I remember my second “first day” teaching. 

I had spent five years learning the basics as a public school teacher before transferring to a new school. And on my first day of training at this new school, the principal said 

“I know you’re all scientists because teaching is a science.” 

He was right. 

Over those years, I learned the science behind education—the proven strategies, child development, pedagogy, public speaking, and visual aids.

But then the principal added something I’ll never forget: 

“You’re all scientists. But you’re also artists. Make sure you practice both.“

I felt his words on a soul level. 

It wasn’t that science was bad. It just wasn’t enough. All of the evidence-based, scientifically tested, data-driven strategies were the STARTING LINE for leading real students. But it wasn’t the finish line. They set me up to win with teenagers in general. But my job wasn’t to teach teenagers in general. 

My job was to teach THOSE teenagers.

A unique group (every year) with specific interests and gifts and challenges and learning styles and family situations who had never been described in my textbooks. 

And teaching those individuals was just as much art as science. It was as much diving into the creative unknown as it was leaning on what was tried and true. It was dreaming, imagining, praying (a lot) and being willing to start over—even when a lesson worked last year. 

Pedagogy may be science, but there’s an art to teaching specific teenagers in a specific community at a specific point in time. And to be a good educator, you have to practice both. 

The same is true in ministry. 

There is a science to leading kids and teenagers—ideas that are proven and predictable. And. . . 

There’s an art to leading them in less predictable times. Especially when we enter new seasons, cultural shifts, or new developmental stages in a kid’s life, we may need to take the next step without having a clear, predictable, exact science way to handle it. The Gospel hasn’t changed, but the way we deliver the message has to change in every generation and at every new life stage. Because the Good News is too important to say it in a way that doesn’t sound like good news today.

And when it comes to 2025 in ministry, I think it is one for the artists.

Because culture has shifted. Generations have changed. Families look different and there’s a notable difference in the way kids and teenagers understand. . . well . . everything. 

We may need to move forward, take some steps, and act on behalf of a generation—even when we aren’t sure what’s going to happen next. 

See, that’s the thing about art . . .

You don’t always know what the painting will look like when you start.

You don’t always know what the sound of the music will be when you play the first note.

Sometimes you just need that first note, the first step in the dance. Sometimes you just need to know the first color in the palette before you can see the whole picture. 

And that’s why this year at The Orange Conference, we are beginning with one color. 

You know which one it is, right?

In our strategy, the color Orange has always represented the home and the family working together, cheering for each other, partnering with each other and showing up for the next generation in a way that will influence their future. Orange is made up of red (representing the heart of the home) and yellow (the light of the church), but the point isn’t what either can do individually.

The point is what happens when red and yellow come together to make something new, something orange. 

Something beautiful happens when people who care about the next generation start working together.

It makes our priorities clearer.
It makes our decisions bolder.
It makes our message louder. 

And, it makes our churches healthier. 

Intuitively, we know that we can do more together, but over and over the research confirms that a kid or a teenager’s life is radically impacted when adults from different areas of their life partner together to influence their faith and future. 

That’s why, this year we’re doubling down on a single idea: 

It’s the idea Jesus describes when He talks about the Church

The idea that science confirms makes the most impact

And the idea that has been at the core of Orange from the very beginning. 

The idea of WE. 

We the church and 

We the home and

We the volunteers and

We the staff and

We the community leaders and

We the faith leaders and

We the kids ministry and

We the youth ministry and

We the educators and

We the pastors and

We the family and

We the whole family of God 

with the Spirit of God 

doing the work of God. 

for the sake of the next generation. 

It won’t be easy or predictable.

It’s not an exact science, 

“We” can be messy. But also, “we” can be beautiful. 

That’s why we call it. . . 

The Art of We

We hope you’ll be there for it this April 2025. Learn more, and get your tickets at TheOrangeConference.com