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Led by people IN small churches
FOR people in small churches

Quarterly virtual conferences, each focused on a specific ministry area,
small churches are more supported than ever.

Conferences

Our conferences are designed to address the needs of smaller churches. They are led by successful people in small churches who value the unique calling and beauty of small church ministry.

Check out our upcoming conferences!

2025 Women's Ministry Conference

January 24, 25, & 26, 2025 | Virtual Conference, RingCentral

Help your women’s ministry go from filling a calendar to fulfilling a purpose.

2025 KidMin + Youth Ministry Conference

April 25, 26, & 27, 2025 | Virtual Conference, RingCentral

Help your small churches reach more kids, find more volunteers, and have more impact!

Coming Soon

Date TBD | Virtual Conference, RingCentral

The conference theme is still being determined. Check back for your updates or get on our email list to be the first to hear the announcement!

Coming Soon

Date TBD | Virtual Conference, RingCentral

The conference theme is still being determined. Check back for your updates or get on our email list to be the first to hear the announcement!

Created for Smaller Churches

Our conferences are designed to address the needs of smaller churches. They are led by successful people in small churches who value the unique calling and beauty of small church ministry.

Get solutions that work specifically for smaller churches

Hear from others who understand and value small church ministry

Connect with volunteers, ministry leaders, staff, and pastors of small churches

Benefit from ongoing support before, during, and after the conference

Hosted by Small Church Ministry

Small Church Ministry is an interdenominational and international support organization for small churches. We are a for-profit ministry with a heart to reach small churches with resources that work with smaller budgets and smaller numbers.

We create both free and paid products to serve people in smaller churches (under 200 on a Sunday). Although we do support pastors, our primary goal is to equip the millions of volunteers, lay people, and ministry leaders in small churches worldwide.

We teach ministry skills and philosophies, not theology.

We are incredibly relational, deeply caring, and have a reputation for delivering high-quality and effective resources.

Laurie Acker started Small Church Ministry as an idea site for small churches. It has grown into its own ecosystem which includes: the Small Church Ministry website, The Small Church Ministry Podcast, Small Church Summits, and The Small Church Network –  from ideas to leadership training, if you want to make an impact in your small church, hang out with us! 

Laurie, along with her team, develops and runs Small Church Summits.

Read more about Laurie, the team, our statement of faith, and core beliefs here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our conferences take place in a platform called RingCentral (formerly called Hopin).

RingCentral is one of the best venues out there for online events and gives us everything we need for extra connection with chat boxes, multiple stage areas, breakout rooms, a reception hall, networking, and an expo area.

For a sneak peek of RingCentral before the live event, we open the conference center the day before so you can check it out, grab resources in the expo area, and join in the chat.

Registration opens for each conference approximately 3 weeks before the live event.

Get on our email list and follow us on Facebook and Instagram so you are the first to hear when registration goes live. You can also check in at www.smallchurchsummits.com for more info on the current or upcoming conference.

The full schedule and speaker lineup are available the day registration goes live for each conference (about 3 weeks before the conference). Until then, a “Coming Soon” page can be found on our website with sneak peek info so you can plan ahead.

Once you grab a free ticket, you’ll be sent links for the full schedule, speakers, topics, and more. The online schedule has a link to a printable version at the top of the page so you can download, print, highlight, and plan your day. The printable schedule also includes a time zone cheat sheet.

On the day of the conference, the schedule is also available inside Hopin, our event platform.

Yep! You can pop in as much or as little as you like.

I have to warn you though, you probably won’t want to leave once you jump in! And you might be a little sad about the sessions you miss. That’s why we offer optional upgrades with lifetime access to the replays.

We don’t recommend it. If possible, please plan to participate with a computer or laptop.

While RingCentral has a mobile app for iOS and Android, the interactive features are unreliable. Our attendees report their best experience is with a laptop or computer.

If you choose to use a mobile device, make sure to download the RingCentral App. However, if you choose to use a mobile device and call in for tech help, we will not be able to help you.

We also highly recommend you use the Google Chrome browser. If you’re not sure what a browser is, it’s the thing (like Safari or Edge) that lets you search for stuff on your computer. RingCentral works really well with Google Chrome, and using Google Chrome minimizes tech issues. (It’s free to download and one of the most popular browsers on both Mac and PC.)

One more time: For the best experience, use your laptop or computer and download the Google Chrome browser. You can download it here.

Only if you want to! While most sessions happen with only the presenters visible on-screen, we have optional meetups which look a lot like a Zoom call with multiple people on video.

In addition, the networking area is a great way to make great connections with others in small churches, just like a Zoom call, but better!

To enjoy these extra connection opportunities, make sure to allow access to your webcam and mic (typically built into a laptop).

Nope, you don’t have to do a thing, but you might want to.

Our past attendees mention the interaction available at our online conferences as one of their highlights.

During the conference, you can ask questions to the speakers, have conversations in chat boxes, join in discussions and meetups, and connect with new friends in the networking area.

For some of our conferences, we open up a temporary conference-specific Facebook Community, specifically for discussion and connection around the conference. (This is especially important for our conferences focused on pastors and/or their spouses.)

With other conferences where the topic crosses into multiple-ministry areas (like Christmas or Volunteers), we utilize our ongoing Facebook Community in the countdown to the big event.

Either way, it’s a great time to win prizes, build community, and hear from speakers before the live event.

The day before each live event, we open RingCentral for a Kick-Off Event. We hold these from 2-4 pm ET and 7-9 pm ET, so people in different time zones have a better opportunity to join in!

We meet up in RingCentral so you can check it out early, get resources from the expo, meet some new friends, ask questions, and get prizes. It’s a fun time to get to know RingCentral and visit some breakout sessions too.

Although the Kick-Off Event happens at a specified time, RingCentral is open all day so you can test your link, visit the platform, join the chat, and start grabbing awesome free resources available in the expo area.

Friday morning, you’ll receive a link to join by email. If you don’t see it, email hello@smallchurchministry.com. We’re here to help.

Once you reserve your free ticket, you’ll get instructions to enter RingCentral.

You need to use the personal link we send you by email. Because our conferences are private events, they will not be listed on RingCentral’s event page.

Easy steps:

1. Click the link we send to your inbox. Once you get your free ticket, we’ll send an email with your personalized link to register in RingCentral. We suggest you register in RingCentral as soon as you get our confirmation.

2. Follow the instructions in RingCentral. Once you click the link, follow the quick steps in RingCentral to register and enter the event. It’ll look something like this:

3. Enter the event. Follow the steps to enter the event, even if the conference is days or weeks away. Once you enter the event, you’ll see a countdown timer and know you’re all set! Use that same link for Kickoff Events and the Conference itself.

RingCentral offers a much better experience than Zoom!

In RingCentral, we are able to host a unified event with tons more interaction and breakout sessions that keep us connected all day long – with just one link. Plus, lots of our favorite features like the networking and expo areas are unique to the RingCentral platform.

Our conference attendees love RingCentral! We think you’ll really like it too!

I’m glad you asked!

The entire live conference is free to attend including a full day of speakers, breakout sessions, interaction, networking, the expo area, and more.

The upgrade bundles available for purchase extend the conference benefit far beyond the live event and also allow us to keep serving small churches on a mass scale.

For your benefit, purchasing replays is like buying an album to take home after the event. In addition, the VIP Bundle includes a PDF Conference Workbook, ministry toolkit, bonus workshop, plus incredible bonus resources from speakers and ministry partners. At more than 90% off, it’s a great deal for over $2000 of ongoing support & resources.

Replay sales also help us cover our costs, sustain our ministry, and expand our reach. In addition to our free website, podcast, Facebook community, and more, there are big costs to produce each conference including 3+ months of work by a staff of people.

People who’ve purchased past VIP Bundles brag about the value and are quick to purchase at the earliest deal.

Thanks to the generosity of our speakers and ministry partners, the VIP Bundle is available at a substantial discount, typically with a savings of over 90%!

If you reserved a free conference ticket, you should’ve received an immediate confirmation in your inbox. It contains important information and the links you need for the conference.

If you registered and are not receiving emails from Laurie@smallchurchministry.com, check your spam folder or your promotions folder.

IF YOU STILL CAN’T FIND THEM, email hello@smallchurchministry.com. There may be a typo in your email address or a glitch we need to fix!