Within two weeks, those of us in Southern California will get to experience a new kind of conference.

For many reasons conferences in general are becoming increasingly unpopular.  Some of the reasons conferences are loosing their momentum have been discussed previously here.  Most conferences are organized around the old broadcast model of communication.  A single (often dynamic) speaker talking to a large group of passive listeners would be typical, then breakouts based on this same model would follow.

But there are a good handful of new conference models springing up.  For example, I’ve gotten to participate in the two Church Tech Camps (Pasadena & Dallas) which were structured more like conversations with up front moderators but lots of interactive dialog and breakouts that allowed for many individuals to share ideas and insights.

The Idea Camp is similarly structured.   Philosophically open source, The Idea Camp purposefully juxtaposes ideologies, personalities and ministry styles for a diversity of dialog rather than a lecture-based structure.  I, myself, am looking forward to hearing from those I don’t necessarily agree with.

Additionally, there’s a sweeping list of moderators, many of whom use a-typical or pioneer approaches to their ministry endeavors creating a unique setting for both inspiration and the exploration of practical ministry tools.  In fact, although everything is set up open discussion style, the goal is not just talk.  Ideas to implementation would best describe the point of the gathering.

New Song Church in Irvine, California hosts The Idea Camp and it’s free to all.  (But please sign up by creating a profile on The Idea Camp site so we can see who participated!)  And, yes, there are some stellar unannounced guests coming.

Brad Abare www.thinkpersonality.com / www.churchmarketingsucks.com
Greg Atkinson www.gregatkinson.com
Tony Ferraro www.tonyferraro.com / www.360hubs.com
Mike Foster www.ethur.org
Dave Gibbons www.davegibbons.tv
Brent Gudgel www.deidox.com / www.chronicleproject.org
Todd Hiestand www.toddhiestand.com
Scott Hodge www.scotthodge.org
Mark Horvath www.invisiblepeople.tv
Penny Hunter The Revolution
Zach Hunter www.loosechangetoloosenchains
Greg Russinger www.just4one.org
Jeff Shinabarger www.jeffshinabarger.com
Cynthia Ware www.thedigitalsanctuary.org / www.digital.leadnet.org
Rich Kirkpatrick www.richkirkpatrick.com / www.tehillamusic.com
Charles Lee www.charlestlee.com
Dave Mahanes www.chronicleproject.org / www.deidox.com
Shah Afshar www.shahshankedredemption.blogspot.com
Dwight Watson www.surgance.com / www.dwightgwatson.blogspot.com
Eric Bryant www.ericbryant.org
Spencer Burke www.theooze.com
Chad Mayer www.sharefestinc.org
James Pearson www.jamestravels.com
Dan Portnoy www.portnoymediagroup.com
David Ruis www.davidruis.com
Chris Cannon www.kingsharbor.org
Dawn Carter www.decarter.wordpress.com / www.360hubs.com
Eugene Cho www.eugenecho.wordpress.com
DJ Chuang www.djchuang.com / www.digital.leadnet.org
Keith Kall www.worldvision.org
Henry Zonio www.elementalcm.com
Tony Wood www.generatelife.com
Robert Yang www.kindlejoy.com
Dawn Nicole Baldwin www.aspireone.com /
www.dawnnicolebaldwin.typepad.com

Join Rich Kirkpatrick and I for a Social Media in Ministry breakout to share implementable ideas.