I remember sharing about the beginning and vision of the Church Technical Director Roundtable (CTDRT) in the February 2010 issue of CPM. At the time, I had a dream of forming a group of fellow Tech Directors I could look to for continued learning, ideas and just some plain ‘ole camaraderie—a community of people that live in the same details and situations that I was experiencing; community that would understand and share the same struggles and frustrations I was facing; that would celebrate the accomplishments of a system overhaul; and would pray for me through a major event or a tough meeting with a team volunteer; a group where I could give back and contribute in the same ways.
That dream has turned into a community of over 350 full-time, paid technical ministry leaders in the local church today. It has moved beyond the boundaries of the Internet and expanded into regional CTDRT Round Table events. At these events, members come together, share their experiences, encourage one another, and continue to develop relationships. These face-to-face opportunities have fostered some deep friendships. We've had seven of these events in the first three months of 2011, and look forward to having many more events all over the country.
During the first year of existence for the CTDRT we found not only full-time, paid technical ministry leaders were looking for this type of community, but volunteers and part-time tech leaders desired this as well. To meet those needs we launched the Church Technical Artists Network (CTAN). CTAN, now over 600 members strong, is an active community that includes volunteer leaders and part-time technical arts staff, as well as members of the CTDRT.
As we look forward, we are excited about the potential of partnering with manufacturers and companies who are interested in and share our heartbeat of building relationships within the church technical ministry community. A leadership team has been brought together and we are praying and seeking God's direction as to how we can best use our resources to build stronger community and support the people in technical arts ministry. We invite you to pray with us about these next steps.
For anyone serving in the technical arts ministry and looking to get connected into a community, I want to challenge you to jump in and get involved at www.CTANonline.com or www.CTDRT.com.
