10 Top Church Leadership Conferences You Don’t Want to Miss

Why do church leaders attend conferences? What is the purpose of these gatherings and what do leaders gain by attending? The simple answer is that the conference atmosphere often provides church leaders precious time away from the grind of church life to refresh, learn, expand, gather resources, and connect with other leaders.

Conferences, especially if your whole leadership team can go together, are also great places to learn and grow as a group. Teams can even set aside specific time to cast vision, pray, and plan for the future. Choosing the right conferences to attend is important.

Here are 10 top leadership conferences to check out:

1- ARC Conference

The Association of Related Churches (ARC) “exists to help couples with a dream in their heart to reach their city with the hope of Jesus.” Focused on assisting church planters in casting vision, these conferences are designed to connect church pastors and leaders, to encourage church planters, and to champion the cause of Christ.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• April 17-18, 2018 – Birmingham, AL

2 – Catalyst

This leaders conference was founded to focus on a new generation of church leaders, to strengthen leaders across the world, and to unify, equip, and challenge these leaders from varying streams, traditions, and generations of the Church.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• October 24, 2017 – One Day in OKC
• October 26, 2017 – One Day in Central PA
• November 9, 2017 – One Day in Seattle, WA
• April 12-13, 2018 – West
• October 4-5, 2018 – Atlanta, GA

3 – Christian Leadership Alliance Outcomes Conference

The Christian Leadership Alliance has been hosting its annual Outcomes Conference for more than 40 years and celebrates the strengthening of leadership and impact, and believes Christian leaders can accomplish more when they are united.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• April 17-19, 2018 – Dallas, TX

4- Creative Church Conference

The C3 Conference is passionate about bringing a new level of excellence to churches and hope to communities by bringing together thousands of leaders and influencers from around the world and all walks of life to connect; renew passion, address issues grow vision, build foundations for a healthy families, build and grow a healthy church, and create a culture of excellence.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• C3 2017 On Demand
• February 14-15, 2018 – Dallas, TX
  

5 – Exponential Conference

This gathering of thousands of church planting leaders for inspiration, encouragement, and challenge offers unique opportunities to meet and connect with leaders and other planters, and participate in 200+ workshops that are targeted to planters' specific needs and with 150+ of today's top leaders in five main stage sessions.This is the largest gathering of church planting leaders in the world.

Regional conferences are also offered and designed to bring the full impact of the national conference closer to home, for leaders who can't afford the time and money to attend a national conference or those who want to bring their whole team.  

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• National Exponential 2018: February 26-March 1, 2018 – Orlando, FL
• Regional Conferences
  • October 25-26, 2017 – Bay Area, CA
  • November 7-8, 2017 – Chicago, IL
  • November 29-30, 2017 – Houston, TX
  • September 10-11, 2018 – Washington, DC
  • October 2-4, 2018 – Los Angeles, CA

6 – Global Leadership Summit  

This two days of world-class leadership training offering a unique blend of vision, inspiration, and practical skills that can be used as resources for personal and community transformation. Join a community of like-minded Christians from 128 countries and 60 languages from around the world.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• August 9-10, 2018 – Live HD Telecast

7 – Leadercast Live

Leadercast Live is an annual conference and the world's largest one-day leadership event, with more than 100,000 attendees at 700+ locations across 20 countries. It is designed for individuals and groups seeking inspiration and improvement in leadership. Host Site partnerships are also offered to allow virtual participation in the live conferences.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• May 4, 2018 – Duluth, GA
• Host Sites available for online event attendance

8 – North Coast Training – Sticky Teams

North Coast Training helps craft strong and stable ministries that prepare individuals and teams to break through barriers, overcome plateaus, and position themselves for growth. Offer a variety of programs and services that cater to specific needs and help lead ministries to the next level. Areas of expertise include team development, strategy/direction, senior leadership, creating clarity, small group ministry, and multi-site ministry.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• October 16-17, 2018 – San Diego, CA

9 – Synergize 2018! Conference

This global conference for pastors and leaders is a gathering where church leaders can network, synergize, mobilize and renew.  

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• January 23-25, 2018 – Orlando. FL

10 – Thrive Leadership Conference

This three-day conference is designed to ignite passion and recharge leadership through world-class speakers, inspiring worship, networking with other pastors and leaders, encouragement, fresh ideas, and lots of fun to ignite churches and businesses.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• May 3-5, 2018 – Sacramento, CA

Conferences Are…

In essence, conferences are an opportunity for church leaders to do quality professional development and to learn. Congregations want healthy, vibrant leaders and should empower and encourage their leaders to attend conferences on a regular basis, which could be annually or even quarterly. Fresh and enthusiastic leaders need support, inspiration, and perspective. Conferences are a natural venue where leaders can take the time they need to access vital supportive resources.

PLUS 2 Bonus Conference Listings

1 – Q Conference

This three-day event that brings together the ideas and current issues shaping society, and the truth that transforms the world, to encourage young Christian leaders to look ahead at what is possible through God's work. Education by thought leaders and stories from changemakers are offered to inspire a hopeful way forward and equip leaders for the difficult conversations and extraordinary opportunities that lay ahead.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• April 11-13, 2018 – Nashville, TN

#2 – The 400 Gathering

This gathering in Silicon Valley is part of the Leadership Network and brings together senior and executive pastors with high tech business leaders for an opportunity to learn about excellence in leadership, change, organization structure, and expansion. It includes idea sharing and community building as attendees compare experiences, review case studies and exchange ideas with leaders from churches facing similar challenges.

Upcoming Conference Dates:

• November 7-8, 2017 – San Jose, CA

Additional Conference Resource Section

A few other websites have compiled helpful lists of conferences:

• http://www.theologydegrees.org/features/christian-leadership-conferences/
• https://churchm.ag/church-conferences/
• https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2015/05/top-30-christian-conferences-2015-2016/
• http://paulsohn.org/top-8-conferences-every-christian-leader-must-attend/