Last night we wrapped our training sessions with Family Ministries volunteers from Gateway Church. Over the week together we covered things like Orange philosophy, being present, establishing ongoing connections with kids and parents, and the role of the church in the life of a family.

For our final session, we played. All week we sensed that Gateway’s volunteers are good natured and full of fun, but they rose above and beyond our expectations! Eighty adults were running around the room, screaming with delight, escaping aliens, imagining monsters, and cramming twenty people on a 25 x 30 inch life raft.

After lots of laughter and nonsense, the group watched Reggie Joiner’s session on FUN from the Playing for Keeps training resource, in which he says, “It’s ok to have fun for fun’s sake. The best way to play for keeps is to actually play.”

Fun over time equals connection, and last night leaders focused on how fun could change their small groups, their sharing of Truth, and their families. Darren, Becky, Christine and I are thankful for the fun and love shown to us this week. We have laughed and cried as stories have been shared, and are grateful for our time spent with the wider Gateway family.

This blog post is part of a week-long series from an Orange Coaching team partnering with Gateway Church in Dubai. The team is comprised of the following church ministry specialists: Darren Kizer (Parker Hill Community Church, 1Semester) , Becky Kizer (Orange Specialist), Christine Kreisher (GT Church), and Stephanie Whitacre (Parker Hill Community Church, 1Semester).