Ed planted his first church in inner-city Buffalo at the height of the Church Growth Movement. Learn how he from understanding church planting a church growth paradigm to a missional movement paradigm.
Established in 1980, the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center stands as a global hub for evangelism and mission training. With a commitment to develop and mobilize Christ-followers for individual and corporate witness, the center boasts nine specialized institutes dedicated to research, teaching, and fostering a world where every believer actively makes Jesus Christ known.
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Rev. Dr. Irwyn Ince serves as the Coordinator of Mission to North America and Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. A Brooklyn native, Dr. Ince transitioned from a successful engineering career to ministry, earning his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees. He helped plant City of Hope Presbyterian Church and has a deep passion for reconciliation in diverse churches. In 2018, he became the first African-American moderator of the PCA General Assembly. Dr. Ince is devoted to his family, ministry, coffee, and CrossFit, where he also coaches classes in DC.
John Wentz has served as CEO of Alpha USA since May 2022. Previously, John served seven years as Alpha USA (Executive Vice President of Ministry) and Alpha International (Church Engagement and Training Strategy) where he led the expansion of Alpha’s engagement nationally and helped to design the core of Alpha’s engagement strategy, now being implemented globally. With over 25 years of pastoral experience, John has impacted many churches, ministry leaders, and college students across the world. He is a gifted communicator, trainer and coach, and has a heart for university students and people from different cultures.
Mindy Caliguire is the co-founder and president of Soul Care. As an organization, Soul Care cultivates soul health among leaders by providing pathways, practices, and guides to help them personally flourish and achieve missional impact. Mindy serves as the collaboration lead for leadercare.us , and in the past served in executive leadership both in marketplace and ministry. Soul Care serves ministries and organizations across the US and beyond including ECFA, C-12, Compassion International, The Navigators, Christ Church of the Valley, Dallas Theological Seminary, Plum Creek Church, and many more. Mindy’s most recent book is Ignite Your Soul: When Exhaustion, Isolation, and Burnout Light a Path to Flourishing.
D.A. Horton, Ph.D. serves as an Assistant Professor and Program Director of the Intercultural Studies program at California Baptist University. He is also humbled to serve as an Associate Teaching Pastor at The Grove Community Church in Riverside, CA. D.A. and his wife Elicia have been married for 21 years and are blessed to have two daughters and one son.
Rick Richardson is a Professor of Evangelism and Leadership at Wheaton College and directs the Church Evangelism and Research Institutes for the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. He founded the Church Evangelism Institute, working with hundreds of pastors to revitalize churches through conversion growth. With 25 years in campus ministry and experience as InterVarsity’s National Coordinator of Evangelism, Rick is also an ordained Anglican priest. He has published six books, including Evangelism Outside the Box and You Found Me , and is passionate about evangelism, prayer, and racial reconciliation. Rick and his wife, Mary Kay, have three boys, and he enjoys fly fishing, tennis, and writing a science fiction novel in his spare time.
Daniel Im is a dedicated pastor, Bible teacher, writer, and podcast host with a deep passion for the local church. He currently serves as the Lead Pastor of Beulah Alliance Church in Edmonton, Alberta, and has authored several impactful books. His latest work, The Discipleship Opportunity: Leading a Great-Commission Church in a Post-Everything World , reflects his commitment to equipping churches for effective ministry. His other books include No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that Will Transform Your Ministry, Planting Missional Churches: Your Guide to Starting Churches that Multiply (2nd Ed), and You Are What You Do: And Six Other Lies About Work, Life, and Love.
With an M.A. in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary, Daniel has served in various church contexts, from church plants to multisite churches, across cities such as Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Korea, Edmonton, and Nashville. His podcasts have garnered over 3 million downloads, and he co-hosts the IMbetween Podcast with his wife, Christina, where they provide tools for building strong marriages and families. Together, they also speak at FamilyLife Canada’s Weekend Getaway Marriage Conference.
In addition to his pastoral and writing ministries, Daniel is a Bible teacher for 100 Huntley Street, Canada’s longest-running daily television show. Married to Christina since 2006, they are blessed with three children.
Troy is the Lead Pastor of Freshwater Community Church in the small town of Paw Paw, Michigan. He planted Freshwater in 2005 with a passion to see unchurched people reached with the gospel. Troy has been married to his wife Carrie for 29 years. They have 3 grown children, live on a gravel road with free range chickens. In his spare time, Troy loves cheering on his Chicago Bears, eating fried chicken, building things, and lumberjacking on his property.
He is a small town guy with God sized dreams. Even as Grace Fellowship grows larger, you can always find Joe hanging out before and after services. Joe believes that we are not a church with a mission, rather a mission that has churches! Before coming to Grace, Joe started one of the fastest growing churches in America and was recognized as a John Maxwell Top 100 Transformational leader. Joe and his wife, Michelle, are passionate about adoption and love their kids, Dre, Koehn, Robin, Ryan and Hannah.
Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr. is senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Glenarden and the Chairman of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center African American Church Evangelism Institute. Pastor Jenkins also serves as the chair of the National Association of Evangelicals and is on the board of World Vision, U.S., Denver Seminary and GlocalNet.
Sean McDowell is director of the church evangelism institute (CEI) at Wheaton College. Previously, he served as a CEI coach and as a network developer and catalyst coach on the leadership team. Sean has 27+ years of ministry experience and has led his church to grow the new believer conversion rate from –3% to 10%+ of average annual attendance.
David Kinnaman is the author of the bestselling books Faith For Exiles , Good Faith , You Lost Me , and unChristian . He is CEO of Barna Group, a leading research and communications company that works with churches, nonprofits, and businesses ranging from film studios to financial services. Since 1995, David has directed interviews with more than two million individuals and overseen thousands of U.S. and global research studies. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas and has three children.
Mark planted the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas in 2001, a multi-ethnic and economically diverse church in the urban center of Little Rock where he remains the directional leader. In 2004, he co-founded the Mosaix Global Network and continues to serve as CEO and convene its triennial national conference in Dallas, TX. Mark has written eight books including Building a Healthy Multi Ethnic Church; Disruption; and The Coming Revolution in Church Economics.
Lisa Fields is a highly sought-after Christian apologist known for her dedication to biblical literacy and her passion for sharing God’s love. Initially planning a career in finance, her life took a transformative turn during a New Testament course at the University of North Florida, where her faith was deeply challenged. This experience led her to pursue a Master of Divinity at Liberty University and ultimately launch the Jude 3 Project, an initiative aimed at equipping the Black Christian community with tools to understand and defend their faith. Through the Jude 3 Project, Fields has made significant contributions, including hosting the Courageous Conversations conferences, developing apologetic curricula, and addressing critical issues through her YouTube series and podcast. Her work has earned her recognition from Christianity Today and other honors. Beyond her apologetic efforts, Fields has ventured into production, contributing to documentaries like Unspoken and Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom, which explore the Christian heritage of Africa and African descendants. Despite her accolades, Fields remains committed to advancing the gospel and empowering others in their faith journey.
Steve Carter is the best-selling author of The Thing Beneath The Thing and is the host of the Craft and Character podcast. He is a personal coach to communicators who are discovering their unique voice and desiring to take their skills to the next level. He currently serves as a teaching pastor at Forest City Church and teaches regularly at churches, conferences, and various businesses worldwide. Steve lives outside Chicago, Illinois, with his wife and two kids.
Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer. The various ministries Pastor Rick has created are a multi-faceted expression of his heart to bring the whole Gospel to the whole world.
Mandy Arioto is the President and CEO of The MomCo and is widely known for her unique takes on parenting, relationships, spiritual and cultural issues. Through MomCo, which influences millions of moms through thousands of groups internationally, Mandy serves as the voice of one of the most influential mothering organizations in the U.S. and around the world. She regularly speaks to national and international audiences. She and her husband, Joe, live in Denver, Colorado where they love rock climbing and adventuring with their three kids. Mandy’s most recent book, Have More Fun: How to Be Remarkable, Stop Feeling Stuck, and Start Enjoying Life, is available wherever books are sold.
In this breakout, Immanuel Guarino will tackle head-on one of the central obstacles facing churches and a critical opportunity to reach out communities. Pornography affects 68% of men in the church yet is often undiscussed and even rarely addressed. In this breakout, you will learn the depth of this issue both inside the church and how it is affecting communities. Utilizing strategies and tools developed in equipping churches, Immanuel will offer church leaders and pastors practical insight in how to empower their congregations and communities to break free.
Emmanuel Guarino is the Founder and CEO of Team Vulnerable, a ministry dedicated to helping people break free from porn addiction.
