The conference opened with exuberant praise unto God! The room was packed with delegates, some of who had travelled from a restricted country, others from remote areas. FREEDOM and JOY was the resounding theme of the night! Erik Klar delivered a powerful message about the miracle of the “new wine”which we are called to take into the communities! The new songs of praise and worship lead by The River Worship Band were sung throughout The River Conference 2014 – FULL LIFE BEGINS! 
On the two days that followed, Ps Ross and Di Smith from The Vine in Brisbane taught powerfully about the Grace of God with a special focus on the “Top Button”. In Ross’ humorous style, the message came through loud and clear: We need to get our “top button” aligned correctly, i.e. knowing who we are in Christ and who He is in us. We then learn to exercise our spiritual muscles of ‘Faith’ and ‘No Condemnation’. The seriousness of the message was well received, interspersed with lots of laughter and also tears. Ross and Di are anointed teachers of the Word!
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| Ross Smith and translator Suwat |
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| Diane Smith |
The River did a brilliant job hosting the delegates! The The River Centre looked beautiful. The hospitality team consisted of The River staff and the local believers working together!
Each afternoon The River Team facilitated training in Full Life kids, youth, community development, as well as on the culture of our worship team. They did a fantastic job in showcasing their talent and giftings, and even more inportantly in teaching hands-on, how to take these aspects of ministry into the communities.
For some practical conference fun, 2nd-hand clothing stalls offered cheap fashions – one person’s trash always someone else’s treasure!
We celebrated three decisions at the pool during the conference! Five more followed on Sunday.
