As the Foursquare denomination holds its annual convention in Anaheim this week, they're connecting with a broader audience by live-streaming video from its evening sessions (using Watershed, the customizable version of ustream.tv) and a Twitter feed using hashtag #connect09 for near real-time conversations.
On a more pioneering effort, Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Network appears to be launching a monthly webcast, according to this email I received:
Thursday’s subject will be The Jesus Model for Missions. During the webcast the chat room will be open for you to submit questions and connect with other webcast viewers. Registration opens Thursday morning, May 28 at 9:00am PST at www.saddleback.com/PDNwebcast.
Earlier last month, this press release, "Christians Use Online Social Networking to Strengthen Community During Christianity.com Webcast", described how The Gospel Coalition connected to its audience using web tools, and its impact:
Richmond, VA. April 29, 2009 – Discussion surrounding Christianity.com’s live webcast of The Gospel Coalition 2009 National Conference on April 21 – 23, took the social network site Twitter.com by storm as hundreds of viewers and attendees dialogued about conference speakers and shared notes online.
“While churches and Christian ministries often struggle to determine the best ways to utilize the internet to reach a broader audience, Christianity.com’s webcast of The Gospel Coalition’s Conference proved that the Christian church and community can embrace new technologies and advance the Gospel in ways never before imagined,” said Stephen McGarvey, the executive editor of Christianity.com. “We are thrilled by the enormous positive response we’ve received about this event, especially from our friends on popular social networking websites like Twitter.com and Facebook.com”
On the first day of the live webcast, Twitter.com comments for the Christianity.com/The Gospel Coalition webcast by online viewers and attendees soared to over 1,100 posts, sending it to the homepage of Twitter and into the daily top 20 most talked about items. Conference participants posted over 2,400 times on Twitter.com during the three day event.
More than 26,000 people visited the free video webcast on Christianity.com. Additional participation on the social network site Facebook.com and in the personal blogs of influential church leaders also contributed to the immense success of the webcast.
“This conference webcast brought challenging theological teaching to thousands who were unable to attend the conference due to financial and other constraints. Social networking websites allowed these online viewers to interact with those in actual attendance,” added McGarvey. “From new Christians to long-time church attendees to church leaders and established pastors, everyone benefited from The Gospel Coalition speakers and the ability to interface with one another about event."
“By all measures the webcast was a tremendous success,” said The Gospel Coalition Co-founder Don Carson, a Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield Illinois. “This technology enabled us to reach a far greater audience than otherwise possible. We are grateful for the partnership with Christianity.com.”
All sessions from The Gospel Coalition 2009 National Conference are available on-demand for free at Christianity.com as well as video of theological questions answered by The Gospel Coalition pastors and leaders.
Visit: http://www.christianity.com/
With more than 3,000 in attendance at the conference in Chicago, Illinois, Christianity.com is pleased to expand the reach of The Gospel Coalition’s message as delivered by some of the most respected church leaders today including Tim Keller, John Piper, and Mark Driscoll. As the online destination for spiritual growth and theological resources, the team at Christianity.com looks forward to offering future live webcasts and solid biblical content for Christians around the world.
Are you noticing how conferences are incorporating web technologies during the event? What have you found most useful as an attender? How do you think event planners can select the right tools to accompany their conferences?
// DJ Chuang, Director at Leadership Network
great post DJ; thanks for spotlighting the growing expectation of the congregation to be included & engaged with regardless of time & space boundaries.
Posted by: cynthia | May 28, 2009 at 11:24 AM