Bob Adams is the lead church development consultant
for JH Batten Inc., a church design-build firm. His
background includes 23 years as an associate/executive
pastor with primary responsibility in church
facilities administration. Adams has spoken at the
Church Solutions Conference & Expo, Creation Care
Conference, Worship Facilities Expo, NACDB, NACBA,
NACFM and various state Baptist Building Conferences.
He also has contributed articles to Church Solutions,
Church Worship & Technology, and Worship Facilities
magazines. His passion is helping the church be
efficient in its use of ministry resources so it can
be effective in accomplishing its vision. He and his
wife, Anita, have been married 28 years and have two
young adult sons, a daughter in college and a teenage
son. He and his wife currently lead the Student Tech
Team for the student worship service at their church.
Kurt André is a senior associate with TAG (The
Armstrong Group) and is the president of Compass
Coaching International. His expertise includes
Individual, Organizational and Core Competency
Development, Strategic Planning, Leadership and Team
Development, and Leadership Coaching. André has
received numerous awards including national
recognition for his leadership development, Young
Leaders of America, Who's Who of America's Young
Leaders and for his international work among the
former Soviet Republics. His expertise extends from
strategic planning and organizational development to
competency-based management and leadership
development. He has developed strategic plans for
hundreds of organizations and taught leadership
development in numerous settings.
As
technical arts director at Bent Tree Church in
Carrollton, Texas, Greg Atkinson oversees the sound,
video, lights and graphics staff and volunteers. He’s
studied church music, worship, leadership and
communication; and spent 11 years as a worship pastor.
In 2003, he launched a Web site for Christian pastors,
media ministers, artists and worship leaders. He
helped create, develop and lead WorshipHouse Media,
serving as director until mid-2006. Atkinson
guest-teaches at various colleges, seminaries and
national conferences. He also does consulting work,
forums, a podcast and blog. He frequently writes
articles for national publications, and his book,
“Church 2.0,” is due out in early 2009.
After
25 years as a local church pastor, church planter and
megachurch teaching pastor, John Bash, Ph.D., now
works full time helping churches that have visions
bigger than their budgets. He received a Doctorate of
Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Master
of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
He has taught organizational leadership at the
university level and is a stewardship strategist with
Generis. He also is a golfer who can’t chip and an
avid gym enthusiast.
John Bishop is the senior pastor at Living Hope Church
in Vancouver, Wash. Pastor Bishop graduated from Saint
Martin's College in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in business management. Following a near-fatal
accident, he felt an immediate call to ministry and
began school at Western Seminary in 1990. He graduated
with a Master of Arts degree in transformational
leadership in 2004. In 1996, he and his wife, along
with four other families, planted Living Hope Church
-- one of the fastest-growing churches in America with
weekend services at campuses in Washington (which
includes a Hispanic service), Oregon, Hawaii and
international campuses in New Zealand, Philippines,
India and Mexico. Pastor Bishop passionately leads the
multiple teams of staff and volunteers who are the
heart and soul of the church's mission to reach lost
people for Christ. He and his wife, Michelle, have
three children, David, Katie and Hannah.
Vance Breshears founded Sound Technology Consultants in 1995, and now serves as its owner and principal consultant. He built his broad-based consulting firm with a dedication to the creative integration of acoustics, technology and architectural planning. Bringing more than 20 years of experience to each project, Breshears has a portfolio that includes more than 500 design projects, including church facilities, auditoriums, sports facilities and theme park projects around the world. With an extensive background in both physics and electronics, he’s known for his ability to perceive acoustical characteristics and define the physics of a space.
Trevor
Bron is a senior consultant with TAG Consulting, a
transforming church consulting firm. Having served on
a traditional church staff as well as planting a
postmodern young-adult church, Bron brings a unique
perspective to the churches and ministries he works
with. He also has experience as a business owner,
event planner, entrepreneur, and speaker at
conferences and churches in North and South America.
Some of his clients are St. Andrew’s Presbyterian
Church in Newport Beach, Calif., Scum of the Earth
Church in Denver and West Chicago’s Good Shepherd
Lutheran. Bron’s strengths include communication,
marketing, leadership development, organizational
management, administration, and facility and site
location.
After graduating from Yale, Bob Brown earned a law
degree from the University of Wyoming Law School in
1974. He began practice in Arizona in that same year.
He has been certified as a specialist in real property
law since 1989 and is a fellow of the Arizona Bar
Foundation. With an "A-V" from Martindale Hubbell,
Brown’s practice emphasizes transactions involving
faith-based and nonprofit entities. He has spoken at
the Arizona State Bar’s training course on
professionalism, numerous nonprofit conferences and
the Phoenix Seminary. Brown served as a director of
Scottsdale Christian Academy, the founding Boards of
Solid Rock Foundation, Christian Education Legacy
Fund, and Arizona Private Education Scholarship
Foundation.
Owner and Creative Director of Holy Cow Creative, Michael Buckingham brings a unique blend of business and creative ability to the Church. His diverse business background includes a range of experiences, such as large corporation launches, youth center development, and agency projects. Currently, he works with churches of all sizes to develop relevant and engaging marketing. Buckingham thrives on taking his experience in the public sector and applying it to the spiritual arena, setting out to change the way the Church does church. As ministry partners and fellow Christ-followers, Buckingham and the Holy Cow team love being called to do something bigger than themselves.
Dave Cannaday is a project manager for Custom Sound Design (CSD). His previous experience includes nearly 25 years working as a technical director in a megachurch. Part of his responsibilities included audio/visual design, installation and operation, as well as training volunteers. He also has a background in television; the church he worked for built and owned a full-power TV station and 45-foot remote production truck. One of Cannaday’s gifts is the ability to train volunteers well by breaking down information to an easily understandable level. Combined with his technological expertise, Cannaday has an uncanny ability to help churches use technology to its full potential.
Scott A. Couchenour is a certified life coach with a
passion to help ministry professionals succeed. He
founded Serving Strong, a resource to educate and
coach those in ministry to prioritize a healthy life
balance and self care. Couchenour has more than 20
years experience personally serving in ministry
full-time, bi-vocationally and as a volunteer. He also
has nearly 20 years experience in business as vice
president of operations with Cogun Inc., a company
that partners with churches to develop the right
ministry space. He is a member of the Christian
Coaches Network and the American Association of
Christian Counselors.
As a
fifth-generation pastor, Terry Crist, Ph.D., has a
lifetime of experience helping hurting people. In
addition to founding and pastoring three churches, he
has traveled extensively into more than 60 nations,
speaking in local churches, at leadership conferences
and on university campuses. The driving force in
Pastor Terry's life is his passion to build a
"cross-current" church, which he defines as, "a church
that is biblically literate, spiritually sensitive and
culturally relevant." Currently, he is the senior
pastor of City of Grace, a 5,000-member, unique
multisite church with campuses in Scottsdale and Mesa,
Ariz.
Leslie A. Dugan is the regional manager of
Philadelphia Insurance Companies’ Loss Control
Department. She received her bachelor’s degree in
chemistry from California Polytechnic University, San
Luis Obispo, and has more than 20 years of progressive
loss control experience. Dugan is responsible for
overseeing the Sunbelt, Western, Northwest and Rocky
Mountain Loss Control Regions for PIC and ePIC Loss
Control Services (a for-profit risk management
subsidiary of PIC). Her responsibilities include
managing and monitoring all loss control activities,
executing large account and risk improvement
servicing, reviewing and monitoring all loss control
recommendations in the Sunbelt region, monitoring and
trending losses, and developing technical and
procedural loss control safety programs, policyholder
training modules and advanced technical bulletins. She
currently serves on the Board of the Society of Fire
Protection Engineers (SFPE), Los Angeles Chapter, and
is a full voting member of the National Fire
Protection Agency (NFPA).
Victor Erwin graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1978 with an accounting degree and became a CPA shortly thereafter. The first 10 years of his career were spent in public accounting and financial executive positions in Houston. In 1989, Erwin became executive vice president of Golden Fried Chicken, a regional restaurant chain headquartered in Dallas. He joined G. L. Barron in 2002 and became vice president of the church division in 2005. A certified church consultant, Erwin also served as the executive director of the NACDB. He frequently speaks nationally on church development and is a member of both NACFM and NACBA.
Michael Euliss is the director of marketing and
customer training for PhoneTree Automated Messaging,
as well as a motivational teacher and certified
congregational health specialist. Euliss also serves
as a senior associate with the Gallagher-Westfall
Group Inc. of Indiana. He has provided leadership and
supervisory training to hundreds of governmental,
church, corporate and civic groups nationwide. He has
been a guest speaker at numerous venues including many
television and radio shows, the Christian Management
Association Annual Convention and the Robert Schuller
Institute for Church Leadership at the Crystal
Cathedral. His expertise is in leadership development,
communication skills and group dynamics for paid and
volunteer church staff. He uses a variety of methods
to equip today’s church leaders with the tools needed
to excel as leaders of the most important organization
in the world. Euliss has three children and resides in
North Carolina with his family.
Steven P. Fridsma AIA LEEDAP is an
architect who also serves as the Worship Environments
Leader at Progressive AE in Grand Rapids, Mich. He is
passionate about examining cultural and spiritual
forces as they relate to existing forms and new models
for church architecture. He has presented on 21st
Century Church Trends, Architecture for the Emerging
Church, Sustainability (Creation Care) for Churches,
and Adaptive Reuse of Existing Buildings for Churches
at venues such as the Worship Facilities Conference
and Expo, the Calvin College Worship Symposium, and
several regional church construction conferences.
Fridsma has been involved in church planting since
1998 and served as a worship leader, digital artist
and the worship design team leader at CentrePointe
Church. He is also a guest instructor in architectural
design and theory at Calvin College. In 2007, he
received the AIA Grand Valley chapter's "Young
Architect Award".
Robert
Gerber is president and one of the founding partners
of GJS Architects LLC, which serves churches
nationwide. A 1983 graduate of Ball State University,
Gerber has NCARB certification and is currently
licensed to practice architecture in eight states.
He’s been a licensed architect for more than two
decades, with his current work responsibilities
spanning ministry planning, programming, master
planning, project procurement, project management and
presentations. He is a member of Riverbluff Church in
North Charleston, S.C., and serves in a variety of
ministries including the welcome team, usher team,
membership coaching and Billy Graham TV television
ministry.
Ken Godevenos is president of Accord Resolution
Services Inc., Independent Management and HR
Consultants. His previous experience includes
positions as a teacher and counselor, as well as a
wide variety of management roles involving staffing,
project management, organization analysis,
compensation and labor relations. Godevenos has served
on and chaired several church boards. He is the
executive director of SCA International; an active
member of the Canadian and American Compensation
Associations; co-leader of the Take3 ministry; and a
respected columnist, speaker, facilitator and seminar
leader.
Rev.
Cornelius Hudson, Ph.D., is founder and executive
director of The Centre for Pastoral Care & Counseling,
a faith-based nonprofit organization in Fort Worth,
Texas. Preaching since the age of 7, Hudson's mission
is to evangelize the world. Testimonies attest to his
passion for developing dynamic Kingdom citizens who
will impact the world for Jesus in such a way that
families are strengthened, broken hearts are healed,
the bruised are restored, and the bound are freed.
Besides serving as senior pastor of Fort Worth’s
Bethel Temple, Hudson travels extensively, preaching
and teaching, as well as serving on several community
organizations.
Wendy Johnson, CEO of Center for Courageous
Enterprise, brings more than 25 years of diverse
leadership and experience in small business, Fortune
500 and not-for-profit settings. She spent five years
as executive pastor in a growing church before joining
the executive team of Amor Ministries. Johnson
received a Master of Science in Executive Leadership (MSEL)
from the University of San Diego in partnership with
the Ken Blanchard Companies. She is a qualified
practitioner of MBTI®, FIRO-B® and DiSC®, and was the
inaugural recipient of the USD/Ken Blanchard MSEL
Leadership Award for Demonstrated Exemplary Work in
Servant Leadership in 2006.
As Vice
President of Internet Services at Odyssey Networks,
Allen Krauskopf leads the organization’s Internet
initiatives, including FaithStreams Network, which
promotes congregational vitality through Web
collaboration. During his 30-year career, Krauskopf
has worked in various information-technology
positions. While an associate partner in the
management-consulting organizations of IBM and
PricewaterhouseCoopers, he led initiatives that
delivered Internet solutions to large-scale and
mid-size firms. Currently, he’s bringing proven
industry principles to the faith community. Krauskopf
has a bachelor’s in mathematics from Hofstra
University, an MBA from Temple University’s Fox School
of Business and has completed additional graduate
studies at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Will Mancini is the author of “Church Unique” and the
founder of Auxano, a first-of-kind consulting ministry
that focuses on vision clarity. As a “clarity
evangelist,” Mancini has served as vision architect
for hundreds of churches nationwide including leading
churches within Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian,
Lutheran and non-denominational settings, as well as
notable pastors Chuck Swindoll and Max Lucado. Mancini
holds a ThM in pastoral leadership from Dallas
Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Science in
chemical engineering from Penn State. He is the
co-author of “Building Leaders by Baker.”
Ron Martoia, Ph.D., is an author and transformational
architect. He consults with executive teams in
corporate settings, but specializes in churches.
Author of numerous periodical articles, his first book
project was titled “Morph! The Texture of Leadership
for Tomorrow’s Church”. His second book, “Static:
Tuning out the ‘Christian Noise’ to Experience the
Real Message of Jesus,” was released in May 2007. The
sequel to “Static,” titled “Transformational
Architecture: Reshaping Our Lives as Narrative,” will
be released in Fall 2008. He also is the founder and
facilitator of III:TEXT, a new experimental learning
community for next generation ministry learning.
Martoia has a doctorate from Fuller Theological in the
area of leadership and culture. In addition to having
served on adjunct faculty at several universities, he
has provided leadership training and organizational
development in 12 countries and was lead pastor of a
church for 18 years.
Through
Fishhook – the marketing communications and creative
services company he founded in 2003 – Evan McBroom
serves as a communications partner and resource for
churches and Christ-centered organizations. He
combines the passion of his faith with the expertise
gained during a 14-year career with a large corporate
communications and marketing company to provide
clients with senior-level communications consultation.
His areas of expertise include organizational identity
and branding, strategic communications planning, and
promotions and event campaigns. McBroom initiated The
Christian Communications Directors’ Roundtable for
staff and laypeople responsible for congregational
communications. He’s also a guest lecturer, presenter,
emcee, board member and trainer for numerous
organizations.
Mel
McGowan leads numerous efforts at Visioneering
Studios, including creative concept development,
programming, master planning, design, entitlement and
project management. Having spent nearly a decade
with the Walt Disney Co., as well as years with a
private multidisciplinary planning, design and
engineering consulting company in Southern California,
McGowan has designed and managed an enviable portfolio
for world-class resorts, as well as institutional,
retail, community and mixed-use projects. Whether
master planning a 2000-acre “new town” or scripting
the guest experience of a 2,000-seat church, he
approaches each endeavor with a passion for
creativity, excellence and innovation.
Dan Mikes is the executive vice president and national
manager of Bank of the West's Church & School Banking
Divisions. He also is an active participant in
conventions and workshops sponsored by organizations
including the Christian Management Association, Guinn
Smith & Co. Inc. (CPA), and the National Association
of Church Business Administration. His entire
professional career has involved nationwide church
lending including 17 years working exclusively with
churches requiring financing for programs in excess of
$1 million. The author of a number of articles
appearing in Christian publications, Mikes graduated
Bible school before earning his business degree at a
Christian university.
Larry Osborne, Ph.D., is the founder and president of
North Coast Training Network in Vista, Calif. He also
is a senior pastor at North Coast Church, which is
recognized as one of the most innovative and 10
most-influential churches in America. Its small group
ministry averages 80 percent of its weekend attendance
in sermon-based small groups. North Coast also
pioneered the use of Video Worship Venues and is a
leader in the multisite movement, offering 20 worship
options on five different local campuses each weekend.
Osborne has a doctorate in ministry and 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.”
Kevin L. Parker is the president of Frontline
Leadership Training & Development Services. He
currently serves as executive and assistant and
administrative pastor at Family Victory Fellowship
Church where he helps administrate to a congregation
of more than 1,100 members, trains and develops
25-plus department leaders and helps organize and
manage nearly 200 volunteers. Parker graduated from
Kentucky State University with a Bachelor of Science
degree in computer science and has more than 10 years
of professional computer programming experience. He
has professional business training, a leadership
certificate from Belmont University and more than 10
years in ministry leadership. He now devotes his time
to adding value to others and it his desire is to see
everyone reach his or her maximum potential.
The
Executive Director for Sound Image, Glenn Peacock has
more than three decades of experience in sound, video
and data systems. Throughout his career, he has
performed as a principal in senior engineering and
executive management roles. As a design professional,
Peacock has a respected track record in medium- and
large-venue systems supporting houses of worship,
broadcast tele-production, educational institutions,
hospitality, sports and entertainment. In pursuit of
well-executed installation and commissioning, Peacock
is known for progressive methods in planning and
design, featuring collaboration with architects and
owners. He’s a valued member of his company’s
executive leadership team.
Charles Reynolds is associate pastor of operations at
Summer Grove Baptist Church, where he is responsible
for the administration, business and operation
functions. He has a bachelor’s degree from Samford
University and a master’s of religious education from
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is
certified as a Fellow Church Business Administrator
through the National Association of Church Business
Administrators and Certified Church Business
Administrator through the Southern Baptist Convention.
Reynolds was licensed in 1977 at Highlands Baptist
Church, Huntsville, Ala. Summer Grove Baptist Church
ordained him to the gospel ministry on Feb 19, 2006.
He previously served at Carters Grove Baptist Church,
Hazel Green, Ala; Rosen Heights Baptist Church, Fort
Worth, Texas; First Baptist Church, Columbia, S.C.;
Manley Baptist Church, Morristown, Tenn.; and Green
Street Baptist Church, High Point, N.C.. He and his
wife, Nancy, have been married for 20 years and have
two children, Jonathan and Benjamin.
Eric Rojas is the executive pastor of Christ Community
Church, a multisite, three-campus church of 5,000 in
the western suburbs of Chicago. Rojas oversees a staff
of more than 100 and focuses on hiring well, staff
culture and morale, staff coaching, HR
compliance/guidelines, building of church-wide
processes, systems and strategy, and the development
of the overall church vision. He has a bachelor’s
degree from Judson University and a Master of Divinity
degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Rojas
has co-written “Group Publishing’s Men’s Ministry for
the 21st Century” and enjoys church consulting at
seminars, trainings or in one-on-one settings. His
favorite pastime is spending time with his wife,
Rachel, and his three children, Luke, Adam and Chloe.
Scott Rolfs manages the Church and School Financing
Group at Ziegler Capital Markets in Milwaukee. He has
been employed with Ziegler since 1992 and works with
religious organizations nationwide. In addition to
managing the ministry finance group at Ziegler, he
also is active in the field working with individual
churches on their capital funding needs. Rolfs
received a Juris Doctorate from the University of
Wisconsin in 1991 and an undergraduate degree in
business and economics from Ripon College in 1988. He
writes on many topics relating to church growth and
church building and is an expert on
municipal/tax-exempt financing for ministries.
Linda Rose has been a full-time staff member at Willow
Creek Community Church since 1997 and currently serves
as the volunteer resource manager in guest ministry --
Willow Creek’s largest volunteer ministry. For the
past 13 years, she has devoted her work to building,
training and leading volunteer teams. She holds a
Certificate of Volunteer Management from Harper
College. With a passion for helping churches lead
successful volunteer teams, Rose co-founded Track Team
LLC.
George
D. Sullivan is a safety professional with more than a
decade of experience in emergency preparedness,
strategic safety planning and team management. As an
emergency planning consultant and founding partner of
Tutis Vero Inc., he’s dedicated to educating school
and church leaders in the area of all-hazards risk
management. Besides writing, teaching and training in
this field, Sullivan has collaborated with other
experts to establish standards, create materials,
develop programs, conduct audits and participate in
full-scale interagency evaluation exercises. He’s
passionate about addressing risk from a comprehensive
angle, rather than potentially compromising lives with
a partial plan.
Leonard Sweet currently is the E. Stanley Jones
Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School in
Madison, N.J., and Visiting Distinguished Professor at
George Fox University in Portland, Ore. He is the
author of more than 100 articles, 600 published
sermons and 30 books, most recently “The Gospel
According to Starbucks” (2007). Sweet’s Web-based
preaching resource Wikiletics.com is the first
open-source preaching resource on the Web. Founder and
president of SpiritVenture Ministries, Sweet is a
frequent speaker and conversation partner at
conferences in the United States and around the globe.
In 2006 and 2007, he was voted "One of the 50 Most
Influential Christians in America" by
thechurchreport.com. Current projects include a
preaching text titled “Giving Blood, The Leadership
Myth” (with Joe Myers), “Pay Attention: Every Bush is
Burning” and “Outstorming The Perfect Storm.”
Veteran Pastor Jim Tomberlin is a pioneer and chief
strategist in the multisite church movement. Tomberlin
has served the Body of Christ in a variety of
ministries -- from pastoring a church in Germany to
growing a mega church in Colorado Springs and
pioneering the multisite strategy at Willow Creek
Church. Tomberlin leverages his three decades of
pastoral experience as a spiritual entrepreneur,
international church leader, mega church pastor,
alliance builder, visionary communicator,
city-reaching specialist, and multisite pioneer to
help churches fulfill their destinies. He holds a
Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from Georgia
State University and a Master of Theology from Dallas
Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Deryl, reside
in Scottsdale, Ariz., and have three grown children.
Andrey T. Tomkiw is an attorney and founding member of
the law firm Tomkiw Dalton, plc. The firm offers a
broad range of sophisticated legal services to
churches, businesses and communities relating to
management-side labor and employment law, zoning and
land use planning, business law, and commercial
litigation. Tomkiw has dedicated his legal career to
representing employers in labor and employment law
matters and providing practical solutions to their
legal needs. A significant portion of his practice is
dedicated to assisting human-resource professionals in
litigation avoidance by the proper implementation and
administration of workplace policies, with an emphasis
on compliance with ADA, FLSA and FMLA regulations. He
has represented employers in front of numerous state
and federal agencies including the EEOC, NLRB, DoL and
OFCCP. Tomkiw frequently represents employers in
employment litigation matters involving Title VII,
ERISA, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Age
Discrimination in Employment Act and the
Whistleblowers Protection Act.
Josh Whitehead is executive pastor at Faith Promise
Church in Knoxville, Tenn. Faith Promise has an
extraordinary vision -- to impact 356,000 unchurched
and dechurched people in the seven surrounding
counties. Founded in 1995 with 250 people, the church
has grown to more than 2,800 people worshiping each
weekend in three identical worship services. Whitehead
became executive pastor in 2005, after the church had
plateaued in attendance. During his three years of
leadership, Faith Promise nearly has doubled its
weekly attendance. His goal is to lead by implementing
the vision and values of the church through the staff
and ministries. He has doubled the staff and developed
comprehensive hiring, coaching, development and
evaluation plans. He and his wife, Kim, have been
married seven years and have two small children,
Hayden Thomas and Madison Kaye.
Holly Whitlock-Glave is co-founder of Track Team LLC,
a national consulting firm passionate about helping
churches build strong volunteer teams. As a
consultant, she has been establishing innovative
volunteer programs in churches across America since
2002. A licensed attorney in Illinois since 1997,
Whitlock-Glave holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Augustana College, a J.D. from Northern Illinois
University, a Certificate of Volunteer Management from
Harper College and currently is working on her
Certificate of Ministry and Leadership through Moody
Bible Institute in Chicago.
Bob Adams is the lead church development consultant
for JH Batten Inc., a church design-build firm. His
background includes 23 years as an associate/executive
pastor with primary responsibility in church
facilities administration. Adams has spoken at the
Church Solutions Conference & Expo, Creation Care
Conference, Worship Facilities Expo, NACDB, NACBA,
NACFM and various state Baptist Building Conferences.
He also has contributed articles to Church Solutions,
Church Worship & Technology, and Worship Facilities
magazines. His passion is helping the church be
efficient in its use of ministry resources so it can
be effective in accomplishing its vision. He and his
wife, Anita, have been married 28 years and have two
young adult sons, a daughter in college and a teenage
son. He and his wife currently lead the Student Tech
Team for the student worship service at their church.
Kurt André is a senior associate with TAG (The
Armstrong Group) and is the president of Compass
Coaching International. His expertise includes
Individual, Organizational and Core Competency
Development, Strategic Planning, Leadership and Team
Development, and Leadership Coaching. André has
received numerous awards including national
recognition for his leadership development, Young
Leaders of America, Who's Who of America's Young
Leaders and for his international work among the
former Soviet Republics. His expertise extends from
strategic planning and organizational development to
competency-based management and leadership
development. He has developed strategic plans for
hundreds of organizations and taught leadership
development in numerous settings.
As
technical arts director at Bent Tree Church in
Carrollton, Texas, Greg Atkinson oversees the sound,
video, lights and graphics staff and volunteers. He’s
studied church music, worship, leadership and
communication; and spent 11 years as a worship pastor.
In 2003, he launched a Web site for Christian pastors,
media ministers, artists and worship leaders. He
helped create, develop and lead WorshipHouse Media,
serving as director until mid-2006. Atkinson
guest-teaches at various colleges, seminaries and
national conferences. He also does consulting work,
forums, a podcast and blog. He frequently writes
articles for national publications, and his book,
“Church 2.0,” is due out in early 2009.
After
25 years as a local church pastor, church planter and
megachurch teaching pastor, John Bash, Ph.D., now
works full time helping churches that have visions
bigger than their budgets. He received a Doctorate of
Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Master
of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
He has taught organizational leadership at the
university level and is a stewardship strategist with
Generis. He also is a golfer who can’t chip and an
avid gym enthusiast.
John Bishop is the senior pastor at Living Hope Church
in Vancouver, Wash. Pastor Bishop graduated from Saint
Martin's College in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in business management. Following a near-fatal
accident, he felt an immediate call to ministry and
began school at Western Seminary in 1990. He graduated
with a Master of Arts degree in transformational
leadership in 2004. In 1996, he and his wife, along
with four other families, planted Living Hope Church
-- one of the fastest-growing churches in America with
weekend services at campuses in Washington (which
includes a Hispanic service), Oregon, Hawaii and
international campuses in New Zealand, Philippines,
India and Mexico. Pastor Bishop passionately leads the
multiple teams of staff and volunteers who are the
heart and soul of the church's mission to reach lost
people for Christ. He and his wife, Michelle, have
three children, David, Katie and Hannah.
Vance Breshears founded Sound Technology Consultants in 1995, and now serves as its owner and principal consultant. He built his broad-based consulting firm with a dedication to the creative integration of acoustics, technology and architectural planning. Bringing more than 20 years of experience to each project, Breshears has a portfolio that includes more than 500 design projects, including church facilities, auditoriums, sports facilities and theme park projects around the world. With an extensive background in both physics and electronics, he’s known for his ability to perceive acoustical characteristics and define the physics of a space.
Trevor
Bron is a senior consultant with TAG Consulting, a
transforming church consulting firm. Having served on
a traditional church staff as well as planting a
postmodern young-adult church, Bron brings a unique
perspective to the churches and ministries he works
with. He also has experience as a business owner,
event planner, entrepreneur, and speaker at
conferences and churches in North and South America.
Some of his clients are St. Andrew’s Presbyterian
Church in Newport Beach, Calif., Scum of the Earth
Church in Denver and West Chicago’s Good Shepherd
Lutheran. Bron’s strengths include communication,
marketing, leadership development, organizational
management, administration, and facility and site
location.
After graduating from Yale, Bob Brown earned a law
degree from the University of Wyoming Law School in
1974. He began practice in Arizona in that same year.
He has been certified as a specialist in real property
law since 1989 and is a fellow of the Arizona Bar
Foundation. With an "A-V" from Martindale Hubbell,
Brown’s practice emphasizes transactions involving
faith-based and nonprofit entities. He has spoken at
the Arizona State Bar’s training course on
professionalism, numerous nonprofit conferences and
the Phoenix Seminary. Brown served as a director of
Scottsdale Christian Academy, the founding Boards of
Solid Rock Foundation, Christian Education Legacy
Fund, and Arizona Private Education Scholarship
Foundation.
Owner and Creative Director of Holy Cow Creative, Michael Buckingham brings a unique blend of business and creative ability to the Church. His diverse business background includes a range of experiences, such as large corporation launches, youth center development, and agency projects. Currently, he works with churches of all sizes to develop relevant and engaging marketing. Buckingham thrives on taking his experience in the public sector and applying it to the spiritual arena, setting out to change the way the Church does church. As ministry partners and fellow Christ-followers, Buckingham and the Holy Cow team love being called to do something bigger than themselves.
Dave Cannaday is a project manager for Custom Sound Design (CSD). His previous experience includes nearly 25 years working as a technical director in a megachurch. Part of his responsibilities included audio/visual design, installation and operation, as well as training volunteers. He also has a background in television; the church he worked for built and owned a full-power TV station and 45-foot remote production truck. One of Cannaday’s gifts is the ability to train volunteers well by breaking down information to an easily understandable level. Combined with his technological expertise, Cannaday has an uncanny ability to help churches use technology to its full potential.
Scott A. Couchenour is a certified life coach with a
passion to help ministry professionals succeed. He
founded Serving Strong, a resource to educate and
coach those in ministry to prioritize a healthy life
balance and self care. Couchenour has more than 20
years experience personally serving in ministry
full-time, bi-vocationally and as a volunteer. He also
has nearly 20 years experience in business as vice
president of operations with Cogun Inc., a company
that partners with churches to develop the right
ministry space. He is a member of the Christian
Coaches Network and the American Association of
Christian Counselors.
As a
fifth-generation pastor, Terry Crist, Ph.D., has a
lifetime of experience helping hurting people. In
addition to founding and pastoring three churches, he
has traveled extensively into more than 60 nations,
speaking in local churches, at leadership conferences
and on university campuses. The driving force in
Pastor Terry's life is his passion to build a
"cross-current" church, which he defines as, "a church
that is biblically literate, spiritually sensitive and
culturally relevant." Currently, he is the senior
pastor of City of Grace, a 5,000-member, unique
multisite church with campuses in Scottsdale and Mesa,
Ariz.
Leslie A. Dugan is the regional manager of
Philadelphia Insurance Companies’ Loss Control
Department. She received her bachelor’s degree in
chemistry from California Polytechnic University, San
Luis Obispo, and has more than 20 years of progressive
loss control experience. Dugan is responsible for
overseeing the Sunbelt, Western, Northwest and Rocky
Mountain Loss Control Regions for PIC and ePIC Loss
Control Services (a for-profit risk management
subsidiary of PIC). Her responsibilities include
managing and monitoring all loss control activities,
executing large account and risk improvement
servicing, reviewing and monitoring all loss control
recommendations in the Sunbelt region, monitoring and
trending losses, and developing technical and
procedural loss control safety programs, policyholder
training modules and advanced technical bulletins. She
currently serves on the Board of the Society of Fire
Protection Engineers (SFPE), Los Angeles Chapter, and
is a full voting member of the National Fire
Protection Agency (NFPA).
Victor Erwin graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1978 with an accounting degree and became a CPA shortly thereafter. The first 10 years of his career were spent in public accounting and financial executive positions in Houston. In 1989, Erwin became executive vice president of Golden Fried Chicken, a regional restaurant chain headquartered in Dallas. He joined G. L. Barron in 2002 and became vice president of the church division in 2005. A certified church consultant, Erwin also served as the executive director of the NACDB. He frequently speaks nationally on church development and is a member of both NACFM and NACBA.
Michael Euliss is the director of marketing and
customer training for PhoneTree Automated Messaging,
as well as a motivational teacher and certified
congregational health specialist. Euliss also serves
as a senior associate with the Gallagher-Westfall
Group Inc. of Indiana. He has provided leadership and
supervisory training to hundreds of governmental,
church, corporate and civic groups nationwide. He has
been a guest speaker at numerous venues including many
television and radio shows, the Christian Management
Association Annual Convention and the Robert Schuller
Institute for Church Leadership at the Crystal
Cathedral. His expertise is in leadership development,
communication skills and group dynamics for paid and
volunteer church staff. He uses a variety of methods
to equip today’s church leaders with the tools needed
to excel as leaders of the most important organization
in the world. Euliss has three children and resides in
North Carolina with his family.
Steven P. Fridsma AIA LEEDAP is an
architect who also serves as the Worship Environments
Leader at Progressive AE in Grand Rapids, Mich. He is
passionate about examining cultural and spiritual
forces as they relate to existing forms and new models
for church architecture. He has presented on 21st
Century Church Trends, Architecture for the Emerging
Church, Sustainability (Creation Care) for Churches,
and Adaptive Reuse of Existing Buildings for Churches
at venues such as the Worship Facilities Conference
and Expo, the Calvin College Worship Symposium, and
several regional church construction conferences.
Fridsma has been involved in church planting since
1998 and served as a worship leader, digital artist
and the worship design team leader at CentrePointe
Church. He is also a guest instructor in architectural
design and theory at Calvin College. In 2007, he
received the AIA Grand Valley chapter's "Young
Architect Award".
Robert
Gerber is president and one of the founding partners
of GJS Architects LLC, which serves churches
nationwide. A 1983 graduate of Ball State University,
Gerber has NCARB certification and is currently
licensed to practice architecture in eight states.
He’s been a licensed architect for more than two
decades, with his current work responsibilities
spanning ministry planning, programming, master
planning, project procurement, project management and
presentations. He is a member of Riverbluff Church in
North Charleston, S.C., and serves in a variety of
ministries including the welcome team, usher team,
membership coaching and Billy Graham TV television
ministry.
Ken Godevenos is president of Accord Resolution
Services Inc., Independent Management and HR
Consultants. His previous experience includes
positions as a teacher and counselor, as well as a
wide variety of management roles involving staffing,
project management, organization analysis,
compensation and labor relations. Godevenos has served
on and chaired several church boards. He is the
executive director of SCA International; an active
member of the Canadian and American Compensation
Associations; co-leader of the Take3 ministry; and a
respected columnist, speaker, facilitator and seminar
leader.
Rev.
Cornelius Hudson, Ph.D., is founder and executive
director of The Centre for Pastoral Care & Counseling,
a faith-based nonprofit organization in Fort Worth,
Texas. Preaching since the age of 7, Hudson's mission
is to evangelize the world. Testimonies attest to his
passion for developing dynamic Kingdom citizens who
will impact the world for Jesus in such a way that
families are strengthened, broken hearts are healed,
the bruised are restored, and the bound are freed.
Besides serving as senior pastor of Fort Worth’s
Bethel Temple, Hudson travels extensively, preaching
and teaching, as well as serving on several community
organizations.
Wendy Johnson, CEO of Center for Courageous
Enterprise, brings more than 25 years of diverse
leadership and experience in small business, Fortune
500 and not-for-profit settings. She spent five years
as executive pastor in a growing church before joining
the executive team of Amor Ministries. Johnson
received a Master of Science in Executive Leadership (MSEL)
from the University of San Diego in partnership with
the Ken Blanchard Companies. She is a qualified
practitioner of MBTI®, FIRO-B® and DiSC®, and was the
inaugural recipient of the USD/Ken Blanchard MSEL
Leadership Award for Demonstrated Exemplary Work in
Servant Leadership in 2006.
As Vice
President of Internet Services at Odyssey Networks,
Allen Krauskopf leads the organization’s Internet
initiatives, including FaithStreams Network, which
promotes congregational vitality through Web
collaboration. During his 30-year career, Krauskopf
has worked in various information-technology
positions. While an associate partner in the
management-consulting organizations of IBM and
PricewaterhouseCoopers, he led initiatives that
delivered Internet solutions to large-scale and
mid-size firms. Currently, he’s bringing proven
industry principles to the faith community. Krauskopf
has a bachelor’s in mathematics from Hofstra
University, an MBA from Temple University’s Fox School
of Business and has completed additional graduate
studies at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Will Mancini is the author of “Church Unique” and the
founder of Auxano, a first-of-kind consulting ministry
that focuses on vision clarity. As a “clarity
evangelist,” Mancini has served as vision architect
for hundreds of churches nationwide including leading
churches within Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian,
Lutheran and non-denominational settings, as well as
notable pastors Chuck Swindoll and Max Lucado. Mancini
holds a ThM in pastoral leadership from Dallas
Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Science in
chemical engineering from Penn State. He is the
co-author of “Building Leaders by Baker.”
Ron Martoia, Ph.D., is an author and transformational
architect. He consults with executive teams in
corporate settings, but specializes in churches.
Author of numerous periodical articles, his first book
project was titled “Morph! The Texture of Leadership
for Tomorrow’s Church”. His second book, “Static:
Tuning out the ‘Christian Noise’ to Experience the
Real Message of Jesus,” was released in May 2007. The
sequel to “Static,” titled “Transformational
Architecture: Reshaping Our Lives as Narrative,” will
be released in Fall 2008. He also is the founder and
facilitator of III:TEXT, a new experimental learning
community for next generation ministry learning.
Martoia has a doctorate from Fuller Theological in the
area of leadership and culture. In addition to having
served on adjunct faculty at several universities, he
has provided leadership training and organizational
development in 12 countries and was lead pastor of a
church for 18 years.
Through
Fishhook – the marketing communications and creative
services company he founded in 2003 – Evan McBroom
serves as a communications partner and resource for
churches and Christ-centered organizations. He
combines the passion of his faith with the expertise
gained during a 14-year career with a large corporate
communications and marketing company to provide
clients with senior-level communications consultation.
His areas of expertise include organizational identity
and branding, strategic communications planning, and
promotions and event campaigns. McBroom initiated The
Christian Communications Directors’ Roundtable for
staff and laypeople responsible for congregational
communications. He’s also a guest lecturer, presenter,
emcee, board member and trainer for numerous
organizations.
Mel
McGowan leads numerous efforts at Visioneering
Studios, including creative concept development,
programming, master planning, design, entitlement and
project management. Having spent nearly a decade
with the Walt Disney Co., as well as years with a
private multidisciplinary planning, design and
engineering consulting company in Southern California,
McGowan has designed and managed an enviable portfolio
for world-class resorts, as well as institutional,
retail, community and mixed-use projects. Whether
master planning a 2000-acre “new town” or scripting
the guest experience of a 2,000-seat church, he
approaches each endeavor with a passion for
creativity, excellence and innovation.
Dan Mikes is the executive vice president and national
manager of Bank of the West's Church & School Banking
Divisions. He also is an active participant in
conventions and workshops sponsored by organizations
including the Christian Management Association, Guinn
Smith & Co. Inc. (CPA), and the National Association
of Church Business Administration. His entire
professional career has involved nationwide church
lending including 17 years working exclusively with
churches requiring financing for programs in excess of
$1 million. The author of a number of articles
appearing in Christian publications, Mikes graduated
Bible school before earning his business degree at a
Christian university.
Larry Osborne, Ph.D., is the founder and president of
North Coast Training Network in Vista, Calif. He also
is a senior pastor at North Coast Church, which is
recognized as one of the most innovative and 10
most-influential churches in America. Its small group
ministry averages 80 percent of its weekend attendance
in sermon-based small groups. North Coast also
pioneered the use of Video Worship Venues and is a
leader in the multisite movement, offering 20 worship
options on five different local campuses each weekend.
Osborne has a doctorate in ministry and 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.”
Kevin L. Parker is the president of Frontline
Leadership Training & Development Services. He
currently serves as executive and assistant and
administrative pastor at Family Victory Fellowship
Church where he helps administrate to a congregation
of more than 1,100 members, trains and develops
25-plus department leaders and helps organize and
manage nearly 200 volunteers. Parker graduated from
Kentucky State University with a Bachelor of Science
degree in computer science and has more than 10 years
of professional computer programming experience. He
has professional business training, a leadership
certificate from Belmont University and more than 10
years in ministry leadership. He now devotes his time
to adding value to others and it his desire is to see
everyone reach his or her maximum potential.
The
Executive Director for Sound Image, Glenn Peacock has
more than three decades of experience in sound, video
and data systems. Throughout his career, he has
performed as a principal in senior engineering and
executive management roles. As a design professional,
Peacock has a respected track record in medium- and
large-venue systems supporting houses of worship,
broadcast tele-production, educational institutions,
hospitality, sports and entertainment. In pursuit of
well-executed installation and commissioning, Peacock
is known for progressive methods in planning and
design, featuring collaboration with architects and
owners. He’s a valued member of his company’s
executive leadership team.
Charles Reynolds is associate pastor of operations at
Summer Grove Baptist Church, where he is responsible
for the administration, business and operation
functions. He has a bachelor’s degree from Samford
University and a master’s of religious education from
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is
certified as a Fellow Church Business Administrator
through the National Association of Church Business
Administrators and Certified Church Business
Administrator through the Southern Baptist Convention.
Reynolds was licensed in 1977 at Highlands Baptist
Church, Huntsville, Ala. Summer Grove Baptist Church
ordained him to the gospel ministry on Feb 19, 2006.
He previously served at Carters Grove Baptist Church,
Hazel Green, Ala; Rosen Heights Baptist Church, Fort
Worth, Texas; First Baptist Church, Columbia, S.C.;
Manley Baptist Church, Morristown, Tenn.; and Green
Street Baptist Church, High Point, N.C.. He and his
wife, Nancy, have been married for 20 years and have
two children, Jonathan and Benjamin.
Eric Rojas is the executive pastor of Christ Community
Church, a multisite, three-campus church of 5,000 in
the western suburbs of Chicago. Rojas oversees a staff
of more than 100 and focuses on hiring well, staff
culture and morale, staff coaching, HR
compliance/guidelines, building of church-wide
processes, systems and strategy, and the development
of the overall church vision. He has a bachelor’s
degree from Judson University and a Master of Divinity
degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Rojas
has co-written “Group Publishing’s Men’s Ministry for
the 21st Century” and enjoys church consulting at
seminars, trainings or in one-on-one settings. His
favorite pastime is spending time with his wife,
Rachel, and his three children, Luke, Adam and Chloe.
Scott Rolfs manages the Church and School Financing
Group at Ziegler Capital Markets in Milwaukee. He has
been employed with Ziegler since 1992 and works with
religious organizations nationwide. In addition to
managing the ministry finance group at Ziegler, he
also is active in the field working with individual
churches on their capital funding needs. Rolfs
received a Juris Doctorate from the University of
Wisconsin in 1991 and an undergraduate degree in
business and economics from Ripon College in 1988. He
writes on many topics relating to church growth and
church building and is an expert on
municipal/tax-exempt financing for ministries.
Linda Rose has been a full-time staff member at Willow
Creek Community Church since 1997 and currently serves
as the volunteer resource manager in guest ministry --
Willow Creek’s largest volunteer ministry. For the
past 13 years, she has devoted her work to building,
training and leading volunteer teams. She holds a
Certificate of Volunteer Management from Harper
College. With a passion for helping churches lead
successful volunteer teams, Rose co-founded Track Team
LLC.
George
D. Sullivan is a safety professional with more than a
decade of experience in emergency preparedness,
strategic safety planning and team management. As an
emergency planning consultant and founding partner of
Tutis Vero Inc., he’s dedicated to educating school
and church leaders in the area of all-hazards risk
management. Besides writing, teaching and training in
this field, Sullivan has collaborated with other
experts to establish standards, create materials,
develop programs, conduct audits and participate in
full-scale interagency evaluation exercises. He’s
passionate about addressing risk from a comprehensive
angle, rather than potentially compromising lives with
a partial plan.
Leonard Sweet currently is the E. Stanley Jones
Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School in
Madison, N.J., and Visiting Distinguished Professor at
George Fox University in Portland, Ore. He is the
author of more than 100 articles, 600 published
sermons and 30 books, most recently “The Gospel
According to Starbucks” (2007). Sweet’s Web-based
preaching resource Wikiletics.com is the first
open-source preaching resource on the Web. Founder and
president of SpiritVenture Ministries, Sweet is a
frequent speaker and conversation partner at
conferences in the United States and around the globe.
In 2006 and 2007, he was voted "One of the 50 Most
Influential Christians in America" by
thechurchreport.com. Current projects include a
preaching text titled “Giving Blood, The Leadership
Myth” (with Joe Myers), “Pay Attention: Every Bush is
Burning” and “Outstorming The Perfect Storm.”
Veteran Pastor Jim Tomberlin is a pioneer and chief
strategist in the multisite church movement. Tomberlin
has served the Body of Christ in a variety of
ministries -- from pastoring a church in Germany to
growing a mega church in Colorado Springs and
pioneering the multisite strategy at Willow Creek
Church. Tomberlin leverages his three decades of
pastoral experience as a spiritual entrepreneur,
international church leader, mega church pastor,
alliance builder, visionary communicator,
city-reaching specialist, and multisite pioneer to
help churches fulfill their destinies. He holds a
Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from Georgia
State University and a Master of Theology from Dallas
Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Deryl, reside
in Scottsdale, Ariz., and have three grown children.
Andrey T. Tomkiw is an attorney and founding member of
the law firm Tomkiw Dalton, plc. The firm offers a
broad range of sophisticated legal services to
churches, businesses and communities relating to
management-side labor and employment law, zoning and
land use planning, business law, and commercial
litigation. Tomkiw has dedicated his legal career to
representing employers in labor and employment law
matters and providing practical solutions to their
legal needs. A significant portion of his practice is
dedicated to assisting human-resource professionals in
litigation avoidance by the proper implementation and
administration of workplace policies, with an emphasis
on compliance with ADA, FLSA and FMLA regulations. He
has represented employers in front of numerous state
and federal agencies including the EEOC, NLRB, DoL and
OFCCP. Tomkiw frequently represents employers in
employment litigation matters involving Title VII,
ERISA, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Age
Discrimination in Employment Act and the
Whistleblowers Protection Act.
Josh Whitehead is executive pastor at Faith Promise
Church in Knoxville, Tenn. Faith Promise has an
extraordinary vision -- to impact 356,000 unchurched
and dechurched people in the seven surrounding
counties. Founded in 1995 with 250 people, the church
has grown to more than 2,800 people worshiping each
weekend in three identical worship services. Whitehead
became executive pastor in 2005, after the church had
plateaued in attendance. During his three years of
leadership, Faith Promise nearly has doubled its
weekly attendance. His goal is to lead by implementing
the vision and values of the church through the staff
and ministries. He has doubled the staff and developed
comprehensive hiring, coaching, development and
evaluation plans. He and his wife, Kim, have been
married seven years and have two small children,
Hayden Thomas and Madison Kaye.
Holly Whitlock-Glave is co-founder of Track Team LLC,
a national consulting firm passionate about helping
churches build strong volunteer teams. As a
consultant, she has been establishing innovative
volunteer programs in churches across America since
2002. A licensed attorney in Illinois since 1997,
Whitlock-Glave holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Augustana College, a J.D. from Northern Illinois
University, a Certificate of Volunteer Management from
Harper College and currently is working on her
Certificate of Ministry and Leadership through Moody
Bible Institute in Chicago.
