April 7, 2008

Q in New York

I'm heading to New York this week for the Q conference. Last year was the debut of this event and I really enjoyed it so I'm going again. This year looks to be equally engaging. Huge plus that it's in NYC--one of my favorite U.S. cities. I get to hang out with my younger brother who just moved there too.

If you're planning to attend and want to connect, drop an e-mail to me at brad [at] cfcclabs [dot] org.

Posted by Brad Abare at 11:58 AM
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April 1, 2008

Awaken 2008 This Week

I'm looking forward to popping in and out of the Awaken conference this week in Pasadena, Calif. Aside from it taking place in my backyard (10 miles from my office), it will be nice to meet up with old and new friends. If you're planning to attend and want to connect, drop an e-mail to me at brad [at] cfcclabs [dot] org. It's always interesting to watch Mosaic put on events because they're some of the most genuinely gifted people on the planet, but they'll tell you themselves that they're a little event-challenged. They're actually a little 'church'-challenged too but that's what makes Mosaic so great. I love it!

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:25 AM
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March 14, 2008

HOW Church Marketing Sucks

How does church marketing suck? Well, we count the ways on this blog nearly every day. But one way church marketing can suck a little less is by learning from the communications professionals behind How magazine (who included us in an article back in December) and the How Design Conference. The Center for Church Communication--our nonprofit parent--is partnering with HOW.

So what does that mean for you?

• A special CFCC workshop at the upcoming HOW Design Conference in Boston from May 18-21.
• You can save up to $120 on your HOW registration.
• A chance to win a free full-conference pass to the HOW Design Conference.

Check out the CFCC site for more details.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:09 PM
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February 21, 2008

Association vs. Action

Over the last couple of years I was a part of the planning team for a Foursquare sponsored event in Anaheim, Calif., this past December. It was a gathering of 3,500 students coming around three ambitious causes: fighting poverty, caring for orphans and ending modern day slavery. In spite of lower-than-hoped-for attendance, it was a really great event with many God-moments.

I know I’m a little slow sometimes, but it is now hitting me why events with students and young adults are so different these days than they were ten years ago. Gone are the days when event-goers were content with being captivated by the energy of crowds and connected with like-minded peers. It used to be that you could put on an event with awesome experiences (technical) and spectacular content (spiritual) and it would be a winning combination with little competition. These days, events are a dime-a-dozen with often little distinction between purpose, people or participants.

Continue reading "Association vs. Action"

Posted by Brad Abare at 10:25 AM
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January 28, 2008

CFCC MeetUps Anyone?

Are you a designer who likes to meet other awesome designers? Or maybe you're an Average Joe with a voracious appetite for organizing large groups of people to meet together? Well over in the Church Marketing Lab, there's a discussion rolling about designers meeting up to--well, do what designers do. Probably sharing samples, playing layer tennis, discussing horn-rimmed glasses and drinking macchiatos.

Whatever they might do, it's a great way to meet some phenomenal designer that live near you.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:58 AM
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January 23, 2008

Awaken 2008

The Mosaic Alliance is hosting the Awaken 2008 conference this April 1-3 in Pasadena, Calif. They invited a handful of people to do some guest blogging leading up to the event, and yours truly pulled out a personal favorite that is now live on the Awaken blog.

The CFCC community--that's you--can take advantage of a 15% conference discount by using the code "awaken2008cms" when registering online or simply mentioning this blog if you register over the phone.

Posted by Brad Abare at 11:07 AM
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December 28, 2007

Foursquare NextGen Summit

I'm here in Anaheim, Calif. through January 1 for the Foursquare NextGen Summit. It's an event with 3,500 students centered around three causes: poverty, orphans and human trafficking. My role at Foursquare made way for me to be a part of the core planning team over the past 18 months. What a ride it has been! I am also doing a workshop titled "Church Marketing Goodness." It will be a different audience than I am used to--students and youth leaders--so I am looking forward to seeing how people respond. I am going to use some stuff that I first tried out at the MinistryCOM conference this past September, but tweak it to be more personal than professional. The foundation will be Matthew 5 and Matthew 10.

If you live in the SoCal area, the evenings are free so please drop in and check it out!

Posted by Brad Abare at 5:13 PM
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October 15, 2007

Catalyst: The Feelings

Here it is, the good, bad and ugly about the Catalyst conference itself. I think churches can take plenty away from this in how the conference was executed. Most of these rules will apply to your churches and services as well.

Excellence + Surprises + Innovation = Good.
Every transition was nailed. Every unexpected turn was welcomed. There was so much positive energy in the place, and momentum stayed throughout the event because everything was nailed. There were no awkward, deflating pauses. In your church, keep it both interesting and well-executed. Change things up a little, do new stuff--just make sure everyone knows what to do and when.

Continue reading "Catalyst: The Feelings"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:10 AM
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October 9, 2007

Catalyst: The Facts

This year's Catalyst conference was the biggest ever. Over 11,000 church leaders gathered to hear from the likes of Rick Warren, Francis Chan, Andy Stanley and more. I didn't think I'd go on with session by session notes -- partially because I didn't take them, and partially because you can get them elsewhere (links at the bottom).

If you've never been to Catalyst, it's not just a conference. It's an experience. I've never heard a group of speakers as phenomenal as the men I heard last week. The conference is pulled off with excellence without fail. I did take away some interesting tidbits from the speakers that translate into the world of church marketing:

Continue reading "Catalyst: The Facts"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 1:31 PM
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September 27, 2007

Free Catalyst Tickets

I realize it's last minute, but our friends over at Aspire!One have two tickets to next week's Catalyst conference that they're giving away to the CFCC community. You'll have to cover your own transportation, meals, lodging, blah, blah, blah. The tickets are good for Thursday and Friday only (not the labs on Wednesday).

If you want them, drop us an e-mail for why you think they should be yours and we'll have them FedEx'd out for Monday delivery. There are no tricks or gimmicks to getting these--it's too late for that!

Update: The two Catalyst tickets have found their homes so you can stop e-mailing. However, it appears that Jesse the Catalyst intern has some "fire-sale discount [tickets]" so call him at 678-225-3553 if you're still looking to go.

And for anyone else who is already going to Catalyst, there are several CFCC friends who will be there so say hey to someone--especially those closet readers of CMS. Josh and I will be there too. See you next week!

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:36 AM
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September 22, 2007

MinistryCOM 2007 Recap

by Michael Buckingham, Guest Blogger

I'm just getting back into the swing of things after a great time at the MinistryCOM conference in Nashville last week. I talk often about setting the bar as communicators, and what a great time of hanging out with 400+ people who are pressing forward to set the bar, and many that are blowing it away!

Terry Storch of LifeChurch.tv kicked off the conference on Thursday morning ... this guy doesn't just get technology he understands how to use technology to reach people. He made a simple point, but one with a lot of impact: Our focus as a church used to be all about service times, Sunday morning was where it was all at. But that simply doesn't apply anymore--we are a 24/7 culture now.

Continue reading "MinistryCOM 2007 Recap"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 7:45 AM
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September 8, 2007

Internet Ministry Conference... You Going?

Last week I mentioned that I will be in Nashville on September 13-14 for MinistryCOM 2007. The week following, on September 19-22, I will be at the Internet Ministry Conference presented by Gospel Communications in Grand Rapids, Mich. It looks like they have a pretty sweet line-up of speakers, so I'm looking forward to learning with everybody. And with registration being closed out already for the event, if you didn't sign-up, you'll have to wait for next year.

As always, if you'll be in Grand Rapids later this month, be sure to say hello!

Posted by Brad Abare at 3:48 PM
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July 11, 2007

Buzz Film Fest

The Buzz Conference wrapped up in Washington, D.C., a few weeks back and the results of their film festival are now online. You can watch the four top church films to see some examples of cool church videos.

For those who didn't get to attend (like me), you can also download audio or watch video from the main session speakers (folks like Mark Batterson, Tim Stevens and Craig Groeschel).

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:39 PM
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April 30, 2007

Q Conference Recap

Just finished a whirlwind week. It began with the National New Church Conference in Orlando and then ended, as it did for many others, with Q in Atlanta (Q, whew?). Q was packed with great thinkers and presenters, formatted to flow fairly quickly. Most presenters had 18 minutes to make their point while the clock was counting down in front of them and the audience. In an effort to keep our filter here to church marketing/communication, I'll let the rest of the blog world, including some recaps from Scott Hodge, fulfill your fodder-looking fancy.

As for the subject of marketing and communicating the church, allow me to highlight some takeaways:

Continue reading "Q Conference Recap"

Posted by Brad Abare at 3:01 PM
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Notes on the National New Church Conference

I had a great time in Orlando on Tuesday of last week at the National New Church Conference. I flew from Los Angeles to Orlando and arrived late Monday night. I woke up six hours later and finished off the creative communications session that Mark Batterson began the day before. It was a jam-packed two hours and I loved it! Mark had four hours on Monday and got to share his wisdom, wit and work from National Community Church, so when I spoke on Tuesday I got to tell everybody that just because it works for Batterson doesn't mean it works for you.

Here's an outline of what I covered:

Continue reading "Notes on the National New Church Conference"

Posted by Brad Abare at 7:27 AM
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April 23, 2007

Help Wanted: Good Videos

Last time we posted a help wanted ad, we were pretty much just making fun of someone. This time we're serious. Seriously. Over in the Church Marketing Lab this week, terrell_sanders has an announcement. He's looking for church videos to showcase at MinistryCOM 2007. Don't know what MinistryCOM is? It's a conference that we here at CMS love. Check it out.

Head over to the discussion and consider submitting your videos.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:01 AM
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April 17, 2007

Origins, Mosaic Leadership Experience

I realize it's a little late to the game on this, but for anyone in the southern California area (or those with private planes), on May 1-3 in Pasadena, Calif., the annual Origins event is taking place. It's put on by Erwin McManus and his Mosaic collaborators. For those unfamiliar with Origins, it's kind of a non-event event. In typical McManus McFashion, they do a great job at doing unique things over and over again. I shot over some interview questions to Erwin (via his staff) and received the following responses.

What's the Origins Project all about--will it help my church's communication/marketing to not suck?
The Origins Project is about helping church leaders focus on the doing the right things--focusing on risk, mission, relationships, experimentation and creativity. The greatest marketing strategy is to create a community in which people experience authentic life transformation. Through their relationships, the transformed cannot wait to connect others as well.

Continue reading "Origins, Mosaic Leadership Experience"

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:52 AM
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March 29, 2007

Buzz Reminder, April 3 Deadline

Just a reminder that the April 3 deadline to take advantage of the $70 discount for the second annual Buzz Conference is a few days away.

Mark and team are offering the CFCC community a special reduced registration price of just $119. That's $70 off the regular rate, but it only lasts until April 3. To get in on the deal, just drop an e-mail with the subject line "Buzz CFCC" to Juliet [at] theaterchurch [dot] com.

Posted by Brad Abare at 8:46 PM
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March 27, 2007

Church Marketing Lab LIVE!

by Michael Buckingham, Guest Blogger

Just received some exciting news from the folks at MinistryCOM, I will be hosting the first ever Church Marketing Lab LIVE! at the conference in Nashville, Tenn. Sept. 13-14. It's a chance to put some flesh on the Church Marketing Lab.

Church Marketing Lab LIVE! is an interactive forum/workshop that allows attendees to bring in current and past marketing communications for critique and comment by both a panel of some of the Church Marketing Lab's brightest and encourage a group discussion with the purpose of bettering the communication piece. Church Marketing Lab LIVE! will give attendees something to implement immediately upon returning from MinistryCOM.

I'm hoping this will be a great time of extending the lab into face to face conversation and dig a bit deeper into some of your marketing communications. As we've not done this with the lab before, I'd love to get your input and thoughts on the event.

Posted by Guest Blogger at 6:45 PM
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March 20, 2007

Growing, Buzzing Churches: Save $70

I'm not quite sure when I first drank of it, but the Mark Batterson Kool-Aid is still having an affect on me. I met Mark in the flesh at last year's Buzz Conference when I had the privilege of being one of the presenters. We've crossed paths a few times over the last year and I've also been a big fan of his blog for a while. If you didn't see his Gut Check For Growing Churches post today, you're missing out. Mark oozes fresh wisdom.

Lest the Kool-Aid loosen its grip, you also need to know about the second annual Buzz Conference coming this June 28-29 in Washington, D.C. With LifeChurch.tv's Craig Groeschel, Simply Strategic boys Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan, and of course Mark, you can't go wrong.

Juliet Main (one of the real brains behind the NCC operation) dropped me an e-mail yesterday and let me know that they're offering the CFCC community a special reduced registration price of just $119. That's $70 off the regular rate. But it only lasts for two weeks. To get it, just drop an e-mail with the subject line "Buzz CFCC" to Juliet [at] theaterchurch [dot] com. This deal is only available to the CFCC community. That means you!

Can't wait until June to hear Mark live? Join me at this year's National New Church Conference where Mark and I will be tag-teaming a pre-conference track about creative communications.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:02 AM
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March 7, 2007

Parade of Churches

Emergent Village is coordinating the Twin Cities Parade of Churches. It's mostly focusing on those wacky emergent churches, but what a great idea to get people together to experience, discuss and digest different ways of doing church. Since it's in my own backyard I might just be checking it out. (link via Tony Jones)

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:44 PM
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February 1, 2007

Q Conference

Immediately following my time at the National New Church Conference in Orlando this April, I'll be heading up to Atlanta for the Q Conference. If you haven't heard, Q is being organized by some of the brains behind the Catalyst conference. The event is a private gathering for thought leaders in the church to become informed and exposed to future-culture. "It's a space where select leaders can create, dialogue, collaborate, innovate, serve and ideate around the important topics shaping the church's future role in culture."

This is year one for Q so I am interested to see how it goes. Registration isn't open to everyone; I had to fill out a request form and wait for an invitation before they allowed me to register. The event is somewhat modeled after TED, a high-end event that fosters the same future thinking for mainstream technology, entertainment and design innovators.

I love this kind of think-tank stuff, especially when ideas turn into action that result in an expanding kingdom of God.

Posted by Brad Abare at 5:46 AM
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January 29, 2007

National New Church Conference

In April I will be tag-teaming with the one and only Mark Batterson for a pre-conference session at the National New Church Conference in Orlando, Fla. The pre-conference track is about creative communications in the church.

In addition, I will be tag-teaming a workshop on Tuesday with creative guru Drew Goodmanson tentatively titled "Get the Word Out! What Every Church Planter Needs to Know About Communication."

If you're a church planter, I'd encourage you to get to Orlando April 23-26, 2007. The conference is loaded with great topics and communicators who want to help. If you know of church planters who should be there, send them the details and a little cash to help cover their way!

You can register here.

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:22 AM
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January 18, 2007

NRB's Reach 2007 Conference

Our very own Brad Abare will be speaking at the NRB's 2007 Reach Conference next month in Orlando, Fla. The conference is February 17-19 and Brad will be headlining the "The Aren't Getting It" workshop, hosted by Brad Hill on Sunday:

Sometimes the greatest hurdle to true online ministry isn't budget--it's simple buy-in from senior leadership. Having no web presence (or a bad one) can do more harm than you might realize. Designed for the people who "get it," this session will help you formulate the most compelling arguments possible for digital ministry in your church/organization.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 9:00 AM
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September 13, 2006

MinistryCom 2006 Recap

by Elizabeth Anchondo, Guest Blogger

"Definitely a home run!" sums up the overall reaction of attendees at this past week's MinistryCom Conference in Phoenix. The second annual conference hosted speakers from all over the globe who were brought together to share insight into the increasingly complex world of communication. Our very own Brad Abare spoke at the conference giving a workshop entitled "Return to Sender". We also hosted the first ever CFCC Get Together, featuring a few folks from the Church Marketing Lab talking it up with Brad over lunch.

So if you didn't make it out to Phoenix, we've done the next best thing for you: compile a list of links to check out blog postings about this past week's MinistryCom conference. And if you did make it out, relive the memories by posting your thoughts.

From what we've read so far, it was a huge success and has made an impact in so many lives. Read on and feel free to jump into the conversations.

Continue reading "MinistryCom 2006 Recap"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 5:45 AM
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August 3, 2006

CFCC at MinistryCom

If you're going to MinstryCom in Phoenix Sept. 7-8, we'd like to meet you! Well, not me, because I'm probably not going (travel expenses and my duties as a dad make it a hard trip to swing, though I would still like to meet you), but Brad will be there.

We're having the first ever CFCC Get Together during lunch on Friday at MinstryCom. It's an informal affair (it's so informal it wasn't our idea, though we're happy to run with it) and a chance to meet fellow CMSers and Church Marketing Lab folks (you can thank them for the idea). Be there or be vicarious.

Get more details >>

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:06 PM
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June 12, 2006

The Events Lab

The Center for Church Communication, our non-profit parent organization, just launched a new resource: The Events Lab.

It's a Google-powered public calendar listing church marketing and communications related events. This week alone there are four events happening across the country in Miami, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Chicago.

You can subscribe via RSS or iCal and keep track of the events yourself. And there are always events that could be added, so if you know of one that should be included (remember, marketing or communications related), let us know.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:12 PM
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May 19, 2006

MinistryCom 2006

The MinistryCom church communication conference is coming to Phoenix Sept. 7-8, 2006. It's billed as the only national conference catering to church communication professionals and this year's conference includes an awards presentation. Speakers include:

• Paul Braoudakis of the Willow Creek Association.
• Buzz Conference coordinator Mark Batterson (hey, we interviewed him).
• Scott Evans, president of Outreach.
• Granger Communications Director and CMS Guest Blogger Kem Meyer.
• Terrell Sanders, president of Main Street Enterprises and executive director of MinstryCom.
• Dawn Nicole Baldwin, cofounder of AspireOne.
• Greg Atkinson, director of WorshipHouse Media and CMS Guest Blogger.
• And our very own conference-hopping Brad Abare.

Register by May 31 and save $30.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:56 AM
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May 6, 2006

Buzz Back 2: Vicarious Boogaloo

Yesterday concluded the Buzz Conference in Washington, D.C. The day's events included a morning bloggers's breakfast, a session on sermon branding from event organizer Mark Batterson, our very own Brad Abare and a panel on branding. As more and more bloggers return home and give us their take, us non-conference attenders can continue living vicariously. You can start with the new Buzz store where you can pick up audio of the sessions and feel like you were there.

And I'm not the only one wishing I was there, Brenton Balvin tried to score some free swag from a thousand miles away (and coincidentally, a few miles from me). Why didn't I think of that?

Continue reading "Buzz Back 2: Vicarious Boogaloo"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:56 AM
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May 5, 2006

Buzz Back

The Buzz Conference began yesterday in Washington, D.C., and continues today (with our very own Brad Abare). Here's a run down of the buzz about Buzz for all those who--like me--can't be there and have to settle for reading about it. For the 32% so far who have clicked "no conferences this year" on this week's poll--again, like me--let's go live vicariously!

• Tony Morgan gives a good overview, including 5 of Mark Batterson's 10 Buzz Commandments (which you can get more detail on from the Buzz site) and Ed Young's 9 questions he asks before speaking.
• Michael from Oak Leaf Church summarizes Ed Young's general session comments on creative leadership.

Continue reading "Buzz Back"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:17 AM
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April 27, 2006

Technology Forum at the Foursquare Convention

If you haven't seen our own Brad Abare blogging much around here lately, this is why--in addition to speaking at next week's Buzz Conference, Brad will also be at a technology forum at the upcoming Foursquare Convention, also in Washington, D.C., from May 29-June 1.

The tech forum, "Harnessing Technology for Ministry," will cover both existing and emerging technologies for use in the church today and tomorrow. Potential ministry applications for blogs, social-networking, wikis, instant-messaging, podcasting, video streaming, digitial libraries and more will be covered.

And we should confirm the rumors that, yes, Brad will also be appearing at this year's MinistryCOM conference in Phoenix this September. But more on that later.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:26 AM
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April 7, 2006

Mark Batterson and Church Buzz

Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of Washington D.C.'s National Community Church, a unique church that meets in two movie theaters in the nation's capital. Batterson is also behind the Buzz Conference, a church conference being held in Washington, D.C., May 4-5 that also features our very own Brad Abare.

Batterson has generously offered a Buzz Conference discount to Church Marketing Sucks readers. The regular registration is $139, but CMS readers can get in for only $99. E-mail Buzz Coordinator Juliet Main for the discount.

We talked with Batterson over e-mail to get his thoughts on Buzz.

So I'm a busy person—why should I come to the Buzz Conference?

Mark Batterson: The busier you are the more you need to come! I have a formula I came up with a few years ago: Change of Pace + Change of Place = Change of Perspective. A good conference helps fuel new ideas. A two-day investment can generate a year of creative ideas. Plus all of us need a few days out of our milieu. It keeps us from becoming a closed-system.

Continue reading "Mark Batterson and Church Buzz"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 11:15 AM
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February 17, 2006

Is Your Church Buzz Worthy?

Our very own Brad Abare will be speaking at the upcoming Buzz Conference, an event where church leaders can share ideas and best practices. It's being hosted by the National Community Church (the Theater Church) in Washington, D.C., May 4-5.

The conference is centered around three core convictions:

• The church ought to be the most creative place on the planet.
• The greatest message deserves the greatest marketing.
• The church is called to compete in the middle of the marketplace.

In addition to Brad, you can also hear from Fellowship Church Senior Pastor Ed Young and NCC Lead Pastor Mark Batterson. Register by March 15 to save $40, or if you're a church planter or come from a small church you can get a church planter discount.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:19 AM
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November 11, 2005

National Outreach Convention 2005

by Greg Atkinson, Guest Blogger

I just returned from the National Outreach Convention in San Diego. As this was just the third annual convention for Outreach, the future of this conference has lots of potential.

Overview:
There were four main sessions, featuring Rudy Carrasco, John Ortberg, Thom Rainer and Steve Sjogren. Each session had worship led by Stephen Newby. Maybe it was me, but it seemed like each main session had less people in attendance than the one before.

There were six workshop slots (each class was one and a half hours long—which is good!) beginning Thursday morning and ending Saturday morning. The class tracks were divided into learning categories such as "Youth Outreach," "Postmodern Outreach," "Outreach Technology," "Community Outreach," etc.

There was an exhibit hall featuring around 100 companies. I think the hours that the exhibit hall was opened could be improved, but all in all things worked well and was a great opportunity to network.

Continue reading "National Outreach Convention 2005"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 6:47 AM
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