Jamie Kervin | Senior Account Manager
On March 1, 2006, shortly after resigning from a senior sales position with Hilton Hotels, I got on a plane and flew to Orlando, FL to sit at a tiny desk in my new co-worker’s office to learn just how Arrowhead worked. Instead of the suit and heels I was so used to, I was now donning jeans and a sweater – my new work uniform.
That tiny desk and the subsequent staff meeting where our small but mighty team gathered on couches in a hotel suite was so representative of who Arrowhead was….or is, really. Our staff still gathers together every September and when discussing our meeting space, inevitably, the question is always posed “Is there a suite large enough for us to all meet?” You see, at heart, we’re still that team sitting on couches praying and discussing ways to serve our ministry partners better.
I pray that never changes.
For those who have worked closely with us for 20 or 30 years, our hearts are known. I think of Sandra Schutrop (Hilton) and Jeff Perrin (Hyatt), ministry partners like Steve Cauble (Foursquare) and Jon Laabs (Lutheran Educators Association), other friends in the industry like Dean Jones (RCMA) and Jayne Kuryluk (CMCA), and those deep within our parent ministry of Cru. They have always known our heart for serving ministry and for making God known.
But for the average person popping by our website or hearing our name at a trade show, they haven’t quite been able to define us. Why are they called Arrowhead? (A brief research on Cru’s roots will reveal that.) Are they a third party? How are they compensated? Why do they talk about Jesus so much and ask how they can pray for me? How did they survive the pandemic without laying anyone off?
It’s no secret. We have never been great at sharing our heart unless you’re up close with us. No one has ever been won over by our marketing efforts. Instead, they are won over by our long reputation for integrity and service, our belief that God uses conferences to change lives, and our commitment to stewardship. Our money has always been in our people. No regrets. We haven’t been shiny and cutting edge. But we just survived a pandemic without laying anyone off. Praise be to God!
And so, a couple of years ago, we began the long, arduous process of clarifying our messaging. We have always known who we are. We just haven’t communicated it well to the outside world.
In a discovery session with our branding company, they asked if we were a car, what kind of car would we be. The overwhelming answer was a minivan. We’re reliable, functional, highly effective, tested and solid, paid for. We’re sensible. You wouldn’t pick us if we were sitting in a car lot. But if you get in and ride around with us for a little while, you’ll realize that we’re everything you didn’t know you needed.
For those of you who have been our partners in the gospel for many years, our hope is that all of the good things you have always loved about us remain the same but that you’ll also discover some new things about us. We hope that some of the exciting additional services that will be rolled out over the next couple of years will allow you to apply greater financial and personnel resources to achieving your mission objective of taking the Gospel to the end of the world.
If you have never thought the minivan would be for you, we would be honored if you would just have a conversation with us. Get to know us a little. We genuinely believe that the combined efforts, knowledge, community, and buying power of hundreds of ministries creating conferences that change lives will help all of us to fulfill the Great Commission. We invite you to join our community.
