The very first Team Conference dated back to 2016 with the theme "Culture Carriers." What is that culture? We have 7 values at VOUS. We believe that these values are not simply to fill space on a website, but should be carried within and carried into every space we may find ourselves in. The faith we have and the Bible-based values we hold should be evident to everyone around us. We don't believe in clocking in and out, but who we are in the Church is who we are outside the Church, extending far beyond the Church walls.

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We spoke to our Operations' director Kat Rowse and here are some of the highlights of what Team Conference is all about and what it takes to execute an event catered to the Servant Leaders of your community.

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The Why Behind The What

So why create an event specific to those who serve? Kat describes it as a reminder and encouragement to all, that we are not alone. All locations coming together under one roof helps us recognize that although we might be going into the night in specific areas of the city of Miami on a weekly basis, we are an army of servant leaders with the same heart, same mission in reaching different spaces all across our city. A beautiful reality that is felt and experienced through Team Conference. It also serves as a time to be empowered to empower others. We get poured into, refreshed, and encouraged to go and be effective witnesses and light in the darkest places of our city.

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The Evolution

Every year from an operations standpoint we seek to make Team Conference as smooth as possible. From parking to serving breakfast and lunch, we've smoothly transitioned into ways to minimize the amount of time our Servant Leaders assist with making this event happen. It's an event for our Servant Leaders and we want them to participate fully in receiving what God has for them. When we opened our location in South Miami we had separate conferences for each location, and while it was nice to highlight the leaders at each location, it was powerful to see everyone come back to one space. As we unite we are able to sharpen each other and celebrate.

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The Planning

As the operation's director, Kat's role when it comes to Team Conference is to lead the planning, collaboration and execution of the event. Planning starts at least 2 months prior with weekly meetings. As any event, it takes the efforts of many collaborators and the film, creative, environment, and production teams cross collaborate to talk through ideations of what celebrating and honoring the servant leaders should look like. Smaller meetings take place between departments that need to touch base in order to then present updates at the weekly review. Basecamp and slack are essential tools to the organization, planning and execution of such event.

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The Ripple Effect

Team Conference impacts all Servant Leaders and we find individual testimonies taking place. For example, Kat is able to testify of a connection she had with one of the Servant Leaders that was serving for the first time at Team Conference last year. Not only did they connect, but Kat has been able to see her grow and become a strong leader, leading in many areas of VOUS ministries. It's all these individual testimonies that make up the larger picture of what the body of Christ should look like.

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If we think about Genesis 1, when God made mankind in his image, we understand that the word mankind represents the plurality of humanity, meaning it's not just one man that represents the image of God but all mankind united represents who He is. One of our values at VOUS is Servant Leadership is our identity. Coming together as a team of Servant Leaders speaks to the identity of who we are collectively reflecting the image of God when we are united and walk in that identity. Team Conference is a moment for that unity to take place and for us to recognize that we are part of the body of Christ that fully represents the image of God in our city and around the world.