IRVINE, CA (March 3, 2009) – More than 2,000 individuals participated in The Idea Camp this past weekend at Newsong Covenant Church – a unique event described by its sponsors as “a gathering of innovative and creative leaders from around the country to share ideas, intentionally network, and move collaboratively into idea-making.”
Approximately 500 people gathered in the worship area at Newsong, with another 1,600 joining the conference online via a live streaming broadcast. The general sessions also incorporated a time for worship.
The camp was free with the focus on the participants, not keynote speakers. “We function on the belief that the crowd is always smarter and wiser than any one speaker,” notes the camp’s website. Also missing were booths, banners and other promotional emphases so typical of traditional conference settings.
The general sessions incorporated another creative feature – questions sent to presenters in the form of text messages from those in the live audience (via cell phone) or by computer for those joining the streaming broadcast – the presenters responded to those questions as they appeared on a stage monitor.
A number of workshops were presented during the two-day event, which began Friday and concluded on Saturday. Sessions included such topics as the art of networking, connection strategies for mavericks in ministry, practical ideas for community development and catalyzing diverse communities, as well as church leadership, church planting and creating a culture of authenticity.
“The awesome thing about The Idea Camp and social media coming together is that even though there were around 500 in attendance (with hundreds more viewing online), I believe the impact of this conference will be felt by thousands of people,” said one participant of the event. “Ideas are being broadcast into the blogosphere and twittersphere . . . the momentum will continue and ideas will not die.”
Another participant, assessing the longer term impact of the conference, suggested that more people will follow The Idea Camp model around the country and even in other areas of the world, all possible because of the global nature of the Internet and social networking.
An update emailed to camp participants notes that all of the general sessions, which were videotaped, are being positioned in a special website section where they can be downloaded without charge. Also added over the next two weeks will be backstage interviews with many of the facilitators. Click here to access that website section.
