Hello everyone! John, Rhett and I are so excited about getting the chance to meet, talk and learn from all of you that are coming tomorrow. We are also thrilled to see so many of you coming!
With the 80+ of us that are going to be there, and for the type of event that this is supposed to be (which we will get briefly into) I do want to roll through what Church Tech Camp is, what it is not, and how we can all particpate tomorrow.
First, ChurchTechCamp is NOT your typical event. It is what many call and “unconference”, and we actually take the environment and nature of that pretty seriously. There are 101 conferences on technology, church, and the combination there of… this is not that. There are no scheduled presenters, we aren’t “featuring” any personalities, there are NO sponsers, and we aren’t selling anything.
What this unconference “is”, is a gathering of like minded and like passioned people who see how the combination of the church, innovation and the leveraging of technology both on the big “c” church, local church, and individual level is changing everything (or not depending on what you think). All of us use these things everyday, and at this event ALL OF US ARE THE EXPERTS. Every single one of you have something valueable to add to this conversation, and this event is meant for all of us to get a chance to have a voice in it.
So, with that in mind here are some “rules of engagement”:
- If you are coming to try and sell something (including yourself) you probably should just not come. There are plenty of conferences that have places for vendors, this is not one of them. That said, many of the people who work at technology companies that have ministry products are very passionate about the topics we are having a conversation about. If you ware coming as an passionate individual to network and be a part of things, then you are MORE than welcome.
- Because of the size of our group, and the high value of letting everyone get a chance to be heard, we may cut you off if you are dominating conversation. This may seem severe, but i assure you the tolerance is very high. And it isn’t that we don’t think you don’t have something to good say, but we’ve all been that small group with the kid that knows all the answers and is dominating the conversation… we want to keep that from happening.
- FOR those of you that are knowledgeable and want to present, or lead people through a breakout, etc. The whole afternoon is yours. You will be able to sign up and everyone that is interested in that topic can come and connect with you then.
- This event will be LIVE VIDEO STREAMED. We are streaming everything in the morning on live video because we want to have people far away able to PARTICIPATE. We will be fielding questions AND insights through out the event. Last time we even have people jump on impromptu to lead us through part of a conversation.
- Lastly, and most importantly we would highly encourage you to twitter, blog, take pictures & video and live video stream as you come to this event. As you do, for your twitters, blog posts, YouTube videos etc please add the tag #ctcdallas so we can all search and find the great stuff everyone had to share!
Phew, that is it, and really it is a laid back event. If you have connected with someone in the morning, and just want to grab a table and talk with them, go for it. If you need to catch up on you email, feel free. But come ready to listen, and learn and be a part of a really cool conversation.
OH, this is a BYOEC event. That stands for “Bring Your Own Extension Cable”, if you have one of those multi-plug deals under your desk, please bring it. We will have a lot of laptops buzzing the whole time, and we will need to share the battery charging love!
Here is the agenda and event details below, can’t want to meet everyone!
Best,
Tony Steward
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Agenda:
9:00am Welcome and Introduction to how the day will go
9:10am Digital Pastor: How has tech and the digital aged changed the way we work, and our role in the church? Or has it?
10:10am Online Ministry / Internet Campus: Can church be facilitated online? What are the best practices? Can people belong to a church if only virtual? How do you do it?
11:10am The Challenges and Role of Social Media in the Church
12:10pm Technologies to Leverage: What technologies are making the most difference, what ones are coming? Which ones are worth the church’s attention and why? Do you build it or mash it up?
1:10pm Lunch
2:30pm User Generated Workshops Begin!
(This is where you can suggest a workshop, a presentation, a breakout or a video shoot. People will chose what they find interesting and we will all get a chance to work through things together.)
4:30pm Closing Thoughts and Wrap up
5:00pm Find a place to watch the national championship!!!
Event: ChurchTechCamp:. Dallas
Date: Thursday, January 08, 2009 from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (CT)
Location: (SITE MAP FOR BUILDING LOCATION ON CAMPUS)
Irving Bible Church
2435 Kinwest Pkwy
Irving
Irving, TX 75063
For more information click here: ChurchTechCamp:. Dallas
