The Great Escape Conference

The Great Escape conference recently set sail from Galveston, Texas, on a five-day Western Caribbean cruise. The Great Escape is a time for children and youth leaders to get away and get recharged. During the conference, leaders are given the opportunity to hear valuable teaching and to connect with fellow leaders. Jeff Herring, associate pastor at Oak Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, has attended almost every Great Escape. This is how Jeff describes it.

“My wife and I have attended The Great Escape conference for as long as I can remember. I believe the only one we missed was when we were expecting our third child during the time of the conference. We have always enjoyed the conference, but we have especially enjoyed it since it has moved to a cruise ship-based conference.”

“When The Great Escape was previously held in a hotel/conference room setting it was beneficial to attend simply because of the content of the conference, but the awesome side benefit of having the conference on the cruise ship is the down time you get to spend with others that are in ministry like you and share concerns, struggles, victories, etc. In the previous hotel setting, you would attend the conference and usually break to go eat with people you already knew then come back to the conference. On the cruise you are all thrown in together and you get to know others you might not have had the chance to meet otherwise.”

“We not only attend now because of the conference and whatever content will be shared, which is usually very practical to ministry, but also so we can continue to meet others and spend time with our ministry friends that we have made throughout the years. Every year we leave refreshed and encouraged as a couple to continue in ministry. Many times The Great Escape has become a place where we have been able to give godly counsel to other ministers as they are facing difficult circumstances back home or we have been on the receiving end of that godly counsel. I believe The Great Escape conference not only provides some practical teaching on ministry, but it also provides invaluable time when ‘iron sharpens iron’ as we glean from the experiences of others.”

Mark your calendars for The Great Escape 2017, which will be January 14-19. Visit discipleguide.org for additional information on The Great Escape and other DiscipleGuide conferences.