So, I started going to CPC when I was 14. That’s a little different than most people. In the course of 4 years, I’ve attended 7 CPC’s. In 2009, I’m going to both Nashville and San Diego. I’ve been a Audio/Video Conference Assistant at one location as well. So trust me, I know CPC like the back of my hand. I love going to CPC, and always have an amazing time. So here’s what I love about CPC:
1. The Resource Center. Honestly, I think that the Resource Center is one of the best places to find that great new resource to help you out throughout the next year that’s coming. I’m a very online person, but I still love just being able to browse around and connect with people while I’m shopping for new resources. You can probe and prod the resource providers about their products more in depth as well. And of course, CPC’s Resource Center is instantly made better because KidzMatter is there! But in all seriousness, CPC has one of the best resource centers of any of the conferences I’ve been to personally.
2. First-Timer’s Orientation. This seems like a really small thing, yes. But my first year at CPC, this orientation was invaluable. Rather than feeling like a fish suddenly taken from a fish bowl into the ocean, I had guidance and help to guide me along my way.
3. The General Sessions. For me personally, the General Sessions are the highlight of my CPC days. You get to come in, enjoy a great meal, network, then be entertained, encouraged, and enlightened. You will never be able to leave a General Session in just a blah kind of mood. I personally have enjoyed getting to hear greats such as Max Lucado, John Ortberg, George Barna, and many more during a general session at CPC.
4. The locations. Personally, one of my favorite pre/post-conference things to do is to explore what’s around the conference. In Orlando, there was an amazing theme park staring you down the entire week. You just had to go! In San Diego, there is an amazing mall just across the street from the Town and Country Resort. It has a Wetzel Pretzel. ’Nuff said. Nashville is surrounded by the amazing Gaylord Opryland Resort. You’ve got to schedule some time into your CPC just for some fun!
Now, CPC is just “human”. It’s not perfect. (Yet, anyway. It’s pretty close!) Here’s a few areas CPC needs some work in:
1. More great General Session speakers. Yes, I’ve heard some great speakers at CPC over the years. Trouble is, it usually seems like 1 or 2 great speakers. CPC needs to work a little harder at getting good speakers for the entire week, not just one. They don’t need famous speakers even, just good speakers that will encourage and teach every attendee.
2. Make workshops more interesting. In all of the years I’ve been attending CPC, I always struggle to find a workshop that sounds interesting to me as a volunteer. So many workshops promise so much, but deliver so little. CPC has recently been trying to make CPC more about children’s workers and less specifically about children’s pastors, but the workshops haven’t quite gotten that yet. They need workshops with catchy descriptions, knowledgeable speakers, and good content for leaders and volunteers.
3. Find its youthfulness. CPC is great, but it’s losing its youthfulness. CPC has to find a way to make itself more appealing to the younger children’s pastors/workers, without losing what makes it great: diversity of ideas. CPC has tried Botox treatments for their conference- making it look younger when in reality it was the same old conference underneath. The conference needs to bring the cost down, especially for young children’s ministers, to draw more people to the conference. Maybe a “young guns” rate is in order.
So that’s the way I see CPC. Let me know how you feel in the comments.
