Dion Ringgold’s Known Conference Aims To Be “Coachella For Christians” With Real Next Steps, Not Just Vibes

Known prioritizes excellence over corny or celebrity-driven Christian events.
The conference offers worship, podcasts, and interactive experiences over two days.
It helps attendees join small groups to rebuild community and reconnect with local churches.

Why Dion Ringgold Created The Known Conference

On Get Up Mornings With Erica Campbell, Dion Ringgold, editor-in-chief of In Club Magazine and creator of the Known Conference, unpacked his vision for a gathering some call “Coachella for Christians.” He said he built the event with the end in mind by asking, “When the conference is over, what happens now?” Too many faith events leave people with good feelings and a few jokes from a pastor but no clear next step. Known is designed to connect people to community, discipleship, baptisms and ongoing growth instead of just another faith-branded moment.

Excellence Over Corny And Celebrity Culture

Dion admitted that some Christian festivals and conferences felt corny and lacked excellence. He quoted Martin Luther: the Christian shoemaker does not do his duty by putting crosses on shoes but by making good shoes. In the same way, he believes if you put Jesus’ name on an event, it should be done with excellence and at a scale that can rival mainstream conferences. Rather than sending creatives to “blank-con” in secular spaces to learn how to navigate entertainment and media, he wanted to cultivate that kind of environment within the faith community.

Two Days Of Worship, Podcasts And Immersive Activations

The Known Conference takes place over two days in Washington, D.C., with a VIP pre-conference mixer on the fifth that features a red carpet, karaoke and awards. Day one includes headlining sets from Travis Greene and Dante Bowe, along with live podcast tapings from Lecrae and Letarius Whitfield’s Dear Future Wifey show. Day two closes with worship led by Naomi Raine, plus an appearance from Jo and teaching from Pastor A.R. Bernard. Dion promised an “electrifying” experience on both days, but he also stressed there will be breaks so attendees are not just watching panels.

Small Groups, Real Community And A Path Back To Church

Between sessions, attendees can enjoy immersive activations, meet each other and sign up for small groups. For Dion, that small-group sign-up is the heart of the event. He said some people are not ready to join a church right away, but they can take a next step by joining a group that does Pilates, financial talks or Bible studies together. Those spaces help people rebuild community and eventually reconnect to local churches under healthy pastoral leadership. Dion made it clear that Known is about more than stages—it is about helping believers, creatives and entrepreneurs grow in faith, build relationships and keep walking it out after the lights go down.

Dion Ringgold’s Known Conference Aims To Be “Coachella For Christians” With Real Next Steps, Not Just Vibes was originally published on getuperica.com