Contact: Katherine Kennedy, 480-281-6786
PHOENIX, April 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- Church Solutions magazine is pleased to announce the 2009 Church Solutions Conference & Expo, taking place Feb. 17-19 at the Phoenix Convention Center. The second annual event will again focus on giving pastors, church business administrators, facility managers and other church executives real-world tactics to thrive amidst today's real-world challenges through education sessions, keynote addresses, networking events and exhibits.
Earlier this year, the first annual Church Solutions Conference & Expo was held at the Phoenix Convention Center, Feb. 12-14, 2008. The conference was produced by Virgo Publishing, publisher of Church Solutions magazine.
"I am thrilled with the strong support we received from the church community," says Katherine Kennedy, publisher of Church Solutions. "Since our magazine has been serving the industry more than 13 years – and our parent company has produced hundreds of conferences – we felt equipped to bring a unique and powerful event to the forefront. The success we experienced in our first year has only inspired us to make the expo bigger and better going forward."
Group Editor Karen Butler is equally enthusiastic. "There are no pat answers for running a church in today's world. No matter how gifted or wise church leaders are, many of them are navigating unknown territory – with mixed results. We're thrilled to provide resources to help them succeed."
The 2008 conference provided attendees with an opportunity to learn from experts in the field, network with their peers, and gain new insights into hot topics such as campus development, design trends, small groups, staff management, green, volunteers and growth. Most of the education sessions paired a church business leader with a pastor, which brought a real-world edge to the presentations. It also provided excellent perspective during the question-and-answer opportunities. The second annual conference will repeat this successful and unique session format, promising continuing education on the issues most vital to today's churches.
In addition to more than 30 unique education sessions, the 2008 expo offered three keynotes and one special evening guest-speaker session. The keynotes were Tony Morgan, the chief strategic officer of NewSpring Church; Gabe Lyons, founder of the Fermi Project and co-author of "unChristian;" and Chip Heath, Stanford professor and co-author of "Made to Stick." Additionally, Dr. Matthew Sleeth, author of "Serve God Save the Planet," presented a special session regarding the church's role in stewarding the environment.
The founding co-sponsors of this year's event were the National Association of Church Design Builders, the National Association of Church Facilities Managers and the National Church Purchasing Group. Both organizations will reprise their sponsor status for 2009. They were joined in the exhibit hall by nearly 100 companies serving the church marketplace.
"This event was probably the most valuable event I have attended," reports David Hook, pastor of Christ Lutheran Vail in Vail, Ariz. "I not only found resources to help us build our church, but vision-oriented seminars to help us intentionally think about our mission."
For more information, visit www.churchsolutionsconference.com
About Church Solutions magazine
Church Solutions (formerly Church Business) magazine is the premier resource for today's forward-thinking church leaders. Every month, Church Solutions provides in-depth content on pertinent issues facing today's modern ministries such as finance, education, construction, the Web, staff management, and more. The publication has a companion web site, www.churchsolutionsmag.com, a weekly e-newsletter, an annual FactBook; and hosts Webinars and publishes eBooks on a periodic basis.
