Catalyst Conference is Coming!

Catalyst Super Early BirdThis October is the special tenth anniversary for Catalyst Conference (Atlanta, GA). There will be phenomenal speakers like Malcolm Gladwell, Andy Stanley, and Matt Chandler. And of course, it will be an experience you will never forget.

But if you want the best rate, you better act now. Thursday, June 25th (tomorrow) is the last day to receive Catalyst Conference’s super early bird registration rate.

And to save an extra $40 on individual super early bird registrations, use the priority code “TWIT” and Catalyst will also send you a copy of Andy Stanley’s new book, The Principle of the Path.

Posted: June 24, 2009 at 2:11 pm · by Kent Shaffer

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Ben Arment’s STORY Conference

STORY

Ben Arment is putting together another fresh ministry conference called STORY (Chicago, IL) at the Paramount Theater on October 28, 2009. It has been a year since he debuted his first conference creation, The Whiteboard Sessions.

STORY conference is quite different though. It has a Q conference vibe with a focus on creatively telling the greatest story ever told - the gospel. Speakers include Nancy Beach, Mike Foster, Dave Gibbons, Donald Miller, Chris Seay, Stacy Spencer, and Ed Young. The following day, workshops led by artists, scholars, authors, and communications experts will be held at Orchard Valley Community Church (Aurora, IL).

And if you go to STORY, you should consider coming a day early to attend the Cultivate Conference.

Posted: May 11, 2009 at 9:29 am · by Kent Shaffer

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The Divine Commodity by Skye Jethani

Skye Jethani manages Christianity Today’s Leadership Journal and is a pastor at Blanchard Alliance Church (Wheaton, IL). His new book, The Divine Commodity, discusses how consumerism has affected churches and Christ followers. Upon given the opportunity to ask Skye one question about his new book, I asked:

How can a church best avoid becoming a victim of consumer culture?

His response was:

The short answer is—it can’t. It’s rather like asking how a fish and avoid water or how a snake can avoid getting its stomach dirty. The reality is every person living in the North American culture has been impacted and shaped by consumerism. It is the air we breathe and the bowl we swim in. Therefore, every church is full of members and leaders shaped by the uncontested values and beliefs of consumerism. So, avoidance is not an option unless we abandon our missional calling and retreat to monastic cloisters removed from all popular cultural exposure.

We cannot avoid consumerism, but we can recover from it. This transformation requires processes of deconstruction and reconstruction. This is exactly what The Divine Commodity is about—uncovering how we have all been malformed by consumerism, and how we’ve misconstrued our faith in the process, and prescribing practices (corporate and individual) to reshape us with God’s help into communities that reflect his kingdom more brightly.

My book does not advocate a radical coup within the church or call for a revolution in the church’s structure. It’s not about strategy, systems, or programs. In fact, if nothing ever changes about the way your church operates, you are still able to engage and employ the lessons within The Divine Commodity. I don’t believe we can (or should) overturn our consumer culture. Nor do I believe churches (from the mini to the mega) should just radically revamp their structures. That wouldn’t solve the threat posed by consumerism—it’s a far more elusive foe because the battlefield between consumerism and the Kingdom of God is not external, but within the heart and imagination of every believer.

As consumerism’s grip over you begins to loosen, and you experience the transforming reality of “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” the way you worship, serve, and relate will begin to change. In time, through resources like The Divine Commodity and others, perhaps others will join you in your quest for a richer Christian life. The gospel has always been an incarnate reality, transmitted life to life across the medium of relationship. As this begins to take root within your church, regardless of what the leadership or programming is doing, the message of hope, liberty, and fullness in Christ will spread like yeast through a lump of dough. So, rather than criticizing those still enraptured with Consumer Christianity, save your energy and simply let your life reveal a fuller glory which does not fade.

For Discussion:
- How do you think consumerism has affected the church?
- How do you think a church can best avoid becoming a victim of consumer culture?

Posted: April 16, 2009 at 9:02 pm · by Kent Shaffer

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Vintage Church Property for Sale in New Jersey

If you need a church property, AcreScout.com is an excellent place to find church real estate. Look for the church building you need or find vacant land for building a church. Here are the latest church properties for sale:

NEW JERSEY

Church Property for Sale

$995,000 :: St. Peter and Paul’s Roman Church (Trenton, NJ)
11,478 square feet church size
1,200+ chapel seating
Built in 1900.

Also, be sure to check out AcreScout.com/vacant-land to find the latest vacant land listings. Hopefully, there will be a property that is perfect for your church.

FREE CHURCH PROPERTY ADVERTISING
Do you want Church Relevance to highlight your church property for sale? Well, it is fast, free, and simple.

  1. Get your licensed real estate agent to register for a free AcreScout account.
  2. Have your agent add your church property to AcreScout’s listings.
  3. Church Relevance will periodically highlight and link to the latest church properties for sale on AcreScout.

Posted: March 16, 2009 at 9:35 pm · by Kent Shaffer

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Church Properties for Lease in New Jersey

If you need a church property, AcreScout.com is an excellent place to find church real estate. Look for the church building you need or find vacant land for building a church. Here are the latest church properties for sale:

NEW JERSEY

$8 per sqft :: Blessed Sacrament School (Trenton, NJ)
29,700 square feet building size
19,000 square feet lot size

$7 per sqft :: St. Peter’s Business Offices (Riverside, NJ)
11,126 square feet building size
0.36 acres lot size

Also, be sure to check out AcreScout.com/vacant-land to find the latest vacant land listings. Hopefully, there will be a property that is perfect for your church.

FREE CHURCH PROPERTY ADVERTISING
Do you want Church Relevance to highlight your church property for sale? Well, it is fast, free, and simple.

  1. Get your licensed real estate agent to register for a free AcreScout account.
  2. Have your agent add your church property to AcreScout’s listings.
  3. Church Relevance will periodically highlight and link to the latest church properties for sale on AcreScout.

Posted: March 2, 2009 at 9:54 pm · by Kent Shaffer

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How to Blog 101 - The Ultimate Beginner’s Blogging Tutorial

I regularly get asked questions about how to start and maintain a successful blog. Here is my beginner’s blogging tutorial - How to Blog 101.

#1 :: CHOOSE A BLOGGING PLATFORM
I recommend self-hosting your blog and using WordPress. It the most popular platform among Technorati’s top 100 blogs and among Church Relevance’s top church blogs.

Self-Hosted Blogging Software:

Blogging Services (hosting provided):

#2 :: CHOOSE A DOMAIN (if allowed)
As long as it is relevant, the shorter the domain is the better. A short domain is quick and easy to type, which will save you time in the long run and reduce the probability of you and your visitors mistyping it.

  • Domize - immediately checks a domain’s availability as you type it into the query box
  • DomainsBot - suggests domains based on your search keywords
  • Domain Pigeon - lists available domain names which you can use for your websites
  • MakeWords - generates domain ideas based on your suggestions, linguistics, and semantic databases

#3 :: DESIGN YOUR BLOG
Being a web designer or hiring one is not necessary for having a good looking blog, but it definitely helps. WordPress has thousands of template designs for sale and for free that are not too complicated to implement.

For Inspiration:

For Templates:

#4 :: USE TOOLS
WordPress is a great platform, but there are tools and plugins that can make it even better. I recommend at least using the following tools:

Other Tools:

Tool Lists:

#5 :: HAVE QUALITY CONTENT
An aesthetically well-designed blog may entice visitors to linger for the first visit, but quality content is what will get those visitors to keep coming back. If you need topics, visit these resources:

  • Alltop - an “online magazine rack” of popular topics
  • Delicious - the tastiest bookmarks on the web
  • Digg - discover and share content from anywhere on the web
  • Reddit - users decide the top stories
  • StumbleUpon - discovers web sites based on your interests

#6 :: STUDY BLOGGING
If you want people to read your quality content, study the science of successful blogging and copywriting. Writing for a blog is different than writing for a book or magazine. My advice:

Unless you are blogging for personal reasons, focus on optimizing the reader experience. Offer only quality content. And make it scannable by using short paragraphs, bold text, and bullet points. Use as few words as possible without compromising quality (needless words wasted readers’ time). And if possible, post consistently often.

Blogging Tips:

#7 :: MARKET YOURSELF
With blogging, two of your most powerful marketing opportunities are Search Engine Optimization and leveraging social media. Last year, 48% of ChurchRelevance.com’s traffic came from search engines. You should be using these resources:

WHAT ELSE?
Remember this is just the beginner’s blogging tutorial. But if you read all of these links, you will be on your way to becoming a blogging expert.

If you are already blogging, what would you add to this list?
What are your favorite tools?
What is your best advice?

Posted: February 26, 2009 at 3:11 am · by Kent Shaffer

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Church Conference Recommendations for 2009

If you want to attend a church conference this year, there are certainly plenty of options. Here are some that I recommend:

Feb 18 :: C3 Creative Church Conference (Grapevine, TX)
Learn from speakers and leaders on the cutting edge of creativity and excellence.
Cost: $320-$370

Feb 26 :: Catalyst One Day (Atlanta, GA)
A one day leadership experience packed with teaching and insight from Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel.
Cost: $89-$139

Feb 27 :: The Idea Camp (Irvine, CA)
The Idea Camp is a FREE, open source hybrid conference designed to help people move from the realm of ideas to implementation.
Cost: FREE

Mar 12 :: Unleash (Anderson, SC)
Unleash is a one-day conference hosted by NewSpring Church and specifically-designed to challenge, encourage and motivate church leaders to take action in reaching their communities for Jesus Christ.
Cost: $59

Mar 17 :: The Sticks Middle America (Harrison, AR)
The Sticks is a gathering to inspire and equip pastors in small to medium towns to make a big impact for the Kingdom!
Cost: $99-$209

Apr 20 :: Exponential Conference (Orlando, FL)
Experience God’s church planting movement around the world.
Cost: $159-$249

Apr 23 :: Catalyst West (Irvine, CA)
Catalyst West is a gathering of 3,000 next generation leaders from all over the world for three days of teaching, worship, and exploration of what’s possible for the church.
Cost: $209-$289

Apr 27 :: Q (Austin, TX)
Q is a gathering where innovators, church leaders, social entrepreneurs, and cultural pioneers come together to explore the church’s role in positively contributing to culture.
Cost: $750-$820

May 12 :: The Sticks South East (Canton, GA)
The Sticks is a gathering to inspire and equip pastors in small to medium towns to make a big impact for the Kingdom!
Cost: $99-$229

May 13 :: WFX Worship Facilities Conference (Long Beach, CA)
WFX is designed to educate and your church executive, facilities and tech teams to learn together through a unique conference program that focuses on 4 tracks for facilities and tech teams.
Cost: $145-$445

May 18 :: Catalyst One Day (Dallas, TX)
A one day leadership experience packed with teaching and insight from Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel.
Cost: $69-$139

May 18 :: InnovateChurch (Lynchburg, VA)
Innovating the leader… innovating the church.
Cost: $59

Jul 29 :: Echo Church Media Conference (Dallas, TX)
A conference for church leaders that love using media, technology, and the internet to be more effective in sharing God’s story.
Cost: $99-$329

Aug 6 :: The Leadership Summit (South Barrington, IL)
Willow Creek Community Church’s leadership conference.
Cost: $175-$355

Sep 10 :: MinistryCOM (Chicago, IL)
MinistryCOM is a national conference designed specifically for church communications professionals.
Cost: $100-$325

Sep 24 :: Innovate (Granger, IN)
Whether you have a church gathering of 100 or 10,000 you can begin making innovative, strategic moves that will impact your community.
Cost: $219-$239

Oct 07 :: Catalyst Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
A gathering of next generation leaders from all over the world for teaching, worship, and exploration of what’s possible for the church.
Cost: $159-$319

Oct 20 :: The REVEAL Conference (South Barrington, IL)
It’s an opportunity to participate in challenging dialogue, testimony, and teaching with pastors and church leaders whose practical ideas, vision, and best practice insights are supporting their people in growing spiritually.
Cost: $135-$275

Nov 04 :: National Outreach Convention (San Diego, CA)
Outreach magazine’s church conference.
Cost: $219-$379

For Discussion:
What conferences do you plan on attending this year?

Posted: February 11, 2009 at 10:37 am · by Kent Shaffer

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Church Property for Sale in Illinois and New York

If you need a church property, AcreScout.com is an excellent place to find church real estate. Look for the church building you need or find vacant land for building a church. Here are the latest church properties for sale:

ILLINOIS

$895,000 :: Church and Parsonage (Oswego, IL)
8,000 square feet building size (6,000 church/2,000 parsonage)
1.6 acres lot size
180 sanctuary seating

NEW YORK

$3,499,000 :: Farmingdale Jewish Center (Farmingdale, NY)
21,000 square feet building size
1.65 acres lot size

Also, be sure to check out AcreScout.com/vacant-land to find the latest vacant land listings. Hopefully, there will be a property that is perfect for your church.

FREE CHURCH PROPERTY ADVERTISING
Do you want Church Relevance to highlight your church property for sale? Well, it is fast, free, and simple.

  1. Get your licensed real estate agent to register for a free AcreScout account.
  2. Have your agent add your church property to AcreScout’s listings.
  3. Church Relevance will periodically highlight and link to the latest church properties for sale on AcreScout.

Posted: February 10, 2009 at 2:04 pm · by Kent Shaffer

Comments and Trackbacks (1)

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