The first time I attended the Rock Conference, I'd only been using Rock for two weeks. I was new to technology, new to Rock, and the only person attending from my church.
I came expecting to learn, and I did. It was a firehose of information that I spent months processing as I rewatched the conference videos. But what surprised me most was the community I found along the way.
Early one morning at the coffee shop downstairs, I met a Rock administrator from a church just a few miles from mine. One evening, I had dinner with my Rock support partners, and we spent more time joking and sharing stories than talking about Rock. And at lunch one day, I discovered someone at my table went to the same college I did in Pennsylvania.
Seven years later, I still look forward to RX. I come to learn what's new in Rock, but also to reconnect with friends, meet new people, discover fresh ideas, and be reminded of just how connected this community really is.
If you're heading to RX this year, here are a few ways to make the most of your week.
Come With a Plan
There is a lot happening at RX, so a little planning goes a long way. Review the RX26 Schedule and Session Descriptions ahead of time and look for sessions that connect with what you’re working on or want to learn more about. You can also filter sessions by track, making it easier to find what's relevant for communications, leadership, data, development, and other areas. Not a planner? Find one and follow them.
If you're attending with a team, divide and conquer. Your communications staff, ministry leaders, Rock admins, and others may each find different sessions that apply to their roles. You don't all need to attend the same sessions, spread out and share what you learned afterward.
It also helps to come with a few questions or challenges you'd like to solve. Don’t plan every minute, leave room for vendors, community meetups, and the unexpected conversations that can be some of the best parts of the RX.
Check out the Vendors
Take some time to explore the vendor area, even if you aren't looking for a new product or service. It's a chance to see what's available in the Rock ecosystem, discover new tools, and meet the people behind the companies you may already work with.
If you have a Rock support partner, see if they're offering scheduled one-on-one time. Sitting down face-to-face is a perfect opportunity to talk through questions, concerns, or what's next for your church.
And you never know what, or who, you'll find. Last year, one vendor showed up with an unannounced supply of Crumbl cookies. Sometimes it pays to wander through the vendor area!
Don’t miss Horst Schulze (keynote speaker)
Horst Schulze has spent his career defining what exceptional service looks like. As a co-founder of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, his influence on hospitality and customer service reaches around the world.
What I think makes this particularly relevant for RX is that churches are in the people business. Whether you're configuring Rock, answering an email, checking in a family, following up with a first-time guest, or designing an online experience, there is a person on the other side of that interaction.
Experience the Community
The Rock community is one of the best parts of RX. If you're part of a local community or chat group, it's a chance to finally meet some of those people in person. Conversations start everywhere—sitting next to someone in a session, waiting for coffee, over lunch, or gathering for a group photo at one of the photo booths.
The Rock community is incredibly generous about sharing what works—and sometimes what didn't. A simple “How are you doing this?” can lead to ideas you hadn't considered, often from churches that look very different from your own.
And while it's great to experience RX with your team, don't spend the entire conference together. Branching out is part of what makes the week so valuable.
Enjoy Phoenix
November is one of the best times to be in Phoenix. The summer heat is gone, the days are perfect, the evenings are comfortable, and downtown is easy to explore on foot.
There are plenty of restaurants nearby, including Blanco Cocina + Cantina, just a few minutes from the Convention Center and a personal favorite from last year's RX. Along the walk between the hotels and the Convention Center, you'll also find a huge, colorful mural that makes a great photo stop.
Downtown Phoenix is a great backdrop for continuing conversations over dinner, enjoying the weather, and making the time between sessions part of the RX experience too.
Leave with Action
Conference inspiration can disappear quickly once you're back at work. Don't go home with a list of 37 things you want to change in Rock. Identify the few ideas worth pursuing. What could make the biggest difference at your church? What needs more research? What can you realistically tackle first?
If you're attending with a team, schedule a post-RX debrief before you leave. Otherwise, everyone gets home, catches up on work, and suddenly it's December.
The goal isn't to come home and change everything. It's to come home knowing what you want to change next.
One of the most memorable keynotes I've heard in my seven years at RX came from Mark Moore, teaching pastor at Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV). He talked about the extensive network of Roman roads that connected much of the known world. Those roads weren't built to spread Christianity, but they became part of the infrastructure that allowed the early church to carry the Gospel farther and faster.
He compared those roads to the infrastructure we're building through Rock, and that illustration has stayed with me.
Every improvement made to Rock, every workflow shared, every plugin developed, every conversation between churches, and every partnership formed at RX strengthens that network—helping churches remove obstacles, better care for people, and ultimately reach more lives with the Gospel.
That's why RX is about more than learning what's new in Rock. It's a chance to step outside your own church for a few days and see the much bigger community you're part of—and what we're building together.
Joining us at RX26? If you haven't registered yet, there's still time. [Get the details and register for RX26 →] and use discount code 9EMBERS10 to save 10%.