What are the qualifications to attend our events?
We welcome your interest in The Gathering. To attend any of our events, conference calls or other activities of The Gathering, please contact us. The criteria for an invitation is an individual, family or their foundation should be giving a minimum of $200,000 annually to Christian ministries or have the capacity to do so. The Gathering is also open to staff and trustees of foundations, but Gathering activities are not open to staff of ministries (except by invitation).
I don’t have a foundation. Isn’t The Gathering just for people with foundations?
No. Definitely not. The typical Gathering participants are individuals, couples or families who do not have a foundation. Yes, there will be people attending who do use a foundation for their giving. As well, there is professional staff of foundations who attend The Gathering as both resource people and participants. However, the profile of Gathering people is individuals and couples with children (teens through adults) who have an interest in being with others who are supporting a wide variety of ministries around the world.
Is this a safe place or am I going to be surrounded by people raising money?
Gathering participants describe the conference as virtually the only “safe place” where they are free to talk about giving and learn from others. It is a place for building relationships with others that give and are excited about learning to give effectively. Yes, there are ministry people who serve as faculty and speakers but they know it is off limits to be raising money at this conference.
Most Christian conferences do not cost this much. Is this good stewardship?
It’s a great question. We all have two pockets. One is for expenses and the other is for giving. Gathering participants tend to be very careful about expenses and very generous with giving. However, in 20 years, we have never had anyone leave the conference, unsatisfied with the quality of the program, the resources for learning, the relationships with peers, the accommodations and the encouragement every year. Indeed the value has been consistently rated as extremely high. And yes, it is not cheap. But we are committed to making it the highest quality conference experience you will ever have.
Is this just for older adults?
No. Every year we have more families bringing both adult and younger children. Doing the conference this year at The Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, Florida will increase the number of people bringing their whole family. As well, we encourage you to take advantage of our GenNext camp for children ages 3-18. I’m not convinced everyone is going to be attending classes with all the other choices for relaxing and being with friends and family, but sometimes things get done around the pool and on long walks that only God can do.
When and how did the Gathering begin?
In 1985, five people met for the first time in Arlington, Virginia, with a very simple agenda…They were each engaged in Christian philanthropy and were looking for a group of like-minded individuals to serve as a sounding board of peers, as an information resource, and a source of spiritual encouragement. Each of us was looking for a safe and neutral place to relax, talk and learn. Our experience, and that of others to whom we had talked at the time, had shown us that this would become increasingly scarce and, therefore, valuable to us. And so it has... We still meet, but the mission and purpose of what we chose to call The Gathering has now grown to include an annual conference for almost four hundred people. As well, small "forums" of individuals and foundations who have an interest in a very particular topic or issue sometimes meet throughout the year. The small "gathering" of friends has become an international network of individuals, families and foundations who share a common interest in Christian stewardship.