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Conference Focus - Mark A. Holmen is a husband, father, pastor, consultant, speaker and author of Faith Begins At Home – The Family Makeover with Christ at the Center, and Building Faith At Home—Why Faith At Home Must Be A Church’s Top Priority. From October of 2002 through February of 2009 Mark served as the Sr. Pastor of Ventura Missionary Church and during those years he developed and implemented a model for becoming a Faith At Home Focused Church that gained so much attention and recognition that is has grown into a national and international Faith At Home movement supported by the Willow Creek Association and Focus on the Family. Mark, his wife Maria and daughter Malyn currently live in Ventura, California where they now serve as full-time Missionaries for the Faith At Home movement. www.faithathome.com.
Conference Focus - Dr. John Trent is President and Founder of StrongFamilies.com and The Center for StrongFamilies in Scottsdale, Arizona. At the Center, Dr. Trent trains lay leaders from across the country to launch family ministries in their home churches. In addition to leading the Center, Dr. Trent is a best-selling author and a highly requested conference speaker. In addition to speaking at ministry events, Dr. Trent regularly speaks to corporate America on teambuilding, recruiting and retaining outstanding employees.
Conference Focus - Rob is the Family Pastor at Wheaton Bible Church in Wheaton, IL. Before becoming the Family Pastor, he served as a Youth Pastor at Wheaton Bible Church from 1993-2004. He is the author of the book God's Grand Vision for the Home and his new book Visionary Parenting will be releasing in July of 2009. He and his wife Amy have founded a ministry called Visionary Parenting, which inspires parents and grandparents to disciple their children, and equips churches to build biblical family ministries. Rob, Amy, and their five children live in Wheaton, IL where he attended Wheaton College. After undergrad, Rob then completed an MA in theology at Wheaton College Graduate School, an MDiv from Trinity International Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry in Christian Leadership from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.
Conference Focus - Steve has served in student ministry since 1988 and joined the team at Providence in May of 1999. He received a Master of Arts degree in Christian education from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. His undergraduate degree is from Carson Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn. He is currently a PhD student at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. Steve and his wife, Tina, were married in 1989. They are blessed with three children - Sara, William and Tyler.
Conference Focus - Brian serves as Associate Pastor at Kingsland Baptist church in Katy, Texas overseeing spiritual formation. Brian is the creator of the Legacy Milestones strategy designed to inseparably link church and home to equip the generations. He is the author of the new book, Shift: What it Takes to finally reach families today. Brian is married to his high school sweetheart Angela and they have three daughters, Hailey, Madelyn, and Eden. Brian is a graduate of Baylor University, Southwestern Seminary, and Liberty Theological Seminary where he earned a Doctor of Ministry for his work in discipleship and family ministry.
Conference Focus - Dr. Garnett Reid serves as the chairman of the Biblical and Ministry Studies Department at Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he teaches Old Testament. He has pastored churches in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky and is a frequent conference and seminar speaker. Garnett’s column “Intersect: Where the Bible Meets Life” appears regularly in One Magazine. He has also published articles in Bibliotheca Sacra, the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Integrity, and the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. He and his wife Carol have two married sons and two beautiful red-headed granddaughters. Garnett enjoys golf, baseball, and visiting Civil War battlefields.
Conference Focus - Dr. Michelle Anthony is a native Californian and has lived in Southern Orange County for the past 20 years along with her husband, Michael, and her two children Chantel and Brendon. Michelle earned her B.A. from Biola University in Christian Education and her M.A. in Christian Education with an emphasis in Theology from Talbot Theological Seminary, and her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Southern Seminary. She has written over a dozen resources in Children’s/Youth ministries and Christian education, and enjoys teaching, speaking, and serving in missions abroad. She has over 20 years of practical church ministry/leadership experience in Children’s/Family ministry and is currently serving in Family Ministries at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa, as well as the Family Ministry Architect for David C. Cook Publishing. In her free time, Michelle enjoys sailing, the beach, being with her family, and a good cup of coffee.
Conference Focus - Steve is one of the leading Sr. Pastors in the Faith at Home movement. He will be sharing in one of the three General Sessions (Opening Session, Lunch Session, Closing Session) on PreCon Lab day. He has a vast amount of experience in discipleship and spiritual formation, especially as it relates to the principles of Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Are you looking for a good session to encourage your Sr. Pastor as it relates to driving faith homeward? Bring your Sr. Pastor to the PreCon Labs to hear Steve Stroope for this landmark session.
Conference Focus - Dr. Tim Kimmel is one of America’s top advocates speaking for the family today. He is the Executive Director of Family Matters, whose goal is to build strong families by equipping and encouraging them for every age and stage of life. Tim conducts conferences across the country on the unique pressures that confront today’s families. Not only is Tim a well-known speaker, he has authored many books including: Gold Medallion Winner Grace Based Parenting, Extreme Grandparenting, 50 Ways to Really Love your Kids, Raising Kids for True Greatness, Why Christian Kids Rebel, Homegrown Heroes, Little House on the Freeway, The High Cost of High Control, and Raising Kids Who Turn Out Right. He has also developed Grace Based Parenting DVD Series, The Hurried Family DVD Series, Raising Kids Who Turn Out Right DVD Series and Extreme Grandparenting DVD Study.
Conference Focus - Mark is the founder of Youth Ministry Architects, a hands-on coaching service for churches whose youth ministries are in (intentional or unexpected) transition or churches who hope to see their youth ministries move to the next level. For over 22 years, Mark has served as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Their Families at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where he continues to oversee the youth ministry on a part-time basis. Mark is also the author of Family-Based Youth Ministry and Sustainable Youth Ministry.
Conference Focus - Tommy Swindol is the Student Ministries Pastor at Kirby Church just south of Detroit, Michigan and has been in student and college ministries for seven years. Tommy is married to his wonderful wife of six years, Jessica, and they have two beautiful daughters, Anna Claire and Emily. Tommy is a graduate of Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville, TN and is currently doing masters work in Discipleship Ministries with Liberty University. He is the chairman of Youth Alive, working with 46 other churches to help them implement family-focused youth ministries. Since being at Kirby, Tommy has continued to cultivate his passion to mentor, implementing student and parent mentorships, as well as developing his main focus of raising up student leaders and parental heroes within the family unit. Tommy gets the opportunity to speak all over the country and is passionate about discipleship and sharing the truths of God's Word in a relevant and challenging way.
Conference Focus - Kurt is the founder of the HomePointe model based out of Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, TX. As someone who has been working in the world of student discipleship for over 20 years, the spiritual formation model Kurt has built is a part of his DNA. Come and check out his labs to see how this model can transform, inspire, motivate, equip, and disciple parents to be the spiritual leaders in their homes.
Conference Focus - Olivia is a former sixth grade teacher and mother of four children ages nine to nineteen. She is also on the faculty for the Heritage Builders Association and The Center for Strong Families. A frequent guest on Focus on the Family, Family Life and other radio programs, Olivia is author of several books including The Minivan Years: Celebrating the Hectic Joys of Motherhood.
Conference Focus - Randy Stinson is Dean of the School of Church Ministries, Vice President for Student Life and Institutional Improvement, and Assistant Professor of Leadership at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. He also serves as President of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), an evangelical organization that seeks to promote the biblical teachings on the complementary differences between men and women, created equal in the image of God. In addition, he has served as a senior pastor and in various other church staff positions. Randy received a B.A. from The University of South Florida, in Tampa, Florida, a M.Div. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, a Th.M. and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Randy has been married to his wife Danna for nineteen years, and they are the parents of six children: Gunnar and Georgia (twin thirteen year-olds), Fisher (eleven years), Eden (ten years), Payton (eight years), and Willa (four years).
Conference Focus - Jon Cannon is the founder and Senior Pastor of Victory Free Will Baptist Church in O’Fallon, Illinois, which he and his family planted in 1999. Victory is a D6 Church and has become intentional in building families who drive faith at home. He is also the founder of Priorities Matter Ministries (PrioritiesMatterMinistries.org), which focuses on “prioritizing your life and walking in God’s favor”. Jon has been in ministry for 23 years. He attended Trinity Baptist Bible College in NC and earned his Master’s Degree in Pastoral Counseling from Andersonville Theological Seminary. Jon has been married for 26 years to his high school sweetheart Debbie, and has two children Tyler 20, and Kristen 17. He also enjoys writing on his blog at JonCannon.org.
Conference Focus - Gina McClain is a speaker, teacher, writer and Children's Ministry Director at Faithpromise Church in Knoxville, TN. Her marriage to Kyle McClain keeps her marginally sane while their 3 kids (Keegan, Josie and Connor) keep her from taking herself too seriously. Her driving motivator is to lead Christ-followers to embrace and foster ministry in their home. Married or single, young or old, if the living room is the hub of ministry, the neighborhood is different. If the neighborhood is different, the city is different. If the city is different, the world is different. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Matt 5:13
Conference Focus - The world needs teenagers and young adults who adore the majesty of the Son of God and who join Him in bringing His kingdom on earth. To achieve that end, church leaders must develop parents who adore the majesty of the Son and who join Him in His kingdom purposes. Church leaders need a clear plan for developing relationship "pipelines" that carry spiritual impact from the hearts of parents to the hearts of their children.
Conference Focus - Michael Chanley, a Sergeant of Marines, has been serving in Children's Ministry for over a decade. Currently, he is on staff with Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY (a church of 16,000+ members). Michael has a passion to help people connect with one another. Recently he has created several social networking sites, including CMconnect.org and ParentUnity.org work to unite people with common areas of interest to better serve Christ. To contact Michael for speaking on issues related to children, parenting, and family email him at Michael@pureconnect.org.
Conference Focus - Ben Freudenburg has been a Director of Christian Education for 37 years, working with children, youth, and their families to nurture their love for God and each other through the church and is presently serving as Family Life Program Director and Professor in Family Life Studies at Concordia University Ann Arbor and is the founder of Family Friendly Partners Network. He is married to Jennifer and is father to Cori and Sara and grandfather to Caleb, Markey, Adelaide and Micah. He has served at Shore Haven Lutheran in Cleveland, Ohio; Our Redeemer Lutheran in Hutchinson, Kansas, Concordia Lutheran in Kirkwood, Missouri, and Christ Church-Lutheran in Phoenix AZ as Minister to the Christian Home. He received his BS in ED and certification as Director of Christian Education and Master’s of Science –Family Life through Concordia University in Seward Nebraska. He has served as President of Lutheran Education’s TEAM department and as President of Lutheran Education Association a national professional organization for Lutheran educators. He has written for a variety of education and youth journals and magazines and wrote; “The Traveling Guide.... A Vehicle for Youth Ministry,”; “Through Children’s Eyes,” a book of “52 Children’s Messages” CPH and “The Family Friendly Church.” by Group Publishing. He has recently created the Family Friendly Partners Training Network and has lead networks of churches in Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Conference Focus - Mike's first lab is designed for Sr. Pastors to help them understand the generational significance of having a spiritual formation model that drives faith at home. His second lab is designed for those who minister to young adults. Many are asking "where does the emerging generation fit into this entire D6 conversation?" Mike, the founder of Kairos (ministry to Young Adults), is a leading voice in the YA spiritual formation movement. If you work with YA's 18 - 30, you will not want to miss this lab!
Conference Focus - Thad Harris is the Family Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church Dallas and has over 10 years of experience in ministering alongside kids, students and families. Thad and his wife, Lori, have five children ages 10 months to 8 years and is committed to leading a missional family and impacting other moms and dads to live on mission with God as well! Thad has a passion for the gospel and enjoys creating opportunities to engage the lost.
Conference Focus - Since his arrival as Senior Pastor at Bannockburn Baptist Church in 2004, Pastor Ryan has led the implementation of a comprehensive, cross-generational effort to connect church and home life. The “Faith Breakthroughs” process that serves as the centerpiece of this strategy has become a launching point for other churches with the same family-centered goals. Ryan has been ministering to families for almost two decades, and has shared the practical truths of God’s word with thousands from across the country. He served as the Family Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, before moving back home to Central Texas. He has hosted radio and television programs on the subject of family life, and is the author of Home on Time: Life Management by the Book—a look at Psalm 90 that is helping lead families away from the chaos caused by living within the framework of a disorganized life.
Conference Focus - Brian Carlson is a recovering youth ministry addict who has discovered over the past 15 years as a youth pastor that reaching the hearts of students without engaging the home can be a fruitless venture. Brian is passionate about using student ministries as a tool to enable parents to drive faith at home and equiping homes with creative strategies and resuorces to do so. Brian is also passionate about developing tools and strategies that transform lost and disengaged homes into homes that follow after Christ. Brian is the Director of Middle School Ministries at Woodmen Valley Chapel in Colorado Springs, CO. He has married to his wife of 15 years, Beka, and has four children, Jordan, McKenna, Tristan, and Kaden.
Conference Focus - After 32 incredible years in children’s ministry within the local church, Tina is now the publications director for KidzMatter. Her primary responsibilities are to oversee the content of K! Magazine and to develop curriculum products. Her first project has been a totally downloadable year-round elementary kids’ church curriculum called The Kitchen. She absolutely loves being able to train volunteers and professionals who have a heart for seeing kids become disciples of Jesus, whether that is through writing curriculum, writing idea books for Warner Press, or being able to speak at conferences. Totally accepting God’s gift of joy is her daily ambition! Check out what’s happening with Tina at www.tinahouser.net.
Conference Focus - Larry will be sharing some of his most creative ideas and what he has been able to do to integrate them into his ministry to strengthen the entire family.
Conference Focus - Jimmy is the pastor of Harrah Church just east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Under his leadership Harrah Church has tripled in size and transitioned from a traditional church model to one that is organic, relevant and effective. Jimmy and his wife Abby have five children the oldest of which is seven. Jimmy is a graduate of the Focus on Family Institute of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and of Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College of Moore, Oklahoma. Jimmy is the author of Shelter: Being an Intentional Parent in a Random World.
Conference Focus - Jay Strother is the Emerging Generations Minister at Brentwood Baptist Church. He's been working with students, children and their parents since he was 19 years old. Jay graduated from Greenville (IL) College in 1997 and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 2006. Currently he is planting the South Campus of Brentwood Baptist in Spring Hill/Thompson Station, TN. His favorite stories come from the adventures of life with his wife of 11+ years, Tanya, and their three lively little girls, Eliza, Lexi and Ella.
Conference Focus - Jim Burns is President of HomeWord and host of HomeWord’s radio broadcasts heard on over 800 releases a day around the country. Jim speaks to thousands of people around the world every year. He is a three time Gold Medallion Award winning author and has written books for parents, students, children, youth ministry and church leaders. Jim has over 1.5 million resources in print in over 20 languages. His most recent resources include The Purity Code, Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality and Accept Nothing Less; God Made Your Body; How God Makes Babies; Confident Parenting, Creating an Intimate Marriage; Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together; The 10 Building Blocks for a Happy Family; and The Youth Builder. Jim and his wife, Cathy, and their daughters Christy, Rebecca, and Heidi live in Southern California.
Conference Focus - Karl is the founder of Kidology, one of the most visited Children's Ministry sites in the world and the creator of the VIP local church model. VIP stands for "Very Intentional Parenting". You won't want to miss this unique opportunity to learn how to engage parents in a true partnership as you seek to disciple kids together!
Conference Focus - Allen is currently in year 19 of a ministry adventure at First Free Will Baptist Church in Russellville, Arkansas. This process of going from analog to digital in ministry has included taking a long hard look at how youth ministry that does not tie back into the family and the local church is futile as best, and unbiblical at worst. Allen has tagged along with the Senior Pastor and the rest of the staff as they have tried to analyze and prepare a sixty year old church with a proven track record in ministry to take D6 seriously, and try to enhance a true family ministry concept, while keeping certain earmarks of youth ministry as a part of this core concept. The results? Well, it is in process. Allen and his wife Jill will celebrate their 25th anniversary this summer, and have two daughers, Catie (17) and Christen (19). He also holds his MA in Youth and Family Ministry from Luther Seminary, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Allen has taken his youth groups on over 25 mission trips here in the United States, France, Spain, and Uruguay. He has also led a youth retreat in France as well as helped to train youth workers in the Ural Mountain region of Russia. Every summer (since 1997) has found Allen leading the Truth and Peace Student Leadership Conference for Free Will Baptist high school students, the leading leadership training conference for Free Will Baptist teens, which is sponsored by Randall House.
Conference Focus - One of the most daunting questions we face in the Church and in the home today is "How can we expect faith to flourish at home when many dads are absent: not only absent in the spiritual formation process, but many times absent emotionally and physically?" Mike has a proven passion for fathering and the experience to back it up. He will be leading two unique and dynamic workshops on how to reengage dads in the discipleship process at home and at church.
Conference Focus - Dr. Jerry Lawrence has nineteen years experience developing and overseeing children’s ministries in small, medium and large churches. Jerry earned her master’s and doctor’s degrees at Dallas Theological Seminary, where she teaches Children’s Ministry courses as an adjunct professor. Jerry works on Sundays in the preschool area at her church and loves interacting with children and families. She also enjoys spending time with her twelve nieces and nephews any chance she can!
Conference Focus - Since January, 2008, Keith has been working with the BGCT Bible Study/Discipleship Team as an Adult Sunday School Consultant and a specialist for Single Adults, Family Ministry & Senior Adults. Keith has served churches in Louisiana, Texas, and Tennessee in youth, music, education, single adults, and outreach & evangelism, for more than 30 years. He has worked with the Baptist Sunday School Board, (now Lifeway), as an Adult Sunday School consultant, where he wrote and led national Sunday School conferences for adults and wrote multiple articles for Lifeway publications, and for more than 10 years has led a successful corporate and church growth training and consulting company, Keith Lowry Seminars, Inc. (www.keithlowry.com) Keith makes his home in Arlington, Texas, where he happily lives with his amazing wife, Suzanne. Keith has three grown children, Erin (with son-in-law Billy), Daniel, and John Mark, currently live in Texas, Kentucky, and Louisiana, with two grandchildren (Lane & Ethan) and two step-grandchildren (Blade & Billy Ty) ranging in age from 4-12 receiving an inordinate but well-deserved amount of attention.
Conference Focus - Larry Fowler serves as executive director of global training for Awana, an international organization committed to helping churches and parents raise children and youth to know, love and serve Jesus Christ. For nearly 30 years, Larry has pursued this mission in a range of capacities, including local-church Awana volunteer, missionary, speaker, author, teacher and executive director of international ministries, program development and training. Larry is an author of two books – Raising a Modern-Day Joseph and Rock-Solid Kids – and a speaker to audiences worldwide both inside and outside of Awana. He is also a recognized expert in issues facing families and churches in the 21st century.
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