Mark Dawes, Staff Reporter
A NEW AND innovative trend is emerging in the local Christian community where churches are hosting and facilitating satellite link-ups to major religious events in the United States.
On Friday May 5, Hope Fellowship Ministries, located at 23 Molynes Road, St. Andrew, will facilitate a satellite link-up from Atlanta, Georgia, for the annual Maximum Impact simulcast which is organised by former pastor turned leadership guru and best-selling author, John C. Maxwell. This year's theme will be '360° The Measure of a Leader'.
This effort follows on the precedent set last year by New Life Assembly, located in Constant Spring. Andrew, which facilitated a satellite link-up for MegaFest, the three-day spiritual teaching conference organised by T.D. Jakes Ministries. That event was open to the public and hundreds were in attendance.
Hope Fellowship Ministries has as its pastor, Sam McCook formerly a high-ranking executive at both the Jamaica Tourist Board and the advertising company - OGM Communications. Pastor McCook explained that his church of about 100 members, was seeking ways of becoming more relevant to its community "so when we saw the opportunity to host Maximum Impact here, we jumped at it."
The upcoming simulcast will be viewed in more than 600 locations and about 80,000 persons are expected to tune in.
HIGHLY-RECOGNISED PEOPLE
Pastor McCook said with his church's involvement in the event, it will represent the first time this prestigious series will be hosted in the Caribbean. "It is primarily a North American activity. They (the Maximum Impact organisers) use persons who are highly recognised and very competent in their fields. We felt hosting it provided a useful integration between technology and religion. We believe we should be on the cutting edge of those things," Pastor McCook said.
Hope Fellowship Ministries is targeting leaders from the public and private sectors as well as church leaders for this conference. Altogether, the church group is hoping to attract about 100 persons.
SHARPER PERSPECTIVES
"We believe that those who attend will develop sharper perspectives on leadership. There are particular areas that will impact attendees differently." H explained that the presenters come from diverse backgrounds including the military, academia and retailing. With the range of speakers involved, he argued, there will be something said that will meet the diverse needs that attendees will have.
In addition to John C. Maxwell, the speakers will include Dave Ramsay, president of The Lampo Group, Inc., a company that offers counselling for the financially secure and the financially distressed; Kathy Ireland, an American supermodel, actress, author, and entrepreneur; Tim Sanders, the Chief Solutions Officer of Yahoo!, and a consultant with Fortune 500 companies, and author of Love is the Killer App; J.C. Watts, a former youth pastor, ex-congressman and now management consultant. The other speakers booked to share their insights on May 5 are: Patrick Lencioni, founder and president of The Table Group, Inc., a specialised management-consulting firm focused on organisational health. Since establishing the firm in 1997, Lencioni has become one of the nations leading experts on executive team development; Mark Sanborn, a renowned expert on leadership, team building and mastering change, is known internationally as 'the high-content speaker who motivates.' Sanborn is also a member of the exclusive Speakers Roundtable, a group of 20 of the top speakers in the world; Don Soderquist, executive-in-residence at The Soderquist Centre for Leadership and Ethics. Soderquist served Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. for over 20 years, most recently as senior vice-chairman. Continuing Sam Walton's legacy, he became known as the 'keeper of the culture.' Soderquist led the company as chief operating officer during a period of exponential growth as Wal-Mart grew from the largest retailer in the world to the largest company in the world, reaching into 10 countries and employing over 1.4 million people.
Also included are: General Leo Brooks, vice-director of the Army Staff in the office of the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. He is also a former commandant of cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point; Peyton Manning, a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. Since joining the Indianapolis Colts as the number one overall pick in the 1998 draft, Peyton Manning has scorched the record books. He has earned two NFL Most Valuable Player Awards, made six Pro Bowl appearances and was named to the Associated Press NFL All-Pro First Team for the third consecutive season. Manning became the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for 25+ touchdowns in eight consecutive seasons and the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 3000+ yards in the first eight seasons of his career.
"We believe it will add value to those who come. As a church it will help to define what we are about. The way I look at it is, we are located in Half-Way Tree, which is really an intersection between uptown and downtown. We can be the bridge. We can reach out to those who think they have everything and reach out to those who think they don't have anything," Pastor McCook said.
The event will take place between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and it will be held in the sanctuary of the church's 23 Molynes Road address in Kingston. Persons interested in registering may contact the church's offices at 906-8013,
906-8066.
ONE A YEAR
Hope Fellowship Ministries, Pastor McCook said, intends to do at least one simulcast each year. These broadcasts will cover topics related to family, business and sales, leadership and spiritual formation.
From the proceeds of the May 5 event, the church hopes to develop its ministries to children living in the Tarrant and other nearby communities.
The event, Pastor McCook said, is not strictly speaking an evangelistic activity. "Although this will not be an overtly religious presentation, we believe that the message of Christ is a message that permeates most positive messages. And so we are expecting that there are some persons who may not be followers of Christ but who may out of this experience recognise that there is a relevance in the Christian message that Christians do have worthwhile things to say in the ears of business and the ears of leadership. We are not going to have an altar call at the end of thing, nor an offering. But we think that people will have time to reflect we are hoping that some seed will be planted, and that when they go back to their respective places, that they may be inclined to visit a church not necessarily our church; that they will talk to some Christian colleague and start a process of reconnecting with God.
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