By Bill MacLeod, Executive Director

Our first pioneering effort to transform our annual, signature event to a Global / Virtual online one would indicate Mission ConneXion Northwest 2021 Global! met or exceeded expectations. The partnership with Spirit Media led to an almost flawless event from a production standpoint. What did you think? Here are some of your reactions…

• God used the pandemic for good! PTL!
• Loved the virtual format! Easy to see and hear the presenter. No overloaded rooms as experienced in the past. Thought the chat aspect greatly improved the dialogue. 
• SO thankful I was able to attend as I live in Colorado! I think the technology was really well done. I hope that you continue to have virtual events in the future. I would love our organization to have a virtual booth in the future too.
• I am following up with two organizations for resources for our Diaspora ministry!
• As someone who has A.D.D., I appreciated the lack of distractions that are present when people are physically gathered. It is easier for me to pay attention when someone’s face is “closer.”
• I am in the Bay Area of CA that has been praying for [MCNW] and about having a similar event here.
• This was my first MCNW and I was very impressed…I would certainly attend a virtual conference again and probably come to one in person as well.

Attendees came from many backgrounds and locations, and made a lot of fascinating choices once inside the conference hall:

• 32% had attended 5 times or more while 19% were first timers!
• Churches – Over 650 churches – our largest ever – were represented and of those, over 300 had never attended before.
• Watch Parties – 24 Churches brought 10 or more attendees and many churches hosted watch parties.
• Globe – Hillsong Church in Paris, France, was among those from 49 countries attending!
• USA – while 46 states were represented, 66% still came from WA & OR, maintaining our Pacific Northwest regional focus!
• Exhibitors – Every exhibitor booth was visited multiple times, but those with the most activity included: Perspectives; Firm Foundations in Christ; Frontiers; CultureBound; H-O-M-E; Medical Ambassadors International; Every Black Life Matters; Paid in Full Oregon; OMF; World Venture, YWAM Salem; and, our Title Sponsor: The GO Fund! 
• Workshops – 
  • Some workshops had as many as 65 and as few as 2, but gold nuggets were to be found in every, single, one! 
  • Many stretched across multiple time zones from Northern Germany, to London, England, to Indonesia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Phoenix, Arizona, to Boise, Idaho, and to Portland, Oregon! 
  • Workshop Tracks which drew the greatest attendance included: Apologetics, Effective Evangelism; Prayer and Spiritual Warfare; Disciple Making Basics, NextGen, and the Plenary Speakers. 
• Prayer Room – the Prayer Room was open throughout the weekend and saw a flow of people entering who needed prayer, as well as those offering to pray for folks.
• Video Recordings – If you missed any of the sessions, you may access them here: Plenary Sessions; Top 10 Workshops; General Workshop Session Tracks.

Impact of Speak His Name…Jesus!

What about the long-lasting influence of this virtual event? We may never know, but, as people reflected on their lives, in light of our commission to speak the Name of Jesus in a year when most were NOT engaging people even in their own churches, survey responses shared that many:

• had expanded their knowledge of what they already knew about the world and their role in it (80%). 
• would be more engaged in prayer (67%) and in their spiritual walk (64%). 
• would be more engaged in missions through their local church (47%); or 
• would attend a Perspectives Class (4%); but 
• admitted that they felt better equipped to share about Christ (38%); and 

Even with all the challenges in 2020, 66% said they would look forward to attending a MC event in the coming year. Let’s pray that the Lord will open up our communities, our schools, our businesses, and our Churches again soon, so that with His help, we can by faith plan for a LIVE Mission ConneXion Northwest event next January 21-22, 2022!