March 8, 2010

Social Media Boot Camp for Pastors

There are currently 400 million active users on Facebook. They're sharing 3 billion photos each month, 5 billion pieces of content each week and 60 million status updates every single day. A whopping 83 million of them are active on Farmville each month doing whatever it is you do in Farmville. And that's just Facebook. If you want to connect with people, social media is where it's at.

Learning the ropes of social media can be intimidating, but it's crucial for pastors and churches who want to connect to all those people. That's where Pastors' Social Media Bootcamps can help. These are local events held across the country to help pastors and churches sort out social media. The events are put on by Jopa Productions, a company started by pastors Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones. One is being held tomorrow in San Diego and there are five more coming this spring to Durham/Raleigh, N.C., Nashville, Tenn., Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis.

We talked with Tony Jones to learn more about boot camp and the importance of social media for churches.

Why do you think it's important for pastors to use social media?

Tony Jones: There was a time when churches and pastors needed to decide whether they were going to wire the church for telephones. There was another time when they had to decide whether to bring microphones and amplification into the sanctuary. Those were decisions about using new technology to communicate. Social media is simply another step on that path--it's about communicating with people, and more and more people are using it, so churches need to decide how to engage that.

Give us an overview of the Pastors' Social Media Boot Camps. What are they? What kind of stuff do you cover?

Jones: Well, I usually say that it's not at a 101 level or a 301 level. It's more of a 201 level. We assume some rudimentary knowledge of social media, but we find that many people who come have significant anxiety about it. Others are really into one medium (usually Facebook), but they're less familiar with Twitter, blogging, etc. We try to get them up-to-speed on a variety of social media.

Continue reading "Social Media Boot Camp for Pastors"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:33 AM
| Comments (6) | TrackBack

November 18, 2009

Live Interview with Church Marketing Gurus

Tune in tomorrow, Nov. 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT), as Conversant Life does a live interview with Phil Cooke and Brad Abare. They'll be talking church marketing and religious media and taking questions from the online audience.

Phil Cooke is a writer, media consultant and filmmaker. His company, Cooke Pictures, advises many of the largest non-profit and faith-based media organizations in the world. He also serves as a board member for the Center for Church Communication, our nonprofit parent.

Brad Abare is an entrepreneur at heart and currently serves as the director of communications for the Foursquare Church. Oh yeah, he's also our founder.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:17 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 30, 2009

Cultivate & Story: Church Communication in Chicagoland

As the autumnal march of church conferences continues, this was a big week with Cultivate and Story in the Chicago area. Both conferences had different approaches--Cultivate was no frills, community-based and interaction-driven while Story was big production, personality-based and experience-driven. But both events focused on communication and had loads of stellar ideas for your church.

There are plenty of good note-takers out there, so here are a few folks you can learn from:

• Tim Schraeder shares lots of notes from both events. He's a note-taker extraordinaire.
• Justin Wise collected his Twitter thoughts on both events.
• WebDrivenChurch gives overviews of both events.
• Church Whisperer shared thoughts on Cultivate.
• Catalyst gives a collection of links (including some overlap with the above links).
• Janet Oberholtzer was inspired by Story to share her story.
• Paul Steinbrueck asks what's changed after these events?

You can also check the Twitter conversation for Cultivate and Story to find way more thoughts, reactions and summaries. Also, the Chicago Tribune covered church marketing and Cultivate.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:59 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 25, 2009

Cultivate 2009: See you in Chicago!

I've said it before: The best part of conferences aren't the speakers, it's the relationships and conversations that happen at the conference. A new conference, Cultivate, has embraced that and done away with the speakers and slideshows.

The speakers have been replaced by facilitators and the presentations have been moved out of the way to give plenty of room for conversation. Whether your world is about social networking, design, web, outreach or inreach, we'll be talking about it. Cultivate is all about collaboration and conversation as we focus on how to communicate who Jesus is and how He transforms our lives.

Don't just take my word for, it look at why Dawn Nicole Baldwin, Matt Knisely, Tim Schraeder, Cynthia Ware and Carlos Whitaker are all excited about this one day conference in the heart of Chicago.

Oh, and did I mention the proceeds are going to support Blood:Water Mission and the Center for Church Communication (our nonprofit parent)? If good causes aren't enough, how about affordability? Registration is under $70. And as a bonus, you can stay in the Chicago area a few extra days if you like and check out Story.

What conversations are you looking forward to?

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 7:44 AM
| Comments (5) | TrackBack

September 24, 2009

MinistryCOM 2009 Recap

Two weeks ago the MinistryCOM conference came together outside Chicago, kicking off the Fall church communication event schedule (seriously--have you checked out the fall line up?). Our own Brad Abare emceed, Michael Buckingham hosted a couple workshops, Church Marketing Lab moderator Mitch Bolton talked Photoshop and fun was had.

Notes & Links:

• JoBe Cerny, keynote speaker and advertising guru talked about nothing.
• Keynote speaker and brand expert Kerry Bural talked change.
• Brand strategist Tim Ellens talked story.
• Cleve Persinger and Eric Murrell of MediaSalt talked about what's working and what's not working. Persinger and Murrell also have their slides available for a limited time.
• Longtime creative Von Glitschka talked about living a creatively curious life.
• Proliferate note-taker Tim Schraeder talked about do-it-yourself church communications.
• Visual Arts Director Jody Wissing talked marketing and media on a small budget and shared her slides.
• Designer Michael Buckingham talked about Ninjas in the church and shared his handy 140-character, ready-to-tweet slides.
• Self-professed non-creative and regular attendee Paul Clark talked about the creative vibe at MinistryCOM and his own church's need to get creatives to the table.
• The guys from MediaSalt shared some of their lessons as attendees.
• You can also check out a set of photos from the event.

And apparently everyone enjoyed some geeky designer videos: Font Conference and Make My Logo Bigger.

MinistryCOM will be returning Oct. 20-22, 2010 in Dallas.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:35 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 9, 2009

The Nines

The big buzz in the church world today is going to be the Nines. It's a free, online conference that's going to consist of some 75 speakers sharing nine minute video leadership lessons. That's right, you can sit down in front of your computer for a bite-size portion from a firehouse of church leadership content.

Here are the details:

Leadership Network asked some of the church's greatest communicators: "If you had nine minutes to talk one-on-one with thousands of church leaders, what is the one thing that you would tell them?

The format is simple: Nine minute video leadership lessons that can help multiply your church's impact. You will be stretched as a leader, and motivated as a church.

We'll ignore the fact that one person talking to thousands of others doesn't qualify as one-on-one communication, but there are tons of big names involved: Rick Warren, Mark Batterson, Dino Rizzo, Ed Stetzer, Perry Noble, Margaret Feinberg, Brian McLaren, Mark Driscoll, Greg Surratt, Anne Jackson and the list goes on. There are also loads of less familiar names that will likely have good stuff to share as well. (A schedule seems hard to come by, but here's a vague run down .) You could also wait until the event is over and catch the videos you want when they're posted online.

It all starts today, Sept. 9, 2009 at 9:09 CT (notice a trend?). You can follow along at the Nines or one of the many sites hosting it. You can read more about the event from The Christian Post.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 7:32 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 8, 2009

The 3d Retreat: Sept. 25-26 in Holland, Mich.

It's been a while since we've discussed Local Labs on Church Marketing Sucks, but we want you to know that some of them are still going strong. Don't believe us? Check out what the Grand Rapids Local Lab is cooking up:

Are you stuck in in a creative rut? Want to attend a creative conference, but can’t afford it? Or maybe it’s too far away? Well, if you’ve struggled with these issues, have we got a deal for you!

the 3d retreat is two-day, one-night retreat based in Holland, Michigan, for only $50! Join your fellow creatives from local churches, ministries and freelancers for a rad, two-day creative experience at the beautiful Camp Geneva on Lake Michigan!

The Church Marketing Lab is great, but the real power comes in when you decide to get together and get offline.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:22 AM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 26, 2009

A Conference of Compassion

If you look at our calendar, you'll see that there are a lot of conferences out there--one for everyone. There's one right around the corner that sets itself apart for a number of reasons.

• The price. It's free.
• The focus. The focus is on the participants, not the keynote speakers (and I've said before the speakers aren't the best part). This conference positions itself as focusing on you the participant not the keynote speakers.
• The topic. This time around the conversation centers around compassion. They'll be talking about homelessness, immigration, water, and many other conversations about the Church's role in showing compassion.
• You don't have to be there. This is the first conference I ever attended, that I didn't attend. Through Twitter and video it was (almost) like I was there.

This conference is of course Charles Lee's brain child--Idea Camp. This time around it is in Washington, D.C., which just seems so fitting. This is the second "camp" and already I've seen the effects of the first with many conferences now broadcasting live, and we're bringing the conversational tone to Cultivate as well. But the biggest lesson I've taken from Charles Lee and Idea Camp is authenticity. This sort of thing isn't faked, people would see through that. It is the real deal.

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 6:22 AM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 21, 2009

SXSW for Your Church

Plenty of you have surely heard of South by Southwest (SXSW) before. And some of you probably know that you can vote for what sessions are held at SXSW 2010. Their web site gives some of the details on how you can vote for sessions. But how does this relate to you?

Well, the church has a huge opportunity to make an impact at SXSW. There are at least five panels related to churches and technology being proposed for 2010, but you need to vote for them if they're going to happen. Here are what they look like:

• Creating Authentic Online Community: Tony Steward, Carlos Whittaker, John Saddington & Cynthia Ware (moderator)
• Technology For Results Not Profits: Bobby Gruenewald, Brad Abare, Kent Shaffer & Terry Storch (moderator)
• LifeChurch.tv: Reaching 2 Million+ With Technology: Terry Storch, Tony Steward, Bobby Gruenewald & Kent Shaffer (moderator)
• Pushing Technological Change Without Alienating Your Co-Workers: Kem Meyer & mystery experts
• A Conversation about Social Change through Social Media: Mark Horvath

So head over to the SXSW site and vote (requires a login) so the church can make a big impact on all the attenders of SXSW. And hopefully we can all learn to communicate a little more effectively in the process.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 9:51 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 6, 2009

Story: Oct. 28-29 Near Chicago

Last week I received a very nice package from Ben Arment, the lead brain behind Story. It looks like Carlos Whittaker received a similar package--watch Los open it, he looks a lot better than I do!

I love Ben's heart behind Story. On the handwritten note he included with the package, he said simply, "My passion is to help church leaders become better communicators." It's as if Ben is speaking the love language of the Center for Church Communication!

If you're a church communicator, I encourage you to get to Aurora, Ill. (about an hour's drive from downtown Chicago) on Oct. 28-29, 2009. And while you're at it, consider coming a day early for Cultivate. It will be a nice primer for Story to get the conversation going. Plus, Cultivate is located in downtown Chicago, a great excuse to come check out the city.

I hope to see you there.

By the way, in my post last week that unintentionally stirred up a firestorm of comments and commentary (along with my sincere apology), I challenged all of us event-goers--including those of us going to Story and Cultivate--to keep our focus first and foremost on Jesus. For a lot of you this seems to be a big "duh." For me, I need constant reminders.

On a related note about Story, when my wife and I were in South Africa last month attending a national arts festival, I had to do a double take at this poster. For a moment, I thought Ben was on a world tour!

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:20 AM
| Comments (4) | TrackBack

July 9, 2009

2009 HOW Design Conference Wrap-Up Report

I'm a week late posting this, as I really struggled how to put the HOW Design Conference in words. It was really quite incredible to simply be invited to speak again, let alone the tremendous conversations that were started and continue to happen.

Those connections were the best part, but lets save the best for last, and start by talking about me. I've been asked by many what I talked about. I think I rewrote my outline alone a dozen times before finally settling on what to bring this incredible audience. I settled on:

• Vomit : doing church with mediocrity makes God sick.
• God : created in his likeness, creativity is in us and wants to experienced.
• Nightclubs : it's time we stopped hiding within the walls of the church and engaged with those outside.
• Ninjas : it is time we moved away from us vs. them and linked the creative's talents with the pastor's vision.

Thank you to everyone that attended, the great questions that you brought (the best part of the talk in my opinion) and welcoming me so warmly. As promised we are giving away a ninja ... actually 2 ninjas. The winners are...

Continue reading "2009 HOW Design Conference Wrap-Up Report"

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 7:33 AM
| Comments (3) | TrackBack

May 19, 2009

Updates From the Events Lab

We wanted to give you a reminder that Michael Buckingham, of CFCC and Holy Cow fame, will be speaking again this year at the HOW Design Conference in Austin, Texas. His session was a hit last year, and this year he'll be looking at Being Creative in a World of Blah. If you're in the world of design, make sure you don't miss out on this. Tell your pastor that Church Marketing Sucks said they should pay for you to attend.

Too late for you to make it to the HOW Conference? Well, you can go ahead and start dropping change in your piggy bank for the Dirt Conference in November in Little Rock, Ark. Michael will be speaking there as well, and with a conference booth like this, how can you say no?

Posted by Joshua Cody at 12:39 PM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 14, 2009

What's the Story?

It's been a week of exciting news in the world of church communications events.

First on the list, the Center for Church Communication is excited to announce a new conference, Cultivate, coming to Chicago on October 27, 2009. It's not just new because it's new, but new because it's doing things differently. We hesitate to call it a conference, but that's the category it fits in (and get together just doesn't seem catchy enough). So why another conference? Because Cultivate isn't about talking heads. It's about conversations and engaging with other communicators. That's right--no fancy keynote presentations. Cultivate brings ministry and marketplace leaders to the table, and the people will drive the content.

As if that weren't enough the very next day is Story, Ben Arment's first project since leaving Catalyst. Part theater, part conference, Story is a first-of-its-kind experience that will bring together six master communicators, all focused on telling the greatest story ever told.

Can it get any better?

Oh, yes it can. The very next day is an opportunity to go even deeper in Story through workshops with illustrators, designers, scholars, authors and communication experts focused on your story as a church. 

Cultivate + Story ... this is gonna be good! If you're involved in communicating the story of the gospel for your church, you won't want to miss these events.

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 7:06 AM
| Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 26, 2009

Catalyst West Coast Discount

Lots of folks have lamented the east coast bias in major church conferences. Innovate is in Indiana, MinistryCOM is usually somewhere in the Midwest, Catalyst is in Atlanta, and the list goes on.

Well worry no more: Catalyst West Coast is coming April 22nd-24th. You'll have a chance to see Hillsong United perform and hear Andy Stanley, Erwin McManus, Craig Groeschel, Perry Noble, Guy Kawasaki and more. We're written three times before about our experiences with Catalyst. And recently, they interviewed our own Brad Abare.

They bill themselves as "the leadership filter for what's next in the church," and a lot of our readers are future church leaders. Because of the overlap, they've offered 10% off to the Church Marketing Sucks community with the priority code "CMS". You can register at their site or give them a call and mention the code in order to get the discount.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:47 AM
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 8, 2009

Rethinking Church Conferences

The resident expert on church staff burnout, Anne Jackson, started a conversation this week about church conferences. It started with a Twitter post and turned into a blog entry that currently has 49 comments. The essence of Anne's post and the feedback she's receiving is questioning whether or not conferences are worth it. Do you come away with anything helpful or do you just feel inadequate?

Redefining the Conference
That's why I like the new breed of what I'll call "un-conferences." They're experimental events that are trying to redefine the typical conference. Two that come to mind are on opposite ends of the spectrum: Q and Idea Camp. I say opposite ends because Q is pricey and Idea Camp is free. But both events are about getting people together and talking about ideas. Both events banish the garish exhibit hall, so no booths or bozos with their hard sell. (Full disclosure: We'll be attending Q and hope to have a CMS meetup. And we have some connections with the man behind Idea Camp, Charles Lee. He's cool.)

Continue reading "Rethinking Church Conferences"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:05 PM
| Comments (8) | TrackBack

December 23, 2008

Q Conference Discount

Just a quick reminder about the upcoming Q Conference:

Who: Thinkers and doers.
What: The non-hipster Q Conference.
When: April 27-29, 2009
Where: Austin, Texas
Why: Check out the knowledge dropped at previous events.
Discount? Save $150 over the current rate if you register by December 31, 2008 using the code "CFCC09".

And don't forget about the CFCC meetup as well.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:47 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 10, 2008

Q Conference Meetup & Discount

The Q conference is coming to Austin, Texas. And we've got your discount. The event is April 27-29, 2009 and you can save $150 over the current rate--if you register by December 31, 2008 using the code "CFCC09". Of course, you'd already know that if you checked out the CFCC site or were signed up for our e-mail newsletter.

This is not a bells and whistles hipster event with big names and games. It's a strategic gathering of thinkers and doers who want to see change and bring change. Our own Brad Abare participated in the last two Q gatherings (Atlanta and New York) and you can visit the Q site's archived talks to see if it's worthwhile.

Our Church Marketing Sucks leadership team--Brad Abare, Michael Buckingham, Josh Cody and myself--is planning to attend and we hope to host a special meetup for the Church Marketing Sucks folks. Drop us a line once you register and if you're interested in connecting. Once we know how many of us will be there we'll determine when and where we meet.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 6:51 AM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 3, 2008

Church Marketing Sucks at HOW, Save the Date

Many of you out there in the design world recognize the name HOW Design. For those of you that don't know the name, they focus on design, creativity and business, and they publish HOW Magazine, a premier design publication.

Others of you might even be so sharp to know that we began partnering with HOW Design last year in an effort to connect the CFCC community with other elite thinkers and designers. And only the most astute reader will remember (or even have experienced) that Michael Buckingham delivered a talk entitled "Design Evangelist" at last year's HOW conference.

And they invited him back.

That means June 24th-27th in Austin, Texas, you can hear Michael at the 2009 How Design Conference. He'll be discussing how we can be creative in a world of blah, why it matters that God is a creator and why Christians ought to be at the forefront of creativity and communication. You won't want to miss it.

If you can't make it to Austin, but you would still like to hear Michael speak, there are a couple more options for you:

• Church Solutions Conference...February 17-19, Phoenix. Michael will be looking at sermon branding.
  
• National Religious Broadcasters Convention...February 7-10, Nashville. Michael will be a part of two sessions, one on mediocrity and another on reaching the unchurched.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 6:49 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 28, 2008

MinistryCOM 2008 On Audio & Video

If you’re new to this conversation about church marketing and communication, one of the great resources available to us is MinistryCOM. This annual event started in Houston four years ago and quickly became the meeting of the minds for people who want to help improve church communication. MinistryCOM is a not-for-profit organization that also hosts the annual MinistryTECH conference.

I was unable to attend MinistryCOM in Oklahoma City last month but it sounds like I missed out on some great conversations. If you missed it, you can get your hands on the recently-released DVD set of workshops and keynotes. You’ll get audio for all of the main sessions and workshops, as well as video for the four main keynote presenters. I received my DVD set last week and copied files to my iTunes and caught up on some of what I missed. I was particularly interested to learn from Jon Acuff, a newer voice I had not heard before. In addition to his Skittle-tossing during transition segues, Jon poised a question that stuck with me. “Are we trying to make our stories bigger with God or just better to ourselves?” Our tendency as communicators can be to focus on the stories that move people instead of on the stories that move God. The stories that move God will certainly move people. But the stories that just move people, often because it’s about building our ego, or brand or church, are really not that big at all. Good stuff.

Our friends at MinistryCOM are running a 50 percent discount on the purchase of the DVD set when you order before November 15. Just enter promo code "CFCC" to get the discount. Enjoy!

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:43 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 6, 2008

Free Catalyst Ticket

Today we've been pitching jobs, talking about church on the cheap and now we're giving away a free ticket. Sense a theme?

Here's the deal: The kind folks at AspireOne ended up with an extra ticket to the Catalyst Conference (including the Labs) which starts on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008 and runs through Friday. Yeah, as in two days from now.

We want to get this ticket in the hands of someone who can use it. There's no transportation or hotels or anything else included, so it might work best for someone already in the Atlanta area.

If you want the ticket, be the first person to post a comment to this post and it's yours. (Time is short, so we're keeping this simple. Do us a favor and keep it simple for us as well: Only post a comment if you can actually use the ticket. The ticket will be available at will call for the winner. Thanks!)

Update: Four minutes and we have a winner. Congrats, Brad Singleton.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 1:35 PM
| Comments (4) | TrackBack

September 11, 2008

Coming Soon in the Events Lab

Last time we let you know the latest in the Events Lab, it was for August and September. But now it's time to take a look at October, the biggest event month of the year around these parts. And November's not exactly boring. So round up your extra gas money and all your friends for a road trip. Here's what's just around the corner:

October
6-7...Sticky Church Conference - Myth: Attracting more people will help your church grow. Fact: Churches will grow when people stick.
8-10...Catalyst Conference - The Catalyst Conference is the largest gathering of young leaders in the country. It's an experience where you can find yourself fully immersed in learning, worship and creativity.
13...C3 on the Road - Ed Young shares the life-lessons and leadership principles needed to tackle the real issues facing leaders today. It's a one day, crash course in leadership that is packed with more than just theory and philosophy; it provides the practical tools you need to take your leadership to the next level.
14-15...Reveal Conference - This is an all-new, two-day event for church leaders presented by Willow Creek. The big bonus is that Reveal research has helped identify a number of churches--most never before on the national radar--that rank high across multiple areas of spiritual growth.
20-23...Internet Ministry Conference - Our own Brad Abare and Michael Buckingham will be speaking at this conference that takes a look at how to effectively harness the power of the Internet for your ministry.

Continue reading "Coming Soon in the Events Lab"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:14 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 28, 2008

MinistryCOM 2008 in Oklahoma City

For the past several months I've been looking forward to being at MinistryCOM in Oklahoma City on September 18-19. With less than three weeks to go, the anticipation continues to build. Earlier this month I met with producer extraordinaire Mark Bennardo who is putting together quite the experience. I also spoke earlier this week with MinistryCOM maestro Terrell Sanders (the brain behind the whole event), and he is equally enthused about the great things in store. My prayer for this year's event has been that church communicators in attendance will be ministered to. A little less "com" and a lot more "ministry." Pray with me, will you?

Unfortunately, because of some significant recent developments at Foursquare (one of my day jobs), I have had to excuse myself from emceeing this year's MinistryCOM. What a bummer! I'll be in New York during MinistryCOM for some just-scheduled strategic meetings with Foursquare leadership.

If you haven't registered, there is still time. It's no secret the economy has had an affect on many travel budgets so no doubt you're hit by it too. The good news is that Oklahoma City is within a long day's drive of just about anywhere in the U.S. So grab a few friends, load up the iPod, and make it a road trip.

The line-up of workshops and presenters this year is going to be great!

Posted by Brad Abare at 6:03 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 22, 2008

Internet Ministry Conference - Register Soon!

Ever get frustrated that you're only metafriends with us at Church Marketing Sucks? The Internet Ministry Conference is the perfect place to fix that. If you hadn't heard, Brad Abare and Michael Buckingham will be tag-teaming two workshops.

A little more about the IMC:

You’ve got a web site. You would even call it an online ministry. But what kind of influence are you having in your online world? People are visiting your site and some might be coming back day after day or week after week. But are you really making an impact on people? Whether its online evangelism or online discipleship, we will focus on the importance of using your web presence to make an impact toward accomplishing the Great Commission online.

And don't miss the two sessions--Don't Suck Online and You've Got Personality--from Brad and Michael.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:08 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 28, 2008

Fresh From the Events Lab

We just updated the Events Lab, and if you've got some frequent flyer miles you're looking to kill, we have some suggestions for you. Here's what's on the slate for the next couple months' upcoming events:

August
7-8... Willow 2008 Leadership Summit - Lead where you are. Willow's strategy--change a leader, change a church, change a church, change a community and eventually the world! The commitment to that strategy compelled them to create The Leadership Summit 13 years ago.
14-16... Echo Church Media Conference - Our personal favorite will be speaking here--Brad Abare. It's a conference for church leaders who love using media, technology and the Internet to be more effective in telling God's story.

Continue reading "Fresh From the Events Lab"

Posted by Joshua Cody at 8:38 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 2, 2008

CMS at HOW Design

When I returned home from the 2008 HOW Design Conference the question was "How did it go?"

In a word: WOW.

You know those times when the thing before you is bigger than yourself, when the results are so incredible that everyone can't help but give glory to God? Monday night at the Design Evangelist session was just that type of moment. To see just how big our God is, a little bit of background needs to be given.

Continue reading "CMS at HOW Design"

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 8:40 AM
| Comments (6) | TrackBack

Internet Ministry Conference

Have you always wanted to visit Grand Rapids, Michigan? Or are you just looking for a way to pass the time October 20th-23rd? Maybe you're in the mood to learn how to impact and influence your community (or the global community) by leveraging the Internet. Whatever the motivation, you should join us at the Internet Ministry Conference.

Keynote speakers like Gabe Lyons, co-author of Unchristian, and David Bourgeois, researcher and Church Marketing Sucks guest blogger, will lead you through the best practices for ministry using the Internet.

Oh yes, and you can catch two workshops with Brad Abare. "Don't Suck Online" and "You've Got Personality" will teach you how to understand your organization and maximize your online impact.

Save 50 bucks if you can pull the trigger by Tuesday, so book your ticket to Michigan now.

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:02 AM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 27, 2008

MinistryCOM Early Bird Deadline

If you've been keeping a watchful eye on our Events Lab, or if you've been reading us the last three years, you might know a little about MinistryCOM. For everyone else, MinistryCOM is the only national conference dedicated to church communications professionals. So that's probably a lot of you.

And our very own Brad Abare will be the emcee for the event, so that can add a little fuel to your desire to grab a spot September 18th and 19th in Oklahoma City.

You'll also see Jon Acuff of Stuff Christians Like, Mike Foster of XXX Church , Scott Hodge of Orchard Valley Community Church and Dawn Nicole Baldwin of Aspire!One. And some totally sweet workshops will be available too, including the return of Church Marketing Lab Live with Michael Buckingham.

Come hang out with us September 18-19, and be sure to register this week as the earlybird deadline ends May 31st!

Posted by Joshua Cody at 7:23 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 14, 2008

HOW Design Conference: Design Evangelist

I'm really honored and looking forward to speaking at the HOW Design Conference next week. For those of you who will be there, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at the CFCC session and for those of you not going, maybe it'll give you a reason to attend.

We'll start by looking at the landscape of church marketing, some of our mis-turns, some of the embarrassing excuses and some of the highlights of church marketing. I'll start off with one of the funniest, if misguided, church signs I've seen and offer something the corporate world could actually learn from the church marketing world.

Continue reading "HOW Design Conference: Design Evangelist"

Posted by Michael Buckingham at 11:34 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (7) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (13) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 22, 2007

MinistryCOM 2007 Recap

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 Michael Buckingham at 7:45 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (5) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (5) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (11) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (8) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 27, 2007

Church Marketing Lab LIVE!

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 Michael Buckingham at 6:45 PM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (3) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (5) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (25) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (1) | TrackBack

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
| Comments (2) | TrackBack

November 1, 2005

Faith-Based Marketing Summit

We're a bit late to the game on this one, but the first annual Faith-Based Marketing Summit meets in Dallas on Friday. It's not specifically about church marketing, but faith-based marketing in general (think The Passion of the Christ), though I'm sure there will be plenty for local churches to learn.

Guest speakers include:

• Greg Stielstra, author of PyroMarketing and former marketing director for a number of best-selling books including The Purpose Driven Life.
  
• Larry Ross, the public relations man for Billy Graham, who will apparently talk about why local churches should be doing pr.
  
• Honnie Korngold, former director of marketing for Campus Crusade for Christ.
  
• Chris Wilson of Wilson Research Strategies, a guy who seems to know a lot about public opinion research.
  
• Christine Bailey of Ground Force Network, who used to be the Nashville manager for Grassroots Music.

And the list goes on. The whole thing is put on by the Renegade Idea Group. (Whose site is currently down "undergoing major improvements in order to serve you better." That's some bad timing.)

Unfortunately, a few folks are claiming to have received spam e-mails announcing the Faith-Based Marketing Summit. That would definitely be a faith-based as well as a marketing no-no.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:20 PM
| Comments (6) | TrackBack

October 10, 2005

Catalyst 2005

I spent the last few days in Atlanta at the sixth annual Catalyst conference, the self-proclaimed event for next generation leaders. For those unfamiliar, Catalyst is the younger, hipper brand of InJoy, the leadership development company founded by John Maxwell and purchased last year by motivational sales guru and longtime Maxwell mentoree, Todd Duncan. It is refreshing to see for-profit organizations run ministry-type events like Catalyst. Not only does it provide a platform for profit (to propel vision), it fosters freedom and creativity not available to many non-profit churches and para-church events because they are often limited by donor demands, tithe incomes, etc.

Catalyst is a movement not to miss.

This year's event—my first—was no exception. The main-stage speaker lineup was unsurprisingly impressive. From mega-church pastor and master storyteller Andy Stanley to the edgier, raw-thentic Erwin McManus of Mosaic, to the afro-quirky Malcolm Gladwell (author of Tipping Point and Blink), to the contagiously controversial Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz), and the indescribably engaging awkwardness of Louie Giglio (Passion movement), these guys nailed it. The only main-stage let down was John Maxwell and Bill Hybels. These guys are obvious parents and pillars of present-day church and leadership trends, but they were a little out of place in this conference context. The fact that Hybels was dressed for a funeral and Maxwell was sitting more than any of the other guys is beside the point. These guys deserve credit and honor for so much; let's just figure out another way to do it besides hearing their regurgitated revelations that we've already read in their 1,294 best-selling books.

Continue reading "Catalyst 2005"

Posted by Brad Abare at 3:25 PM
| Comments (9) | TrackBack

September 27, 2005

Tony Morgan and Church Marketing Resources

This weekend is the fourth annual Innovative Church Conference at Granger Community Church in Granger, Ind. In 2002 Granger started WiredChurches.com, a resources and training arm of the church that seeks to share what the church has learned with other churches. Tony Morgan is the Pastor of Administrative Services at Granger and the Executive Director of WiredChurches.com. I talked with Tony about WiredChurches.com and the Innovative Church Conference.

What prompted you to launch WiredChurches.com?

Tony Morgan: We were starting to get overwhelmed with leaders from other churches contacting us to ask about how we were doing ministry at Granger Community Church. We decided rather than trying to help leaders on a one-by-one basis, it would make a lot more sense to be proactive about offering resources and training experiences to help equip other churches. I'd like to say we were forward thinking with the whole deal, but WiredChurches.com was really a reaction to a problem that needed to be fixed. Now, I think other church leaders get better help, and I think our team can stay more focused on our primary mission: helping people in the South Bend area take their next step toward Christ.

Continue reading "Tony Morgan and Church Marketing Resources"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 10:32 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 22, 2005

MinistryCOM 2005 in Review

by Kem Meyer, Guest Blogger

Just got back from MinistryCOM 2005. I have to admit, I was somewhat of a skeptic going into it. As a matter of fact, if I wasn't presenting two workshops, I would have been pretty outspoken about the fact that a "church communications" conference was the last place I'd choose to spend my training budget on continuing education. Why would I go hang out with a bunch of church people to learn about the best practices or innovative tactics for marketing and communications?

And, yet, over 130 people registered for this event with less than 4 months notice and no advertising. What in the world?! Why were these people coming? How did they hear about it? The suspense and curiosity was killing me.

Continue reading "MinistryCOM 2005 in Review"

Posted by Guest Blogger at 8:40 AM
| Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 17, 2005

MinistryCOM Church Communications Conference

Last month we asked about getting church marketers together, and there was a lot of interest. One possible opportunity might be MinistryCOM. It's a ministry communications conference put on by Main Street and held Sept. 15-16 in Houston.

It is put on by Main Street, a company that specializes in web sites for churches, though they've assured us that they're not presenting or promoting their own products. Interestingly, the web site notes that registration is open to church communications professionals and volunteers only—no vendors.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 12:28 PM
| Comments (3) | TrackBack

April 29, 2005

Connecting Church Marketers

Last week Brad posted an entry about design and marketing positions in churches and theorized that churches will soon have a Pastoral Director of Design & Marketing. Based on the feedback we're getting, it's starting to happen. Maybe not a specific pastoral role, but churches are definitely hiring designers and creative people.

monkeyboy commented on Brad's entry asking about getting church creative folks together:

"I would think that there might be enough people like myself who are on staff at a church as the Creative Director or a similar category that it might be beneficial to schedule something where we could all get together outside of our areas of ministry and begin to talk through the whole idea of communicating and presenting the gospel through our respective lenses. I know for me that I often feel like an island when it comes to doing what I do and feel there could be some definite benefits to networking with similar people when it comes to resources and such."

Continue reading "Connecting Church Marketers"

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 8:27 AM
| Comments (14) | TrackBack

March 3, 2005

N.C. Church Marketing Seminar

Apparently we're not the only ones pushing church marketing. Brunswick Community College in North Carolina held a marketing seminar for area churches last week.

"It has to be a little different than any other organization's marketing. ... You're looking for people who you hope will accept Christ. You have to market your services so they know they can turn to the church. The ideal is to make sure everyone who comes in contact with the church feels something and gets what he or she is looking for." -Ray Gilbert of Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church

The conversation continues...

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks at 5:49 PM
| Comments (1) | TrackBack