Worship Facilities Conference & Expo Charlotte Opened Wednesday
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Leaders from Hundreds of Churches to Attend
CHARLOTTE, NC – October 29, 2009 – Worship Facilities Conference & Expo (WFX) announced the successful commencement of WFX Charlotte. WFX, the leading event where church leadership teams connect with tools and technology to create meaningful spaces and powerful worship experiences, is taking place through October 30 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Presented by Church Production and Worship Facilities Magazines, WFX (http://www.wfxweb.com) is the leading event where church leadership teams connect with tools and technology to create meaningful spaces and powerful worship experiences.
Thousands of church leaders are registered to attend the conference and exposition event this week. The Conference program consists of five keynote presentations by ministry leaders and over 60 Conference sessions in five dedicated tracks: Designing, Building and Upgrading Facilities; Your Facilities: Optimizing Functionality; Tech Essentials: A/V & Lighting Technologies; Church Websites & Social Media; and Professional Development & Team Building.
WFX Charlotte kicked off pre-conference programming on Tuesday with dedicated training opportunities. Led by experienced technical directors, the Tech Director Retreat featured panel discussions, roundtables, and breakout discussions to help attendees address their most pressing concerns of doing technical ministry. The National Association of Church Design Builders (NACDB) and Cornerstone Alignment 4 Conference were also held on Tuesday.
WFX welcomed a rush of Conference attendees on Wednesday morning with an Early-Bird Breakfast. A lineup of educational programming followed. Back by popular demand, Hands-on Tech Training opened with more opportunities to get up close and personal with the latest tech equipment. These sold-out training sessions will be held throughout the week to present industry-leading audio, video and lighting experts on the tips and techniques attendees need to know to master their gear.
Pastors Programming, co-presented by Xpastor.org, Church Solutions Group and Cornerstone Knowledge Network, began on Wednesday. Pastors and church leaders gained strategies on how to identify, plan for and achieve growth for churches of any size, strengthened their stewardship of technology and facilities investments, and received the latest research on trends that steers planning with Pastors Programming.
On Wednesday afternoon Rick Bezet, Lead Pastor of the New Life Church in Washington, D.C., delivered the first of five WFX keynotes, “The Culture of a Life Giving Church.” In this presentation Bezet shared how to exude the particular qualities of a healthy culture while discussing values and characteristics of a life-giving church with DNA that attracts people instead of scaring them away.
In addition to Bezet’s presentation, WFX Charlotte Keynote Presenters will include Claude Alexander, Bishop of The Park Ministries in Charlotte; Dino Rizzo, Pastor of Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Mark Batterson, Lead Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C.; and Chris Hodges, Senior Pastor of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama.
Following the first day of Conference programming, WFX attendees, speakers, and exhibitors attended exclusive behind-the-scenes tours of two Charlotte-area churches – Elevation Church in Matthews, NC and Hickory Grove Church in Charlotte. Hickory Grove Baptist Church is the second largest Baptist church in the state of North Carolina. Under the 25-year leadership of Senior Pastor Dr. Joe B. Brown, God has grown HGBC from 1,000 people in August 1984 to over 18,000 people as of August 2009. Recently named the 2nd Fastest Growing Church in America by Outreach Magazine, Elevation Church has embraced multi-site technology to grow. The church leaders shared their success stories on how they put God’s inspiration into action to create a plan that has touched thousands of lives.
The WFX Expo Floor opens at 11:30am on Thursday morning. The show floor features more than 220 exhibitors showcasing the latest products, services and solutions to impact churches’ ministries. Attendees will meet face-to-face with companies revolutionizing the design, building and outfitting of worship facilities while discovering the future of audio, video and lighting technologies and equipment for their house of worship. The Expo Hall will be open 11:30am – 5:30pm on Thursday and 11:30am – 4:00pm on Friday.
While on the Expo Floor, Social Media experts will demystify how churches can benefit from utilizing Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking applications at the Social Media Lounge. In addition, WFX attendees, speakers, and exhibitors are using Twitter to communicate and network before, during, and after the event (@WFX, #WFX).
On Thursday night WFX attendees are invited to attend the Reality 09 Concert, presented by Audio Ethics. Number one-selling Christian Contemporary artist Britt Nicole will headline the concert, which takes place in the Ballroom of the Charlotte Convention Center. The North Carolina native reached number one on Billboard’s top Christian Albums charts with her sophomore release, “The Lost Get Found.” In addition to Britt Nicole, the WFX Reality 09 Concert will feature an opening performance by internationally-recognized artist Earl Bynum & The Unity Choir from The Mount in Chesapeake, Virginia. Tickets are also available to the general public for $10 in advance at http://www.aeconcerts.com or $15 at the door.
Educational training will continue on Thursday and Friday with Conference sessions, Hands-on Training, and Exhibitor Offered Training Courses. Pastors Programming and the Tech Director Retreat classes will also be held. The Conference and Expo will conclude at 4:00pm on Friday.
Onsite registration Thursday, 7:30am – 5:00pm and Friday, 7:30am – 4:00pm at the Charlotte Convention Center. Registration is also available online at http://www.wfxweb.com or by calling the WFX Help Desk at 800-598-6031, Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm, EST.
Complete event details are available online at http://www.wfxweb.com.
To register for media credentials, contact Jessica Camerato at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
For exhibiting information, please contact Patrick Shaughnessy at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 508-663-1500 x267.
About Worship Facilities Conference & Expo – http://www.wfxweb.com
Worship Facilities Conference & Expo (WFX) is the leading event for church facilities and technology teams presented by Church Production Magazine and Worship Facilities Magazine.
About Production Media Inc. – http://www.pmipub.com
Production Media Inc. (PMI), publishers of Church Production Magazine and Worship Facilities Magazine, and presenters of WFX, is a full-service media company specializing in the house-of-worship market.
About EH Publishing, Inc. & EH Events – http://www.ehpub.com
EH Publishing, Inc. is a leading media company specializing in technology-based markets. EH offers integrated media solutions including e-media, print, event, research and custom products. Key market segments include custom electronics, professional sound, house of worship and robotics.
CONTACT:
Jessica Camerato
508-663-1500 x296
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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