Join the Community 
Our story
It started with a need
for community.
Before there were conferences, Xperiences, Monday Breakfast Meetups, or a Job Board, there was simply a need for community.
One person’s need became
Atlanta Church Creatives.
In 2019, Ellis Maryland moved to Atlanta to serve in church media ministry. He was doing work he loved, but being in a new city made him realize how difficult it was to find genuine relationships with people who understood the unique world of church creative ministry. Then the pandemic hit, and that sense of isolation became even more real.
By 2021, Ellis was seriously considering moving back home to North Carolina. During that season, he felt God remind him that he was in Atlanta for a reason. Instead of leaving, he began praying for community and intentionally looking for other church creatives.
That search connected him with Chris Gray, Seth Butler, Jeff Morris, Joseph McBrayer, and other creatives around Atlanta who understood the intersection of creativity, technology, ministry, and the pressures that come with serving the local church.
Eventually, six creatives representing five churches gathered together. There was no big stage or elaborate plan. They got in the same room, shared what they knew, encouraged one another, and built relationships.
What started as one person’s need for community became Atlanta Church Creatives.01
People kept showing up
People kept
showing up.
Atlanta Church Creatives began in 2021, but it did not stay at six people. People came from different churches, different parts of Atlanta, and different creative disciplines, but many of them were looking for the same thing: people who understood.
Those early relationships grew into a real community. People were not just exchanging information. They were building friendships, learning from one another, celebrating wins, solving problems, and creating relationships that extended beyond Sunday.
As the relationships grew, the opportunities to gather grew with them. The community expanded through conferences, Monday Breakfast Meetups, hands-on Xperiences and workshops, Worship Nights, Community Collaborations, and other opportunities to learn and grow together.
The community looks different now, but church creatives still need places to learn, receive, ask questions, and be around people who understand what they carry.
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The heart behind it
It’s about the person
behind the work.
Church creatives spend a lot of time creating moments for other people. They are behind the cameras, consoles, computers, lights, stages, screens, graphics, social posts, livestreams, worship experiences, and stories that help churches communicate the message of Jesus.
But behind all of that work is a person. A person who gets tired, needs encouragement, has questions, wants to get better, and needs people they can call when Sunday does not go as planned.
We want church creatives to grow in their craft, build real relationships, be strengthened spiritually, learn from one another, collaborate, and know they do not have to carry the work alone.
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What shapes the community
What Shapes
the Community
Community
Real relationships are at the center of everything we do.
Education
Practical learning that helps creatives grow in their craft and leadership.
Creativity
Space to explore, experiment, collaborate, and create together.
Faith
Everything we do is rooted in our desire to serve God and strengthen the local church.
04
Our mission
Connection.
Collaboration.
Growth.
Atlanta Church Creatives exists to encourage, equip, and connect church creatives so they can thrive creatively and spiritually while helping churches spread the message of Jesus.
We believe church creatives should not have to serve in isolation. When we learn from one another, encourage one another, and build genuine relationships, we become stronger creatives, stronger leaders, and better equipped to serve our local churches.
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”Hebrews 10:24
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Meet Ellis
Founder & Director
Ellis
Maryland.
Ellis did not set out to build an organization. Atlanta Church Creatives grew out of something he was personally searching for.
Before transitioning into church media ministry in 2015, Ellis spent 11 years in the mortgage industry. He moved to Atlanta in 2019 to continue serving in church media ministry. His own search for genuine community became the catalyst for Atlanta Church Creatives.
Today, Ellis continues serving in church creative and media leadership while leading Atlanta Church Creatives. The community is much larger now, but the heart behind it has not changed.
More about Ellis06
A moment in the story
Featured in Church Production Magazine
In May 2023, Ellis Maryland was featured on the cover of Church Production Magazine, sharing his journey in church production and the story behind the formation of Atlanta Church Creatives.
The feature became an important moment in the story and another reminder of how far the community had come.
Read the feature07
Meet the team
The people helping build
the community.
Atlanta Church Creatives has never been about one person. The community has grown because people continue to show up, serve, share what they know, make connections, and help create space for other people.
Meet the team
Maybe you are new to church creative ministry. Maybe you have been doing this for years.
You don’t have to
do this alone.
There is a place for you here.