I love conferences. Especially conferences for Church Media and visual worship. Conferences are a chance for your team to recharge, gain new ideas and meet with others in the church media world. There’s something that happens when a team gets out of their normal environment and gets to ask big picture questions and challenge the “why” behind their ministry or practices.
I was honored to speak at a lot of conferences last year and meet thousands of those in the church media world helping with multiscreen, ideation, visual worship and philosophy. I thought it would be fun to give you my list of top Church Media conferences. Though I may not be at all of them this year (I’m still determining my schedule), but regardless they’re still great events.
1. SALT Nashville
Date: Late October
Location: Nashville, TN
Why Attend: Not only is our team the ones who put this event on, it’s the only conference fully devoted to the visual worship community. This is also the only conference I’ve been to where there are intentional times to meet others in the community. This event is a must attend for anyone in the church media community.
LINK: SaltNashville.com
2. Gurus of Tech
Date: Likely in May
Location: Chicago, IL (Willow Creek)
Why Attend: First, it’s free and you can’t beat that. Second, It’s the largest gathering of the church tech and church media communities. Third, It’s hosted and put on by the Willow Creek’s team which means a lot of insight into new technology, innovative planning, creative applications and volunteer training.
LINK: GurusofTech.com
3. Luminous Project
Date: May 6-8, 2014
Location: Franklin, TN
Why Attend: It’s a chance to get away and get some much needed silence. We’re always looking for the “next thing” and miss the need to just re-align ourselves with our creator. It’s a great conference put on by a good friend of mine. You need to attend at least once.
LINK: LuminousProject.com
4. National Worship Leader Conference – KS
Date: July 14-17
Location: Leewood, KS
Why Attend: This conference is a great gathering for the entire church! Though visual worship may seem to only be a track, I ensure you that it won’t disappoint. I’ve been a part of this conference for the past 5 years and enjoy the community that surrounds this event. Plus, there’s nothing like worshiping with 1200 other worship leaders. This conference has many locations, but to be fair to the others, I chose to pick the main location.
LINK: NationalWorshipLeaderConference.com/KS
5. Story Chicago
Date: October 2-4
Location: Chicago, IL
Why Attend: I attended this conference last year for the first time and was not disappointed. It’s a different conference from the standpoint that it isn’t a “church conference” but I’ve never been to a conference where I learned as much as I did. If you want to be more creative, check out Story.
LINK: StoryChicago.com
6. WFX (Worship Facilities Expo)
Date: October 1-3, 2014
Location: Dallas, TX
Why Attend: This is a great event if you’re looking to learn about the newest product releases from the biggest names in the industry. The only conference that has the expo that this one has, with appearances from Black Magic Design, Barco, Christie, High End and many more!
LINK: WFXweb.com
7. Church Media U
Date: Various Dates
Locations: Atlanta, Indianapolis, Chicago, Oklahoma City and Dayton, OH.
Why Attend: Though I’ve never been to one of these myself… I’ve heard nothing but great things from my friend Camron who’s involved with the event. It’s the most cost effective conference available and can be consumed within the same day.
LINK: ChurchMediaU.com
