We arrived home Friday evening after the post-conference meetings feeling a bit tired, but thoroughly satisfied. I will be sharing my thoughts about this convention over the next few posts.

First, my overall impressions . . . I was very pleased with the level of participation in each aspect of the conference. Every measurable statistic was increased again this year.

Reach That Guy participants logged 2,763 hours of community service in the Charleston area. This made a huge impact on the city. Competition entries were up by 75 to 908 this year, which included 22 Bible Millionaire teams, 25 Bible Tic Tac Toe teams, 30 Sign Language entries, 31 Keyboard Solos, and 153 Creative Art entries. Students contributed $8,821.71 to support global missions through the Buck-A-Week offering. NYC Registration totaled 3,958, which included 1,820 students and 2,138 adults.

Then there are the intangibles–those elements and experiences that can’t be quantified with a number. Walking through the civic center Thursday morning was tinged with a bit of sadness that it was over. The visits with dear friends, the challenging messages, the inspiring demonstrations of talent from our youth, the degree of selfless service from RTG, T&P, and others–it is my hope that all of these experiences will encourage and equip all involved to be faithful and more effective in their ministries throughout the coming year.