Record registration for worship conference
Filed Under: Minnesota, national worship conference, Worship
This year's National Conference on Music, Worship, and the Arts, to be held July 28-31 in St. Peter, Minn., already has a record number of registered attendees and presenters—almost 1,000 people—and according to Rev. Bryan Gerlach, administrator for WELS Commission on Worship, more registrations are expected to trickle in before and at the conference.
Gerlach says that he expects the conference will end up with about 250 more attendees than the last conference in 2005. He says the increase in numbers is partly due to the location—there was a lot of positive feedback when the conference was moved to St. Peter in 2005. Other factors include the conference dates, which are not competing with another WELS event like the International Youth Rally, and word-of-mouth advertising.
"One of the presenters at past worship conferences recently told a friend, 'If you only go to the worship services, it's worth the drive,' " says Gerlach. "The friend was kind of skeptical and said, 'At $4.25 a gallon?' And she replied, 'Yes, it's worth the drive because the services are so awesome!' And that's really true."
In addition to the 1,000 people coming from the United States, two people from Sweden and three from Canada will also be attending this year's conference, which features more than 60 workshops, exhibits, corporate worship opportunities, and concerts—including a performance by the conference's largest high school honor choir of more than 130 WELS students nationwide. The new Christian Worship: Supplement will also be introduced.
"People can see this on paper and say, 'Wow, they've got a lot of stuff at this conference,' or they can go to the Web site and see resources from the last conference—but it just doesn't compare to being there," says Gerlach. "One person said after the last conference, 'It's like the Grand Canyon: you can see pictures, but that's nothing like standing at the edge and looking down.' "
For more information or to register, visit www.wels.net/jump/worship-conf
