By Stephanie Lippi
Whew! CFX 2021 is officially over, and we couldn’t have been more excited, honored and blessed to have so many people join us at our inaugural event! Thank you to each one of you who attended and supported us.
Monday
The week started off with a special tour of the Dallas Theological Seminary Chapel & Student Life Center. This new building was recently completed through the joint efforts of GFF Architects, Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors, and Idibri. The beauty of this project was that they were able to create a space that doesn’t feel overly large but still has space for a large crowd, allows for the public to come in throughout the week to gather in the coffee space common area or spend time in the chapel, and provides students with the ability to learn how to plan and execute services with up-to-date technology and facilities. Attendees were amazed by the thoughtful design and excited to see the innovative ways in which technology and facilities were utilized for maximum community impact.
Tuesday
Tuesday kicked off the official first day of the conference with a bang! Each of the 8:00 AM breakout sessions were filled with attendees who were eager to learn and excited to interact—and this trend continued throughout the rest of the day! When the Expo Floor opened at 11:00 AM, there was a constant buzz of conversation as attendees were able to discover new products and services available to them: from AVL tech companies and integrators, to architectural design companies, to creative services and leadership opportunities, there was something for everyone!
Wednesday
Day 2 was another successful day of learning, engagement and networking. Backstage tours of the general session production technology showed attendees how teams worked together to create a worship experience that they could take to inspire them in their home churches. Attendees continued to learn from the various breakout sessions, CFX Talks, Ask the Experts Panels, and they discovered new products and services available to them through Exhibitor Demos and conversations on the Expo Floor.
Both evenings of the conference ended with a Networking Reception, where attendees, speakers and exhibitors mingled together to build their relationships and discover new opportunities available. These receptions were followed by our Nights of Worship & Keynote Addresses, where each of us was challenged to view our roles as church staff and as Christians differently in order to RECONNECT, REENGAGE, & RENEW our focus as we work to grow our ministries.
Thursday
Finally, after the conference was over, a group of attendees had the opportunity to tour Watermark Community Church. It started off with an overview from church leadership as to how the entire campus and church plant campuses was intentionally designed to fit the needs the church had in the moment, while always looking forward to what God had in store for them next. Attendees were inspired by every detail of the building’s design and encouraged to see how they can be intentional with any future upgrades or church building projects in their home churches.
Overall, the resounding sentiment was that people were able to find the resources they’ve been looking for, with their leadership also present in order to help make decisions, and the learning opportunities were just what people were hoping to experience. One woman shared that she had just taken on the position of Facilities & Operations Manager at her church in May, and she was excited to have so many opportunities to learn how to be the best manager she could be. Another young man who was a video operator said he learned so much from the sessions and exhibitors, and he now has more confidence in his role. A pastoral assistant said he’s planning to bring more staff back next year because there is so much value in attending.
A Personal Note of Thanks
As the conference manager, I’m so blessed to discover these things. Each one of us at CFX worked so very hard to make sure this event was exactly what each of you needed. I personally searched high and low to find speakers to share their wisdom on the topics I learned you wanted to dig into on a deeper level. To know that our efforts paid off, I can only give God the glory and praise Him for his discernment, wisdom and guidance as we journeyed along this path. Thank you to each one of you for believing in us, and for partnering with us as we continue to build our CFX Community!
If you were on the fence about coming this year, we hope that things work out for you to attend CFX 2022, which will again be held in Dallas. (FYI – registration is open already!) Hopefully the testimonials of attendees, speakers, and exhibitors will encourage you to join us next year!