Join us for the 2024 Leaders' Conference

Plans are well underway for this year’s Leaders’ Conference at The Winter Gardens in Blackpool from Monday 4 to Wednesday 6 November, 2024.

Here’s all you need to know:

What’s the conference theme?

Every man or woman in local church leadership shepherds the flock in some way: whether you're a pastor, an elder, a woman in ministry, a youth or seniors’ worker, a church administrator, or a musician.

As we shepherd the flock entrusted to each of us, we need to learn to deepen our own relationship with Jesus, our Good Shepherd. Because serving can only take place when it is done in the delight and beauty of a close walk with him.

So, at the 2024 conference, we will be rejoicing in the Good Shepherd as we look to Jesus and love like Jesus.

Bible teaching will be from John’s gospel, dwelling on the “I am” sayings of Christ: helping us to see Jesus more clearly and equipping us to serve him fully.

Seminars and other sessions will focus on how we can show care, love, and compassion in our various contexts, and how we can train and release others to be good shepherds too.

What will the experience be like?

The conference takes place all under one roof with some all-together sessions, some focused seminars, time to pray, and wonderful sung worship.

There’s plenty of space and time to meet up with others and we also build in time for meals together: these are a key component of the conference.

There is also a popular bookstall, provided by 10ofThose, with relevant books and resources by FIEC staff, FIEC pastors, and others.

You can get an idea of what it was like from the video below from last year's conference.

We love that this is such a friendly conference and an opportunity for church leaders from across the country to catch up with old friends or to make new ones. We pray that genuine friendships and church partnerships will develop and grow from meeting here!

Who should come?

The conference is for all church leaders (and their spouses if they are able to join us). Our definition of ‘church leaders’ is quite broad so, if you have some sort of leadership responsibility in the church, we’d love to see you.

This includes pastors, elders, deacons, women’s workers, family workers, those leading children’s and youth ministries, seniors workers, musicians, and administrators.

It’s not a pastors’ conference! The focus is on equipping people to lead in the local church, so if you would benefit from that, please join us! We can fit in about 1,400, so there’s plenty of room.

Sometimes staff teams or eldership teams have attended together and made time to discuss what they have been learning after hours or even by staying an extra day.

There is a special opportunity for women in ministry and ministry wives to meet and connect with other women. Plus, new for this year are seminar tracks for those in ministry of either five years or less, or fifteen years or more.

Where is it?

The conference will be gathering for the third time at The Winter Gardens in Blackpool. It has a unique mix of traditional and modern facilities and – importantly – is able to accommodate nearly 1,000 people for meals in their ballroom.

The Winter Gardens is right bang in the centre of Blackpool which offers you plenty of opportunities for off-campus meetups and meals in the town.

For example, you could arrange to meet up before or after the conference with friends or as a church team or meet for breakfast before the first session of the day.

You’re also not far from ‘The Big One’ – the UK's tallest rollercoaster, found on Pleasure Beach – if you fancy a ride!

How do I get there?

There’s a motorway link direct to Blackpool: the M55 from the M6 will lead you straight there.

There’s no on-site parking since this is a town centre location, but there’s lots of accommodation within easy reach on foot and drop-off points for those with accessibility requirements.

Blackpool North train station is a ten-minute walk from the venue with direct trains from London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and York.

From Edinburgh and Glasgow, there’s a quick change at Preston on the way to Blackpool.

Where do we stay?

You’ll need to make your own accommodation arrangements.

This does allow you to find somewhere that is the type and budget to suit you. Blackpool has lots of accommodation options: for example, there are five Premier Inns, two Travelodges, a Comfort Inn, plus numerous independents.

Don’t forget to consider booking an extra night before or after to make the most of your time together with leadership teams.

What does it cost?

The earlybird conference cost, including all meals and refreshments, is £235 (for bookings on or before June 29).

We hope you’ll agree it’s a worthwhile investment: as you will know if you’ve been before, the time we are able to spend together is immensely valuable.

If the cost is a barrier to you being able to come, please get in touch and we may be able to help out.