Exponential

Speakers

Steve Andrews - Steve is Lead Pastor and co-founder of Kensington Community Church in Troy, Michigan.  His passion is to discover leaders, encourage them, and unleash them in the church.  Developing new leaders is also key to his agressive church-planting goal, called Vision2020.  His vision is to plant enough "daughter churches" to by the year 2020 to reach a combined target of 250,000 seekers.  So far Kensington has launched over a dozen churches -- including inner-city missions, post-modern churches, and ministries in India and Africa. 

 

Jen Antonucci - Jen and her husband Vince planted Forefront Christian Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1997.  Jen has a wealth of experience in dealing with the joy and struggles of being a church planting family, and she is passionate about sharing her church planting journey with other church planting wives.   

 

Vince Antonucci - Vince is passionate about evangelism and reaching the lost.  Vince grew up without anyone ever having shared Jesus with him.  As an adult, he began reading the Bible.  He found Christ and started asking "why hasn't anyone shared this great news with me?"  Vince has committed his life to connecting with and reaching people who need Jesus.  Vince is the founding Pastor of Forefront Christian Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

 

Mark Batterson - Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC.  NCC was recognized as one of the 25 Most Innovative Churches in America by Outreach Magazine in 2007. One church with eight services in four locations, NCC is focused on reaching emerging generations. 73% of NCCers are single twenty-somethings and 70% come from an unchurched or dechurched background.  The vision of NCC is to meet in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the metro DC area. NCC also owns and operates the largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill. In 2007, Ebenezers was recognized as the #2 coffeehouse in the metro DC area by AOL CityGuide.  Mark has two Masters Degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, Illinois. He is the author of a best-selling book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, and he is a daily blogger at www.markbatterson.com.  Mark is married to Lora and they live on Capitol Hill with their three children: Parker, Summer, and Josiah.

Eric Bramlett - Eric has been the creative arts director for Community Christian Church since 1996.  Eric’s background is in professional theater, and he holds degrees in acting and directing.  He is responsible for overseeing all large-group experiences from intensive artistic vision through production.  Eric continues to be involved in the Chicago theater scene, most notably as an Artistic Associate for Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago, a theater company has been associated with since its inception in 1995.  Eric lives in Naperville, IL, with his wife, Kristi, and their three children, Sadie, Dillon, and Anna.

 

John Burke  - Prior to starting Gateway Community Church in Austin, TX, John was the Executive Director of Ministries at Willow Creek Community Church.  Prior to Willow Creek, John and his wife Kathy were on staff with a campus ministry in California.  John completed his undergraduate work at the University of Texas and his graduate work at Trinity University in Chicago.  Kathy is also active around Gateway in a multitude of ways.  John and Kathy have two children and John is the author of No Perfect People Allowed and founder of the Emerging Leadership Initiative. 

 

Linnea Carnes - The Rev. Dr. Linnea Carnes has been the pastor of Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church in Chicago since 1999.  During her ministry, the congregation changed from predominatly white American to its current multiethnic composition, representing fourteen nationalities, which is reflective of the community surrounding the church.  Dr. Carnes earned a Bachelor of Music Education from teh University of Kansas (1965), a Master of Divinity from Denver Seminary (1991) and a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from North Park Theological Seminary (2006).  Her Doctoral Thesis was entitled, "One Voice Among Many: Preaching in a Multiethnic Congregation", a subject that emerged from her pastoral experience.  Dr. Carnes was ordained in The Evangelical Covenant Church in 1993.  Dr. Carnes has held a variety of staff positions at a number of churches since 1966.  She has also served as pastor in churches in Denver, Colorado and Pawtucket, Rhode Island.  Dr. Carnes is married and has two married sons and four grandchildren. 

Matt Chandler - Matt serves as lead pastor of The Village Church in Highland Village, TX. He describes his 3 year tenure at The Village as a re-planting effort where he was involved in changing the theological and philosophical culture of the congregation. The church has witnessed a tremendous response growing from 160 people to over 2500. Alongside his current role as lead pastor, Matt is involved in church planting efforts both locally and internationally through The Village and various strategic partnerships. Prior to accepting the pastorate at The Village, Matt had a vibrant itinerant ministry for over ten years where he spoke to hundreds of thousands of people in America and abroad about the glory of God and beauty of Jesus. His greatest joy outside of Jesus is being married to Lauren and being a dad to their two children, Audrey and Reid.

Missy Cheeseman - Melissa Cheeseman grew up in Atlanta, Georgia but now lives in Lexington, Kentucky. She is a volunteer staff member at Crossroads Christian Church in Lexington, overseeing efforts beyond the walls of the church. Her passion for raising up lay leadership in the local church has her pursuing a Masters degree in Transformational Leadership at Bethel Seminary. In her free time, she is an Emergency Medicine physician at a private hospital in Lexington, loves to sail and spend time with her two cats!

 

Steve Childers - Steve is the President of Global Church Advancement, an inter-denominational ministry that provides training, consultations, and resources for church planters, pastors and missionaries throughout the world. Steve has trained Christian leaders from more than 25 countries representing over 100 denominations and mission agencies. Steve is also a Professor of Practical Theology (since 1995) and the director of the doctoral program at Reformed Theological Seminary, in Orlando, Florida, where he teaches church planting, missions, evangelism and spiritual formation. Steve and his wife Becky live in Orlando, Florida, and have three daughters, Angela, Cara and Laura.

 

Neil Cole - Neil is an experienced church planter and pastor. He founded Awakening Chapels, which are reaching young postmodern people in urban settings, and Church Multiplication Associates (CMA) which has grown to over 700 churches in 32 states and 23 nations. Neil has authored Organic Church, Cultivating a Life For God, TruthQuest and co-authored Raising Leaders for the Harvest, and Beyond Church Planting: Pathways for Emerging Churches with Dr. Robert Logan and Organic Church Planters’ Greenhouse with Paul Kaak. He lives in Long Beach, California with his wife Dana and their three children Heather, Erin and Zachary.

 

Patrick Dennis - Patrick is passionate about helping churches and ministries communicate more effectively with those beyond their walls.  Patrick is the founder of Alliant Studios and the President of Church Marketing Solutions.  Church Marketing Solutions provides full-service marketing to churches at non-profit prices.

 

 

Mark DeYmaz - Dr. Mark DeYmaz is the founding pastor of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, a multi-ethnic and economically diverse church where significan percentages of Black and White Americans, togehter with men and women from some 30 nations currently worship God together as one.  A recognized leader in the emerging Multi-ethnic Church Movement, his book, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church, provides the biblical mandate for the multi-ethnic church and outlines seven core commitments required to bring it about. A former member of Little Rock's Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission and past chair of the city's Faith Alliance, DeYmaz is co-founder of the Mosaix Global Network, an organization dedicated to catalyzing the movement toward multi-ethnic churches throughout America and beyond.  He posts weekly on his blog, Glue, at www.markdeymaz.com.  Mark is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA (B.S., Psychology), Western Seminary in Portland, OR(M.A., Exegetical Theology) and Phoenix Seminary in Phoenix, AZ (D. Min.). 

Bill Dillon - Bill Dillon is the founder of Inner City Impact and has served for over 30 years as its Executive Director.  His family has been an integral part of urban ministry in Chicago since 1918 (three generations) and he has over 30 years of fund raising experience.  Bill is the author of People Raising: a Practical Guide to Raising Support, which is now in it 12th printing.  He is a popular fund raising consultant through the People Raising organization and in 2005 was honored by Moody Institute as Alumnus of the Year.

 

Dave Dummitt - Dave Dummitt is the Lead Pastor of 2|42 Community Church in Brighton, Michican, an innovative missional community known for its creativity, commitment to serving its city, and passion for "helping people take next steps with God". After completing a leadership residency wat Community Christian Church, Naperville, IL, Dummitt led a team of 24 people who moved from other states to help start 2|42. On February 13, 2005, the church launched with 497 people and weekend attendance has grown to over 950 with plans to launch a second campus in 2008. Dave also serves on the leadership team for the NewThing Network, an international network of reproducing churches whose dream is "to be a catalyst for a movement of reproducing churches."  Dave and his wife Rachel have three great kids, Grace, Luke, and little Joey.

Derek Duncan - Derek Duncan is the Senior Pastor at East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, a church with a passion for church planting. Between 1984 and 2004, East 91st Street planted 30 churches. Derek joined the team in 2004 and under his leadership, the church is aggressively focused on church multiplication. Their vision is a church planting movement that will spread around the world, and they are pursuing that God-given dream with a plan to plant 65 churches over the next ten years.

 

Bill Easum - Bill Easum is the Vice President of Easum, Bandy & Associates, and is a highly respected church consultant and Christian futurist.  Bill has been a pioneer in the church growth movement with 35 years of pastoral ministry in four churches and two denominations.  During his 24 years at Colonial Hills Church in San Antonio, the church grew from 35 in worship to over 1,000...with 2,200 members.  His record of service in evangelism and social justice ministries has been acknowledged by the Industrial Areas Foundation in New York as one of the finest records in North America.  Bill specializes in consulting with churches, conducting seminars, small group work, church planting, multiple sites and mentoring leaders for the ministries of the future.  He is the author of twelve books, the most recent, A Second Reurrection. 

Chris Elrod -  Chris is the founder and Senior Pastor of Compass Point Church in Lakeland. Florida. Previously he was a nationally touring comedian and worked extensively with various prison ministries. Chris' blog about his church planting experiences has been featured on Fox News, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and hundreds of other media outlets across the United States. When not pastoring or blogging, Chris enjoys hunting, classic rock and making fun of worship leaders.

 

Dave Ferguson - Dave Ferguson and four friends from college launched Community Christian Church, a church that is passionate about "helping people find their way back to God".  This church has grown to 600+ leaders with more than 5,000 in attendance at eight sites every weekend throughout Chicagoland.  Dave serves as a resource for other churches and leaders seeking to expand through multiple church sites and provides visionary leadership for the NewThing Network, a catalyst for a movement of reproducing churches.  He is also the co-founder and serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Community who partner with real estate developers to accomplish their mission of "helping people build quality relationships where they live and work through the power of genuine community.  In February, 2007 Dave authored his first book with Zondervan, The Big Idea: Focus the Message, Multiply the Impact.

Jon Ferguson – Jon Ferguson is co-founder of Community Christian Church, a multi-site church with eight locations in the Chicago area. He serves as teaching pastor and leads the team of executive staff champions for adult, student, children’s, and creative arts ministries across all CCC locations. He plays a key role in identifying and developing small group leaders, coaches and staff personnel. Jon is the co-founder and executive director of NewThing Network, a mission of CCC with a vision to be a catalyst for a movement of reproducing churches. NewThing serves thousands of churches through its conferences, coaching and creative resources. He also serves on the boards of the Church Planting Network, the Institute for Community and Stadia East. He resides in Naperville, IL with his wife, Lisa, and their two children, Graham and Chloe. Check out his blog at jonferguson.org.

Bob Harrington - Bob is the President and founder of Church Coaching Solutions. An experienced church planter and lead pastor, Bob serves as the Director and trainer of Church Planting Networks for Stadia New Church Strategies, where he leads 23+ networks. He is also the current and founding pastor of Harpeth Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee.

 

 

Greg Hawkins - Greg is Executive Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL.  Since 1996, he has assisted in providing strategic leadership to Willow Creek's five campuses and to the Willow Creek Association.  He also serves as point leader for REVEAL, a new initiative that utilized research tools and discoveries to help churches better understand spiritual growth in their congregations.  He is co-author of the book, REVEAL: Where are you?  Prior to joining the staff of Willow Creek in 1991, Greg spent five years as a consultant for McKinsey & Company.  He has an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Stanford University. 

Alan Hirsch - Alan Hirsch is co-founder of Shapevine and the founding director of Forge Mission Training Network, a highly innovative action-learning system focused on developing missional leaders in western contexts. He is (co)author of The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st Century Church and The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church. Alan has been directly involved in church planting and mission among various subcultures in inner city Melbourne (Australia) for many years. He has also been director of Mission and Revitalization for his denomination in Australia.

Scott Hodge - Scott is the lead pastor of The Orchard - an 80 year old church community located in Aurora, IL who was recently named one of the top 25 most innovative churches in America by Outreach Magazine. The Orchard is a diverse church community that is making a missional impact both locally and globally . Besides his family and church, Scott is also passionate about blogging, Starbucks coffee and Apple Computers.

 

Troy Jackson - Troy is the senior minister at University Christian Church, near the campus of the University of Cincinnati, in Ohio.   Made up of University students, area residents and young families, University Christian Church is a vibrant community of believers which, for more than 15 years, has been serving God and reaching the international population of the University and Uptown area.  People who attend UCC are encouraged not only to live in the area, but to become active in the life of the community and affect positive changes for Christ.  Their members serve on various neighborhood leadership councils, work in area businesses and institutions, volunteer in community organizations and tutor local elementary school students. 

Brian Jones - coming soon

 

 

 

Debbie Jones - Debbie is the Associate Director for Stadia East, a church planting organization which focuses east of the Mississippi River. With 30 years of ministry experience she has conducted numerous workshops and seminars throughout the United States and provides coaching for children's leaders and ministry spouses.  Having been involved with church planting for so many years, Debbie understands the vital role that a spouse plays in planting a church.  Therefore, she is passionate about providing support and resources for church planters' spouses and families.  Debbie was a contributing author to the book Church Planting from the Ground Up.  She and her husband Tom founded Princeton Community Church in Princeton, New Jersey, and SouthBrook Christian Church in Centerville, Ohio.  They have two children, Melanie and Tom.

Tom Jones - Dr. Tom Jones is the Regional Director for the eastern region of Stadia, a national church planting movement. Stadia East has partnered to plant over 30 new churches the past four years. Tom is also one of the Directors of the Church Planting Assessment Center (CPAC) and has assessed hundreds of planters since 1992. Dr. Jones started SouthBrook Christian Church in Centerville, Ohio and Princeton Community Church in Princeton, New Jersey. He has recruited, assessed, coached and taught planters across several denominations. In addition to his work in church planting, Jones is also Professor of Christian Ministries at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tennessee. He has been married for 30 years to Debbie Jones and has two grown children.

Greg Kappas - Dr. Greg Kappas is President of Grace Global Network.  He has coached over 300 leaders in starting hundreds of multiplying, reproductive churches around the globe since 1991.  He emphasizes the need for each church planter and their team to view their new work in the Gospel as a church planting center, reproducing around the globe.  He stresses the need for each church to be multi-ethnic, cross-cultural, and multi-generational.  Dr. Kappas speaks and teaches regularly for many ministries, including partnering with Leadership Network, Acts 29, Church Dynamics International and Dynamic Church Planting International.  He has co-authored numerous works including Twenty-Five Questions for Planting a Healthy Church, Recapturing the Art of Shepherding and Somewhere Inside the Rainbow.

Tim Keller - Tim Keller is the founding and lead pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian (PCA), "one of Manhattan's most vital congregations," according to Christianity Today [12/04]. RPC started a Church Planting Center in 2001, and its phone has not stopped ringing since. He is committed to the church planting movement and 'entering the culture's stories and retelling them with the gospel'." Redeemer's vision is to spread the gospel, first through ourselves and then through the city by word, deed, and community; To bring about personal changes, social healing, and cultural renewal through a movement of churches and ministries that change New York City and through it, the world. Keller promotes piety, evangelistic outreach, and missions of mercy. 

  

Brad Leeper  - Brad is drawn to innovative, growing churches and the challenges of helping them expand practically and spiritually.  He uses his understanding of the multi-site church strategy and other pioneering and other pioneering church movements to assist them with building the finances needed to reach their ministry goals.  Brad is a senior strategist with Generis, and has experience as a consultant to churches across the nation, a staff leader in resource development for local ministries, a Campus Director for Campus Crusade for Christ, and a church elder in his own 5,000-member home church, Perimeter Church in Atlanta. 

Shawn Lovejoy - Shawn is the founding and Lead Pastor of Mountain Lake Church, in Cumming, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. Since its inception, Mountain Lake has grown in just six short years from 4 to near 2,000 in worship attendance weekly. Shawn is also the co-founder of churchplanters.com, a national coaching and resourcing ministry for church planters. Prior to planting MLC, he served on the staff of two churches and was called to ministry out of a successful business background.

 

Sherri McCready - Since the age of 17, Sherri McCready has used her speaking and creative arts abilities to minister to thousands of people.  She shares honestly of her struggle with sexual abuse and sexual immorality, her passion as a high school campus missionary, the joys and pains of marriage and motherhood, and the journey of her daughters' battle with MS. She has authored two books, ministered with Jay Sekulow and Dr. James Dobson, and spoken for Youth for Christ, First Priority of America, Christ in Youth, and National Network of Youth Ministers.  She is married to Shannon McCready the lead church planter for Highland Christian Church in Asheville, NC where she serves as the Creative Arts Director.

Janet McMahon - Janet McMahon graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in social work. After working in mental health and adoption, Janet joined the staff of Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL in 1995 where she worked in Children's Ministry, Support and Recovery and Small Groups. Janet is currently working alongside her husband Troy as a church planter in Kansas City, MO where she is the director of community, overseeing Student, Children and Adult small group ministry. Janet and Troy have three children, Jake (17), Mitch (14) and Judiann (8).

Troy McMahon - Troy is the lead pastor at Restore Community Church, a brand new church plant in Kansas City, MO. Before planting Restore, Troy was on staff at Community Christian Church in Chicagoland for over 10 years. He had held numerous roles during that time from business to facility design to launching a couple of new locations. Prior to coming on staff at Community Christian Church, Troy spent 10 years in the corporate world as an engineer and business unit manager. This past year, Troy's family and about 20 friends relocated to Kansas City, Missouri to start this new church. It is their dream to launch a church that is passionate about helping people find their way back to God, focused on mobilizing Christ Followers to change the world and relentless about reproducing churches, leaders and artists.

David Mills  - David is a two-time church planter who has worked for the last 10 years developing community outreach and service programs that connect to ministry. He is passionate about connecting new churches to their communities in a way that builds credibility and results in transformation--for both the community and the church. He coordinates Compassionbydesign.org which is helping to shape the future of planting by serving.

 

Mont Mitchell  - Mont is the Sr. Pastor of Westbrook Christian Church in Bolingbrook, IL, which is a southwestern suburb of the great city of Chicago.  Mont and his family moved to the Chicago area in February of 1996 and planted Westbrook in October of 1996. Westbrook is a multicultural church of nearly 1200, committed to reaching all people of all ethnicities in their region as well as planting additional church planting churches; the most recent one being Gente Unida Ministries, a Latino congregation.  Mont holds a BA degree from St. Louis Christian College and a MM degree from Kentucky Christian College.  Mont and his wife Christie have three sons.  You can check out Mont's blog at www.WestbrookChurch.org/colorlines.

Sally Morgenthaler  - Sally is recognized as an innovater in Christian practices worldwide.  Since 1992, she has been pioneering new worship forms characterized by both cultural relavence and worship faithfulness.  Known best for her book, Worship Evangelism, she became a trusted interpreter of postmodern culture and a guide to the crucial shifts the North American church must make if it's to have a transforming presence within pre-Christian communities.  She has been a contributing author for eight books, a featured speaker at numerous worship conferences, and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at 17 colleges and universities, including Yale University, Asbury Seminary, Bethany Seminary, Denver Seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Baylor University.

Tom Nebel - Dr. Tom Nebel is the Director of Church Multiplication and Leadership Teams Worldwide for the Baptist General Conference, a position he accepted in 2006. Prior to that (1992-2005) he served as Director of Church Planting for the Great Lakes Baptist Conference and Associate Director of TeAmerica. His passion is to fuel regional church planting movements to be effective in expanding the Kingdom of God. Tom is author of Empowering Leaders Through Coaching, The Coach's Logbook, and Big Dreams in Small Places: Church Planting in Smaller Communities. His most recent book is entitled Church Planting Landmines: Mistakes to Avoid in Years 2-10. Tom and Lori make their home in Madison, WI, along with their two teenage sons, Andrew and Matthew. 

Dr. Steven Ogne - Steve is a National Coach and Ministry Architect with Church Resource Ministries and a long standing partner with Global Church Advancement.  He is committed to fueling movements of fresh authentic churches worldwide. Steve has successfully empowered hundreds of church planters through a variety of coaching and training relationships. Steve's wisdom and consulting skills have been used to mobilize dozens of parent churches as well as to equip a multitude of regional and national leaders to start and sustain church planting movements.  Steve has co-authored Empowering Leaders Through Coaching, The Church Planter's Toolkit, Churches Planting Churches, and has developed a variety of Church Multiplication Networks. Steve and his wife Jane live with their three sons in Somis, California. 

Dave Olson  - David T. Olson is director of the American Church Research Project. He planted four churches in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Florida and now leads the church planting movement for the Evangelical Covenant Church as its director of church planting. His new book, "The American Church in Crisis," has just been published by Zondervan.

 

 

Dr. Larry Osborne - Larry Osborne is the Lead Pastor of North Coast Church in Vista, California, and the Founder and President of North Coast Leadership Network.  Under his leadership, since 1980, North Coast Church's weekend attendance has grown from 128 to over 6,500, and they have been recognized nationally as one of the Ten Most Influential Churches in America and one of the Most Innovative Churches In America.  Known for its creative approach to ministry, North Coast pioneered the use of Video Worship Venues and is one of the leaders in the Multi-Site movement with 25 worship options on five different campuses - each targeted at a different geographical and Missional demographic. They also pioneered the use of Sermon-Based Small Groups; a fast spreading lecture/lab model that closes the back door and promotes discipleship by delving deeper into the weekend message.  Larry is the author of Sticky Church: Slamming The Back Door Shut; A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God: Spirituality For The Rest of Us and The Unity Factor: Developing A Healthy Leadership Team.

Henry Oursler - Dr. Henry Oursler is a pastor, trainer and mentor who works in partnership with Grace Global Network.  He trains church planters and church planting movement leaders, assists in fund raising for GGN, conducts marriage and family conferences for church planters and their teams, and trains small group and men's ministry leaders for new churches.  Henry is an outstanding leader and communicator with nearly 35 years of ministry and mentoring experience.  He and his wife, Linda, have trained over a hundred thousand people in the Biblical dynamics of a healthy marriage.

 

Darrin Patrick  - Darrin founded The Journey in 2002 with a desire to plant a church in the heart of Saint Louis, Missouri.  Darrin is Vice President of Acts 29 Church Planting Network, and serves as the executive director for another church planting movement called 360-St. Louis, a network which joins the church and the business community in planting gospel-centered churches.  Darrin's passion is to equip the church to live the gospel in the world.  He is working on his first book, The Man, The Message, The Mission.  Today, The Journey runs four services across three campuses, and continues agressively plant churches in St. Louis and beyond. 

 

Randy Pope - Randy is the Lead Preacher and Directional Leader of Perimeter Church in Duluth, Georgia, a church devoted to reaching the unchurched of north Atlanta and the world.  Perimeter has helped start six training centers worldwide to facilitate church planting, has partnerships with nationals in eight countries to help train leaders, and has helped start 24 churches in the Atlanta area.  Randy's vision and commitment to make and train disciples is known throughout the Christian community.  He has established Life-on-Life Ministries to continue training church leaders.  He has authored three books, including The Intentional Church (previously released as The Prevailing Church), and been a guest lecturer for numerous semiaries and college ministries. 

David Putman - David has been involved in church planting since 1989 when he planted his first church. He has been the founding pastor of two churches, been part of the core group of several church plants along with his family, and spent nine years consulting and coaching church planters while working with the North American Mission Board. He currently serves as one of the pastors of Mountain Lake Church, a six year old church in the North Atlanta that has grown to 2000 in weekend attendance. He is co-author with Ed Stetzer of the book Breaking the Missional Code. He is also one of the co-founders of ChurchPlanters.com.

 

Jim Putman - Jim is the founding pastor at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho, where the Lord has assembled a team of Guerrilla Ministers committed to developing disciples through small groups. In the short seven-year history of the church, Real Life Ministries has grown from just five founding members to over 6,000 regular attenders, making it one of the fastest-growing churches in the nation. Prior to planting Real Life, Jim served in youth ministry for 10 years at churches in Portland, Oregon and Boise, Idaho. Jim is a graduate of Boise State College and Boise Bible College.

 

Todd Rhoades - Todd is the editor/head writer for MondayMorningInsight.com.  He's also the founder of ChurchStaffing.com, a contributor to Rev! Magazine, and currently works with Leadership Network to help identify, connect, and help high-capacity Christian leaders multiply their impact.

 

 

Bob Roberts - Bob is the founding pastor of NorthWood Church near Dallas/FT Worth, TX. He is the founder of GlocalNet, an international network of like-minded leaders who are passionate about a multiplication movement that connects the body of Christ worldwide. Bob works extensively in identifying new places to start and train churches and in the placement and strategy of new churches. He teaches courses at universities and institutions around the world. Bob is a graduate of Baylor University (BA), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div), and Fuller Seminary (D.Min) with an emphasis in church planting. Bob is married to Nikki and they have two children, Ben and Jill.

Rick Rusaw - Rick has been the Senior Minister at LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colorado, since 1991. Previously, he was Vice President of Cincinnati Christian University and Associate Minister at First Christian Church in Fort Myers, Florida. He is a graduate of Cincinnati Christian University (1980) and Cincinnati Bible Seminary (1990). Rick serves on a number of boards including Christian Network Incorporated, Milligan College, Hope International University, and various other Christian and business boards. He is also an on-air host for Worship and co-author of Living a Life on Loan, The Externally Focused Church and 60 Simple Secrets, and Windows on Worship Devotional Series. Rick has served on committees for the North American Christian Convention and is chairman of Outlook America. He resides in Longmont with his wife, Diane, and three children.

Efrem Smith - Efrem is an internationally recognized leader and speaker who uses storytelling, comedy, and passion to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ at a level that people can understand as well as presents principles for living the life on a daily basis. He also consults on diversity and multi-ethnic issues and has been a speaker at many high school and middle school assemblies and retreats. Efrem is co-author of the book The Hip Hop Church. Efrem is married to Donecia and has two daughters; Jaeda and Mireya. He has received many awards such as the Role Model Award from the Hennepin County Community Coalition, and the Community Service Award from Saint John's University.

Jim Spoonts - Jim serves as Executive Director of Mosaix Global Network. Following 23 years in real estate development, Jim joined Global Missions Fellowship as full-time church planter mobilizing dozens of churches to participate in church planting strategies in Russia, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico. He has served as GMF's Country Coordinator for Russia, Director of Church Relations with EvangeCube, and serves on the Steering Committee of DFW Mobilizers Network.

 

Andy Stanley -Andy Stanley is the founder of North Point Ministries, Inc. and senior pastor of North Point Community Church. Located in Alpharetta, Georgia, North Point Community Church is the first campus of NPMI. Buckhead Church, the second campus of NPMI, began in 2001 in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. Andy is the co-founder of GoodStuf Student Conferences, a ministry to high school students. Prior to founding North Point Community Church, Andy was the Associate Pastor and Minister to Students at First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Georgia State University and his Th.M from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Andy is the author of several books, including Like a Rock, Visioneering, Choosing to Cheat, The Next Generation Leader, and How Good Is Good Enough? He has also co-authored a number of books, including The Seven Checkpoints, Seven Principles Every Teenager Needs to Know, Youth Leaders Guide and companion Student Journal (with Stuart Hall).

Andy lives in Alpharetta, Georgia with his wife, Sandra, and their three children, Andrew, Garrett, and Allie.

Ed Stetzer - Ed has planted churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia and transitioned declining churches in Indiana and Georgia.  He has trained pastors and church planters on five continents, and holds two masters degrees and two doctorates.  He has writen dozens of articles and books, including Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age, Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church (with Elmer Towns), Strategic Outreach (with David Putman), Planting Missional Churches, and Comeback Churches.  Ed served for three years as a seminary professor at the Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and has taught as fifteen other seminaries.  He is currently the Director of Lifeway Research and Lifeway's Missiologist in Residence.  

Bart & Jodi Stone - Bart & Jodi Stone are the lead planters of Momentum Christian Church in south Atlanta, Georgia. Momentum launched January 21, 2007 with a vision to help people in their community experience life the way it was meant to be. Bart & Jodi have been married for 12 years and they have a seven-year-old son, Keaton, and a two-year-old daughter, Addison, who they adopted from China just a few months before launching Momentum. They are definitely a partnership in ministry and Jodi plays an active role in the church.

 

Greg Surratt - Greg Surratt is the founding and Senior Pastor of Seacoast Church in Charleston, South Carolina.  Seacoast now has nine locations with ten distinct venues in South Carolina and Georgia.  Known for creativity and transparency, Seacoast Church has grown to 7,500 in weekend attendance since its beginning in 1988.  Seacoast, a non-denominational multi-site church has recently been recognized by various media outlets as one of the 25 most innovative, 50 most influential, and 100 fastest growing churches in America.  In addition to Seacoast's lead pastor, Greg is a founding board member of the Association of Related Churches.

Ron Sylvia - Ron Sylvia is the founding and lead pastor at Church at The Springs in Ocala, Florida.  The church started in an office building 12 years ago with only 21 people and now averages nearly 3,000 in weekly attendance.  While leading a fast growing church, Ron learned the value of mentoring and coaching.  As a result, he has personally coached hundreds of church planters and pators and has recently authored his story and methods in the book, Starting New Churches on Purpose.  As one of a few certified to train in the Tom Paterson Strategic Planning Process, Ron has a passion to help pastors think and act strategically in the local church.

Rick Warren - Dr. Rick Warren is passionate about attacking what he calls the five "Global Goliaths" - spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy/poor education. His goal is a second Reformation by restoring responsibility in people, credibility in churches, and civility in culture. He is a pastor, global strategist, theologian, and philanthropist.

He is founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Saddleback began in 1980 with one family and has grown into an evangelical congregation averaging 22,000 weekly attendees, with more than 300 community ministries to groups such as prisoners, CEOs, addicts, single parents, and those with HIV/AIDS. Rick has authored many books; most well known is The Purpose Driven Church, which is listed in "100 Christian Books that Changed the 20th Century."  He also leads the Purpose Driven Network of churches, a global coalition of congregations in 162 countries. More than 400,000 ministers and priests have been trained worldwide, and almost 157,000 church leaders subscribe to Ministry Toolbox, his weekly newsletter.

Leslie Wasem - Leslie is a native of northeastern Ohio. Thanks to the influence of her mother and Grandmother McPherson (a preacher's wife), Leslie grew up in an active Christian family. Her love for art took her to an art academy where she majored in fashion illustration. In 1984 she started an architectural art business and continued working in that field until recently. She is married to John, and has three grown children Ashley, married to Caleb, John, and Tim, and two grandchildren, Naomi and Norah. 13 years ago she and her husband lead a team and planted Suncrest Christian Church in St. John, Indiana. She still smiles thinking about the experience and calls it an absolute privilege to have been able to serve in the areas of music, women's ministry and design. She and her husband now reside in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Mark Williams - Mark Williams is the Executive Vice President of DCPI, Dynamic Church Planting International.  Mark was the founding pastor for two church plants and has been the pastor of the "mother" or "partner" church for five other church plants.  He has served as a regional church planting director, and co-authored The Dynamic DAUGHTER Church Planting Handbook. 

 

 

George Yancey  - Dr. George Yancey is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of North Texas.  He is the author of One Body, One Spirit: Principles of Successful Multiracial Churches (InterVarsity Press), co-author of United by Faith: The Multiracial Congregation as an Answer to the Problem of Race and the co-editor with his wife, Sherelyn, of Just Don't Marry One: Interracial Dating, Marriage and Parenting (Judson Press).  He has also authored several research articles on the topics of interracial marriage and multiracial churches and is the founder of Reconciliation Consulting - a Christian business that aids churches in dealing with racial diversity.  His newest book is Beyond Racial Gridlock: Embracing Mutual Responsibility (InterVarsity Press.)