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2021 Spark Conference
August 12, 2021
Thanks to our partners, Georgia Baptists, Pennsylvania/South Jersey Baptists can look forward to igniting their ministries next year at Spark 2021. The Spark Conference, which first premiered in August 2020 and reached over 33,000 total views on the Spark website, will return Aug. 12, 2021.
For those who took advantage of the conference in 2020, the 2021 event will provide a similar schedule and digital format.
Currently, the event will be completely online. Scott Sullivan, GBMB discipleship catalyst and Spark coordinator, said the first Spark Conference was born out of a desire to meet needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s online-only layout was the first of its kind hosted by the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
“The fully virtual side of the conference is something we will do again in 2021,” Sullivan said. “We are able to train more people and get the training down into the trenches of the local church where it needs to be when we go fully digital.”
Sullivan said the August 12 premiere will offer a full day of content with multiple keynote and breakout speakers. The theme for this year is “DREAM.”
“The point of that is to challenge leaders to lead well now, but spend necessary time learning to be future-tense thinkers,” Sullivan said. “We want them to not just be overwhelmed with the present but be laying a foundation for future success.”
Tony Evans, Ben Mandrell, Charles Lowery, and David Kinnaman will be the keynote speakers for the conference that will be held completely online.
“The 2021 speakers will help us ‘understand the times’ (1 Chronicles 12:32) and dream God-sized dreams for the Church moving forward,” Scott Sullivan, Georgia Baptist Mission Board Discipleship catalyst and Spark coordinator, confirmed.
“We are very excited about providing four of the nation’s top leaders as keynotes for SPARK 2021,” Sullivan added.
Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. He will “bring the pastor’s perspective and will speak to the heart of our leaders,” Sullivan shared.
Ben Mandrell is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, Tenn. Mandrell is “leading one of the most significant shifts at LifeWay and will speak from a church planter’s mindset,” Sullivan explained.
Charles Lowery, president and CEO of Lowery Institute for Excellence, Inc., a non-profit training and consulting organization, “will bring humor as he encourages relationships which are very much under attack during the pandemic,” Sullivan said.
David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, “will share fresh research and best practices as he delivers a state of the church message,” Sullivan added.
In addition to the keynotes, breakout sessions will include tracks for discipleship, evangelism, missions, and many others to be announced.
Last year, the conference premiered on a Friday. In 2021, the conference is slated to premiere on a Thursday. Sullivan cited evaluations from both GBMB staff and conference attendees as a reason for the change.
“It came from our team and several dozen pastors in the state when we asked specifically about the day and format,” Sullivan said. “Thursdays were easier to gather staff or leaders and sit around a computer and watch the premiere.”
The August 12 premiere will be free like last year. However, the content for registrants will only be free until August 31. There will be a digital pass available for purchase – $10 for an individual, $29 for a church, and $99 for an association. This pass gives year-long access to all Spark keynotes, resources, and breakout sessions.
“The target audience for the premiere is the leader or leaders of a church,” Sullivan said. “The larger audience comes when associations or churches host an event centered around the content from Spark.”
In 2020, there were 206 host sites around the world that utilized content from the Spark Conference. As hosts for the event, the churches and associations were able to use content from Spark weeks and months after the premiere.
Sullivan said the quality of keynotes and breakouts makes the Spark Conference a competitor with similar conferences. However, the fact the conference is free and later offered at such a low price means it is the best-valued conference in the nation.
“The goal for 2021 isn’t to do bigger and better,” Sullivan said. “It’s to build on the quality of 2020.”
To sign up for early registration notifications, visit thesparkconference.com.
