Doug and I traveled to Eden Prairie, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis, last week, to attend a Christian conference called "Understanding the Times." This is an annual conference, part of the ministries of Olivetree Ministries; but it's the first time we've attended.
The conference sessions were on Friday night and all day Saturday, and there were some great speakers, all with messages on understanding the times in which we live in light of Bible prophecy. And, of course, it was nice to be among thousands of other like-minded folks.
Today, I'm sharing a few images from that conference.
Grace Church, where the conference was held
Jan Markell, Founder, President and host of Understanding the Times
The large screen enabled easy viewing of the speakers from any seat in the auditorium.
A panoramic view of the crowd
Books, CDs, and DVDs were available for purchase in the foyer during breaks in the conference.
A view from the other end of the foyer during the same break pictured in the previous photo
Our driving route to this conference took us near Wisconsin Dells, so we spent a couple of days there on our way back home. I'll share more about that in future posts.
Being with like minded people is a treat.The church looks huge.
ReplyDeletelooks like it was very well-attended.
ReplyDeleteLooks as if many people were there, that is great, Linda. And I love your header, it is gorgeous! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat turn out.
ReplyDeleteThat's a huge and impressive turnout.
ReplyDeleteMersad
Mersad Donko Photography
Looks like a lovely time
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if the conference was a wonderful experience. I visited the Wisconsin Dells as a child many years ago, so I'm looking forward to your photos from there.
ReplyDeleteFirst --before I forget---I LOVE your header. Wow!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great conference --and what a great time of year to travel there. We all need some lessons on Understanding the Times.... Really us upsetting to see what is happening in our country --especially to Christians... Unbelievable. Hope you got some good answers....
Hugs,
Betsy
Ruth - I think it was the biggest church I'd ever been in. And you're right about the joy of being with like-minded people. A foretaste of heaven.
ReplyDeleteTex - I heard later that there were over 6,000 people.
Linda - I was taken aback by the size of the crowd. I think the people who put on the conference were a little surprised, too. It's a free conference, with no reservations required; so they had no way of knowing ahead of time how many to expect.
It was, for sure, Margaret.
Yes, it was, Mersad.
Steve - It was great. We were glad we went.
George - We didn't do much in the way of traditional things at the Dells on this trip, but the area looks like it would be worth a return visit.
Betsy - Thanks for the comment on the header. It's actually from a year ago, when we were in the UP. I'm not sure if you could say we got answers at the conference, but there were some definite insights and some challenges.
"Understanding the times" is quite a challenge, isn't it, Linda? It's great that the conference inspired you, it certainly brought new thoughts and angles into your belief. To be among so many like-minded people must have been really powerful and impressive. I love the large screens, they make such events so much more personal.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding the times and knowing how to live in them is indeed a challenge sometimes. The conference did inspire and challenge us. And it truly was nice to be among so many like-minded folks. The large screens are really necessary in a large auditorium. Doug said it even helped him to hear. :)
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