Our Story
About Atlanta Church Creatives
How It Started
In 2019, Ellis Maryland moved to Atlanta to serve in church media ministry. Just months later, the pandemic hit and everything suddenly changed.
At the beginning of 2021, Ellis seriously contemplated moving back to North Carolina. After walking through the isolation of the pandemic in a new city, he felt alone and struggled to find genuine community among church creatives and production teams in Atlanta.
But during that season, Ellis felt God clearly saying, “No, I brought you here for a reason.”
So instead of leaving, he went on a pursuit to find other church creatives across the city. He searched for communities, meetups, and spaces centered around church media and production, but couldn’t find anything specifically built for church creatives.
After seeing a post about an Easter production shoot, Ellis was tagged in a conversation that connected him to Chris Gray and Seth Butler from a local church production team. Wanting to connect, he reached out to their Communications Director to set up a time to meet in person.
That conversation became one of the starting points of what would eventually grow into Atlanta Church Creatives. As they talked, it quickly became clear they were all feeling the same isolation and searching for community with people who understood the world of church production and creativity.
Soon after, Ellis connected with Jeff Morris and later met Joseph McBrayer through a mutual friend, and they joined the conversation as well. All of them were serving in church media across metro Atlanta and looking for the same thing: community with people who understood the work, the pressure, and the calling behind church creativity.
What started as conversations turned into weekly Monday Breakfast Meetups. Then workshops. Then conferences. Then a growing movement of creatives encouraging and sharpening one another across the city.
Atlanta Church Creatives officially launched in 2021 with one mission: to build up, support, and encourage church creatives.
Today, ACC has grown into a thriving community of more than 1,300 church media professionals, videographers, photographers, worship leaders, production teams, and creatives across Atlanta and beyond.
Because at the end of the day, we believe one simple truth:
We’re better together.
Meet Ellis Maryland
Founder & Director
Ellis Maryland spent 11 years in the mortgage industry before transitioning into church media ministry in 2015. Combining his creative background with a business degree from Guilford Technical Community College, he stepped into full-time production and media leadership with a passion for helping churches communicate the Gospel through creativity and technology.
Today, Ellis serves as the Media & Technology Director at Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia, while also leading Atlanta Church Creatives.
From weekly Monday Breakfast Meetups to hands-on workshops, conferences, and experiences like the Fujifilm Xperience, Ellis’ heart has always been centered on helping church creatives stop creating alone.
When he’s not behind a camera or planning the next workshop, you’ll usually find him connecting creatives, traveling, creating music, or building spaces where people feel encouraged, equipped, and supported.
Connect: contact@atlchurchcreatives.com
Built With Community
Atlanta Church Creatives was built alongside an incredible group of early creatives and collaborators who helped shape the vision and foundation of the community in its earliest days.
Chris Gray, Seth Butler, Jeff Morris, Will Smith, and Joseph McBrayer were all part of the early conversations, meetups, and momentum that helped turn a simple idea into a growing movement serving creatives across Atlanta
What We Do
Monday Breakfast Meetups
Weekly gatherings across Atlanta where church creatives connect over food, encouragement, and real conversation.
Workshops & Training
Hands-on learning experiences covering production, lighting, cameras, post-production, content creation, and more.
Conferences & Experiences
Large-scale events like the Fujifilm Xperience that bring together brands, education, gear, and community inside real church production environments.
Cameras & Coffee
Meetups designed for photographers and visual storytellers to connect, learn, and share their work.
Film Fest
48-hour filmmaking experiences where teams create short films from scratch while building relationships and sharpening their skills.
Our Mission
1,700+ creatives. Hundreds of churches represented. One mission:
Connection. Collaboration. Growth.
Atlanta Church Creatives exists to encourage, equip, and connect church creatives so they can thrive both creatively and spiritually while helping churches spread the message of Jesus.
We believe creatives shouldn’t have to serve alone. Through community, training, relationships, and real conversations, we’re building spaces where church creatives can grow, feel supported, and sharpen one another both inside and outside the church.
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
We believe the local church is the hope of the world, and creativity is one of the most powerful tools we have to tell that story.
When church creatives work in isolation, everyone loses. When we work together, the entire Body of Christ becomes stronger.
Don’t Create Alone.
Hebrews 10:24
