Keeping the Faith: Faith-Based Market Still Successful

Experience Grand Rapids targets a wide variety of market sectors in order to bring a steady slate of meetings, conferences and conventions to the city each year. Historically, one of our most successful client segments has been the faith-based market – and we’re pleased to report that it continues to deliver, in terms of both the number of groups we host annually and the economic impact they make on our local community.

The faith-based market consists primarily of religious institutions, spiritual groups and non-profit entities. Their gatherings are generally aimed at fostering fellowship, education and/or mission-driven community outreach. Their meetings often integrate spiritual values and encourage attendees to bring their families with them to host cities. From a business standpoint, they tend to be highly recession-resistant, meaning they are a dependable source of income even in economic downturns.

Meeting planners where they meet

Our outreach to the faith-based market began many decades ago, when Grand Rapids was often referred to as the “City of Churches.” Our relationship with the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA), the only multifaith international association for meeting planners and suppliers, extends way back and includes hosting their annual conference here in Grand Rapids in 2009.

Nearly every year, we attend the RCMA conference in other locales – including Lexington, KY, which hosted the event in February 2026. We brought our trade show booth to the 2026 show, offering locally roasted Madcap coffee to attendees who stopped by and interacted with our sales team. Coffee captures attention and fosters engagement for us, and allows us to highlight the fact that Madcap is one of 10+ excellent coffee shop options within a 10-minute walk of DeVos Place Convention Center.

Faith by the numbers

Attending RCMA and nurturing relationships with faith-based planners continues to pay great dividends for the city. In 2024-2025, Grand Rapids hosted 44 faith-based meetings and 22,849 attendees who booked 25,079 room nights at local hotels.

Collectively, the 2024 Church of the Brethren Annual Convention, 2025 Gideons International Convention, Christian Community Development Association 2025 National Conference and other faith-based groups generated an estimated economic impact of more than $21 million dollars for Grand Rapids/Kent County.

Early on, 2026-2027 is shaping up to be even better. Just three months into the new year, we’ve already booked 15 faith-based meetings that will bring 22,900 attendees and 18,659 room nights to Grand Rapids, delivering an estimated economic impact of more than $18.7 million.

Among the groups we’re welcoming over the next two years: Citygate Network 2026 Annual Conference, Encounter Ministries Conference 2026 & 2027, and the National Association of Free Will Baptists 2027 Convention. More will come as we book future business!

Local alliances and support

We are tremendously grateful to the local faith-based community for supporting our efforts in this market sector. For example, we work with the Acton Institute, a locally based think tank, to host Acton University each year. Dedicated to connecting moral and religious principles to economic and personal liberty, Acton University is a conference bringing leaders from all over the world – in business and the church, academia and the ministry, the developing and developed world, and students of all ages – to Grand Rapids for four days each June.

We are also deeply appreciative of the local individuals who have reached out to tell us of their faith-based group affiliations. Their information has helped us bring many state and national events to town. If you belong to a faith-based group that holds regional or national meetings, we invite you to help us Bring it to Grand Rapids – just fill out the short form here and we’ll take it from there. You can be involved as much or as little as you like!

With a strong faith legacy and the ability to deliver what is most important to faith-based meeting planners – including affordability, walkability, safety and a family-friendly environment – Grand Rapids is an ideal destination for this market sector. We anticipate it will remain a key target of our sales strategy for many years to come.