Christians will gather in Ridgecrest, N.C., this month to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through various types of media at the Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival. The event will be held April 14 to 18 and presented by LifeWay, a Tennessee-based Christian organization that includes a publishing company and a chain of Christian bookstores.

LifeWay created the conference to give Christians who are interested in the media arts a place to develop their talents, says Kay Mortimer, spokeswoman for the conference. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network with experts in the media field – Christian Hollywood producers and directors, writers, musicians, actors, DJs and other performers. The speaker lineup includes Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of MovieGuide.org and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission in Hollywood; and Linda Seger, script consultant and author.

Attendees can view screenings of "The Wager" and "Hidden Secrets," and meet these feature films’ producers and directors. There will also be an autograph party that’s open to the public and will host some of the nation’s top Christian authors.

Several contests will be held, including a scriptwriting contest, for which the first-place winner will receive $400, free tuition for the 2009 Gideon conference and a meal with a professional of
the winner’s choice.

The conference will also feature an intern program geared toward teenagers – Boot Camp Basics, Custom Corporal Training and Advanced Training for Sergeants. These workshops are designed to help teens develop their skills and knowledge about the Christian media industry, says Mortimer, and to allow members to train with industry professionals in their specific field of interest.

To learn more, visit www.lifeway.com/gideonmediaarts

— By Charlsy Panzino