The "Church" track is primarily for pastors, youth pastors, staff ministers, worship leaders/planners, and AV technicians. This diverse set of sessions covers presentation and Bible study software, multimedia tools, and all things used to create a rich worship experience.
Conquering Pornography with Technology
Pornography has a stranglehold on our world and is rapidly debilitating scores in the church as well. Our group, Conquerors through Christ (a WELS committee under Special Ministries), exists solely to help those who find themselves lured or trapped by pornography's strong façade of promised pleasures. The presentation will show the need and the tools CtC offers to help people conquer porn use and addiction with the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Enhancing Worship With Powerpoint
This workshop will offer ideas and resources for improving use of digital visuals in worship services. The focus will be on enhancing the worship experience with auto-scrolling preservice visuals, using visuals to enhance the sermon, and improving the quality of any still or motion visuals used in worship. Besides offering ideas for using visuals, the presentation will reference sources of free and purchased graphics to improve the use of visuals in worship. Participants will have the opportunity to share their own experiences, discuss pros and cons, and cite resources that they have discovered.
Exegetical Workflows with Logos
For those who have used Logos Bible Software for some time, the updates can be dizzying. New features are often underutilized as a result. This workshop will present a workflow for exegesis that makes use of the newest features of Logos, focusing on those that have high practical value for those preparing sermons or circuit/conference studies. Previous familiarity with the program's interface will be helpful, and time will be allotted for the sharing of helpful hints from those in attendance. You should go home with the ability to dig deeper into your text studies without adding more preparation time to your week.
Panel Session: Church Technology
This brainstorming session is for those tech directors whose congregations are well on their way to or have a well-developed tech program. The intent of the session is to facilitate discussion and answer questions both for those who have arrived and for those who are en route. Bring your ideas and questions and be ready for a lively discussion.
Reaching Teens Through Multi-Media
The traditional approach to reaching teens seems more and more difficult. We struggle to get them to come to a Bible study, a youth gathering, or some other kind of event. But ask any teen, "Have you seen the video..." and they probably have. This session aims to explore the trends in use of video, memes, and podcasts that are popular among teens, and how they can be used to extend ministry to our youth. It will look at examples of popular media among teens and what church youth workers can take away from them. It also aims to discuss how the use of multimedia can serve as a bridge for reaching teens face to face.
Renewing Greek and Hebrew with Logos
It's common among pastors to feel that their Greek and Hebrew skills could use some refreshing after several years in the ministry. And while it might seem that powerful packages like Logos Bible Software are best left in the hands of the exegetical elite, it just so happens that Logos' wide range of features also has some of the best tools on earth for knocking the rust off of those old original language skills. This workshop will show how pastors who want their old chops back can get them, just by knowing how to use a tool that many already have. We will also look at entry-level scholar's libraries for those who don't yet have it but are considering an investment.
Sermon Video Bumps
We will explore 7 ways of using video right before the sermon to effectively prepare the audience for a message from God’s Word.
Video-assisted Counseling
Back in 2008, the Member Assistance Program of WLCFS-Christian Family Solutions started with a simple question: How can we provide professional Christian counseling to individuals and families who, because of their geographical location or limited health insurance, do not have access to the counseling services they need? Our answer: Using technology, we can provide online video-assisted counseling to anyone, anywhere in the world, with a webcam and a secure Internet connection. Since that time, WLCFS has provided over 10,000 hours of counseling to members of over 350 congregations, schools, and organizations through the Member Assistance Program. The cost of the counseling is covered by the organization, with no direct cost to the member. Video-assisted counseling (telehealth) is also being recognized by many health insurers and is covered in a growing number of insurance plans. To find out more about MAP or telehealth, please visit www. ChristianFamilySolutions.org.
Worship Planning in a Mobile World
How do you build, maintain and execute worship plans in a hectic, mobile, ʺI don't have time to meet/practice/planʺ world?
We will present a case study of the challenges and our approach to planning worship at Holy Word Lutheran Church in Austin, TX. We have one congregation - but two sites.
The site differences lead us to plan and manage worship using different tools, techniques and approaches. We will demonstrate the "old school", online and mobile technology that we use to achieve our goal of engaging, edifying and excellent worship.