Every now and then along comes an event, movie, book, or music group that breaks out of past conventions and patterns. A difficult feat. In January 2011, I had the privilege to be one of the live presenters at conVERGE 2011, the first edition of a stylish techno-savvy conference for student leaders in youth ministry. The other live presenters (Carrie Badertscher, Derry Prenkert, and Clinton Faupel) and I coordinated with digital presenters to create an interactive environment for the main sessions where students could respond to polls, text in questions, and participate in various active learning segments. Oh, and the digital presenters for this conference were a youth ministry ‘who’s who’ – Zach Hunter, Austin Gutwein, Bo Boshers, Josh Griffin, David Crowder, Dan Merchant, Tony Campolo, and Kara Powell. Wow.
Here’s a video from the conference:
conVERGE 2011 Highlight Video from conVERGE on Vimeo.
So, what made the conference amazing?
1. The Visuals -The conference had a four screen backdrop, some iPad stylin’ (no paper or PCs on stage), the videos, and gave painter Scott Erickson a prominent role. There was a visual dynamic that captivated and invited students to participate. Scott the painter invited students to ‘paint with him’ throughout the week and the visual elements to the week said “we get you” to teens. Scott’s painting on the last day brought tears to many eyes (mine too) and effectively visualized/captured the collective passion of the youth in attendance.
2. The Vibe - the entire conference had an ongoing beat supplied by an amazing hip-hop DJ, DJ Rhino, who one day brought in another amazing DJ, NickTuneZ. Tim Timmons facilitated the worship, with the aid of percussionist Jeffrey Myers, through his song-leading and his pastoral presence. But, as my son said when it was over, “Wow that was a great conference. It was like marinated in Christian themes, not overcooked like some conferences.”
Students were invited to use their cell phones, to interact with a variety of exhibitors who came to not push a product (at least overtly) but to invite students to create and do at their booth. Of course, Remedy.fm, a Christian online radio station, was a superb hit.
3. The Vehicle – the main mechanism was an ever-changing, participatory process for all sessions – and a particular focus on one of four tracks. Most conferences have the standard “experts talking to me” or “leave your life behind” approach and presenters present material. This conference required us presenters to be facilitators to an experience, getting a chance here and there to speak for a handful of minutes. Nothing more. The student leaders entered into the process, shaped the conference’s direction, and kept interested and attentive through the ever-changing methods and activities.
The behind-the-scenes crew for this conference was amazing. The cue sheet for each session kept everyone on track and the intensive amount of technology and human transitions required a level of practice to make sure what people experience was of a high quality.
And it was.
Congrats to all involved! I don’ t know when the next conVERGE conference happens, but I want to be there. I think all of us who participated, even those of us who do quite a few youth ministry conferences every year, knew we were a part of something special and unique.
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