I am thankful to be with you today. What a gift it is to be with colleagues from across the country that care deeply about our calling to share the love of a very big God.

Let me start by acknowledging the hard work of our conference planners and especially Mike, Ashley, and Kathy. The Caffeinated Church community has and will always be a space where I learn and grow as a communicator.

If we’re honest with each other, this may be one of the hardest moments in history to be a communicator.

The news cycle never stops. The platforms keep multiplying. The expectations grow, but the budgets rarely do. You’re asked to do more, reach more, respond faster—often without the people, time, or resources you actually need.

So let me say something plainly: it’s okay to be tired. It’s okay to feel the weight of this work, because it is heavy. But that’s also because it matters.

Because I believe—deeply—that what you are doing is one of the most important callings from God in our world today.

The Gospel has always been about communication.

From the very beginning, God speaks creation into being. The prophets cry out in the public square. Jesus tells stories—parables—meeting people exactly where they are, in language they understand. And the early Church, they spread not through buildings, but through relationships, letters, and conversations carried across cultures.

The Gospel has never stayed still. It has always moved—through whatever channels people were using to connect.

And that brings us to why your work matters so much right now.

We serve a God of justice. We follow a Jesus who welcomes everyone—especially those pushed to the margins. We proclaim a love that is wider, deeper, and more inclusive than the world often believes is possible.

The world may not always know it, but this is exactly the message the world needs.

A God big enough for every human being. A love that does not exclude. A belonging that cannot be earned, only received.

And you—you stand on the frontlines of sharing that message.

Sometimes that looks like a website. Sometimes a newsletter. Sometimes a post.

And yes, sometimes it’s “in the comments.”

For every five comments from trolls (because if we are effective at sharing God’s love, the trolls come out)… I’ve seen that one comment. The one from someone who says,

“I didn’t know church could be like this.”

Or, “I needed to hear that today.”

Or, “I didn’t think God could love someone like me.”

That’s evangelism. That’s purpose.

In the Book of Acts, the Spirit shows up and suddenly people hear the good news in their own language. Not one language imposed on everyone—but many languages, meeting people where they are.

That’s what you’re doing every day.

You are translating the love of God into the languages of our time—into pixels and captions and stories and reels—so that someone, somewhere, might hear: you are beloved.

Over the next few days, my prayer for you is simple:

That you find moments to hit pause.

That you are filled.

That you meet people who inspire you, who remind you why you started this work in the first place.

That you laugh, and rest, and feel a little less alone in all of it.

And that, together, we continue to shift the perspective of communications across our church.

Because the truth is: the front doors of our congregations are no longer just doors on the street.

They are digital.

They are in feeds and inboxes and comment sections. They are in the quiet moments when someone is searching—sometimes late at night—wondering if there is a place for them, if there is a God who could love them.

And because of you, they just might find out that there is. And that makes everything you do worth it.

I am proud of you– for your calling and for bringing your full self to this space. I am proud of this community. Together, I know we are an agent of change the world desperately needs. Let’s do it together, y’all.

May we, as the Body of Christ, use our lips and our lives to bless and not to wound, to proclaim and not to obscure, the glory of God. Amen.