Workshop Track

Leadership

Explore the multifaceted challenges of leading creative teams within the church. Gain insights on team dynamics, effective communication, and strategic planning to inspire and guide your team to success.

Speakers

BRIAN TAYLOR

MAKENZIE MERRIFIELD

  • Brian Taylor has served and equipped the local church for over 20 years. His background spans various denominations, cultures, and settings as he has led worship ministries in churches of a few hundred to over 30,000 across multiple locations. As a worship and creative pastor, he loves creating worship environments that are transformational and engaging. As a member of senior leadership teams, his mission has been to help clarify vision and strategy, cultivate healthy team culture, and develop strong leaders. As an executive coach and speaker, he is passionate about helping high-performing leaders ditch discontent, maximize potential, and align their performance with their purpose. 

    Brian and his wife, Lauren, live just north of Dallas, Texas, where they live with their two beautiful kids (five, if you count their two dogs and one cat, as Brian does). They've had the opportunity to lead worship and invest in teams together across the country. Brian also serves as Vice President of Slingshot Group's Worship & Creative Arts division, leading a stellar team helping churches build healthy teams across the country in Worship, Production, and Sigital/Communications.

  • Makenzie Merrifield is the Connections Minister at Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, where she oversees an incredible team of over 500 volunteers. Passionate about ministering to every individual who walks through the doors, Makenzie is dedicated to making everyone feel welcomed and valued, regardless of their circumstances. 

    Since joining Cottonwood Creek in 2019, Makenzie has served in a variety of roles, each one helping her discover her true strengths in ministry. She has found her calling in serving alongside God’s people, supporting and empowering them to thrive in their roles each week. Reflecting on her role, Makenzie says, "I get a front-row seat to watch God work day-in-and-day-out with my volunteer team and in the lives of the new people we get to meet." 

    Her leadership is characterized by a deep commitment to nurturing and growing a strong community of faith, ensuring that every volunteer feels supported and inspired.

MATTHEW PAHL

WARREN DAVIS

  • Matthew Pahl began his journey in Graphic Design with MySpace in 2005. Over the years, he has been fortunate to collaborate with a diverse range of clients, including more than 150 churches across all 50 US states, NBA player Jonathan Isaac from the Orlando Magic, YouVersion’s Bible App, Christian artist KB, and more. With 8 years of leadership experience, Matthew has guided teams of various sizes, from 5 to 40 professionals, in both sales and creative settings. His experience in both secular and faith-based organizations has provided him with valuable insights into creating lasting impact through media and team development for the kingdom.

    Matthew is passionate about servant leadership, continuous learning and growth, and fostering thriving teams. He is dedicated to helping individuals realize their God-given potential and glorifying the name of Jesus. As the Executive Creative Director at Liberty University within the Office of Spiritual Development, he strives to balance his roles as a manager and creator, with a commitment to excellence and nurturing future leaders.

  • Warren is a production leader with over two decades of experience serving ministries both on stage and behind the scenes.

    Since 2015, Warren has been honored to serve on staff at Life.Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. "I am amazed at all God is doing through the consistent faithfulness of the leadership here and truly feel that I am ‘just getting started!’"

CHANDLER SAUNDERS

  • Chandler Saunders is a part of the Passion Creative Team, helping cast vision for Passion City Church, Passion Conferences, Passion Publishing, Passion Equip, and sixstepsrecords. He studied Graphic Design at Savannah College of Art and Design. Since then, Chandler has worked in the design space just shy of a decade. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Jessica, and loves getting to build the church alongside some amazing people.

  • For 18+ years, Phil has been serving in the trenches of creative ministry. Most recently, Phil served at West Ridge Church in NW Atlanta as the Creative Arts Pastor overseeing worship, production, video, and communications teams. Phil released a best-selling book “Rethink Communication: A Playbook to Clarify and Communicate Everything In Your Church” that has helped shape the communication strategy for churches all over the world. Through is work coaching church leaders and as VP of Marketing at Slingshot Group, Phil’s passion is to find clarity in the chaos of ministry and to equip church leaders to put Jesus on display.

JACOB SALGUERO

  • Jacob Salguero is the owner of TOMORROW Creative a creative agency based out of Dallas, Texas that hires and trains GEN Z + A young leaders out of high school on creativity and uses them for real world projects to gain experience in the creative world.

PHIL BOWDLE

“SALT was a great opportunity to connect with my team and be re-fueled with excitement for ministry work.”

- Nathan H

Workshop Topics

How to Lead the Creative Generation

In this workshop, you will leave with practical tools on how to approach the creative generations GEN Z + GEN A. This is vitally important to the future of the church and our ability to learn how to communicate, build and lead a generation without previous religious experience.

Key Takeaways

  • Learn how to create systems and language to have the buy-in of the GEN Z

  • Understand how Gen Z thinks, behaves, and makes decisions

  • Walk away with practical insight on how to grow your teams with more GEN Z influence

Jacob Salguero, Content Creator

How to Find the Right Leaders

Brian Taylor, VP Worship & Creative Arts \ Slingshot Group

Developing a strong leadership pipeline depends on two key components: recruitment and retention. Once you've added the right leaders, it's vital to foster their growth and unleash their full potential. This session addresses the number one mistake leaders make in recruiting the right people (why you end up spinning your wheels and filling all the roles you don't need). It'll also reveal why your best leaders might be eyeing the exit and show you how to cultivate a bench of leaders who not only support your vision but make achieving it feel effortless.

Key Takeaways

  • Learn how to accurately assess what you need most (spoiler alert: it’s not always what you want)

  • Understand how to make your most critical roles the most attractive to potential volunteers and staff

  • Gain tools to cultivate the kind of team dynamics that help ensure longevity and consistent performance

  • Walk away with a development framework to help you address any team leadership growth needs

Building Great Teams

Ever wondered what separates good teams from great teams? How do you distinguish between leading and managing, and is one better than the other? How can you lead effectively without executive power? How do you tailor your leadership approach to each individual’s unique gifts? In this class, we will explore themes of team leadership and learn how to create an environment where team members can thrive and perform at their best within the context of ministry.

Key Takeaways

  • Discover effective strategies for identifying your unique gifts and those of your team.

  • Foster a culture that promotes growth, empowerment, and creative freedom.

  • Learn how to build a well-balanced, cohesive unit that leverages each member's strengths for optimal performance.

  • Embrace ministry leadership by being Spirit-led and dedicated to serving others.

Warren Davis, Central Team Leader of Broadcast Support | Life.Church

Creating a Weekly Rhythm

Phil Bowdle, Author \ Creative Pastor \ Coach

For the creatives who are always saying words like "Busy" and "There’s not enough time.” For the leaders and teams who feel like you live in meetings and are stuck in the chaos cycle of getting from week to week... For those who are stuck reacting to everyone else’s priorities and are desperate to maximize their time, focus, and impact… this workshop is for you.

Key Takeaways

  • Get a step-by-step framework for creating a weekly rhythm for you that maximizes your productivity and helps you stay ahead.

  • Learn best practices for creating a healthy and sustainable rhythm for your team.

  • You will learn how to say NO without making everyone mad at you.

Developing Dynamic Cultures: Strategies for Building Thriving & Innovative Teams

Matthew Pahl & Chandler Saunders

In this class, we will explore how to cultivate a dynamic team culture that thrives on innovation, collaboration, and positivity. Building a vibrant creative environment where team members feel valued, encouraged to take risks, and supported in their growth is crucial for long-term impact.

Through practical strategies, real-world examples, and actionable insights, you'll learn how to create an atmosphere where creativity flourishes, trust and autonomy are prioritized, and collaboration leads to breakthrough ideas. Whether you're leading a small team or managing multiple departments, this workshop will equip you with the tools to build a positive and innovative culture that empowers your team to reach their full potential.

Key Takeaways

  • Learn how to break down silos, encourage cross-departmental collaboration, and empower your team with trust and autonomy.

  • Discover methods to create a safe space for ideas, foster an environment where risks are embraced, and turn mistakes into growth opportunities.

  • Explore how to delegate effectively while maintaining accountability, and support your team through feedback, resources, and professional development.

  • Implement strategies to nurture curiosity, encourage learning, and promote a culture where discovery and innovation are daily practices.

  • Understand the importance of regular recognition, appreciating adaptability, problem-solving, maintaining a positive attitude, and having a spirit of gratitude.

  • Gain insights from our experiences, including both successes and challenges, to help you lean into or avoid the mistakes we've made along the way.

Keep the Volunteers You Have

“We have too many volunteers” – said no one ever. We all know the problem too well of what it’s like to run ourselves ragged trying to do all the things. In this workshop, we will focus on key tactics to keep the volunteers you have. You'll leave with actionable insights to enhance your volunteer retention efforts and keep your team motivated and engaged.

Key Takeaways

  • Discover strategies to cultivate an environment where volunteers can excel and feel supported.

  • Recognize and leverage each volunteer's unique strengths to help them thrive in their roles.

  • Master the art of timely, effective, and purposeful communication to keep volunteers engaged and informed.

Makenzie Merrifield, Connections Minister \ Cottonwood Creek Church