Feedback on First Atlanta CITRT Meeting by NaomiBristol

I attended this meeting yesterday - my first time meeting this group of people I've only heard about through blogs - and here are some of my thoughts:

- even though I come from a church on the smaller end of the spectrum, I thought it was valuable to hear the issues some of the larger churches encounter and how they deal with them. Methodology is important no matter how large or small you are, budget or no budget - particularly for future scalability issues if your church is or plans on growing. The foundation and framework you set while you are small will save time, money, and headache down the road. Learn from larger organizations and build a solid infrastructure that can handle the 10 users you have now and be able to scale nicely to handle the 1000 you may have later.

- also on the large vs. small church topic: sometimes getting outside of your own environment and your own problem opens you up to actually see how to solve your issue. Listening is very important - you just might get a clue and hear something that could help you even though the conversation isn't necessarily about you or focused on you and your specific issue.

- I think the "outline" of what the meeting would entail was sufficient enough - it would be helpful to have someone who is good at guiding conversations (without offending anyone) to ensure we stay on topic

- a feedback mechanism for the meeting: I was expecting to be asked in some way to give my thoughts and/or suggestions on this initial meeting. Having such a mechanism (maybe on the atl.citrt page) would probably be helpful in planning future meetings.

All in all, I thought it was productive, time well spent, and I'm glad I made it out - thanks for making this happen! Don't hesitate to contact me - I'm willing to help with anything I mentioned here. I'm a big fan of not only offering my thoughts but also offering to be part of the solution.

-- NaomiBristol - 15 Sep 2007