CFX brings together the people responsible for a church’s production, creativity, facilities, safety and leadership. Photo by Jeremy Poland.
Church production rarely operates in isolation.
A lighting upgrade may involve power, rigging, safety and facility considerations. A networked audio or video system depends on IT infrastructure that may be managed outside the production department. A substantial equipment purchase eventually requires the understanding and support of senior leadership.
That is one reason CFX takes a broader approach to serving churches.
Scheduled for Sept. 14–16 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama, CFX brings production and creative teams together with pastors, executive leaders, facility managers and safety personnel from churches across the country. The event also connects those teams with architects, integrators, manufacturers and other solution providers on the exhibit floor.
“The Church Facilities Expo is one of the coolest events, in my opinion, because it is one place where church production teams and creative teams can come together with the buildings side of things,” says Stephanie Lippi, event director for CFX.
Bring the Team
Perhaps the clearest distinction between CFX and many other technical conferences is the emphasis on bringing a team rather than sending only one person.
Production, facilities, safety, communications and senior leadership teams often work in separate lanes, even though their decisions affect one another. CFX is structured to encourage those people to learn together.
Teams that learn together are better prepared to act together.
“What we believe and what we’ve experienced is that teams that attend together learn faster, apply more and are more impactful when they go home,” says Jim Wagner, vice president of the Pro Audio and House of Worship Division at EH Media.
Lippi says some churches begin discussing changes during the event and put new ideas into practice the following week. In some cases, teams begin making changes before they even leave the conference.
Attending together can also improve relationships. A facility director who attends a production session may gain a better understanding of why the technology team is requesting a particular infrastructure improvement. A technical director who attends a facility or building-project session may better understand the operational, financial or safety concerns behind a leadership decision.
The result is not merely more information. It is greater alignment.
“You may be in facilities and I may be in tech and you may be on the creative team, but we’re really all together,” Lippi says. “We are all one team whose goal is to create a space where people can come to our building and experience what it is that they need to experience on Sunday mornings.”
Wagner describes CFX as a work trip for ministry purposes. The objective is not simply to walk a trade-show floor, collect information and return home inspired. It is to help teams return to their churches prepared to act.
Learning Beyond Your Usual Circle
Churches often rely heavily on the knowledge available within their own congregation, denomination, network or local community. That knowledge can be valuable, but it may also be limited.
Most churches do not build a new worship center, complete a major renovation or replace a complete AVL system very often. Even knowledgeable church leaders may have limited firsthand experience with projects of that scale.
Wagner says CFX gives churches access to people who have completed these projects repeatedly and can help them understand the decisions, risks and opportunities involved.
“We find the best and most knowledgeable people to show churches the pathway of what they should be aware of and the skills and awareness they need to be successful,” Wagner says.
That includes hearing from people who are willing to discuss not only what went well, but also what went wrong.
“We bring in people who have made mistakes, learned from them and have had more successful projects down the road,” Lippi says. “They like to come and say, ‘Learn from the mistakes we made so you don’t have to make these costly mistakes.’”
Poor planning can lead to expensive retrofits, systems that cannot expand with the church, difficult volunteer workflows and facilities that fail to support the ministry’s long-term vision. Learning from someone else’s experience can help a church recognize problems before they become embedded in a completed project.
CFX combines worship, keynote sessions, practical education and exhibit-floor opportunities in one conference experience. Photo by Jeremy Poland.
The Value of the Trade Show
Education is only part of the CFX experience. The event also includes a trade show where church teams can meet manufacturers, integrators, consultants and other solution providers.
For a church considering a major system upgrade or building project, that access can be especially valuable.
Better ministry decisions happen when production, facilities and leadership share the conversation.
A production director may understand the technical requirements. A pastor or executive leader may be responsible for the budget and the larger ministry vision. A facility leader may understand the building’s infrastructure and operational limitations. At CFX, those people can evaluate potential partners and solutions together.
“When you can have your pastor or your senior leadership there who makes the decisions for all those big financial choices, along with the people who understand the equipment and understand the process, you are able to talk with these exhibitors together,” Lippi says.
Instead of one person returning home with brochures and trying to explain or defend a recommendation, the team can ask questions, compare approaches and develop a shared understanding while at the event.
That can save time, reduce internal friction and potentially prevent costly mistakes. It can also help churches plan for future growth rather than installing systems that will require substantial modification later.
Not Just for Churches Planning a Building Project
A church does not need to be constructing a new facility or preparing for a major renovation to benefit from CFX.
Wagner says education and volunteer development remain significant challenges for churches of nearly every size. Production leaders may understand the equipment they operate but still struggle to create repeatable workflows, train volunteers, communicate with senior leadership or develop future leaders.
“Not all production is sexy tech,” Wagner says. “Leadership and volunteer development and being a better tech director and leader are really critical aspects of a church if they want to have a healthy ministry.”
CFX includes leadership-oriented sessions addressing people skills, team development and ministry leadership, along with practical sessions where attendees can strengthen technical skills.
The purpose is not merely to expose attendees to new ideas or equipment. It is to help them make better use of what they already have and build healthier systems for the people who operate it.
Conference Tracks for Church Production Readers
The CFX educational program includes multiple tracks, several of which directly address the work of Church Production readers.
The Live Production Track covers streaming engagement, improving the technical quality of a stream, lighting for broadcast, monitor mixing, soundchecks, broadcast mixing, networking, IT infrastructure and workflow automation.
CFX helps churches evaluate systems, spaces and ministry needs as one team.
Sessions will also address communication between musicians and technical teams, helping churches improve rehearsals and soundchecks while reducing tension between the stage and the production booth.
The Filmmaking and Digital Communications Track explores how churches plan, produce, direct and manage video projects. Topics include creative content development for pastors, making better use of Sunday-morning content, social media and helping church content reach people beyond the worship service.
Digital communications sessions will also explore search engine optimization, answer engine optimization and the changing ways people discover information online. Artificial intelligence will be part of the program as well, with sessions examining opportunities for church media teams to incorporate AI into their workflows.
Other tracks address facility stewardship, preventative maintenance, financing improvements, safety, building projects, renovations, multisite expansion and broadcast-room design. While those subjects may initially appear outside the normal responsibilities of a production leader, they frequently affect the systems and spaces production teams depend on every week.
The building-project track will cover budgeting, planning, capital campaigns, renovations and multisite development. It will also address the design and implementation of broadcast rooms, where decisions about construction, acoustics, infrastructure and technology must work together.
Hands-on training at CFX gives attendees the opportunity to learn audio-mixing techniques directly on professional consoles. Photo by Jeremy Poland.
Deeper Learning on Monday
Sept. 14 features optional pre-conference leadership collectives and masterclasses.
The morning leadership collectives bring together pastors and executive pastors, facility and safety directors, and worship, technology and creative directors. These gatherings give leaders in similar roles an opportunity to discuss common challenges, exchange ideas and develop relationships with people who understand their responsibilities.
Leadership and volunteer/staff development are as important as technical expertise.
Afternoon masterclasses provide longer, more focused technical training. Planned sessions include an Allen & Heath audio-mixing masterclass with opportunities for hands-on interaction and a JB&A session on creating a volunteer-ready video production team. A facility and safety masterclass will also be available.
The main conference begins Sept. 15, with worship, keynote sessions, breakout education and exhibit-floor hours continuing through Sept. 16.
The keynote sessions will challenge attendees to consider whether their approach to ministry is built to last and whether it is grounded in their own abilities or in the foundation of Jesus Christ.
Throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, attendees will move between the exhibit floor and educational sessions led by church leaders and industry experts.
The event will also provide less formal opportunities to build relationships. A Monday evening kickoff event at Topgolf is planned on a limited, first-come basis, while the annual CFX networking reception will take place Tuesday evening with food, music and prize giveaways.
Capture Summit and the Church Film Craft Festival
The Church Production Conference at CFX is presented by Church Production Magazine and Capture Summit. The production, creative and technical education previously associated with Capture Summit is now incorporated into the larger CFX conference experience.
That means Capture Summit attendees will find familiar subject areas—including live production, streaming, filmmaking, digital communications and leadership—while also gaining access to the broader facilities, safety and building-project education available at CFX.
Facilities and leadership teams benefit from understanding what production systems require.
CFX will also host the Church Film Craft Festival Awards. Attendees will have opportunities to view submitted projects, vote for their favorites and help select the first CFX People’s Choice Award winner.
Submissions include church testimonials, service introductions, cinematic openers, trailers, promotional videos, original worship music videos and experimental concept pieces.
The festival gives church filmmakers and creative teams an opportunity to share work produced specifically for ministry. It also allows attendees to see how churches are using film and video to tell stories, support worship, promote ministry initiatives and reach their communities.
Together, the conference, trade show and film festival reflect a larger vision for the event: bringing the people who shape the church’s message, technology, buildings and ministry environments into the same conversation.
For Church Production readers, CFX offers more than an opportunity to see new equipment. It is a chance to strengthen technical skills, learn from experienced leaders, evaluate potential solutions, develop volunteers and build better working relationships with the people responsible for other parts of the church.
And for churches that attend as a team, the most important work may begin before they ever return home.
