Well, for the time at Catalyst that I did have (before I got sick), I made my way around to most of the exhibits and got to catch up with some cool people involved with some great companies and ministries. I say “most” because I know REV Magazine (which I’ve written for and highly recommend) was there, but I never saw their booth. I somehow totally missed their booth and Alan Nelson, who’s blog I encourage you to check out.
I’ve gone through my bag and want to simply mention the following companies/resources that I ran into at the conference. These are in no particular order. I’m just pulling promo literature out of my bag and typing. Here goes:
- PowerPointSermons.com – These two brothers are really talented graphic designers and just so happen to be based in Dallas. I had heard of them, but had never met them until Catalyst. Quality graphics available via a 1 year subscription. If you know me, you know I’m not a big fan of subscription services, but if this will meet a need for you and saves you money – go for it.
- FaithHighway – I’ve often mentioned this company in articles, conversations and at conferences. They build custom websites, make TV commercials and more and I think they’re a solid company. I blogged about them a while back.
- The Bible Experience – This is the most ambitious undertaking in recent recording history. The Bible is brought to life by a collection of distinguished artists and personalities (I’m talking people like Denzel Washington, TD Jakes, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson) in a complete and fully dramatized audio recording of all 66 Books of Scripture. If you’ve been to one of my “Multi-sensory Worship” workshops, you’ve heard me mention the use of audio versions of the Bible to break away from a routine reading of Scripture by your pastor.
- InteractiveWorshipLIVE – With a computer and their interactive backing tracks, your worship service can be transformed no matter what size worship team you have.
- Igniter Media Group and WorshipHouse Media – I got to spend a little bit of time with my friends from Igniter and WorshipHouse. They had one of the sharpest looking booths at the entire conference. They came with some new t-shirts, freebies and nice, new catalogs for both companies. Good stuff!
- XXX Church – These guys rock! I shook each of their hands and thanked them for their ministry to the Church and particularly to pastors. Did you know that 51% of pastors admit that looking at internet pornography is their biggest temptation? Did you know that 54% of pastors have viewed internet porn within the last year??? Here’s a stat from Christianity Today: 4 out of 10 pastors looked at porn today. They just put up a new campaign on their website entitled “Pastors and Porn”. CHECK IT OUT! There’s a video message from Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.tv. I also picked up their new book “Starving Jesus“, which I will read and review soon.
- Restoration Videos – This is a new company that I just came across and I’m sure you’ll see on websites like SermonSpice, The Shoutable Store and WorshipHouse soon. Go to their website to download their FREE video.
- Speaking of the Big 3 media clearing houses, they were all 3 at Catalyst. MediaShout had the most pitiful booth I’ve ever seen them use in public. If it was all they had, I would keep my mouth shut, but I’ve seen their “A” booth/their big-boy booth at other conferences. Catalyst is a conference with over 10,000 Church leaders – why not break out your A-booth for that? SermonSpice was sharing space with Angelhouse Media – I had a chance to have lunch and catch up with George Temple, Founder of SermonSpice. And as I mentioned earlier, Igniter and WorshipHouse were present and shared space together.
- Flashlight Films – I was very happy that my friends Trey and Grant from Flashlight Films were at Catalyst. I got to eat lunch with them (Yes, this was the same day I had lunch with George Temple – maybe that’s why I was sick the next day) and hear about some sweet new projects they have in the works. I can’t say anything except that you’ll dig these new resources when they go public. I think they ran out of all the promo stuff they had. Their “Flashlight Films Vol. 1“, which I blogged about before, was getting heavy attention. They had some sweet t-shirts (which, by the way, I never got my shirt, fellas) and won major “cool points” for their name tags which were video iPods displaying a demo reel of Flashlight’s products. They gave away the video iPods in a drawing – pretty cool.
- Timbuktoons – Another media company that I worked with at WorshipHouse is Timbuktoons. I had talked with their founder, Todd, many times on the phone, but this was my first time to meet him face to face. Timbuktoons is on the cutting edge of media resources for your children’s ministry.
- Sarti Design – I also bumped into Leigh Sarti of Sarti Design – one of my favorite producers. I show their still backgrounds and loops at every conference I do. I also used many of their backgrounds when I ran media for a Shane & Shane concert. Sarti rocks!
- GrowingLeaders.com – I just picked up a flyer from their booth and have emailed them to find out more about their company.
- Relevant – I don’t know if I’ve blogged about Relevant before, but they are in my top friends on my Myspace page. I love Relevant Magazine and Relevant Leader magazine. I love Relevant’s approach to everything. From content to design, they are hands-down one of the coolest organizations around. You can check out my article on their website HERE. If you’re not already a subscriber to their magazines, I encourage you to sign up!
- Frontline – This is a ministry/church that I was very familiar with when I lived in Washington DC. They were at Catalyst to get the word out about their new “Future Leaders Program“. Frontline and McLean Bible Church are looking for passionate young leaders for their 1-year paid intership program.
- Standard Publishing – Standard was pumping us their new H2O project, which was done by City on a Hill Productions – one of my favorite producers. I’ve been hearing about them working on this project for a year now. It was good to finally see it finished and ready to be purchased. Check HERE for more info.
- TheUnreachable.com – All I got was a business card. I went to their website, but there’s nothing there. The card intrigued me. I hope they’ll go LIVE with their website/ministry soon.
- The Amazing Change – I just picked up one of their buttons from a table, but do encourage you to check out their website and sign their petition.
- SiteOrganic – I got to talk to Brad, the founder of SiteOrganic for a while and catch up. We used Brad and his company at my church in Washington DC. He’s great to work with and does a super job. I encourage you to check them out if you’re church or ministry website is in need of a facelift.
- FreeChurchPrinting.com – I found out about the launch of this company at MinistryCOM. I knew two of the guys from when they worked at Outreach. These guys are sharp and growing fast. Join the “reach more, spend less” revolution! And YES, they do have actual FREE resources available at their website! You choose free designs, get free direct labor, free pre-press work and free printing on a wide range of products with fresh new designs EVERY MONTH. Your only cost on these items will be a very moderate perpack order processing & handling fee + shipping.
If you’ve stuck with me this far, I have one final category. The category is design and branding. I’ve blogged about Church Marketing Sucks and their great ministry to the Church before. I also mentioned this topic when I blogged about MinistryCOM. The area of branding and design is becoming more and more crucial to the Church and Church leaders. There are professional companies that can help you go from an idea or a vision to a full-fledged branding campaign. I’m not talking about a new logo guys, I’m talking about a new look and strategy from A-Z. Here are two companies that I run into often at conferences and talked with each at Catalyst:
- Aspire One – I got to talk with Co-founder Dawn Nicole Baldwin for about an hour. I had met her at MinistryCOM and before that at the Buzz Conference. She really has a talented team and a good grasp on the importantance of proper branding for churches and ministries.
- Change Design Group – I first met these folks 1 year ago in San Diego. I’ve since ran into them at other conferences. I love their work, their approach and must say – they have some of the coolest t-shirts around. They are a true one-stop-branding-shop!