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What is WALi?

The Worship Arts Leader initiative (WALi) is a community-building initiative of Concordia University Irvine’s Center for Worship Leadership (CWL). Special WALi gatherings are created by the CWL to intentionally connect leaders of worship together for common support, empowered learning, and professional inspiration. These gatherings intentionally center around various types/modes of training. Below are descriptions of some of the training opportunities we currently offer.

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WALi Summit

The Summit is a national conference created to promote connectivity with one another for shared learning, common support, and professional inspiration. It is intentionally designed to address the needs of worship arts ministry staff, volunteer leaders, team members, pastors and students preparing for church worker vocations. Join us October 17 - 19 at Faith Oakville, St. Louis, MO for the 2023 WALi Summit.

What is a WALi Cluster?

WALi Clusters are *local*regional* communities (usually 8-16 people) where leaders of worship build meaningful relationships, receive support, find inspiration, and engage in thoughtful conversation surrounding a variety of ministry topics and challenges. These local groups are designed to connect you to other leaders of worship in your area and build a network of support both within your local cluster and with WALi as a whole.

The cornerstone piece of a WALi Cluster is the monthly gathering which is designed to help build relationships with other local leaders of worship, equip you for excellence in your specific ministry context, and provide inspiration.

WALi Clusters have a sense of unity—clusters are given helpful material each month including topics for discussion, reading/listening suggestions, and more. By having common experiences and discussions, we hope that involvement in your local cluster will also open the door to further engagement in the wider WALi community and beyond.

On the other hand, we encourage each WALi Cluster to be tailored specifically to meet the unique needs of your local leaders of worship. We do not expect that all clusters will look or run with uniformity. Meaningful and relevant topics in one cluster may not connect with a cluster in a different part of the country. Business-day gatherings may be ideal for most clusters, but in areas where most leaders of worship have full-time jobs outside of the church, something like an evening or weekend barbecue may be ideal.

I Want to Get Involved

We love your enthusiasm! Right now, a few WALi Clusters have beta-launched and a number of new WALi Clusters will be forming in early 2020. If you’re interested in becoming part of a WALi Cluster, leave us your contact info on our interest form.

After the initial launch, new clusters will be starting up regularly. There may already be a cluster near you! If you’d like to get involved, please reach out to Paul Kasaty at [email protected] and we will connect you with a cluster in your area. Partnering together is the key to our vision for WALi Clusters.

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What is a WALi One-Day?

WALi One Day events are designed to give WALi Clusters within a geographical region customized training in practical skills-related disciplines – like worship band workshops – and growth opportunities in matters of worship theology and ministry leadership. Through these events participants receive valuable training and engage in thoughtful conversation with others regarding a variety of practical application issues, theological topics, and ministry challenges. Past WALi One Day focal points:

  • Media Integration (Dante, Planning Center Services, Audio Systems, etc.)
  • Liturgical / Modern Service Design
  • Songwriting Workshops
  • Band Workshops
  • Leadership Workshops
  • Ministry Visioning and Consulting Services

Please contact [email protected] if you're interested in hosting a WALi One Day event!

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