SonQuest Organization
- Who are the spiritual overseers/shepherds for the SonQuest event?
- How is SonQuest planned and conducted on an annual basis?
Planning to Attend
- Where is SonQuest being hosted this year?
- How can I stay informed about SonQuest event news?
- May I attend SonQuest without a chaperone?
- Are there classes for adults at SonQuest?
- What is the total cost of attending SonQuest?
- What happens if I miss the hotel reservation deadline?
- What happens if I miss the conference registration deadline?
- Can I set-up a booth at SonQuest to promote a ministry or Christian-oriented business?
Appreciation
- Who coordinates conference registration for SonQuest?
- Who designs and builds the SonQuest stage decorations and backdrops?
- Who designs and operates the SonQuest website and event multimedia?
SonQuest Organization
Who are the spiritual overseers/shepherds for the SonQuest event?
Although SonQuest is a cooperative effort between many congregations of the Lord's church, it is officially overseen by the Eldership of the Holly Hill church of Christ.
How is SonQuest planned and conducted on an annual basis?
The SonQuest Organizing Committee is a volunteer group made up of individuals who are members of a number of congregations around the state of Florida. The current committee members are:
- Dr. James Moore (Chairman) -- President, Mt. Dora Children's Home and Bible School.
- Mr. Larry Cline -- Pulpit Minister, Holly Hill church of Christ (Holly Hill, FL)
- Mr. Wiley Lowe -- Youth & Family Minister, Holly Hill church of Christ (Holly Hill, FL)
- Mr. Randal Myers -- Pulpit Minister, Highlands church of Christ (Lakeland, FL)
- Kenny Backhaus -- Youth Minister, Concord Street Church of Christ (Orlando, FL)
- Jay Cline -- Youth Minister, Vero Beach Church of Christ (Vero Beach, FL)
- Paul Huyghebaert -- 53rd Avenue Church of Christ (Bradenton, FL)
- Matt Robinson -- Assistant Minister, North Brevard Church of Christ (Titusville, FL)
There is also an advisory committee consisting of many youth ministers from around the Southeastern US. The advisory committee meets once a year to provide feedback on the previous SonQuest and to provide suggestions for future events.
Planning to Attend
Where is SonQuest being hosted this year?
This year's SonQuest event is being held at the Rosen Centre resort. This is the same location that was used for SonQuest in 2007 and prior years. (It is not the same location where SonQuest was hosted in 2008-2010). This facility provides enhanced accommodations and plenty of room for the continued growth and success of the SonQuest annual youth event.
How can I stay informed about SonQuest event news?
In this age of fast-pace communication technology, SonQuest information is available to you in many ways.
- Our website (http://www.SonQuest.com) is intended to be your authoritative source of information and updates regarding the annual SonQuest event. Please bookmark this website in your favorite web browser and check back often for new information as it becomes available for release.
- A mailing list (direct link) is available for those who wish to receive periodic e-mail updates about the SonQuest event. Please subscribe today.
- A contact form (direct link) is available on this website. The enables you to send questions or comment to the organizing committee and other volunteer groups associated with the SonQuest event.
- SonQuest is on facebook (direct link). Please "become a fan" of SonQuest so that you can receive status updates from us in the "News Feed & Stream" on your facebook home page.
- SonQuest is on twitter (http://twitter.com/SonQuest). Please "follow" SonQuest so that you can receive tweets from us whenever new information is available about the upcoming SonQuest event.
May I attend SonQuest without a chaperone?
SonQuest encourages each youth group attending the event to bring sufficient adult chaperones to oversee the youth attendees in their group. The recommended ratio is 1 chaperone for every 4 youth attendees.
If you are interested in attending SonQuest without the rest of your local congregation's youth group, we recommend that you either bring a parent or make arrangements with another local congregation to participate in SonQuest as a part of that congregation's group.
Are there classes for adults at SonQuest?
The youth are the main focus of SonQuest, but we also see this event as an opportunity for spiritual enrichment of the adult volunteers and youth workers. During the encounter class periods, an adult class is offered as an opportunity to learn about current youth ministry methods and youth-culture trends. This adult class is a great opportunity to network with other youth workers and share ideas or seek input on issues your group is experiencing.
You can expect SonQuest to be a spiritual encouragement to both youth and adult participants.
What is the total cost of attending SonQuest?
In planning to attend the SonQuest annual youth event, you should be aware of the typical expense categories:
- The conference registration fee is collected by SonQuest to cover our operating expenses. This is a very reasonable per-person fee that must be paid for every youth and adult attendee. A discount is offered to adults who are responsible for chaperoning youth at the event.
- Hotel reservations must be made directly between you and the hotel where you will be staying. SonQuest encourages you to stay at the conference hotel so that you will be able to enjoy the entire event schedule -- including the late-night devotionals and entertainment. We have negotiated a special discounted room rate with the Rosen Centre hotel and each room can house between 1 and 4 people.
- Meal and travel expenses are the final categories of costs for your trip to SonQuest. There is a wide selection of restaurants in the general vicinity of the conference hotel, so you can plan your meals to meet your budget. One suggestion: many groups bring breakfast foods that can be easily eaten in their hotel rooms. This is a real time and money saver when you're trying to be on time to the 8:30am morning kick-off!
What happens if I miss the hotel reservation deadline?
SonQuest has a block of rooms reserved at the Rosen Centre hotel offered at a special conference rate. After the deadline, any remaining rooms will be released for reservation by the general public. There are other conferences being conducted simultaneously at the same conference center, so after the deadline there is no guarantee that any rooms will be available at the conference hotel or at the special discount rate.
What happens if I miss the conference registration deadline?
It is extremely helpful to the conference organizing committee to know how many people will be coming to this year's event. An early registration discount is offered to all youth and adult attendees who submit their registration on or before the early registration deadline.
You can still register after the deadline, and please know that we do want you to attend. We even allow for registration onsite at the conference. However, after the registration deadline:
- all attendees will pay the standard registration fees,
- all payments must be made either online or in-person (no mail-in payments), and
- we cannot guarantee that all conference supplies (such as t-shirts) will be available for attendees who miss the early registration deadline.
Please use our online registration system to let us know in advance about how many people will be attending in your group.
Can I set-up a booth at SonQuest to promote a ministry or Christian-oriented business?
SonQuest is very selective about what can and cannot be promoted to the Christian youth attending the conference. We do allow a select number of ministries and businesses to set-up displays in the conference lobby area. However, all applications must be submitted and approved well in advance of the SonQuest event. For more information about promotional booths, please use the online contact form ("General Information" option) to inform the SonQuest Organizing Committee of your interest.
Appreciation
Who coordinates conference registration for SonQuest?
Volunteers from the West Orange church of Christ have graciously and effectively handled all conference registration duties for a number of years. This administrative responsibility is very detail oriented and customer-service oriented. We are so thankful for these very capable and cheerful servants from the West Orange congregation!
Who designs and builds the SonQuest stage decorations and backdrops?
Each year a group of talented volunteers from the Holly Hill church of Christ conceive and build the most wonderful set props. From ocean depths to lunar landers, they've built it all. What a talented and resourceful group of brothers and sisters we have in Central Florida!
Who designs and operates the SonQuest website and event multimedia?
Forrest Dodington (instructor of mass communication at Freed-Hardeman University) donates his talents in the area of interactive media design to SonQuest. The SonQuest website and other media offerings are planned and coordinated through his company, Curiositi Design Solutions.
Actual production of the live video presentations at the SonQuest event ("the big screens") is coordinated by Forrest Doddington and made possible by a team of volunteers from several congregations. The "SonQuest Video Team" is comprised of Christian men and women with creative talents in the areas of media planning, videography, graphic design, motion graphics, worship presentation creation, video editing, and DVD mastering. We are grateful for the willing service of these multimedia artists.
If you are interested in volunteering on the SonQuest Video Team, please use the online contact form ("SonQuest Media" option) to let us know about your availability and experience. We will add you to a list of potential volunteers and may contact you for assistance in the future.
