The theme for Orange Conference 2019 was “It’s Personal”. With a goal of helping leaders understand the importance of a personal relationship with those around them, all of the main session speakers related small parts of a big picture.

The book “It’s Personal, five questions you should answer to give every kid hope” would be a great book to pick up, whether you were at the conference or not. If you were there, the book contains many of the same messages in more detail—I picked up on things in the book I missed from the live messages. If you were not there, the book will walk you through five great questions to ask yourself as you minister to your kids and people around you.

The overall point of the questions is you help us all understand that we need to earn the right to become a voice in someone’s life. We do that by being personal. By caring. By understanding and answering these questions.

Below are the five questions, as well as a few of my notes and notes from the book.

• Do you know my name?
  • Names matter
  • There is power in a name
  • Calling someone by name makes them visible
• Do you know what matters to me?
  • Showing interest will validate their worth
  • It takes time to learn about someone’s interests. Time is valuable. Spending time with and learning about someone validates them and makes them visible.
• Do you know where I live?
  • Physically
    • What city/neighborhood do they live in?
  • Mentally
    • What do they think about?
  • Emotionally
    • How do they feel? And why?
    • Don’t assume you know how someone feels.
• Do you know what I’ve done?
  • Your past does not define you
  • God looks past our sin to see us. That doesn’t mean he approves of our sin, but it does mean our actions do not define who we are. God defines who we are.
  • Be careful of your reaction to someone else’s sin- you may understand the difference in your disapproval of sin and affirmation of a person. The other person may feel that you are disapproving of them as a person. Speak the truth gently and in love.
• Do you know what I can do?
  • Speak life into them
    • You may be the only person to speak positive in their life
    • You can see things in them they may not see in themselves. Be sure to point out the good you see
  • Everyone needs a cheerleader

Want to learn more about Orange and their philosophy? Check out more info here.

Interested in picking up a copy of It’s Personal for yourself? Grab a copy here.

What do you think? How do you make relationships personal in your life and ministry? Leave a comment and let us know!