Once again, we have been staggered by the post feedback we received from Connect 2018. We are so thankful for each person who attended, because we know the awesome vibe we had at Connect came from you.
Connect has been based in El Rancho in Wellington for the past 3 years and before we sign on the dotted line to run Connect 2019 at El Rancho, we thought it was a good time to pause, reflect, survey our people, and seek God’s will for the venue for next year.
For both Matt and I in our quiet time we have had a sense that Connect 2019 should happen on our national Marae in Ohope. We have a sense, this would be an amazing shared experience for us, and on top of the usual Connect experience, we would engage and be upskilled on our bi-cultural commitment. We could really explore what God mission in Aotearoa looks like in 2019.
At Ohope, participants would have the option of sleeping marae style, or in bunks, or staying in local B&B’s, hotels, cabins etc.
We acknowledge getting to Ohope isn’t as easy as a major centre, and this may affect attendance. Whakatane has a little airport with planes coming in from Auckland. Rotorua and Tauranga have airports an hour and a half away. There are also well priced bus services leaving from Auckland and Wellington that go through Whakatane or Rotorua.
So we want to ask you our whanau, what is your take? How does this idea sit with your soul? Does it feel right, that for a one off, we should run Connect at our national Marae in Ohope? Please answer this survey here.
See Survey here