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Ep #178 - Citygate Recap: Part 1 · Our Community, Our Mission

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and your blessings and provisions.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: God, thank you for this time.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: God, just to come together and record this podcast.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Lord, thank you for this conversation and, Lord, just all of your blessings.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Father, pray that every ear that would hear this would just fill your presence and your blessing today.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, we pray.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Amen.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Hello everyone.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: This is Lamanda Broyles, the executive director here at the Topeka Rescue Mission, and we want to thank you for listening to our community.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Our mission on this Wednesday, june 14th, episode 178.
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: Maryam, what do you think about that?
• 0:40
  Speaker 3: I think that's fabulous.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: I know, you know, i just was at a meeting yesterday and someone said that they were following a podcast and gave me the name of the podcast and they said do you like podcasts?
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: And I said, well, actually we do one every week at the Topeka Rescue Mission to highlight just our phenomenal community.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: So it's pretty neat to talk about that.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: I know Well, and you know, when you think about it, 178 doesn't sound like that many right?
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Until you think about that, there's only 52 weeks in a year.
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: Yes, and we've been doing this a long time.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: Yes, and I think it's just neat.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: You know, sometimes we get to talk about just what the Lord is doing here at the rescue mission.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: Sometimes we get to highlight just community members who are just sometimes our unseen heroes that are out there doing the work, and then sometimes we get to talk about topics and they don't actually get bumped.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: You know what?
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: You want to talk about that to our listeners.
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: Honestly, it's a little bit traumatic to me, oh okay, and it brings up heartache, sure.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: There's tissues Okay.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: So you know we've been bumped on this topic a lot.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: So we have mentioned previously that the Tobika rescue mission belongs to an association that represents well over 300 rescue missions all across the world, and so that association is called CityGate Network, and it is just a remarkable backbone that has tons of resources for us.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: But in addition to just this ongoing support and connect groups that we have, they also do an annual conference every year.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Merriam, you've gone to a couple of those, yes, and so we've been excited to share, and then we've come back and, for whatever reason, the times that Merriam and I were supposed to talk about it would get bumped one time, two times.
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: It's like there were things that were more important.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: I know, i know, and they might have been.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: They were, but we were excited to share, i know.
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: And our hearts were heavy.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: Yes, so we're working through that.
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: It's pretty much all, josh.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Oh, we're going to do name-blame Josh.
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: Okay, i know, and he's not even reputed, i knew that.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: So we are excited that we are actually going to get to talk to you about our CityGate Network experience and we're doing it on the day that it was scheduled.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: So we are, we're pumped about that.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: It's a joyful day.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: It is a joyful day.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: So, you know, this year we were able to.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: There were eight of us total that went.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: And you know, when we try to take different people each year, those numbers, you know, differentiate And really it's to just be vulnerable to say, god, what have you been doing at the rescue mission?
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: What are you doing And equip us for what you need us to do next?
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: Right, and I think that it's just an incredible experience.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: And so this was our biggest group to take.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: Yes, and you and I were kind of mama hens.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah, i'm not sure I've ever felt older in my life.
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: Well, I wasn't going to say it like that, but that's because you're one of them.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: But it's just remarkable because you have these general sessions.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: And, Mary, can you just kind of give a highlight of what?
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: what can you expect when we all go into a general session?
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: What is it like?
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: You know, lemanda, it's a little bit hard to even put into words, because you think you know what it feels like to go to a conference.
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: And then you go to a city gate conference where you have 1200 people from all over not just the United States but internationally too all coming into the room with the same kind of heart, with the same kind of desire, ready to hear from the Lord, right, to hear what he has to say to us, whether it's through the person that might be speaking or whether it's through the worship music that happens or the reading of scripture that happens.
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: And there is just an energy in that room of 1200 people that is indescribable because you sort of have to be there.
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: It is palpable, yes, it is absolutely palpable, that there is something different going on there and that there are people there whose hearts are different, right, are different, different, they're for different purposes.
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: We're all there to learn, right, but I think the connection and the community and the celebration of being with brothers and sisters in Christ is what makes it so unique.
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: Yes, I agree.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: And then, in addition to these general sessions that Miriam just did a great job describing and it really is you have to be there.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: You have to be there to have the feeling and to see.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: And there are some people there that you can tell are on the mountaintops, they're having successes in their missions or their ministries or they've had breakthroughs and things like that.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: And then you can see some are just tired and they're not weary of doing good, but they're weary of all that still needs to be done.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: And so to me it's just neat to be able to sit next to people that look different, they're from different parts of the world.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: You might be talking to someone to your right who is an executive director, and you might be talking to someone left who is a back office support and you might be in front of you is someone who's doing programming or shelter work, and it's just incredible to see the different perspectives.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: For that, in addition to these large general sessions that Miriam described, we're also blessed throughout every day that we're there to have anywhere between three to four of what they call track sessions where you can break off into small groups.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: So just kind of generalize those, miriam.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: So those are very specific to different roles within the ministry, right.
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: So it might be about finance, or it might be about HR, or it might be about programming, or it might be about addiction recovery.
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: These really are sessions that have a very targeted kind of focus on what many of us do every single day.
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: So being able to go in there and now be in the presence of a smaller group but likely doing similar things to you, is really, then, the opportunity for education and asking questions, and sometimes it's about learning new things and sometimes it's about thinking, yeah, you know, we're pretty good at this, we're kind of on top of this one, and people then will reach out to us to say, okay, you talked about this, tell me more about how you're doing this.
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: So this wonderful opportunity to learn and to network and to just really kind of dive into the work that we do at a more granular level, Yes, And one of the things that I wanted to do you know, to make sure that we're being a wise steward of our resources of taking this group, was we did some planning ahead of time too.
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: So it wasn't just oh, we're going on this trip, We're gonna be in this conference, It was meetings leading up to it.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: We I caught myself, Kim, not the mouse in my pocket, but Kim, who's gonna be talking in just a minute did an exceptional job of printing out the program, and we would do planning sessions.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: So talk a little bit about that.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: What did that look like?
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: Well, you know, we really try not to like.
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: Since there were a number of us, you know, when it was just two of us going, well, it was pretty easy to spread out right, there's two of us and there's tons of sessions, but here, since we had more people, we wanted to make sure that we were going to sessions that were appropriate for us to and not doing too much duplication, not having too many times when there was more than one person or more than two people in the room.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: So it was really saying, okay, well, and we also, in those planning sessions, looked at so what is it that we're kind of seeking here?
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: What are we considering doing this?
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: We might be able to learn from this session, or, you know, we really don't even know what we're doing in this area.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: We need to go to this session and really learn what other people are doing to see if this is something that God is really calling us to do.
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: So it was about being intentional with our time at the conference, while still doing things, though, that were going to fill us personally.
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: Right, because we all know what we're experiencing and maybe what we need in order to be able to keep walking forward in our jobs, and so there was that opportunity, too, for people to say to us you know, i think I need this, i think I really want to see what this is all about, because this is what I'm experiencing or this is where I am.
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: So it was just an opportunity for us to do the most that we could in the time that we were gonna have as a group.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: And being intentional.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: I love how you said that, because you know we were excited to go, but we also know that by this opportunity, the experience doesn't stay at Citygate.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: That experience, then God is going to use it, and if you've listened to some of our podcasts before you hear, you might remember that Miriam and I described this conviction and this deep-rooted responsibility of taking care of your flock, and we've talked about that now for almost two years.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: That came from a Citygate network conference, And so we know that this isn't just an experience that you go and then it's done.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: We know that God uses it for either the seed that He's already planted and He's watering it to the seed that He plants and then it's gonna come.
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: And so part of what we do then, after we come back from the conference again making sure that our experience enhances our ministry and God's work here is talk about it on the podcast, so that we just spread the good news about what we heard and what we're excited about, what may have wrecked us in a good way.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: In addition to that, we will also be meeting in the next couple of weeks to make a presentation for our board, and so the team was aware of that We'll be presenting to them also just gratitude for the opportunity doing that.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: And then, of course, the glaring thing is then what are we gonna implement in our roles?
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: And one thing that's already bubbled up is Mike and I are gonna be working together on creating.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: We're gonna take what we heard and then kind of make it our own too was a session on just overcoming leadership anxiety and what that looks like, and who are we listening to, who's guiding our hearts?
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: And so we'll have this experience, and we had it and it was wonderful.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: Now we're sharing with all of you, the listeners, and we hope that it sparks just interest and just for you to hear what we were able to do and also see if maybe God's calling you to be a part of it, and then we'll be presenting it to the board and implementing it throughout our ministry.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: So we have four incredible people centered around the table.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: I wish you could see all of them right now.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: In addition to Maryam, we also have Ken, my executive assistant, we have Daniel, who's an outreach advocate, and we have Mike, who is assistant director of our distribution center, and all four of them were able to attend the conference, and so we're just gonna kind of open up with first, because it was a first time for Ken, daniel and Mike to attend the city gate right.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: On all four okay.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: On all three of you.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: So what were just kind of your expectations, reservations, excitements going into it.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: And since Mike is jumping up and down in his seat and I think he's got his arm raised, he wants to go first.
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: Pick me, pick me, pick me, go ahead and just talk to us.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: What were just kind of your thoughts before going to the conference?
• 12:21
  Speaker 5: Well, i mean I'll just be 100% honest.
• 12:24
  Speaker 5: I mean I told you guys in the meeting that you know, with my past and what I was doing in ministry, beforehand conferences to me were kind of a networking way to move on and get the heck out of dodge.
• 12:37
  Speaker 5: So I was excited to see the and the key word here is intentionality that you, maryam and Amanda, had for us to go there to learn how to be better as employees but also better as children of God.
• 12:59
  Speaker 5: So just some of the classes and there are the sessions that we were gonna be part of.
• 13:05
  Speaker 5: You know, i kind of knew what to expect, but then when we actually got there, it was like, oh, holy cow, it's all in this building.
• 13:12
  Speaker 5: because I was thinking, oh, it's gonna be across the street because that's where our conference center is.
• 13:15
  Speaker 5: No, it was in the entire hotel.
• 13:18
  Speaker 5: The hotel was like it was great, it was fantastic.
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: So, yeah, it just going into it.
• 13:25
  Speaker 5: I kind of knew what to expect, but my expectations were way too low of what was actually brought forth and the worship sessions, the speakers, the track sessions that we went to it blew me out of the water.
• 13:40
  Speaker 5: honestly, i can't say enough good things about what I got out of it And you know it's just funny that we discussed the whole anxiety thing.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: I have debilitating obsessive compulsive disorder and yeah, now we're gonna discuss how we can implement overcoming that anxiety and that gives me anxiety, but And we're gonna do it by putting you in front of people to do it right, oh, yeah, yeah.
• 14:05
  Speaker 5: So yeah, it's just great that something that I have, but something that I try to dime to myself daily with being anxious, and it's just I mean, it's just a part of who I am and it's not necessarily overcoming it, it's managing it and allowing the Lord to pour into my life and allowing him to show me the truth of what actually is in front of me and what he wants me to do.
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: It's a great blessing, it's a glorious burden to have, so yeah, Absolutely Fun stuff.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: Daniel.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: what about you Going into the conference?
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: you're new to streets.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: You're incredible, though it already seems like you're a veteran.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: They hated to lose you at the distribution center.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: I thought maybe Mike and Hulton were not gonna be my friend anymore when I told them.
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: But you have just been such a vessel for the Lord over the last seven, eight months, however long it's been.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: Just the joy you bring.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: Every day is such a blessing, And so I'm just curious to see what were you thinking before this conference?
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: What expectations, thoughts, what did you think?
• 15:19
  Speaker 6: Yeah, so I I think I was a little Maybe different than most of the people that were going, because I didn't know that I was going until it just a few weeks beforehand, because we didn't have a spot open up and so Didn't really know anything about City gate any of that before.
• 15:37
  Speaker 6: Yeah, a few weeks, you know, beforehand, didn't know that.
• 15:39
  Speaker 6: You know, as a mission We were a part of that network or you know what it was about and so, you know, i came in on that kind of that final meeting that we had before we left and And I was like Sounds cool And and so, yeah, going into it.
• 15:59
  Speaker 6: You know, initially I kind of I I was like wow, this is, it's incredible that there's so it sounds like there's so many Different missions that that one that just even want to get together like that, and so to me it was.
• 16:15
  Speaker 6: It was just a lot of curiosity, just like, wow, i don't know, you know what's gonna really be like but it sounds really cool.
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: Yes, like.
• 16:21
  Speaker 6: I've never heard anything of you know the sword and so, yeah, that that was kind of my initial yeah, going in and then just even being there.
• 16:30
  Speaker 6: I And actually I one of the one of the things that they let you do is they'll they sent out this email, you know, to kind of review, you know, just like a general overview of you know How was your time and I remarked in there just that man, the way that I saw people From across the country, that have the same heart, the same passion desire coming together just To spend time with each other.
• 16:55
  Speaker 6: Mm-hmm like, that was wild.
• 16:57
  Speaker 6: Mm-hmm like, and.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: It's almost like for those moments that all is well in the world.
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: You really feel like that almost the entire time, even though you're talking about Brokenness and the challenges of our work and all of that, just the level of hope and encouragement and just Authenticity of people just wanting well-being for others.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: It's just like can we just pause this?
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: can this just be our utopia, our little slice of heaven on earth?
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: You know, i agree, daniel.
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: It's also Daniel's first time to be on the podcast.
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: He's doing great.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: He's doing great.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: We're gonna be having him on in the next couple of weeks to just talk about his time at TRM.
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: So you'll be hearing more from him this podcast, but also in his role coming up soon, kim.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: What did you think, kim?
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: did you even get to enjoy?
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: Let's be real, kim is my assistant and she is such a servant's heart And she is joyful and she is organized and the only reason, besides the Lord, why I'm able to do what I'm able to do Because she's so incredible at it all.
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: But she made packets for us and everybody had their itineraries and it was organized.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: We knew what we were doing, so I just this is my time to check in with her to say, kim, thank you, but also talk to us about what your thoughts were, if you were able to have time for any.
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: Yes, No, i had so much fun.
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: Obviously, going into the conference being an executive assistant, i'm looking at different the different tracks and the different sessions on What I can take from it and what can better me and my role and how to support you or other areas of the mission, but I thought it was great.
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: I felt like, okay, obviously I grew up going to church camp So I felt it was like the church camp of rescue missions, yes, and then there's the exhibit hall with all the freebies and stuff but, So it was just really fun to get together and worship, and So I've my expectation going in was it's gonna be like church camp gonna go there, you're gonna have a lot of fun and have some time to hang out.
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: My favorite part of it, though, was emerging leaders Mm-hmm, because we're on those monthly calls and getting to see those people in person.
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: It's just really fun, because you can see somebody over video multiple times and then when you meet them in person, it's just connecting all the time, sure.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: Can you talk a little bit more about what emerging leaders?
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: What is that So?
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: what the group is.
• 19:23
  Speaker 4: It's anyone under 40?
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: Yes, we say 39-ish, and then we have to pull the knife out of Mariam's back and heart.
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: Well, the bad part is I just snorted some, So I know Right, So it's anyone under 40, and the bad part is a lot of us are we don't normally stay up late Sure, And the groups were after sessions at like nine to 11, so we're all like drained from the conference.
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: But they made it fun and it's connecting and networking And it's just a time for leaders that are younger in the ministry to get together and just pour into each other.
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: And that was the amazing part is people from all walks of life, from Alaska to Pennsylvania to Texas, like everyone, coming in there and just sharing what they're struggling with, which is exactly what everyone else is struggling with Hearing one guy talk about how he's fills the Lord, it's time for him to be the father.
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: And then Mike was right beside him saying you don't need to be scared, Yes, you can do this, You got this, Yes, And so it was a beautiful picture, the whole thing, of what ministry is and what God has called us to do.
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: I agree, you know, emerging leaders is something that the City Gate Network has really blessed us with.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: They've kind of had a little bit of it for a couple of years, but it's really taken off the past couple of years and from John Ashman to Alice to Lisa Justin, everybody there at City Gate Network has just allowed us to run with this, and so I help co-lead it with a gentleman by the name of Jordan Smith.
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: He's with Tree of Life Ministries in Virginia And it's so funny being a co-leader of something when your co-leader is across the United States, you know.
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: But we make it work and we do it via Zoom, like Kim said.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: But we also come together and we discuss certain topics, and so we have a Facebook page that's private, we have an email group, we celebrate when people get married and have babies, and it's just incredible to be able to keep some of that networking going.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: And then this past time we did some fun games, which I think lasted way too long.
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: I was ready to put my pajamas on and go to bed.
• 21:40
  Speaker 5: We are definitely not in college anymore.
• 21:42
  Speaker 5: Yes, we are, that was so late.
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: No, I'm not.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: Oh my goodness.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: And then I don't know about you guys, but I think, because then I was up that late, you know, it would be like one o'clock in the morning and I'm ready for a steak and potato, you know, and I'm like I do not need to eat, i don't need a snack, i just need to go to bed.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: But what's neat about that is we had this fun time and this networking, but then we also dug deep.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: I mean, we talked about what challenges do we see in our ministries, what are we looking at in ourselves as a future leader, and looking at what's going really well that we felt like we needed to share.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: And so then we broke up into these groups and really just had a time of reflecting, reflecting on ourselves, and then we ended our time with writing on index cards either scriptures or drawing pictures, something that was late on their heart, and what Jordan and I will be doing for the next year is, every week posting, or, when it just kind of comes to our hearts, posting one of those as an encouragement for people to be reminded of our good time together with emerging leaders, but also that at that moment God placed that words of affirmation, that scripture, that encouraging word and then we will then share that with the group to encourage.
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: So thanks for sharing about Emerging Leaders, kim.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: I think it was great too, and just a good part to be around.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: So, when you think about your time at City Gate, we had lots of fun.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: We're not gonna talk about all of that, mike, but we had lots of fun.
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: We also had lots of tears.
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: When we are sensitive to things and when God lays serious concerns on our hearts and is calling us to do that, and then you just have times where you're like man that really spoke to me or that touched me or that's something that I'm gonna remember.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: Talk to us about something like that, whether it was in a general session, a track session, a conversation with something, just something that sticks out to you when you reflect on your time, that you can tell that it's just a big deal to you And even if you don't know how God's gonna use that, just something that stands out.
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: Maryam, do you wanna start us off on that one?
• 23:58
  Speaker 3: No.
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: Okay, let's go.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: Go back.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: Yes, she asked Mm-hmm Gosh, you know.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: Okay, so ask me the question again.
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: What is something, whether it was in the general session, a track session, our time together as the TRM group, just something that stood out to you as an aha moment, or something that was special, something that has you thinking, just something that's big to you.
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: So there were a lot of aha moments, but let me speak about the team first, because if there's anything that I feel is my biggest takeaway not that I was in doubt, but we have a really amazing team And the people that went with us this year, amanda, were just incredible.
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: So for me, one of my biggest joys was getting to know them better.
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: Right, and to just have it be not work related or have it be work related or have it be just conversations about God and how we arrived.
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: So, while I got so much out of general sessions whether it was someone talking about the fact that make sure that the folks that are on the field with you are the ones that really wanna be in the game, otherwise they probably need to be in the bleachers There was power in that for me.
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: There was power for me in hearing we need to be bold and we need to be dangerous.
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: I have pondered on that dangerous comment a lot, like what exactly does that mean to be dangerous?
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: And in my head I keep saying I need to be dangerous for the Lord.
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: So what does that mean?
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: I've added that.
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: So to me, the number of takeaways is extreme, but the joy that I got was in knowing our team better and just going wow, look at what God has assembled And, oh my goodness, where's the Lord taking?
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: us.
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: Because, with the people that we had with us, the possibilities are breathtaking.
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: Yes, And I think, just to piggyback off of that, just some of the most intriguing, detailed and deep thoughts that I heard from so many of our team members, yes, and then they would talk amongst themselves, and then that generated new thoughts, new desires, new thinking.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: And there was a moment where we were all in the hotel room and I just remember thinking I'm not sure I've ever seen in person iron sharpening iron until now, yeah, and when we were just talking about how much we mean to each other and what other people see in each other and then what that makes them think and just the possibilities of things that we could do and how far people have come and those kinds of things, i literally stopped and thought this is exactly what it means.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: It's iron sharpening iron.
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: We are using truth, we are using goodness to uplift one another.
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: And then that then sparked someone else to go, oh, and I need to say this, and then it was just this domino effect.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: So I agree with you just seeing the team and also taking some of the heaviness aside, just their joyfulness, oh my gosh, we had fun, yes, from the laughter at dinner times to the picking on each other, to we won't talk about the meme about myself that's circulating, but I had a contact disaster.
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: We're gonna need to talk about it.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: Yes, it's scheduled for the post.
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: It's great, wonderful.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, someone got a picture of me when my contact was out, and so it looks like I have my hand in the air and now my hand has held Simba and tossed pizza, and I've been a mechanic, a chicken, yeah.
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: So there's just been this funness too, and this sense of camaraderie, and I just can't help but think that when we sit there and laugh, so does the Lord, like he sees that We are delighting in each other, we have trust, we are helping each other and we're laughing.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: And I just know that heaven is filled with praise, and I also believe deeply in my heart that part of praise is laughter.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: It is that joyful noise, and so I agree, mike, what about you?
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: What's something that was an aha, something that was important, stood out to you?
• 28:41
  Speaker 5: I have always struggled with trusting the Lord.
• 28:46
  Speaker 5: That's just a part of my anxiety.
• 28:50
  Speaker 5: I listen to the narrator.
• 28:52
  Speaker 5: That's in my head and that's the lies that are being told.
• 28:54
  Speaker 5: You see it perfectly like in Indiana Jones and the last crusade, when he's trying to take that step of faith and he doesn't see the bridge but it's there.
• 29:07
  Speaker 5: So he's trying to get to the Holy Grail to save his dad and it's that blind but convicting faith that he takes that step.
• 29:17
  Speaker 5: And just piggybacking off of what Miriam said, john Ashman, just it was like the Holy Spirit just came up with him.
• 29:26
  Speaker 5: the two by four whacked me upside the head with it.
• 29:28
  Speaker 5: He said and I wrote this in my prayer journal for crying out loud, like I don't like to write quotes from people in my prayer journal, like these are prayers that I'm reaching out and my heart's bleeding out for the Lord, and I was like I gotta write it down.
• 29:46
  Speaker 5: I'm writing it down right now.
• 29:47
  Speaker 5: He said never underestimate what you can do when you are in step with the Holy Spirit and charging in the right direction.
• 29:56
  Speaker 5: Be dangerous.
• 29:58
  Speaker 5: He's like you, gotta, you have a rhino.
• 30:02
  Speaker 5: They're one of the most dangerous animals because they can only see 35 feet in front of them, but they charge 30 miles an hour.
• 30:09
  Speaker 5: So if you are in the path of the rhino, you better get out of the way or else you're getting bowled over.
• 30:14
  Speaker 5: So he's like that's how we need to be with the Holy Spirit, being in step with him.
• 30:19
  Speaker 5: There's nothing more dangerous than that.
• 30:23
  Speaker 5: So it's like okay, that was the challenge for me of okay, i need to stop doubting what God is leading me to do And I just need to fully give it to him and be like you know what?
• 30:33
  Speaker 5: I trust you, what you wanna do with me, let's go Charge it.
• 30:38
  Speaker 5: Charge, yeah, just an amazing time of growth.
• 30:45
  Speaker 5: And then right after that, i mean you can see it, i had my prayer journal right open.
• 30:48
  Speaker 5: This entire paragraph is then a prayer for John to continue his ministry.
• 30:54
  Speaker 5: And I'm like, okay, he's quote, retiring, unquote, but he's not retiring, he's gonna continue doing ministry.
• 31:01
  Speaker 5: And it's like man, if I could just have just a sliver of the passion that he has when he's his age.
• 31:06
  Speaker 5: When I'm his age, i'm set.
• 31:09
  Speaker 5: So, yeah, just kind of going off a marium.
• 31:13
  Speaker 5: It's gotta be dangerous, i've gotta be dangerous.
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: You know, I think when we hear the word dangerous, immediately it has a negative connotation.
• 31:24
  Speaker 2: Right, I don't know about you, but I've never described myself as dangerous.
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: Or if I am talking about danger to my daughters or something like that, there is a hesitation with it.
• 31:35
  Speaker 2: And when he said that, in that moment I wrote it down to Mike.
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: But it's almost like I needed to write it down because I needed to ponder on it, Where I was thinking what all does this mean?
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: You know what does that look like?
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: And then, over the course of the next few days, to be vulnerable with our listeners for a minute, one thing that I think was revealed to me was that when we are doing what the Lord needs us to do, we should not be allowing anything to halt that.
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: And so if we are dangerous, that means it's not that we're doing something destructive.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: It doesn't mean that we're doing something that is, you know, unthought of that kind of thing.
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: But dangerous means we are going at it with full determination, meaning unless the Lord corrects us, nothing's gonna stop us.
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: And as the executive director, I was convicted a couple of times throughout the week, just realizing that I could write out a sentence stem, and I could write out a sentence, stem that would say blank is keeping me from being dangerous for the Lord, And I could easily do it.
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: I could fill that in and I could say politics is keeping me from being dangerous from the Lord, nervousness keeping me dangerous from the Lord, all of these things.
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: And so over the last week or two of being back, I've just said Lord, help me to be dangerous for you and take those blanks away, the things that I've put in there, Because it's two parts.
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: Not only do we have to do, Mike, what you just said, where we know what God's telling us to do and then we have to do it.
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: We also have to be able to recognize the darts that are coming at us, that are keeping us from doing that as well.
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: It's two parts.
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: So I think that that revelation that several of us got from what he said, I think is going to be something that was a foundation for us, because I don't even think we know what's coming, But it was almost like the Lord just said keep doing it, walk with me and you don't have to worry about a thing because he's going to take care of it.
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: So thanks for sharing that.
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: That was powerful.
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: Mike Daniel, what about you?
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: Something that just stood out to you, something that just kind of blew your mind, touched your heart, just something that you think that you will forever remember.
• 33:59
  Speaker 6: Yeah, so there were actually several moments like that during the course of the conference And I remember I'll just roll briefly, i'll mention this one Dr Kay English was presenting on human trafficking And I remember a moment in there where I was actually sitting next to our Rachel Flanagan and she was just absorbing things too, but I think just maybe in a different way, just like really kind of affirming a lot of the things, and there was so much of the material that I had kind of heard about some that Dr English was presenting.
• 34:44
  Speaker 6: But I really just I don't feel like I really quite grasped some of those things, whether it was just a generalized this is the situation in the world currently with regard to human trafficking or whether it was even down to individual stories that she was sharing.
• 35:04
  Speaker 6: But I remember there being a moment where I was actually reaching down from my bag I don't even know what I was reaching for, necessarily It was a pen or something But I actually I physically stopped because I couldn't move anymore and I started to cry because I was like Lord, i don't Like in this moment, lord, i don't even, i don't know what to do with this, and And I just had to be really honest with the Lord in that and and I felt peace You know, come over me when I said that, because that's you know it was it was my surrender of those things to him.
• 35:45
  Speaker 6: You know I can't carry those things, but you know he can and so that was really impactful.
• 35:51
  Speaker 6: But then There was one other session, that man, things that his name is Paul Gates He's the executive director of River of Life mission in Oahu, hawaii, and Just things that he was saying that the session was called God is on the move, and it was about the things that have been happening there on Oahu with regard to to mobile partnerships, and One of the first things that he talked about was How inspiring what you, amanda, had shared last year Was, and then the result of that being their team Taking that back and, in one year's time, the Incredible things that the Lord has done through their first, just honestly, it really just started with prayer is what he was talking about, you know, prayer and just intentional worship, and then, and then planning and then a small partnership with a local Organization that had honestly just started with some home school moms that you know We're feeding people out of.
• 37:00
  Speaker 6: You know, backdoors is essentially, and and it's grown and now they have 66 different mobile hubs all around the island that are set up and A lot of them are being run not even by the mission directly anymore.
• 37:18
  Speaker 6: It's it's actually being run by partners that have been trained to with this model that they've that they've seen, just, you know, working really well to be able to supply services, most of them running, you know, at least one day a week, and And and so I was just, and I was sitting there and one of the things that he, paul, kept saying was Just he kept giving glory back to God and just talking about the power of prayer and what that can do in our lives, and and I just I was like man, like Lord.
• 37:53
  Speaker 6: I feel like I have had that on my heart for so long and I've moved in some things with with prayer, but I feel like you're calling even harder just that, me towards that, towards you in prayer, and to just ask you for bigger things and then to step forward to and expect That you're gonna come through with those you know.
• 38:17
  Speaker 2: So, anyhow, that was, that was pretty impactful and you know what Daniel's mentioning with the God is on the move.
• 38:24
  Speaker 2: What that was last year was I had gone to a similar session that Daniel's talking about wanting to learn about Kind of mobile services, because we were a year in at that time for the mobile access partnership.
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: For those of you that don't know, there's five or six key partners and we have Stormont Vale has a mobile clinic, and we have a shower trailer with Vallejo, and clothing trailer and food trailer with TRM and, and amongst lots of other services, veterinarian services with Street Dog Coalition, and on and on and on, and so when I went to that room, i wanted to be able to bring ideas back, and So the person that was doing it said please raise your hand if you have a shower trailer.
• 39:05
  Speaker 2: And so my hand was raised.
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: Please raise your hand if you have a food trailer.
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: Lots of hands went down, some more hands went up Please raise your hand, please raise your hand, please raise your hand.
• 39:13
  Speaker 2: Well, my hand stayed raised, and I was the only one in a room of about 40 that the hand was raised, and so the presenter called on me and said talk to us about what you're doing.
• 39:23
  Speaker 2: And I said well, first of all, glory to be to God that we have these.
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: But I said we have all of those, and Then it was please talk to us about how you're doing this.
• 39:32
  Speaker 2: And so we talked about how we set up around the city and we do So.
• 39:35
  Speaker 2: That's a little bit about what Daniel was mentioning.
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: I just shared what our incredible community partners have come together to do, and now that small seed of just sharing, they didn't see it, they didn't come visit it.
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: It was just me talking about it.
• 39:50
  Speaker 2: They gave it to the Lord, and now the Lord has blessed them with 66 sites, and it looks very different than ours, but it has components of ours.
• 39:57
  Speaker 2: And so just another power of this conference where you just don't know what all God is just waiting to do, and it's incredible when you see him get to do it.
• 40:06
  Speaker 2: Kim, what about you?
• 40:09
  Speaker 4: Well, just real quick.
• 40:10
  Speaker 4: They have 2400 volunteers to help with that.
• 40:13
  Speaker 4: Just that part.
• 40:14
  Speaker 4: That that part, mm-hmm I was incredible.
• 40:16
  Speaker 4: I came in late to the session but yeah, that blew me away as former volunteer coordinator, i'm like that's insane, like especially in a year, to get that all together.
• 40:25
  Speaker 4: So yes.
• 40:27
  Speaker 4: That was a good session One of my favorite things besides, like the camaraderie and just hanging out with everyone.
• 40:33
  Speaker 4: It wasn't the first session, obviously, with having little kids and stuff at home And I'm a child at heart in some ways.
• 40:41
  Speaker 4: And then I have always talked about having your light shine Yes, not letting people blow out your candle.
• 40:48
  Speaker 4: Uh-huh, make sure people are encouraging your candle to light, shine bright And everything.
• 40:53
  Speaker 4: And at the very end, when I think his name is Joe, made us all get up and start singing this little lie to mine Mm-hmm, like how impactful it is to have all these adults Singing this little line of mind and made us yell.
• 41:07
  Speaker 4: And the motions Yes, we had to do the motions.
• 41:10
  Speaker 4: Sorry, i brought a cold back from Orlando too.
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: It was really fun.
• 41:18
  Speaker 4: But so that was one of my favorite times besides a worship.
• 41:22
  Speaker 4: The last, the Saturday worship was so impactful.
• 41:26
  Speaker 4: Yes, i, just the song he is for you, just that line, just Reminding people over and over again, like I can't remember the name of that song, but it just goes he is for you, he is for you and talking about how God's gonna go before you and for your children and For generations to come.
• 41:48
  Speaker 4: But just in that moment you're reminded and that's getting yourself filled up.
• 41:53
  Speaker 4: Obviously you're going out after that, back to where you're at and getting to minister to those that you're around, but instead of you just always pouring into people, just reminding yourself That he's for you as well Yes, not just for those that you're ministering for.
• 42:12
  Speaker 4: So but it was.
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: It was beautiful, it was.
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: And you know, i think Everyone probably walked away.
• 42:20
  Speaker 2: Even when we did this little light of mine, we all walked away with a different take away.
• 42:25
  Speaker 2: From that too, you could tell some people were like Their light was shining bright and they were helping ten others around them Who was in the dark, and then you could just see the looks on faces of people who are like My candle's been blown out I need to be real it and you could see people that their candle was just flickering, and then you could tell it, because then that person was hugging someone else and and it was just beautiful.
• 42:51
  Speaker 2: And and I agree with you, the worship was just remarkable.
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: I think I cried I mean surprised, but cried every single session that we did with the, with the worship.
• 43:00
  Speaker 2: What about you, miriam?
• 43:02
  Speaker 2: an aha moment or something that stands out?
• 43:06
  Speaker 3: So I was just trying to think through all of the different things, and Maybe maybe because of all of the things that we're considering going forward, but it talked there was one of our general session speakers that spoke about challenges that we have and people that might hold us back or people that will constrain us, and That it takes us to a point of feeling like maybe Whatever it is that we were thinking is actually dead, and the comment that she made that what is dead to others is only Dormant for God and that we should never Mm-hmm, we should never limit the size of our God to what other people think can happen.
• 43:48
  Speaker 3: Yes and I think that's very, very pertinent.
• 43:50
  Speaker 3: I for us to remember And all of the things that we're kind of looking at and things that we think may be going on for folks that we serve.
• 44:02
  Speaker 3: I just think that that's a really, that's one really important thing to remember.
• 44:07
  Speaker 3: Other people may we might think it's dead, but for our God it's maybe only dormant and that he has plans and he will move us forward and he will guide us and he will go before us and we do not need to let other people's thoughts constrain us.
• 44:26
  Speaker 2: You know I was gonna ask one more question about what you learned that we were going to apply, but with what Maryam just said, you know, i feel like we should end on that.
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: You know, there is so much that we learned at City Gate and there were so many takeaways, regardless if it was the worship, if it was a general session, if it was the Lord speaking to you so much that your hand stopped freedom, mike, that you have gotten.
• 44:51
  Speaker 2: I mean, i've just seen weight just be lifted off of you and as just someone who loves you and adores you, not even just as a supervisor, just as a person, i just feel like I wanna just be like screaming from the mountaintops right for you, and so there are so many things that I think you just heard these four individuals talk about their ah-ha moment and why it was big, and so, obviously, those lessons that they just mentioned they're going to bring back.
• 45:20
  Speaker 2: They're gonna bring back to their teams.
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: They're going to be presented with a situation You know, maryam and I have already kinda walked through that a little bit of just saying watch who you're allowing you, watch who you are listening to, who is defining you.
• 45:37
  Speaker 2: I.
• 45:39
  Speaker 2: In addition to that, as I close, one of the sessions that I attended.
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: It was on anxiety and he said when you are anxious, you tend to wanna take control even more, and that it's not healthy.
• 45:54
  Speaker 2: And he said have you ever thought about why you might be anxious about your job, being anxious about a decision, being anxious about what people think?
• 46:04
  Speaker 2: And we were all kind of like that seems like a no-brainer.
• 46:07
  Speaker 2: But when you really stop to think about why you're anxious, like the root causes, it gets deep right.
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: And he said it all goes down to the fact of you don't want to feel stupid because you don't know something.
• 46:20
  Speaker 2: And when you don't know something, you feel exposed.
• 46:23
  Speaker 2: And so, as we go to close out our time together thank you guys for sharing I hope that you remember just the points that these four said.
• 46:34
  Speaker 2: I hope you remember Maryam talking about just that.
• 46:38
  Speaker 2: Just because you know God has told you to do something or has called you to do something, and maybe it's not popular right now, don't give up because what seems like it's impossible is going to be made possible for the Lord if it's what he wants you to do.
• 46:51
  Speaker 2: And if you are fighting anxiety right now, or you are fighting anxious thoughts or you are feeling like you are unworthy, or you're feeling like you've been called to do something and you can't do it.
• 47:01
  Speaker 2: Those are all lies of the enemy And I hope that you remember that as you listen to our excitement about CityGate, but that it's so much more than CityGate Network.
• 47:11
  Speaker 2: It's so much more than what we learned.
• 47:12
  Speaker 2: It's now how we apply what we learned to what God is doing to mold and form us.
• 47:18
  Speaker 2: So we want to thank you for listening to our community, our mission, episode 178, with the four incredible people at the Topeka Rescue Mission reflecting on their time and their learning at the annual conference that they just attended.
• 47:33
  Speaker 2: Please remember, if you like what you hear and you want to hear more and follow that please subscribe, rate and share online.
• 47:41
  Speaker 2: Just remember that whatever God's calling you to do, he's equipped you and he's in the process of doing it.
• 47:46
  Speaker 2: And remember, go forth and be dangerous for what the Lord needs you to do.
• 47:50
  Speaker 2: Тогдаmazat vision的年初.