In the midst of final preparations for our Church Solutions Conference & Expo in Phoenix this February, our staff took a break to attend WFX in Atlanta. It was just the refresher we needed in order to come back home and push through the final details. Several of our exhibitors and speakers were there supporting the church community, and we enjoyed sharing what was going on in each of our professional and personal endeavors.

Our Group Editor Karen Butler and Managing Editor Lacey Nadeau attended many of the education sessions. The ladies noticed the tech-heavy sessions (sound, lighting, etc.) were packed, which makes sense, as the show is targeted largely toward the technology side of church. Our expo’s focus is designed for a different audience: senior pastors, business administrators and facilities managers. So if you’re planning to join us, know that our sessions will have a different scope. Check out our show planner in this issue for more details. And if you’d like the full report on our WFX experience, visit Vision, our editorial blog at www.churchsolutionsmag.com. I know Karen and Lacey especially enjoyed the keynote sessions, which featured LifeChurch.tv’s Craig Groeschel and North Point Community Church’s Andy Stanley. As founding and senior pastors of their respective churches, these gentlemen have years of experience pioneering uncharted territory, which definitely resonates with anyone involved in ministry today.

At the show, it was refreshing to meet with representatives from churches and the companies that are serving them. One thing our whole team noticed was that, although these entities are theoretically considered “competitors,” people were willing – and even anxious – to share their experiences. That’s something to love about the church market: the willingness to seek out relationships and be transparent about ups and downs, much of which is shared while breaking bread together. There are very few markets where folks are secure enough in their strengths and weaknesses to use them as a method for finding common ground.

One of our goals is to continually bring you fresh information from others in the marketplace – those who own businesses, pastor churches, host conferences and offer services, to name a few. We’re privileged to use our platform to join together likeminded individuals and organizations to deliver you a solid resource in print, online and at our upcoming trade show. If there are topics you’d like to see more of, don’t hesitate to let us know.

We’re here to serve you.

Katherine Kennedy
Publisher
kkennedy@vpico.com