ForgeCon'11 - The Forge Conference

Last year, something amazing happened.  Some great folks got together and created what came to be known as The Forge Conference.  ForgeCon'10 was an event like no other.  A worship conference designed for small- to mid-sized churches.  (You can read my reactions to ForgeCon'10 in this series of posts.)

ForgeCon'11 is about to kick off. I've been blessed to be asked to speak at the conference, as well as be in the planning team.  So what's there to look forward to?

This year's conference has a focus on what we're calling "Ancient/Modern Worship."  What does that mean, exactly?  We will be talking about worship history, ancient faith, creating sacred space, worshiping through trials, moving in the Spirt, songwriting, creativity, and measuring success. And of course, the technical training in guitar, keyboards, vocals, drums and sound.

Best of all, the Conference will again be held in beautiful Ocean Grove, New Jersey, birthplace of so many amazing, lasting hymns.  The dates are September 29-October 1, with a meet-and-greet the evening of the 28th.

More important than all of that, though, are the marks of the Forge Conference, the goals to which we direct everything: Facilitate discussion, foster creativity, forge relationships, fully equip the small church.

If you're looking for a conference that tells you how the lastest $20,000 digital mixing console will integrate with your stadium-ready line array to make one of your six ten-piece worship bands look and feel like Hillsong United - well, this is probably not your conference. 

If you're looking for help getting your little crew of part-time, volunteer worship musicians to not feel like they are fighting an uphill battle every week, to stretch your already-thin resources more effectively, to give your team a foundational understanding of the role they play in the ministry of your congregation - ForgeCon is for you.

Better yet, take the $800 it would cost you to register for Re:Create another worship conference and send eight people to ForgeCon.  You read that right.  Three full days of training, equipping, ministering, designed for you and your team.  A hundred bucks.  Actually, $99 if you register before September 23.  Lodging in Ocean Grove in late September is very affordable as well.  So go register and come!

Here's a partial list of speakers:

■Darrell A. Harris & Steve Tice (The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies)


■Dan Wilt (WorshipTraining.com)

■Matt Boswell (Word Records artist and worship pastor)

■Jonathan Lee (Recording artist)

■Joe Day (recording artists and worship leader at Mars Hill Seattle)

■Mike Kim (Worship pastor and founder of Outloud Conference)

■Rich Kirkpatrick (worshipmythbusters.com and worship pastor)

■Pastor Scott Hoffman (Pastor and CAO of ocean grove camp meeting association)

■John Voelz (Pastor of Westwinds Church)

■Joel Klampert (Worship Pastor, Designer)

■Adam Fagan-Kela (Small groups pastor and spiritual life elder)

■Michael Mahoney (Childrens Pastor in CT)

■Doug Gould (CEO of WorshipMD)

■Sheri Gould (Conference Speaker/Vocal Coach and Consultant)

■Shannon Lewis (worship leader and in band Saint Lewis)

■Emily Schiavi (worship leader in Israel and NJ/NY area)

■Dunn & Wilt (modern hymns and sacred art)

■and many more!