Events
Top Conference for Church Creatives: Shift Worship Takes on SALT
About the SALT 2023 Conference
All church creatives need the proper tools and encouragement to make their visions come to life and be successful. At the SALT conference-this is exactly what they aim to do.
Who is SALT?
“SALT is a community where you can be connected, be equipped, and be inspired in your creative calling.” They place less focus on using creativity for outreach, and more on using it as a way to spread the Kingdom of God. SALT’s goal is to use creativity as an addition to what the church has to offer. From SALT: “We believe that creativity is a seasoning, it’s not the main course or a substantive side dish because creativity has no nutritional value.” (Hence the name)
SALT aims to glorify the name of Jesus Christ, and wants to support others in that mission as well.
Why Attend the Conference?
- Have Top Creative Questions Answered
- Learn About the Top Practices
- Connect and Relate with Fellow Creatives
- Refresh and Gain Inspiration
At the conference there were tons of workshops designed to help church creatives learn about tools, tactics, and technology that help place focus on God. The Goal was for this knowledge to be shared and implemented in the church. The SALT team wanted to make sure that attendees felt rested and refreshed. Hands-on training sessions took place that focused on subjects like worship leading, improving audio, online church strategy, growing social media, service programming, design tips, storytelling, website traffic, filmmaking, and so much more!
Shift Worship Takes on SALT Conference
Shift Worship was fortunate enough to sponsor and attend this conference as a special guest! We appreciate those who stopped by our booth to meet our wonderful team, and learn about our amazing products and services.
Shift Worship’s Favorite Part of the Conference
We had a blast connecting with and getting to know some of our amazing subscribers! Many shared their insights about our site and media-all of which was perfect feedback to continue producing amazing content that glorifies the message of God. Our team also had the privilege of connecting with the other vendors such as Intentional Merch, Gloo, Sermon Shots, The Church Co and so so many more!
Insight & Knowledge Gained
SALT is one of the few times a year that our team has the opportunity to meet our amazing members, as well as make new friends! We loved hearing about how our subscribers use their memberships for services, and how they customize their own media. SALT is also the perfect time to connect with people who have never heard of Shift Worship, and share all the amazing benefits that a subscription offers. We have a blast doing live demos and face-to-face conversations about using digital media to spread the kingdom of God.
Goal For Those Who Attended
Our goal at the SALT Conference was to showcase and educate guests about the many different ways that churches can use visuals in their service. Shift Worship is the perfect for anyone who needs media for services and events. Your focus is the church and/or spreading God’s kingdom-and we want to equip you with the tools to capture the largest audience possible and do the heavy lifting so you can focus on the larger message.
Types & Sizes of Churches That Would Benefit
We suggest that smaller to midsize churches attend this conference, since there are so many new technological exhibitors and breakout sessions to help people with smaller churches and limited resources to get better at their technology!
Shift Worship Wants to Share…
One our favorite moment of the conference was giving away a few free annual memberships! We also enjoyed handing out t-shirts to all of the attendees.
A Creative Collision: Shift Worship Sponsors AI & the Church Hackathon Hosted By Gloo
AI & The Church Hackathon
In a world where technology is reshaping our future, innovation has never been more critical. Shift Worship recently had the incredible opportunity to sponsor AI & the Church Hackathon, hosted by Gloo in Boulder, Colorado. The event attracted an astonishing 41 diverse teams, each showcasing their creative prowess in
the field of using artificial intelligence for the Church’s benefit. The hackathon was a testament to the immense potential of AI and how to use it for good. For those who want to relive the excitement, we’ve included a link to the video of the event!
A Surge of Creativity
With 41 teams in competition, the hackathon was a whirlwind of creative energy and innovation. Participants ranged from seasoned AI experts to aspiring students, each contributing their unique expertise and perspectives. The main goals? To use AI for good, and meet the needs of the church.
The Nine Winning Products
The hackathon concluded with an awards ceremony that celebrated the most groundbreaking AI solutions. Below, we highlight the nine winning products, each a testament to the power of AI to help the church grow and prosper.
- Best Overall Value to the Ecosystem: Basil Tech
Details: Basil Tech created an app called ‘Kidechisms’, which provides a unique tool that educates children with spiritual information. The app can also assist parents with implementing the foundation of biblical doctrine as well as Christian practices.
- Best Tech: Innov8 Reach
Details: Innov8 developed a personalized AI advertising experience that helps organizations connect to churches with unmet needs.
- Best Generative AI Tool: Pastors.ai
Details: This team created an AI Voice Chatbot that responds to questions based on pastor teachings and voices. The Chatbot allows questions and communication to be met in a more intimate and comforting way.
- Best Product Design: Bible Mate
Details: Say hello to an AI Bible Study! This tool was created to help individuals study the bible with real-time answers to questions, advice, and increased biblical knowledge.
- Best Storytelling: Marriage Score
Details: Marriage Score created an AI-based app that is designed to answer questions submitted by each spouse, create customized challenges, and generate conversational responses.
- Best In Category ‘Streamlining Church Administration’: Deep Space Robots
Details: This team developed a web app called Accord.us. This app allows pastoral teams to build, schedule, and manage volunteer teams with ease and efficiency.
- Best In Category ‘Equip The Church’: Alpha International
Details: Alpha International created a chatbot within their app, Beta. With the intent of providing support and opportunities, the chatbot reduces time and investment for those practicing the Alpha Course Material.
- Best In Category Intimacy with God: Servant.io
Details: This team designed an app that assists users while they are dealing with personal struggles. Using AI, behavioral data can be u
sed to reveal new growth opportunities.
- Best In Category Beyond Boundaries: Biblechat.ai
Details: Creating an AI platform, AiForTheChurch.org- this team enabled Christian organizations to align custom LLMs to their biblical doctrine.
Relive the Excitement
If you missed the AI hackathon, or if you simply want to relive the excitement of the event, check out the video of the hackathon here. It’s a fantastic opportunity to witness the innovative solutions and creative energy that unfolded during the event!
Shift Worship would love to thank Gloo for allowing us to sponsor this amazing event that is using technology to advance and better the church!
Shift for All Sizes
We love taking our Shift Worship booth to conferences for church media folks. It gives us a chance to show off the site to people who can actually use the media and tools we make. We love to see all the reactions when people start thinking about what they could do at their church with a membership like this. We also love hearing from people who are current members about the cool things they’re doing with our collections we release each week!
We were just at the SALT Conference a few weeks ago — where we gave away a Free Pro Membership to one lucky winner (see below). We had a great time talking to church media volunteers and staff members from so many different types of churches. It reminded of us of how many people from churches of every sizes have come to rely on Shift every week.
For many large churches, it’s a no-brainer to add Shift to their toolbox. With all the media variety and pro-level extras, a Shift Worship subscription is a natural fit for a church with full-time graphic design staff or a creative team. Those teams love all the tools that come with a Pro Membership because they have the software and talent to edit the included Photoshop and After Effects files, as well as the customizable sermon templates and social media content. The 1-click Dropbox syncing also saves a ton of time for Pro Members.
For smaller churches, though, a Shift membership might be the only tool they need to get great-looking media on the screen every week. Because the Media Membership costs only $149/year and includes ALL the media on the site from EVERY collection (from multiple producers!), it fits easily into small-church budgets. Small churches love that Shift is fast and easy-to-use. And the Quick Editor makes customizing stills and motions fun for anyone.
Hundreds of church media people stopped by the booth at SALT, and we were so thankful for the chance to meet those who did. We love partnering with so many diverse churches and hearing how you use media, no matter how big or small your church might be.
