Conferences are one of the best places for church leaders to get training, inspiration, and connect with like-minded leaders. Attending a conference is one of the most effective ways to jumpstart your professional development in a short period of time.

For this reason, there are a ton of great conferences on church leadership each year. Each one offers something unique and provides a memorable experience. But you can’t go to them all—because we all have limited time and a limited budget. It’s important to pick out a few that you could potentially attend and choose wisely. 

So what are some of the best conferences for church leaders coming up in 2020? To answer that question, my friend Robert Carnes collected some of our suggestions along with the important details (listed in chronological order).

1. Engage Conference

Join thousands of other church leaders online for the free Engage Conference. Over 30 leaders in the church technology space will help you navigate digital tools and strategies to, as their website says, “help your members and guests feel known, noticed, and loved.”

2. Courage To Lead Live

Experience one phenomenal day with faith-based leaders discovering the latest tactics and mastering organizational leadership in 2020.  The conference faculty includes Shawn Lovejoy, Chris Hodges, and Jon Gordon.  I will also be there live-blogging this event!

3. C3 Conference

The C3 Conference is a two-day event for church leaders to get intensive coaching, inspirational teaching, and build intentional relationships. C3 is hosted by Fellowship Church and their senior pastor Ed Young.

4. Exponential Conference

The Exponential Conference is primarily focused on helping church planting and multiplication. In 2020, the theme is TOGETHER: Pursuing the Great Collaboration. The event will feature over 100 speakers, 150 workshops, and 10 pre-conference intensives. 

5. Center for Church Leadership Summit

The Center for Church Leadership is focused on helping sustain and equip people who work in ministry. Their single-day annual summit is focused on re-introducing the Great Commission and helping pastors create a disciple-making church.

6. Catalyst West

According to the website: Catalyst West is “a two-day experience to help leaders build great churches, grow strong teams, and be a catalyst for change.” The theme for Catalyst 2020 is Give Us This Day. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the conference, which began in 2000.

7. The Orange Conference

This may just be my favorite conference all year (perhaps because I work for the company the organizes the conference.) Join us at #OC20 where we’ll be talking about why every generation needs a new revolution. This is an event for your entire family ministry team where you can get aligned.

8. ReThink Leadership

If you’re a senior pastor and want to get the same great experience as Orange Conference, why not join us for ReThink Leadership? It happens at the same time and place as Orange Conference, but with speakers and content specifically for lead pastors.

9. LeaderCast Live

LeaderCast Live is billed as the “world’s largest one-day event.” That’s mainly because if you can’t attend the live event in Atlanta, you can find a local host site that will be live streaming the sessions from across the country. 

10. LIFT

LIFT is a collective of worship leaders, creatives, and musicians within the church. This gathering is an opportunity to learn and grow from one another at Passion City Church in Atlanta. The two-day event includes main session teaching, worship, and breakouts on specific topics.

11. VOUS Conference

VOUS (French for “you”) exists for people to “encounter God, equip the church, and empower next-generation leaders.” It’s hosted by VOUS Church in Miami by pastors Rich and DawnCheré Wilkerson. 

12. That Church Conference

That Church Conference is billed as the “biggest church communications and marketing event of the year.” 2020 marks the 6th year of the conference, which features main sessions and breakouts all on the subjects of church marketing and communications.

13. Catalyst East

Similar to the Catalyst West event, this gathering brings together some of the top leaders and speakers from around the country. The Catalyst team will be bringing the same theme and energy from the west coast back to the east coast for the fall.

14. REFUEL

REFUEL is a chance for church leaders to grow and rejuvenate their own spiritual growth. Hosted on the campus of Thomas Road Baptist Church, the one-day conference is completely free for church leaders to attend.

15. National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC)

The National Youth Workers Convention (NYWC) is a gathering of people from all around the country (and the world!) who work with and care about teenagers. It’s an opportunity for you and your team to get equipped, be inspired and encouraged, do some bonding and team building, and have fun!

Which church leader conferences will you be attending in 2020?

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