By Justin Horey
Iattended the NACC only once before joining the marketing team at Provision Ministry Group in 2002, so I have little with which to compare today”s conventions. But I have gathered, through my involvement with this high-profile “ministry partner” over the past seven years, that the convention isn”t what it used to be. Before and during the convention, I am often asked, usually in a somber tone, “How are registrations this year?”
Apparently the only thing that matters about the convention””at least to those who question me””is the attendance. No one ever asks me who was there, or who spoke, or what it was like. I find it curious so many of our churches refuse to be measured by this standard, but no one seems to object to judging the convention by attendance alone.
Frankly, as an exhibitor, the overall attendance at the convention is of little concern to me. I am not interested in how many people are there; I want to know if the right people are there. If our teams from Church Development Fund and Stadia are able to begin productive relationships with church planters, donors, church leaders, or new investors during the week, then our expense as an exhibitor and our presence at the convention are justified. Unfortunately, however, that is happening less and less often””perhaps as a result of the declining total attendance.
EXCELLENT PROGRAM
In my experience the NACC program is excellent. I”ve been to only a few main sessions, but every one has been outstanding, and this year”s Wednesday morning session with Jon Weece””the one I attended in Cincinnati””was no exception.
Still, there is nothing the NACC leadership could do to convince me to bring my family to the event. As an exhibitor, I believe the NACC has the potential to offer something of value to the organizations I serve, but if I suddenly found myself employed by an organization outside the Restoration Movement, I doubt I would ever attend the convention again. While the program in recent years has been strong, it could never be strong enough to motivate me to attend for personal, rather than professional, reasons.
ENGAGING MISSION?
I know many disagree with me, and many NACC attendees do in fact spend their vacation time and budgets to be there. But many more choose to stay home. Perhaps more would be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to attend a weeklong convention if it had a stronger mission, vision, or calling.
The National New Church Conference (widely heralded as a phenomenal success despite attendance that is less than half the NACC”s) has a clear mission, as does the National Missionary Convention. I think this is the critical issue facing the North American. “The Connecting Place,” while accurate, does not appear to be an effective draw for those who are not already engaged.
If simply increasing attendance is the goal, then I imagine a shorter event would attract more attendees. I haven”t attended a Friday morning session in years, and I assume many other exhibitors, after tearing down on Thursday evening, also choose to catch the first flight home. Likewise, opening the exhibit hall at noon on Tuesday in anticipation of a 7:00 pm opening session seems like a waste. Why not begin with a Tuesday morning session (like the other days) and wrap up the event after the Thursday evening main session?
On the other hand, if the chief goal of the convention is””as I sometimes hear””to be a family reunion of sorts, then perhaps it should model itself after a high school reunion and stop meeting every year. The NACC might be able to create demand””a sense of scarcity””by meeting every other year, as it did in the 1930s and “40s, or even every four years (it works for the Olympics). I would expect, however, that without a new and compelling vision, the event will””like a high school reunion””grow smaller with each meeting.
Minor programmatic changes might have some effect on attendance (and would likely please more than just this exhibitor), but I believe such an emphasis on the headcount is misguided. Maybe the NACC is an idea whose time has come and gone, but I think the growth of events like the NNCC and NMC prove there is an appetite among Christian church members for large annual gatherings. Whether the event ultimately draws hundreds or thousands (or tens of thousands) will matter less if those who choose to go are drawn by a meaningful mission or vision.
Establishing such a vision will, of course, require that the convention”s leaders determine who “the right people” are for the NACC. It will be a daunting task, but as I consider the future of the convention, I am reminded of Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (King James Version). The same, I believe, could be said of the NACC.
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Justin Horey is marketing and public relations manager for Provision Ministry Group, Irvine, California.
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