FaithVillage at the STORY Conference

Admittedly, the hair on my feet tingled when Sean Astin walked into the room behind me at the private Backstage Leadership Q&A gathering sponsored by David C. Cook. Sean was a last minute addition to the STORY Conference lineup, but I didn’t expect him to be involved in this small session. Sean, Stephen Brewster (Cross Point Church), Bethany Hoang(International Justice Mission), Jarrett Stevens (Soul City Church), Blaine Hogan (Willow Creek Community Church), and JR Kerr spoke about the creative process, Sean’s pectoral calisthenics in 50 First Dates, and the barriers to getting things done.

And the conference hadn’t even begun.

The STORY Conference
Hosted at Park Community Church in Chicago (the church you’ll soon see as the model for The Church at FaithVillage), the STORY conference created indelible moments that attendees are likely still considering. With speakers like Ed Dobson and Lauren Chandler to artists like Listener and John Mark McMillan, church creatives left Chicago both challenged and rejuvenated. For some of the best recaps, check out Tim Schraeder’s notes for each speaker or get a behind-the-scenes look via Sarah Cunningham’s mini-yearbook.

One Thousand Premieres
STORY founder Ben Arment also talked about One Thousand Premieres, a new and intriguing project that aims to circumvent traditional production routes by calling on churches and organizations to partner with One Thousand Premieres so that the epic story of David vs. Goliath can be told to a new generation. You can choose to host a premiere ordonate a tweet a day.

FaithVillage @ STORY
With hundreds of creatives in attendance, FaithVillage had the opportunity to talk with many different types of content producers, from transmedia storytellers to bloggers to video producers to publishers to church staff members. All of them shared different stories with us, but a certain theme kept punctuating our conversations: What more can I do with what I create? At FaithVillage, we want to help storytellers get their stories heard, whether they choose to tell that story through an article, a podcast, a video, an image, or a downloadable asset. We loved hearing these stories and hope to help a wide variety of storytellers find a wider audience via FaithVillage.

An Interview with Ian Morgan Cron
Speaking of storytellers, author and STORY speaker Ian Morgan Cron was kind enough to sit down with our Senior Editor Brad Russell for a short interview. We’ll have that up later this week. In the meantime, read our review of his most recent work Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me. 

Connections
While we always enjoy a good road trip, replete with copious amounts of food from Hot Doug’s and Pizzeria Uno, FaithVillage seeks to make meaningful connections. It’s one of the reasons this post is overflowing with links. With so much great content out there being created by so many people within the church, we want to partner with them and with you so that this content can reach a much wider audience. If you’re interested in learning more, check out the FaithVillage content partnership FAQ.

Next Up: Catalyst Atlanta
With just enough time to recover from the STORY Conference, our next road trip will be to Atlanta for the Catalyst Conference Oct. 5-7. If you’re going to be there, come by the FaithVillage booth, get a free T-shirt, and connect with us. You’ll be able to sign up for early access when the FaithVillage beta site launches in a few short months, and you’ll be able to learn more about how your story can be heard by a larger audience.

Originally posted on September 20, 2011