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Maybe the Word hasn’t changed but the way we get the Word out has. WFX will see the Music City Center in Nashville overflowing with solutions.
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One look around the show floor at a WFX Worship Facilities Conference & Expo and you would not be faulted for wondering: How did church get so complicated? When the WFX Show opens, on Nov. 18, at the Music City Center in Nashville, attendees will be presented with everything it takes to make church work in the 21st century, from high-fidelity sound systems that can be scaled from mini to mega, lighting systems that dazzle as they illuminate, video that's made the leap from LCD to LED and whose resolution becomes more lifelike every year, and content-production platforms that range from simple to complex and scale from giant screens down to mobile apps. Pastors and their worship team associates will have the opportunity to mingle with and pick the brains of leading architects and designers, construction professionals, design-build firms, AVL systems integrators and church management consultants.
Yes, church is complicated today, but when you pare it back to its essentials, church is about a message, and about communicating that message. Looked at in those terms, WFX, which is presented in part by Church Production Magazine, becomes a toolbox of communication possibilities, from how to achieve the most intelligible speech in a sanctuary to how to get the sermon from Newark to Nigeria without a single dropped data packet, as well as learning new management and operational insights.
Welcome To Nashville
Maybe the Word hasn’t changed but the way we get the Word out has. WFX will see the Music City Center in Nashville overflowing with solutions. This starts with the event’s location. This will be WFX’s first appearance since in Nashville its inaugural outing in 2005 and the city is made for it: Nashville has over 700 churches; it is the seat of the National Baptist Convention, the National Association of Free Will Baptists, the Gideon’s International, the Gospel Music Association (home to the Dove Awards), and Thomas Nelson, the world's largest producer of Bibles. Even before you step into WFX, you’ll be surrounded by people who share your faith, understand the intricacies of church management, and are versed in how AVL technologies are best integrated into the worship environment.
Keyed Up For Keynotes
Keynote speakers will establish themes for WFX that will resonate throughout the entire event:
• Noted author and Founder of Q, Gabe Lyons, will use the latest research and trends facing faith today to offer hope to those charged with leading the church forward in the coming decade, the theme of “Release, Renewal and Restoration” (Wednesday, November 18th
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.).
• In “Weak to Be Strong: How Celebrating Our Insufficiencies Creates Space for God’s Glory,” (Thursday, November 19th 9:35 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.) Kyle Idleman, Teaching Pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, reminds us that while the cutting-edge technology and facilities may seem to be the key to 21st-century success in church, don’t be surprised when God chooses to demonstrate His power where we feel most deficient.
• Ed Stetzer, Executive Director of Nashville-based LifeWay Research, asks us in “The Subversive Kingdom: Engaging in Mission, Not Building a Machine” (Thursday, November 19th, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.) how are we personally engaging in mission and how are we helping others to do the same?
Team-Based Organization
You’ll see and hear the word “team” used often at WFX. It’s not a marketing ploy. In fact, many churches use their time at WFX as their annual planning retreat. Whether learning the Bible or learning a digital audio console interface, churches operate on a team basis, and WFX reflects that. In 10 years of serving churches, it’s been proven that WFX’s team-based training moves churches forward faster and with more focus than virtually any other means.
Some of the team-based categories you’ll find at WFX include those aimed at building new facilities or renovating existing ones, technology choices, the development of new communications skills and strategies to leverage social media and technology.
Structured Events
WFX isn’t just row after row of cool tech toys. There are also conclaves and organized demonstrations that help build knowledge and confidence:
• This year the new “Management Meets Ministry” learning module will focus on staff development in the church. Key components of this critical module, presented by senior, executive and worship pastors from around the nation, as well as stewardship consultants, include training, discipleship and development, management and procedures, and conflict resolution.
• The Tech Directors Retreat, sponsored by the Church Tech Leaders Association, is a day-long preshow event run by tech directors for tech directors but that also addresses non-technical topics including leadership, volunteer development, communications, and managing expectations of senior leaders.
• The Live Sound Loudspeaker Demo is a highlight of the event: big speakers in a big room where they can unleash some serious sonic horsepower.
• Reprised from last year, the Tech Directors Essentials Learning Module at WFX is aimed at enhancing the knowledge base of the evolving role of church tech director, which has grown to include much more objective and team-based tasks such as event planning, volunteer recruitment and personnel management. Management-oriented sessions will explore how to train volunteers and staff in a way that results in production consistency week in and week out. Another area of concentration is how to budget and communicate the need for equipment purchases and staffing to ministry-minded leadership.
Advance And Be Recognized
WFX is also about recognition. Two awards events acknowledge both the technology of worship and its implementation. The Worship Facilities New Product Awards recognizes new products for the church market. The Worship Facilities Solomon Awards recognizes churches and their partners for excellence in facilities design, building expansion or remodeling, operation excellence, innovative use, and technical production.
WFX As A Bridge To The Future
“WFX has spanned an interesting period in the Church,” observes Jim Wagner, general manager of the Worship Facilities Conference and Expo (WFX) and publisher of Worship Facilities media. “It began at a time when churches were focused on building ever-larger sanctuaries. Today we find ourselves looking at ways to expand our reach with models like the satellite church. It’s also a time when technology has become more affordable than ever, but with more choices and options than ever before. We’ve also seen the rise in importance of the tech minister, and the increased integration of social media into church strategy. All of this will be examined as part of WFX.”
WFX will be held in Nashville November 18-19. To learn more about the conference, visit WFXweb.
