A few months ago when we were planning for The Noble Man Conferences, no one could have guessed the live events would be shut down due to a virus outbreak. 

But this is not the first time we faced a challenge and found a solution.

Two years ago, the Noble Warriors Team was already headed to Fredericksburg when we got the call that a power outage would put a stop to the use of the church facilities, the hotels we had booked, and even the nearby restaurants that were supposed to bring our food.  The conference couldn’t continue as planned, but out of this challenge came victories.

Andrew Kassouf is one of those victory stories.

For him, the last-minute changes proved to be a life-altering catalyst in some unexpected ways. Instead of attending that conference as planned, he was able to move his registration to the 2019 conference. It was a unique time in his life and different than just one year earlier. Some life-changing circumstances had left him feeling somewhat alone with no close friend group.  He and his family lived a good distance from the church they were attending making it difficult to connect there. The change in timing for The Noble Man Conference was the perfect timing for him and would lead to some major changes.

When Andrew heard Barry Black’s challenge to find one other man to connect with, he decided to seek out a friend and invite him to see the Tony Evans film, Kingdom Men Rising.  From there, the two men began meeting for breakfast every other week. 

Out of that simple gesture, seven men from four different churches now regularly meet to fellowship and connect.

But it didn’t stop there! Attending Barrett Johnson’s equipping workshop lead to a change in the way Andrew and his wife handle relationships with their children. Now they are investing in family Bible study and one-on-one time with each child. It has been a catalyst to family discipleship. Andrew found a church closer to home where he and his family now participate in a small group of about 20 families. Husbands, wives, and children are all able to connect there. He believes that without the change he made as a result of attending the conference he would “probably be doing ok, but not great.”  

The turn of events this year in Fredericksburg turned out to be pivotal for Andrew as well.

Due to just having surgery, he could not drive to the conference. But he was not going to lose and had determined to figure out a strategy to be there.  When the opportunity arose to attend the Virtual Conference, it became the solution he was looking for. He picked Saturday to “attend” from his home in Maryland just as if he were sitting in the conference in Fredericksburg.

Andrew sees the Virtual Conference and other similar resources from Noble Warriors as a tool to build missional communities.

If ever there is a time to be the church, not just go to church, it is now. The world has been thrown a curveball.  No one was expecting to face the situation we are in now, but there is nothing new under the sun, and God is not surprised. Just weeks ago, we couldn’t know we would not be able to meet in a church building face to face, but we still have the opportunity to do life together with a service focus.

Noble Warriors is excited to have the opportunity to contribute tools to do just that.

Access The Noble Man Virtual Conference – Richmond Edition HERE.