Ministry 2 – Hands-On Training for a Wireless World

Surrounded by water and white sand beaches, Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church is the picture of tranquility. It is also the site of the Ministry 2 Conference in October of 2009, where respected leaders in the church world will meet to learn how to enhance their ministry using the latest in web technology.

With tech advancements today, there are incredible possibilities available to churches to reach people beyond Sunday mornings. With these possibilities more and more churches are capitalizing on the use of technology in ministry, and even using social media such as Facebook and Twitter in addition to their websites and databases. Churches are being pushed to know more with every technological advance. Ministry 2 was created to help churches keep up. It began with a group of web evangelists, including Matt Carlisle with Big Heart Design in Nashville, TN and Sean McAtee, a web consultant also in Nashville. This group had a heart for the local church, and as Carlisle states they sought to help congregations that wanted to "leverage technology to spread their message." Since then, Ministry 2 has become a hands-on workshop where church staff from all backgrounds can learn and share from one another.

With the relaxed learning environment of the Florida coast as a backdrop, Ministry 2 has big things planned. From hands-on workshops for beginners to more advanced subjects for seasoned web evangelists. Whatever your skill level, Ministry 2 is the place to learn if your church is looking to use more technology in your ministry. Dr. David Foster with The Gathering in Franklin, TN is this year's keynote speaker, and he will be kicking off the weekend with his talk, "Advancing your Church in the Wild New Wireless, Wall-less, Worn-out World." Other leaders on the bill include John Saddington with North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA, Tony Steward with LifeChurch.tv in Edmund, OK, and Nathan Smith with Fellowship Technologies in Dallas, TX. The topics discussed at this year's event cover a broad scope of subjects including using social media for ministry (i.e., Twitter, Facebook), web development, web design and volunteer management.

Registration for Ministry 2 is open and early-bird pricing is still available. Any churches looking to further their ministry using technology should take a look. More information and registration can be found at www.ministry2.org/events .