KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

John Piper

A Hunger for God: The Foundation of Faithful AND Effective Ministry (Main Stage – Plenary Session)

John Piper is pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 40 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.

@JohnPiper

Matt Chandler

How Both Faithful and Effective Churches Assume the Gospel (Main Stage – Plenary Session)

Matt Chandler serves as Lead Pastor of Teaching at The Village Church in Flower Mound, TX and the author of “The Explicit Gospel.” He describes his nine-year tenure at The Village as a re-planting effort where he was involved in changing the theological and philosophical culture of the congregation. The church has witnessed a tremendous response growing from 160 people to over 10,000 including satellite campuses in Dallas and Denton. Alongside his current role as lead pastor, Matt is the President of the Acts 29 Network and is involved in church planting efforts both locally and internationally through various strategic partnerships. Prior to accepting the pastorate at The Village, Matt had a vibrant itinerant ministry for over 10 years where he spoke to thousands of people in America and abroad about the glory of God and beauty of Jesus. His greatest joy outside of Jesus is being married to Lauren and being a dad to their three children, Audrey, Reid and Norah.

@MattChandler74

 

Bryan Loritts

TBD (Main Stage – Plenary Session)

Bryan is the Lead Pastor of Fellowship Memphis Church, a multicultural church ministering to the urban Memphis community.  Bryan has a Master’s Degree in Theology and is currently working on his PhD.  In addition to serving the community of Memphis, Bryan’s ministry takes him across the country as he speaks to thousands annually at churches, conferences, and retreats.  He is the author of God on Paper and his new book A Cross Shaped Gospel.  He was also a contributing author for the book entitled Great Preaching. Bryan was recently voted as one of the top thirty emerging Christian leaders in the country by Outreach magazine.  Bryan is married to Korie, and is the father of three sons: Quentin, Myles, and Jaden.

@bcloritts

David Platt

Gospel Proclamation: In and Through the Church (Main Stage – Plenary Session)

Dr. David Platt is deeply devoted to Christ and His Word. David’s first love in ministry is disciple-making – the simple, biblical model of teaching God’s Word, mentoring others and sharing faith. He has traveled extensively to teach the Bible alongside church leaders throughout the United States and around the world. Atlanta natives, he and his wife Heather, made their home in New Orleans, until they were displaced by flooding following Hurricane Katrina, in 2005. In 2006 David became the Pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. A life-long learner, David has earned two undergraduate and three advanced degrees. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (A.B.J.) from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Theology (Th.M) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He has previously served at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as Dean of Chapel and Assistant Professor of Expository Preaching and Apologetics, and as Staff Evangelist at Edgewater Baptist Church in New Orleans. David has written two books, “Radical – Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream” and “Radical Together – Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God.” He recently founded Radical, a ministry devoted to platforming and disseminating disciple-making resources, so that the gospel might be made known to the ends of the earth. David and his wife, Heather, were married in 1999. They are the parents of three children, Caleb, Joshua, and Mara Ruth.

@PlattDavid

J.D. Greear

The Marks of a Faithful and Effective Church (Main Stage – Plenary Session)

J.D. Greear is the lead pastor of The Summit Church, in Raleigh-Durham, NC and author of Gospel, Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary.  Two main things characterize The Summit Church:  its gospel focus and sending culture. The gospel is not merely the diving board off of which we jump into the pool of Christianity, it’s also the pool itself. Joy, reckless generosity, and audacious faith all come by learning more about God’s extravagant love found in Christ.  God has blessed the Summit Church with tremendous growth. Under J.D.’s leadership, the Summit has grown from a plateaued church of 300 to one of over 7,000, placing it among Outreach magazine’s “top 25 fastest-growing churches in America” for several years running. J.D. has also led the Summit to further the kingdom of God by pursuing a bold vision to plant 1,000 new churches by the year 2050.  In the last ten years, the church has sent out more than 300 people to serve on church planting teams, both domestically and internationally. J.D. completed his Ph.D. in Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, writing on the correlations between early church presentations of the gospel and Islamic theology.  Having lived serving among Muslims, he has a burden to see them, as well as every nation on earth, come to know and love the salvation of God in Christ. He and his beautiful wife Veronica live in Raleigh, NC and are raising four ridiculously cute kids: Kharis, Alethia, Ryah and Adon.

@JDGreear 

Tyler Jones

You Can’t Lead What You Don’t Live (Main Stage – Plenary Session)

Tyler and his wife Kimberly moved to Raleigh in 1997 after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After working with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at North Carolina State University for 5 years, they felt called to plant a church in downtown Raleigh. Vintage21Church was planted in the fall of 2002 with a small group of people and currently has 3 campuses in the Triangle that meet every Sunday. He serves as Southeast Regional Director for the Acts29 church-planting network, and founded Advance the Church, a cooperative nondenominational movement to help plant and revitalize local churches. Aside from pastoring and leading, he is currently studying for an MDiv at Gordon Conwell. Tyler and Kimberly have three little ones: Ellia, Lyla, and Lincoln.

@PastorTyler 

ADDITIONAL SPEAKERS

Larry Osborne

Accidental Pharisees (Main Stage – Praxis Session)
Building a Healthy Leadership Team (Breakout Session)

Larry Osborne has served as a Senior Pastor at North Coast Church in Vista, California since 1980. The church has grown from 128 to over 9,000 in weekend attendance. and has been honored as one of the ten most influential churches in America for its pioneering efforts in the multi-site movement, sermon-based small groups, and its creative approach to shared leadership. Larry’s books include Accidental Pharisees, Sticky Teams, Sticky Church, Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe, Spirituality For The Rest Of Us, and The Unity Factor.

@LarryOsborne

Steve Timmis

Everyday Church (Main Stage – Praxis Session)
Building Missional Communities (Breakout Session)

Steve has been married to Janet for 32 years and they live in Sheffield, UK. They have four grown up children and a number of grandchildren.  Steve is the Director for Acts 29 Western Europe and also directs Porterbrook Network – a training initiative aimed at equipping the church for mission and church planting. Steve is an elder in The Crowded House – an international church planting network. With Tim Chester he co-authored Total Church & Everyday Church. He has also written a number of other books, the latest being Gospel-Centred Leadership. Steve loves time with his family and enjoys cycling and watching and playing football.

D.A. Horton

The Gospel and Hip Hop (Main Stage – Praxis Session)

D.A. Horton currently serves the Lead Teaching Elder at Koinonia Bible Church in Kansas City, MO and recently became the Executive Director of ReachLife Ministries, the 501c3 of Reach Records. In God’s grace, D.A. has served as a Lead Pastor in the urban context for five years, for three years taught Urban Studies & Theology at Calvary Bible College, and ministered through Gospel-rap for 16 years. His book G.O.S.P.E.L. was published and released by Moody Publishers in December 2011 and his two new books will be released in 2013. D.A. grew up in the inner-city of Kansas City, KS and was saved out of a typical life in the streets before he turned 16 yrs old. D.A. and his wife/best-friend, Elicia, both graduated from Calvary Bible College and Calvary Theological seminary. D.A. is currently working on his D.Ed.Min at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. D.A. and Elicia have two beautiful daughters, Izablle and Lola.

Brian Bloye

Becoming a Multiplying Church (Main Stage – Praxis Session)
Surviving and Thriving in Church Planting (Breakout Session)

Brian Bloye is the founding and senior pastor of West Ridge Church. In 1997, he and his wife, Amy, moved to the northwest Atlanta area to plant West Ridge. In the early days of the church, Brian’s passions for church planting and community transformation were reflected in the church’s vision statement.

Today, those visions are being realized through initiatives that Brian has founded including Engage Atlanta, Engage Burkina and the LAUNCH church planting network.

Brian has a bachelor’s degree from Liberty University and an M. Div. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He also completed two and a half years of additional masters work at Biblical Theological Seminary in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.

Prior to planting West Ridge, Brian spent three and a half years as student pastor at First Baptist Church, Pemberton, New Jersey and six years as student pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. He also served as an assistant professor at Liberty Baptist Theological for one year.

Brian and his wife, Amy, have two boys, Taylor and Zachary. Brian enjoys investing in leaders and church planters, watching his boys play baseball and football, cycling, running, and spending time with his family.

 

@BrianBloye

John Bryson

The Kind of Men the Church Needs (Main Stage – Praxis Session)
The Kind of Men We Need to Plant Churches (Breakout Session)

John serves as a Co-Founder and Pastor of Fellowship Memphis, a Leadership Coach and Consultant with Fellowship Associates and the lead writer and co-presenter of 33theseries and College Ready. John was born and raised in Harlan, Kentucky, and played baseball at Asbury College and moved to Texas after college.

For eleven years, John got to experience life on staff at Denton Bible Church and help build and direct College Life, the college ministry of Denton Bible Church. John finished his MBA in 1995 and finished Dallas Seminary in 1998. Following his years in Texas, John spent a year in the Church Planting residency program at Fellowship Associates in Little Rock and moved to Memphis in 2003 to co-found Fellowship Memphis, a multi-cultural church ministering in the evolving urban core of Memphis, TN.

John and Beth were married in 1994 and are the proud parents of five kids: Brooke, Beck, Bo, Boss and Blair. John completed a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. John is an Elder at Fellowship Memphis, is on the Executive Board of Acts29 and travels the country consulting and investing in churches, leaders and great ideas wherever he can find them.

@johnwbryson

Blake Wilson

Sex and the Gospel (Main Stage – Praxis Session)

Blake Wilson is the Lead Pastor of Crossover Bible Fellowship. Crossover was planted out of his family living room with a group of men and their families who were compelled to saturate the Northwest side of Houston with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The goal was to “Teach People the Word of God and Touch People with the Love of God”. Blake has an intense focus on the basics of “making disciples” in the local Church. He has developed a program known as Hunger & Thirst to disciple the young adult males of Crossover called The 66: The Playbook & The Players. The Wise Guys Men’s ministry was developed to disciple the men of the Church so they would be equipped to disciple their families.

Blake served the Lord for 14 years in Youth Ministry in various capacities Pastoring, as well as, training and developing Youth Pastors across Houston and the state of Texas. Blake has spoken at Youth, Young Adult and Family Life conferences across the country. Blake is known for his Sex & The Gospel Conference a.k.a The Biblical View of Sex. He has taught the material for churches and NBA teams: New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs for Allan Houston & Charlie Ward. His FISLL curriculum (Faith, Integrity, Sacrifice, Leadership, Legacy) is used to support the Allan Houston Legacy Foundation. Blake has partnered with Allan Houston and the Father Knows Best Program since its inception to build spiritual relationships between Fathers and Sons.

Blake has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science from Southwest Texas State University and a Masters of Arts in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary. He is married to Dr. Ronique Wilson and they have two children Reagan, and Robert Chance.

 @pastorblakew

Brian Fikkert

When Helping Hurts (Main Stage – Praxis Session)
Helping without Hurting: How to Serve Local and Global Communities (Breakout Session)

Dr. Brian Fikkert is the Founder and Executive Director of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Covenant College, where he also serves as a Professor of Economics and Community Development. Brian received a Ph.D. in Economics with highest honors from Yale University and a B.A. in Mathematics from Dordt College.  Specializing in Economic Development and International Economics, Brian has numerous academic and popular publications and is a co-author of the book, When Helping Hurts:  How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself.  Prior to coming to Covenant College, he was a professor at the University of Maryland and a research fellow at the Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector.

Rupert Leary

Practical Evangelism: How to Get Out There and Start Doing It (Main Stage – Praxis Session)

Rupert Leary came to Christ as a college student at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia and has worked with college students for over 20 years.  He has been a part of leading college ministry teams around the southeast, serving university campuses in Georgia, South Carolina, and currently RDU area campuses in North Carolina as a part of The Summit Church. His ministry specializes in reaching the demographic on campus who do not know Christ, discipling these new converts into laborers on campus who will reproduce this process with their classmates. His passion and primary role at The Summit Church is mobilizing teams of graduates who will serve both Stateside and around the world as a part of church planting teams. Currently, over 95% of these college graduates are saying “yes” to joining a CP team after graduation. Rupert married his beautiful wife Lisa 17 years ago and have been blessed with four children, Payton, Jordan, Blake, and little Madison.

Andre Mann

Thinking Bigger About Business (Main Stage – Praxis Session)

André Mann is a multilingual entrepreneur and international business manager with 18 years of business experience in Latin America and Central Asia.  He graduated from Georgetown University in 1992 with a degree in International Economics from the School of Foreign Service.  André began his career in brand management with Procter & Gamble in Puerto Rico and Mexico, developing a reputation as a turnaround specialist making several money-losing business units profitable.  In 1997, at age 28, André joined the team that helped establish Citibank in the Mexican market as the Director of Core Banking over all consumer-banking products at Citibank Mexico.  In 2000 André began pursuing his Master’s of Divinity at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Upon completion of his studies, André moved to Uzbekistan and then Afghanistan where he started several businesses, including an adventure travel company (The Great Game Travel Company, Afghanistan), a small manufacturing company, a consulting company, and a media production company.  These biblically-managed companies employed 80+ locals and generated $10M+ in annual revenue.  André moved back to North Carolina in 2011 to develop Sovereign’s Capital, is an elder at the Summit Church, and lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife Laura and two sons.