lost forever.
• 26:08
  Speaker 3: Right, and we will be here when they come back.
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: Um, and I think it just stressed that perseverance that we all have to have.
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: Yes, um, that we'll, we'll be here when they come again and again, and again and again, if that's what's needed.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: There were a couple of guys that were at Speaker Rescue Mission many, many years ago that just disappeared and I thought, oh, that's not going to work out really well.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: And a couple of years later I'm in Wyoming at a rescue mission.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: There they are and they were doing great.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: They were on their program and they thanked me for what we did here.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: Journey.
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: They were on their journey, yeah absolutely.
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: And what was really great is they said we want to serve you dinner.
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: And I jokingly said man, we're out here in Wyoming, I'd love to try moose.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: We got moose.
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: I'll never eat moose again, promise.
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: I kept saying do you have more ketchup, lamanda?
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: You have really got engaged with the CityGate Network pretty much from day one.
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: I imagine that you didn't expect that to happen.
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: You've got a lot of responsibilities here, but you are co-leading a very new effort in regards to this hundred year history called Emerging Leaders.
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: You're co-leading that with somebody else in the country.
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: Fortunately, there is an opportunity through technology called Zoom that you can come together, talk about what is Emerging Leaders.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: We're going to get back to the conference here in a minute, but I think this is an essential part of this.
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: Both John and Josh and others are part of emerging leaders.
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: Miriam and I are excluded.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: We're discriminated against because we do so much.
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: You know, barry I think it's they can only handle so much wisdom.
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: I think that's it, Miriam.
• 27:56
  Speaker 3: I really do.
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: I think that they're afraid of us.
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: That's exactly it, so they're afraid that we'll tell them stuff.
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: That's right, and then they don't need to emerge anymore because we got all the answers.
• 28:05
  Speaker 6: We would have all the leadership.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: We wouldn't need it Exactly yeah that's right.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: So we want to give guys a chance to learn it on your own, sure, so anyway.
• 28:15
  Speaker 5: That might be some false humility.
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: It's just something false.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: But anyway, it's not humor.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: I can't even say the word, it's not in my vocabulary.
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: Anyway.
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: Lamenta, emerging leaders.
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: What is it?
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: What's the value of?
• 28:32
  Speaker 4: it.
• 28:32
  Speaker 4: Sure, you know, emerging leaders was kind of this concept that CityGate really was trying to foster and an incredible leader named Matt, hosted, from Milwaukee, was kind of leading it and the genesis of it was okay.
• 28:49
  Speaker 4: When we're at the conference, let's create a space where people that are emerging and that was kind of loose right.
• 28:57
  Speaker 4: It was like what's emerging, because sometimes you could be new into leadership but age-wise, older.
• 29:03
  Speaker 4: They went behind the years, but that's okay, correct, yes, and so it really wasn't defined, but it was this space where people that were trying to grow into leadership, people that were learning rescue mission work, those kinds of things had a place that they could go and be like.
• 29:18
  Speaker 4: I have absolutely no clue about this, or man, I really feel like we're supposed to do this, but I don't feel like anybody will listen to me because I'm 21 or I don't have experience that kind of thing.
• 29:28
  Speaker 4: And so Matt did a great job again Matt from Milwaukee of kind of creating the safe space and a place for networking.
• 29:36
  Speaker 4: And so, in 2021, jordan Smith, who works with Tree of Life in West Virginia, he and I attended Emerging Leaders, because we didn't know each other and both just like what is this about?
• 29:50
  Speaker 4: And both of us new to this work, trying to figure it out.
• 29:53
  Speaker 4: And so we went and instantly we saw just this incredible work that was being done, but the possibilities to really make it ongoing, where it wasn't just at the conference, and this networking could potentially blossom into relationships where people can have a true friendship with someone in Topeka, Kansas, when they live in Maine, or something like that.
• 30:17
  Speaker 4: And so Jordan and I made the mistake.
• 30:19
  Speaker 4: This is what we call it the mistake, even though it's not true made the mistake of asking some questions and being like, hey, I think this would be helpful if this, and so the next thing we know.
• 30:29
  Speaker 4: At that time, john Ashman, ceo of CityGate Network, was like him and Matt from Milwaukee were like, yeah, we think this is a great idea, go ahead and do it.
• 30:37
  Speaker 4: And so what kind of birthed out of that was Jordan and I just accepting the privilege and the responsibility to say let's start a Facebook page.
• 30:46
  Speaker 4: A lot of people under the age of 40 were doing social media and really said I'm bombarded with email.
• 30:53
  Speaker 4: Email is truly a difficult part of my job because there's so much.
• 30:57
  Speaker 4: And so we thought, ok, we'll use kind of the social media type platform to post prayer requests, to post devotions, to just say, hey, how's it going?
• 31:08
  Speaker 4: That kind of thing.
• 31:09
  Speaker 4: And then we thought, well, we want to meet monthly.
• 31:11
  Speaker 4: Well, how can we do that when we're all in different time zones, different areas?
• 31:15
  Speaker 4: And it was something that birthed out of COVID, you know.
• 31:18
  Speaker 4: We were able to use Zoom, we were able to use Teams and meetings and things like that.
• 31:23
  Speaker 4: So I'm not even sure I think this is the third year that we've been doing this, because it started in 21 and we had to do some planning and so, but we started at the same year.
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: And you get together.
• 31:43
  Speaker 4: We get together every month and there's anywhere between a dozen to three dozen people on each Zoom, and we've made the decision to not make the content that we learn about or we discuss build upon each other, because sometimes in this work you'll have it on your calendar and some type of crisis hits right at the beginning and we did not want people, if they missed February, march and April, we didn't want them to feel like they couldn't join in in May because they were worried about well, they've been doing this book study or they've been doing that and those things are great things, but not for this group, when we just want consistency to be a part of the system.
• 32:16
  Speaker 4: But if the consistency isn't part of the person attending, it's OK because we get it.
• 32:21
  Speaker 4: So we meet every month and we do different topics and then usually twice a year, we have just a fellowship time on zoom.
• 32:29
  Speaker 4: Everybody's talking, giving updates, things like that, um, and it's just been an incredible time of networking.
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: So it was about three years old, still pretty new for a national getting together.
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: How many people average join in with you?
• 32:41
  Speaker 4: Um, so it kind of depends.
• 32:42
  Speaker 4: So at the conference we'll have usually anywhere between like 36 to 40 people to 75.
• 32:52
  Speaker 4: And we all meet in one suite that CityGate Network has for us and we do everything from leadership activities that Jordan and I plan with the amazing help of our administrative assistants because they keep us straight, and so thank you so much previously for Maddie and Melissa and Miranda and Kim, but we have these focuses, and so it's everything from team building to truly leadership skills.
• 33:20
  Speaker 4: So, for instance, this last, one of the last activities we did this year that we planned was a communication activity.
• 33:26
  Speaker 4: No one could talk and they had to put themselves in order of their birthdays month, year and date youngest to oldest and immediately someone pulled out his driver's license.
• 33:41
  Speaker 4: And then everybody was pulling out their driver's license to try to do that because they couldn't talk.
• 33:46
  Speaker 4: Well, the premises on this was communication issues, and then we dug in and then I said, okay, so now I'm going to take your ability to use your driver's license away.
• 33:54
  Speaker 4: Now you cannot verbally do anything and you cannot do this.
• 33:57
  Speaker 4: And then I gave them additional challenges every other person and we talked about it's what our people face.
• 34:04
  Speaker 4: It's what we face sometimes as employees and so sometimes we do things like that.
• 34:08
  Speaker 4: That's kind of diving deep.
• 34:10
  Speaker 4: And then there's other times where it is all fellowship and fun and getting around the table and just praying for prayer requests that we have and needs and struggles, and it's just incredible.
• 34:22
  Speaker 2: I think it is incredible.
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: Having been in that space before, I remember I had about five other guys that I knew nationally.
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: We'd see a lot of other people at these national meetings and district meetings, but these five of us, in kind of the Midwest kind of hung together but we only saw each other about two or three times a year.
• 34:37
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: And there was no Zooms.
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: Didn't even know about an internet back in those days, but this is fantastic.
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: I want to just briefly unpack.
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: There was a general session where everybody came together, there were the breakouts and then there was the worship time, which was everybody coming together again.
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: So those are kind of the bigger categories.
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: So what were, what was the general sessions about?
• 35:00
  Speaker 4: There was so much, so much about the general sessions.
• 35:03
  Speaker 4: I think I want to just briefly, since I talked about the other, I want to just make a brief statement and let them unpack.
• 35:10
  Speaker 4: But I think there was this it didn't matter what speaker it was, it was all centered on.
• 35:19
  Speaker 4: If you really think about it, hope cannot be in what we do, the work we do, the work our community does, the good things.
• 35:30
  Speaker 4: It's all about the hope we have in the Lord and what he's doing, because if we look at it that way, then there should be no challenge that causes us fear to the point that we paralyze and we can't serve others.
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: If we don't focus that way, it's all on us and we fail a lot.
• 35:50
  Speaker 4: Yes, all the time.
• 35:51
  Speaker 4: But then also this other side of it is when city gate network and and every general session talked about this some sort, when there are those stories where the person hasn't healed yet or the person hasn't been ready to be in the recovery part of their addiction or the housed part, everything that we've deemed as society as success.
• 36:18
  Speaker 4: We just want to sweep that under the rug because it could look like we didn't do enough enough or it could look like we failed or whatever the case may be.
• 36:26
  Speaker 4: And I loved kind of how John mentioned there was this even in the general sessions, this emphasis in if somebody does not successfully complete our program, if they're not in housing yet, if they relapse and go back to addiction, that doesn't mean we lose hope.
• 36:43
  Speaker 4: It also doesn't mean that we quit trying to serve them because we think, oh well, they didn't do what we asked and so we have to cut that off.
• 36:53
  Speaker 4: It's just so different.
• 36:53
  Speaker 4: So to me I walked away from the general sessions with this reminder of our hope is in the Lord, only the Lord only.
• 37:07
  Speaker 4: Because if we do any type of hope in just our own abilities or the abilities of a person trying to get out of addiction or trying to get into housing.
• 37:11
  Speaker 4: We're just we're going to fail because we can't do it.
• 37:13
  Speaker 4: It's so hard.
• 37:14
  Speaker 4: But when we put our hope in him and we trust his timeline, whether that person relapses again or the person chooses to leave housing or gets evicted or whatever, we have to continue to have our hope in the Lord and love that person in front of us.
• 37:28
  Speaker 2: I hear that not just from one person, but everybody coming together around that same theme Miriam, Josh, John.
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: What were some things you took out of the general session?
• 37:36
  Speaker 2: I want to talk about maybe a breakout as well, and then end up on the worship piece.
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: What was something you really took out of that?
• 37:44
  Speaker 6: I'll start.
• 37:44
  Speaker 6: So the first general session was one that kind of struck me and has stuck with me, and it was Daniel Strickland and she shared about Mark 4 and the Jesus healing the demon possessed man, and there was so many like good nuggets that she took that.
• 38:09
  Speaker 2: I took from that.
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: She's a great presenter.
• 38:11
  Speaker 6: Yeah, she was fantastic, got a great story of herself.
• 38:13
  Speaker 6: Our own, oh yeah, um.
• 38:15
  Speaker 6: But one of the things that she unpacked was how, um, in the chapter before it's talking about Jesus ministry and how productive it was and how much was happening when the crowds were gathering and the parables being shared.
• 38:28
  Speaker 6: And it kind of stops right in the middle of all of this amazing things that he's doing and all of this really kind of fruitful ministry that you see of so many people getting words from him, and he stops and says we need to cross the river and go to the other side and she taught well, she unpacks the storm that breaks out.
• 38:52
  Speaker 6: And it's kind of interesting to talk about the lake that they cross because it's small and so it shouldn't have taken as long as it did, but it takes a really long time.
• 39:02
  Speaker 6: And Jesus is in the back of the boat and she unpacks this whole thing about how they're like, do you even care if we're drowning?
• 39:09
  Speaker 6: And Jesus says to them why are you so afraid?
• 39:14
  Speaker 6: And one of the things that she pointed out in that she says I used to read that and read like a sarcastic tone, like why are you so afraid?
• 39:20
  Speaker 6: Like I got this.
• 39:21
  Speaker 6: And she unpacks this idea that it was really a caring question, like why are you so afraid, like I'm here for you, and so unpacking that, and then why do you still have no faith?
• 39:34
  Speaker 6: And so there was just kind of so many good nuggets from that, but then kind of the main hit was this idea of going to get the one going after the one leaving this really successful ministry that he's doing and hearing the cry, because it talks about how this demon-possessed man that they crossed to the other side to visit he was so possessed that all he was doing was crying.
• 39:56
  Speaker 6: So in Mark 5, verse 5, it says night and day, among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out.
• 40:01
  Speaker 6: And she talks about, uh, the really hit, the God he's.
• 40:06
  Speaker 6: He is the God who hears the cry.
• 40:07
  Speaker 6: He hears our cries, he hears our prayers, he hears even when you can't pray, when you're crying out with just groans and moaning.
• 40:16
  Speaker 6: He hears that.
• 40:17
  Speaker 6: And so it was this beautiful passage and and uh, and then finally you know him, you know healing the man and going into the pigs and the pigs running into the off the cliff and then getting rejected.
• 40:33
  Speaker 6: Jesus, getting rejected after doing this incredible miracle of saving this man.
• 40:38
  Speaker 6: The rejection that happened and they're like get out of here.
• 40:40
  Speaker 6: Like what are you doing?
• 40:41
  Speaker 6: He came to help, he helped.
• 40:44
  Speaker 6: And now, we didn't like the way he did it.
• 40:45
  Speaker 6: Right, we didn't like the way he did it.
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: Or it's not our normal anymore.
• 40:49
  Speaker 6: And it was just amazing this idea of how, even when you're you're following the Lord and doing what you're called to do, there will still be because you know he tells us you're going to get rejected, and it's kind of this good reminder, when things are, you know, to not be seeking the approval of man, because that's not what we're after, we're after the approval of God.
• 41:11
  Speaker 6: And so, especially in times when you're really doing the work that you're called to do, you're going to get rejected and that's OK, and that's going to happen, and that's normal and to be OK with that.
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: And then you know the theme against all odds, there's a lot of impossibilities that happen in trying to help the most broken of our part of the world and to think that you have to own all that and be responsible for it.
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: Don't please everybody, Ain't going to happen.
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: But God's involved in this too.
• 41:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah.
• 41:42
  Speaker 3: So I we could probably unpack Daniel Strickland for an hour.
• 41:47
  Speaker 3: I mean, she was really, really powerful and I think some others may talk about it.
• 41:52
  Speaker 3: I'm going to focus a little bit on our last general session with Dr Derwin Gray, former NFL player for the Panthers and the Colts.
• 42:03
  Speaker 3: He was really, really powerful and he had some great takeaways.
• 42:09
  Speaker 3: He had some great takeaways as it relates to race and the fact that once we are part of the family of God, we are all one race.
• 42:20
  Speaker 3: We are no longer whatever we were when we were born.
• 42:23
  Speaker 3: We are just his children and we are all of one race.
• 42:28
  Speaker 3: And how we address that unity becomes incredibly important.
• 42:32
  Speaker 3: That I've I've thought on that for a while.
• 42:35
  Speaker 3: You know this.
• 42:36
  Speaker 3: We so often tend to think of the body of Christ, us needing to be able to address everybody's everything right, when in actuality, we're just one.
• 42:47
  Speaker 3: We're just one and if we're just dealing with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, how does that change things?
• 42:57
  Speaker 3: How does that change that perspective?
• 43:00
  Speaker 3: The other thing he talked about is that we should not allow ministering for Jesus to rob us of being ministered to by Jesus.
• 43:11
  Speaker 3: So this constant giving you know there's this theme here.
• 43:16
  Speaker 3: Right this, whether it was with Jason Jaggard, whether it's now with Dr Derwin Gray, it's this thing about.
• 43:22
  Speaker 3: Look, we can't give everything and never be replenished, never realize that Christ is here for us as much as he has called us to be here for others, and that we continuously lean into Christ.
• 43:39
  Speaker 3: So my general perspective, and LaManda has some opinions about this that she won't be sharing.
• 43:44
  Speaker 3: Oh, I'm not muted, miriam, I could still talk, but I can make that happen.
• 43:50
  Speaker 3: Anyway, it seemed very much to me in all of the general sessions that included the worship time and everything, that Jesus was just front and center, in a different kind of way than what I had recognized at past conferences, or what else could it be?
• 44:08
  Speaker 3: Nothing.
• 44:09
  Speaker 3: That's the correct answer.
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: We're having a bit of a mystery here.
• 44:16
  Speaker 3: That we're not going to go into in this session.
• 44:20
  Speaker 3: So there were just so many things like that that just kept bringing us back to Jesus, not just that he has called us to do this work, but that we are his.
• 44:32
  Speaker 3: We are his and what that means in each of our lives.
• 44:37
  Speaker 3: The other takeaway that I had from Dr Gray was him saying how we treat each other is an act of worship.
• 44:45
  Speaker 3: And if you think about that, as you think about how we treat our brothers and sisters, are we doing it in such a way where it truly is an act of worship?
• 44:58
  Speaker 3: There's lots of things to think about, but, again, we could go through each of these sessions and just say each one of them could be at least an hour.
• 45:13
  Speaker 2: You know what I think I'm hearing here is that just what you brought up with the Daniel Strickland talk and the scripture here and, mary, what you've said.
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: These are topics that could be a whole podcast and maybe Lamanda.
• 45:20
  Speaker 2: They should be at some point.
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: We don't have all day for this.
• 45:25
  Speaker 2: We'll be into the 4th of July and there'll be big booms going off out here.
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: So, john, give us your perspective generally.
• 45:31
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think there was a theme here that what I'm hearing and that was about the unity under Christ, the unity that people can come together.
• 45:42
  Speaker 2: We're all one.
• 45:43
  Speaker 2: We're not perfect.
• 45:43
  Speaker 2: God is perfect.
• 45:43
  Speaker 2: We're all one.
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: We're not perfect, god is perfect.
• 45:46
  Speaker 2: So you've been on the front lines of being in shelter work and now you've got this amazing part of the ministry that you're doing that is in community needs.
• 45:57
  Speaker 2: So it's even beyond just what we understand, or a lot of people think of Topeka Rescue Mission as a place for homeless people to come, but it's the hunger and the brokenness out here.
• 46:07
  Speaker 2: So how did this help you to be doing your job better?
• 46:14
  Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a great question and what I, what I think is there were.
• 46:21
  Speaker 5: There were different things that I took away from it.
• 46:23
  Speaker 5: There was this aspect of unity which was encouraging um, and encouraging and regenerative almost to be able to come back, to get recharged and to feel now empowered and connected and ready to come back and hit the road and keep going and implement new ideas and things.
• 46:42
  Speaker 5: So that was a big takeaway.
• 46:45
  Speaker 5: So that was a big takeaway and with the general sessions, there was this focus on really pouring in the gospel and it was definitely gospel-centered, and so there was a motivation there and a kind of refocusing with that spiritual lens and then with the breakout sessions.
• 47:15
  Speaker 2: They were highly practical.
• 47:15
  Speaker 2: Those are specific topics in the breakout sections and, like Josh, you already alluded to people in communications finance, food services, shelter, those kinds of things.
• 47:25
  Speaker 2: So people can kind of get an idea food services, shelter, those kind of things.
• 47:28
  Speaker 2: So people can kind of get an idea A plethora of different areas of rescue ministry.
• 47:31
  Speaker 5: Absolutely, and so you could kind of go to.
• 47:37
  Speaker 5: And we did, we all kind of split up and went to the different workshops that were more focused on the work that we do here, and so there's just, I mean, dozens of ideas or hearing about the way that other missions around the country are doing things and how they're approaching them and so coming away.
• 47:50
  Speaker 5: There's motivation, there's a recentering on the gospel, and then there's all sorts of practical tidbits for the day-to-day operations so it was really just a really beneficial time overall.
• 48:04
  Speaker 5: Trevor.
• 48:05
  Speaker 2: Burrus.
• 48:05
  Speaker 2: The four of you went.
• 48:06
  Speaker 2: You were immersed for three and a half days, two and a half days, in this incredible environment.
• 48:11
  Speaker 2: There was great worship, there was good breakout sessions, there were these general sessions.
• 48:14
  Speaker 2: Okay, so you're enriched, right?
• 48:17
  Speaker 2: I mean, this is empowering to you.
• 48:20
  Speaker 2: What do you bring back to the team of Topeka Rescue Mission and how does going to a CityGate network conference like this not only help you but help the ministry of Topeka Rescue Mission with its personnel, its volunteers and the whole community and the people we serve?
• 48:36
  Speaker 3: Well, I honestly, barry, I think that's up to us, right Like, are we going to come back and just only share this with, well, the whole world on a podcast, or just be tween ourselves because we have this experience together, or are we going to bring this back and make things applicable?
• 48:55
  Speaker 3: Whether it's about how I do work, how I share the information, et cetera, I think it's completely up to us how it will be enacted.
• 49:05
  Speaker 2: So it's up to you guys, of course.
• 49:06
  Speaker 2: But then what comes to your mind?
• 49:09
  Speaker 2: How do you take what happened?
• 49:12
  Speaker 2: Yes, we're sharing on a podcast just probably not even a fraction of what you got out of this.
• 49:18
  Speaker 2: But so oftentimes we go to these meetings we feel really charged up.
• 49:22
  Speaker 2: Then we come back, we're back in the swing of things again and we kind of lose the emphasis, and so forth.
• 49:27
  Speaker 2: While you were away and I know you really weren't away because your phones were blowing up like crazy, but you kind of got away and you got with this group, but yet back home there were people on the front line doing what they do every day the first responders.
• 49:41
  Speaker 2: How can you help them with what you got?
• 49:45
  Speaker 4: You know, one of the things that there were, two big things that bubbled up to me after all of this one was talking about the love that we give and the love that we receive, the authenticity of it.
• 49:57
  Speaker 4: Uh, the other thing that bubbled up to me was almost a conviction, you know.
• 50:03
  Speaker 4: I would say kind of my lifeline, personally and professionally, is just the power of prayer.
• 50:09
  Speaker 4: I talk to the Lord, I talk with the Lord, I'll try to listen, from the Lord every day, and that's just something so sacred to me.
• 50:20
  Speaker 4: However, the other part of this is sometimes that isn't easy.
• 50:27
  Speaker 4: Part of this is sometimes that isn't easy, and sometimes I also don't think that I tap into it the way that I'm supposed to, that I feel like I'm just talking versus really knowing, like the power of the Holy Spirit is inside of us.
• 50:39
  Speaker 4: So, two things that we've already implemented.
• 50:42
  Speaker 4: In just the last three weeks since returning, I sent this message to all of our staff and I really want to share this more with a lot of other people too.
• 50:52
  Speaker 4: I put this past month, I was able to attend the CityGate Network Annual Conference.
• 50:58
  Speaker 4: One thing that stood out to me was the power of recognizing the importance of the one.
• 51:02
  Speaker 4: And that success doesn't have to be measured in large numbers, but instead by the way we share the love and hope of Christ to the one in front of us.
• 51:11
  Speaker 4: But sometimes the one isn't necessarily who we're serving.
• 51:14
  Speaker 4: We have to remember.
• 51:16
  Speaker 4: It could be a coworker, a family member, a friend and, yes, even our own self.
• 51:22
  Speaker 4: We all need words of truthful affirmation and encouragement as an expression and receiving of love.
• 51:28
  Speaker 4: I have no doubt we all love well, but I do doubt how well we receive it.
• 51:33
  Speaker 4: Take a look at this photo from one of the general session presenters.
• 51:36
  Speaker 4: How would you rate yourself?
• 51:38
  Speaker 4: We will be discussing this in several meetings.
• 51:40
  Speaker 4: Remember, the more you are filled with love, the more love you are able to spill out.
• 51:45
  Speaker 4: And he kind of gave us this rating scale of like a zero to three, a four to six or four to seven and then all of that, and so we're going to be doing those in teams and talking more about that.
• 51:56
  Speaker 4: But the other part of the prayer thing that I mentioned I've already gone to a couple of volunteers and also our board and said I think that we pray for TRM every day.
• 52:08
  Speaker 4: We have to for our own sanity and for the mission, but how powerful are we walking in our prayers?
• 52:17
  Speaker 4: And so I asked the board and they received it, well, and they're in the process of starting it.
• 52:22
  Speaker 4: But they're going to form prayer teams and you know we have eight or nine board members, and so they're going to form prayer teams.
• 52:27
  Speaker 4: And you know we have eight or nine board members, and so they're going to split and those two people in the teams are going to pray for specific things for TRM One, financial needs.
• 52:37
  Speaker 4: Two, the safety of our staff and guests.
• 52:39
  Speaker 4: Three, volunteer needs, those kinds of things.
• 52:41
  Speaker 4: And so I'm not sure what that's going to look like, but that same premise.
• 52:46
  Speaker 4: I want to offer staff so that we might have four people, and it might be one from the DC, one from Street Reach, one from main shelter, one from food service, and they are all designated to 9 am every day.
• 53:02
  Speaker 4: They're going to pray for resources to come into the DC, those kinds of things.
• 53:07
  Speaker 4: And so we're in the process of that.
• 53:09
  Speaker 4: I'm excited about it because I think sometimes we underestimate the power of prayer and we overestimate our own abilities and we don't need to do that.
• 53:21
  Speaker 2: I think you know again the value of going to something like this is not to put it on the shelf.
• 53:26
  Speaker 2: You've got a little workbook manual thing that you had in the program.
• 53:31
  Speaker 2: I've got a stack of them, you know, but to what do you do with what you got?
• 53:35
  Speaker 2: Because, obviously, from what I've heard from the four of you is that you got a lot and God gave you a theme.
• 53:42
  Speaker 2: God gave the whole movement a theme to be able to do something with.
• 53:48
  Speaker 2: It's kind of like the Lord when he spoke to the multitudes, he gave them kind of the instruction manual of how to go forward and then he gave another instruction manual, another instruction manual on various different areas, and that's what you have.
• 54:02
  Speaker 2: Here is the thing that's unique about rescue ministry it is front lines.
• 54:07
  Speaker 2: It is front lines.
• 54:07
  Speaker 2: It is homeless services.
• 54:08
  Speaker 2: It is fighting poverty and hunger, mental illness, addiction, compound trauma and those kinds of things, with a emphasis on we're not alone and while we're up against all odds, the Lord is with us in this and the more we tap into that, the better we are at the assignment that we have.
• 54:28
  Speaker 2: And to bring back this to this team and to this community is huge.
• 54:32
  Speaker 2: I just we're really out of time, but there is so much here that I think that, as you, as a listener, when you are involved in TRM, whatever level you're involved, know that you are a part of something very significant that is bigger than any of us can imagine, because every person that is struggling right now in the streets or in a home without power, that is wondering if they matter, is wondering if they want to live another moment in their life that they are valuable to their creator.
• 55:11
  Speaker 2: They're valuable to a core group of people who are not of different races.
• 55:18
  Speaker 2: We're all one in Christ, and how we come together that's not religion.
• 55:23
  Speaker 2: That's relationship with the God of the universe, who has called a unique people up out of where they maybe were originally thought that they belonged, into a new kingdom, a new life, a new experience that doesn't start when they die.
• 55:40
  Speaker 2: It starts right now and continues on after we leave this earthly what we call Earth space suit to go into the eternal, and so getting to be a part of that right now and go to be a part of that with other people that are called to do the same thing In 2018,.
• 55:58
  Speaker 2: I was given 20 minutes to thank everybody for this award.
• 56:03
  Speaker 2: Topeka Rescue Mission was getting While I'm sitting down and there's 1,200, 1,500 people in this room in Milwaukee.
• 56:09
  Speaker 2: I got a chance to learn about what some of them were doing and Milwaukee just graduated their 12th grade of a school for kids in poverty, a whole school from K through 12.
• 56:19
  Speaker 2: And they just did the 12th year.
• 56:20
  Speaker 2: They were graduating their kids.
• 56:21
  Speaker 2: Man, that's amazing.
• 56:22
  Speaker 2: Why are we getting an award?
• 56:24
  Speaker 2: And they whittled the 20 minutes down to 10 and then eventually five and they were out of time.
• 56:31
  Speaker 2: And as I was walking up to the platform, the guy who was in charge said you got 20 seconds and I said no, I don't, I have 60.
• 56:37
  Speaker 2: I stood up there and I just was in tears.
• 56:41
  Speaker 2: God, why have you called us to such a great thing and how can I be around such great people?
• 56:46
  Speaker 2: And yet you have called us in Topeka, kansas, to be a part of this great thing.
• 56:49
  Speaker 2: You all got unpacked.
• 56:52
  Speaker 2: This just a little bit today, and again for the listener when you support Topeka Rescue Mission, you're supporting a much bigger effort than you probably even know that.
• 57:03
  Speaker 2: Even the people at Rescue Mission know it's encouragement that you give to support people at Rescue Mission, know it's encouragement that you give to support Speaker Rescue Mission so we can be on the front lines of the broken, the most vulnerable, to let them know that there is a hope.
• 57:15
  Speaker 2: And so thank the four of you for going, thank you for bringing it back, thank you for enriching the people who are here.
• 57:21
  Speaker 2: We've got a very important topic to talk about in a special podcast next week.
• 57:26
  Speaker 2: We're going to have the regular podcast on Wednesday, but then planning on this Friday to talk about the most recent Supreme Court decision that they had in regards to criminalization of homelessness in our country.
• 57:39
  Speaker 2: It's going to be a controversial topic it already is, has been, always, will be but we're going to unpack that just a little bit and how that really applies to what we see right here in Topeka Topeka Rescue Mission and what we may need to be doing going forward as a community.
• 57:55
  Speaker 2: So we'll unpack that.
• 57:56
  Speaker 2: So stay tuned for that.
• 57:56
  Speaker 2: Got a great guest next week as well.
• 57:58
  Speaker 2: So have a blessed and happy 4th of July, be safe.
• 58:02
  Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to our community, our mission.
• 58:05
  Speaker 2: If you'd like more information about Topeka Rescue Mission, you can go to trmonlineorg.
• 58:09
  Speaker 2: That's trmonlineorg.
• 58:13
  Speaker 2: Have a great holiday.