Create Conference 2020 // 21st February, 9:30am - 5pm // Living Rock Church
Finally, a media and communications conference for churches in the UK!
Do you work for a church media team? Are you the one-man communications band? Are you helping your church out with creative work in your spare time? This is the conference for you!
Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all.
Mark 16:15 (MSG)
Some of Jesus' last words to us are this great encouragement to 'proclaim' or 'preach' or 'announce' the Gospel to the whole world. He has filled us with the Holy Spirit to help us to do this, but we are also gifted with a creativity that has come from God the Creator! This means that we can use our creativity as we communicate the gospel message with those around us. The possibilities are endless...
Create Conference is a 1 day event designed to teach you and equip you with all that you need to fulfil this great commission. It’s a conference for those who work full or part-time for a church in creative media and communications, and for those who volunteer their own spare time to help out in these things. This year our focus will be on a "Creative Gospel"; exploring ways that we can be creative in our communication and bold with our ideas.
Core Sessions
Thoughts and messages on a wider scale to help you think big
The Core Sessions include:
- A Gospel For Today
- So Everyone Can Hear
- Using Facebook to communicate a gospel message to our community
Hands-on workshops
Industry experts training and inspiring you
Workshops covering topics like:
- Photography & Videography
- Web & Social
- Graphic Design & Branding
- Audio & written content
- Tools, Tips & Inspiration
- Q&A
What's included
Foundational teaching for everyone
Networking
Mingle, chat and be inspired by other creatives
Practical Workshops
Choose the topics that interest you
Plenty of Coffee
And tea, and lunch
Q&A
Ask our panelists your questions
Goodie Bag
No-one leaves empty handed!
Keynote Speakers & Workshop Leaders
Here’s the list of wonderful people who will be speaking during the event.
Benj Lyon
Head of Media & Communications, Living Rock Church
Benjamin works as Head of Media & Communication at Living Rock Church. He has several years experience working in a digital agency, working as a freelance developer and designer and working for Living Rock.
Nona Jones
Head of Faith-Based Partnerships, Facebook
Nona Jones is an author, speaker, and head of Faith-Based Partnerships at Facebook. An expert in expanding the influence of the Gospel through social technology, she coined the term “Social Ministry,” and partners with churches and ministries to help them fulfill the Great Commission through digital impact. Nona and her husband, Pastor Timothy Jones, Sr., lead Open Door Ministries in Gainesville, Florida.
Mark Crosby
Director of Communications for Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland
Mark Crosby is the Director of Communications for Vineyard Churches UK & Ireland and serves at Vineyard Church Cardiff. He oversees communications for the Vineyard movement, including web, social media, resources, films, new platform application, training, and creative and strategic direction. Mark trains churches in Europe and USA on healthy communications as part of his role, whilst also consulting for Vineyard International, and his written 'So Everyone Can Hear: Communicating Church in a Digital Culture' published by SPCK.
Ben Elliott
Head of Innovation at CPO
Ben Elliott is Head of Innovation at CPO (Christian Publishing & Outreach), who have been supporting churches with their communications for over 60 years. He is passionate about helping churches communicate Jesus to their communities through existing and emerging communication streams. Ben is the founder of The Church Comms Collective, a group which facilitates greater peer to peer support for church communicators across the UK. He lives with his wife and sons in Sheffield, where he is Digital Leader at his church, The Well.
Peter Murden
Co-founder of Digital Church Toolkit
Peter Murden is the co-founder of Digital Church Toolkit and started his ‘career’ in social media by running the youth group’s MySpace at 14. Since then he has developed his skills in digital marketing, event management and church administration.
Paula Melissa
Blogger, Photographer & Freelance Digital Marketer
Paula Melissa Ugochukwu is a digital content creator from London, now based in Sheffield. Alongside her day job as an Assistant Producer in Sheffield, she is a lifestyle and faith blogger, portrait photographer and freelance digital marketer. She serves on her church’s media team and built their website. She is passionate about people, their stories and finding creative ways of telling these stories.
Joseph the Dreamer
Youtuber, Vlogger, Filmmaker & Storyteller
Joseph the Dreamer likes bbq food and getting down on the dance floor. But in his spare time he’s a film director and a YouTuber, obsessed with telling stories through the power of video and geeking out about YouTube Analytics. He’s got all the tips and tricks no matter your video budget.
Finn Johnston
Head of Local Church Partnerships, Digital Church Toolkit
Finn Johnston joined the Digital Church Toolkit team in 2020. His background in design, marketing and strategic planning, alongside time spent leading a church have equipped him perfectly to be our link with local churches. Finn loves all things creative, monochromatic attire and exploring the great outdoors with his young family.
Schedule
9:30am
Registration, Coffee & Mingling
10:30am
Intro & Session 1 "A Gospel For Today"
Benj Lyon
10:50am
Workshop: Creating a strategy for communicating the gospel across your church's digital platforms
Ben Elliott
11:30am
Coffee Break
11:50am
Workshop: Creating visual, written & audio content with a gospel message
Paula Melissa
12:30pm
Lunch
1:30pm
Workshop: Communicating the gospel through Social Media
Peter Murden & Finn Johnston
2:10pm
Video Interview: Using Facebook to communicate a gospel message to our community
Nona Jones
2:30pm
Coffee Break
2:50pm
Core Session: So Everyone Can Hear
Mark Crosby
3:35pm
Workshop: Using video and storytelling to share the gospel
Joseph The Dreamer
4:15pm
Q&A
All Speakers
Friday 21st February 2020, 9:30am – 5pm
Create Conference takes place at Living Rock Church. The venue is easy to find, close to the M1 and M69.
Living Rock Church
Station Road,
Stoney Stanton,
Leicestershire,
LE9 4LU
www.livingrock.church // 01455 270840
Questions: create@livingrock.church
FAQs
What do I need to bring with me?
You are welcome to bring laptops, iPads or good old fashioned paper and pen to make notes. You might also want to bring examples of some of your work to show others, get feedback on etc.
Do I need to be at a certain skill level?
We recommend that everyone attending Create Conference has some level of experience in church media & communications. However, we do not expect everyone to be experts! By the end of the conference, everyone will leave with a bit more knowledge and expertise compared to when they arrived.
Where can I stay overnight?
If you’re travelling from far away and are hoping to stay overnight nearby, here’s a few places you could try:
Airbnb places around Hinckley, Lutterworth, Broughton Astley
Badgers Mount Hotel (3-4 mins drive away)
Sketchley Grange Hotel (approx 10 mins drive away)
Burbage Guest House (approx 10 mins drive away)
Best Western Ullesthorpe Hotel (approx 10-15 mins drive away)
Travelodge Lutterworth (approx 15 mins drive away)
Travelodge Nuneaton (approx 20 mins drive away)
How can I find the venue?
Living Rock Church is easily accessible by car; it’s a short drive from Junction 1 of the M69 and your Satnav should take you there from the address below:
Living Rock Church, Station Road, Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire, LE9 4LU
If you’re travelling by train, the nearest stations are Hinckley and Narborough, both of which are a 5-10 minute car journey away, so a taxi may need to be arranged.
What if I change my mind?
If you book in to the conference and find out later that you cannot attend, we’re happy to offer you a full refund up to 7 days prior to the conference starting (Friday 14th February 2020). We are unable to provide any refunds after this date.
Is this event denomination-specific?
Nope. We love seeing all of the different expressions of the church being equipped in creative media & communications, and we encourage people from all denominations to attend.
I have more questions...
Feel free to get in touch with us! You can email us at create@livingrock.church or call us on 01455 270840
