Bob Lupton

Bob Lupton has invested the past 39 years of his life in inner-city Atlanta. In response to a call that he first felt while serving in Vietnam, he left a budding business career to work with delinquent urban youth. Bob and his family sold their suburban home and moved into the inner-city where they have lived and served as neighbors among those in need. His life’s work has been the rebuilding of urban neighborhoods where families can flourish and children can grow into healthy adults.

Bob is a Christian community developer, an entrepreneur who brings together communities of resource with communities of need. Through FCS Urban Ministries – a non-profit organization which he founded – he has developed three mixed-income subdivisions, organized two multi-racial congregations, started a number of businesses, created housing for hundreds of families, and initiated a wide range of human services in his community. He is the author of four books (Theirs is the Kingdom, Return Flight, Renewing the City and Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life) and the widely circulated Urban Perspectives – Reflections on the Gospel, Grace and the City. Bob has a PhD. in psychology from the University of Georgia. He serves as a speaker, strategist and inspirer with those who seek to establish God’s Shalom in the city.

Workshop:
Toxic Charity

Chip Sweney

Chip Sweney is on the Executive Leadership Team and is the Next Gen and Community Transformation Pastor at Perimeter Church in Johns Creek, Ga. He oversees the ministry that Perimeter is doing outside the four walls of the church in metro Atlanta as well as all the partnering that Perimeter is doing with churches around metro Atlanta. He has been on staff at Perimeter for 16 years and was one of the Student Ministry Pastors before helping launch Community Outreach at Perimeter in 2002.

Chip also serves as the Director of Unite!, a network of over 180 churches in Atlanta that are working together to see kingdom transformation in this city. Unite! was launched in 2003 in NE Atlanta and is now spreading all over the metro area. Chip is one of the Founders and also serves on the Board for Street GRACE, an alliance of churches in Atlanta that are working together with the public and private sector to bring the commercial sexual exploitation of children to an end in Atlanta.

Chip graduated from Duke University and received his MDIV from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is ordained in the PCA denomination. His book, "A New Kind of Big: How Churches of Any Size Can Partner to Transform Communities" was released in January of 2011.

Chip has been married to his wonderful wife, Leigh Ann, for 22 years and they have 2 children – Caroline who is 16 years old and Jack who is 14.

Workshop:
Collaboration for Transformation

Lurone "Coach" Jennings

Lurone was born in Lafayette, Alabama, but grew up in the South side inner city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. During his coaching career Lurone had the pleasure of coaching NFL Star, Reggie White, former Green Bay Packer, All-Pro Defensive End. He also coached Olympic Gold Medallist, Venus Lacy, who starred on the US Women’s Olympic Basketball Team.

In 1983 Lurone became a committed disciple for Jesus and in 1986 he was licensed and ordained as a Baptist Minister. He attended Beraccah Bible Institute and earned a Certificate of Study in 1988. In 1992 he received a Master’s Degree in Education, with a concentration in Administration and Supervision, from Trevecca Nazarene College in Nashville, TN.

In 1992, Lurone became Principal of his alma mater, Howard School of Academics and Technology, the largest inner city high school in Chattanooga. He later moved to the school system’s Central Office as Director of Drug Education and Athletics, with responsibility for programs in forty-one schools.

After much prayer and 18 years of working with youth in the public schools of Chattanooga, in 1995 Lurone heard the Voice and felt the hand of Jesus calling him into full-time ministry. He was appointed founding pastor of the Bethlehem United Methodist Church, now known as Bethlehem-Wiley United Methodist Church. He serves as the Executive Director of the United Methodist Neighborhood Centers, Inc. otherwise known as the Bethlehem Center. He is one of the founders of the Bethlehem Community Development Credit Union, the first of its kind to be chartered in the State of Tennessee. The credit union is now known as the Church Koinonia Federal Credit Union: Bethlehem Branch, due to a merger that strengthens the two credit unions. He is the founder and Head Coach of The V-Team Leadership Network providing a "VOICE with VISION and VICTORY for the Game of Life." He is the Associate Publisher for the Chattanooga News Chronicle, an African American owned newspaper. Lurone is also a member of the National Association of United Methodists Evangelists (NAUME) and is an affiliate Leadership Coach with the International Leadership Institute (ILI).

In 2005 Lurone released his book, "Crisis in Urban America", which reveals his vision for dealing with the many problems plaguing our inner city communities.

Lurone is married to Glinda H. Jennings and they have adult 3 children, Lurone Jr., Luronda and David, as well as three granddaughters, Ania, Tymber, and Nadia. Lurone also shares his faith and ministry through his revivals, conferences, workshops, and sermons in other churches, schools, and ministries throughout the country.

Workshop:
Developing the VISION for Urban Missions

Heidi Unruh

As director of the Congregations, Community Outreach and Leadership Development Project, Heidi Unruh has researched, written and spoken extensively about church-based community outreach. Books she has co-authored include Churches That Make a Difference: Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works; Saving Souls, Serving Society; and Hope for Children in Poverty. She has contributed to national ministry initiatives such as Salt & Light (Compassion Coalition), Faith in Action (World Vision/Outreach, Inc.), Ventures in Holistic Ministry (Word & Deed Network), and Start Becoming a Good Samaritan (Zondervan). In collaboration with consulting partners she has developed a wide range of practical ministry resources and training materials for congregations (many available on www.urbanministry.org), grounded in studies of churches and nonprofits engaged in community outreach. She also serves as a policy analyst specializing in faith-based initiatives and welfare policy for Evangelicals for Social Action. Heidi is an alumna of Wheaton College, with a degree in Theology and Public Policy from Palmer Seminary. Heidi shares life and ministry with her husband Jim (a Mennonite pastor) and three children in Hutchinson, KS. There she is engaged in several local ministry initiatives, including the launch of Circles of Hope for families in poverty, and a community-based church plant centered on low-income children.

Workshop:
Basics of Ministry with Single Parent Families

Workshop:
Churches That Make a Difference: A Vision for Transformational Community Ministry

Workshop:
Putting Feet to Vision: First Steps, Next Steps

Dr. David Jenkins

Dr. David Jenkins is a Associate Professor in the Practice of Practical Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, an elder in the United Methodist Church, and an experienced international mission team leader. He teaches strategies for community development, international development, and short-term mission leadership through Asset-Based Community Development and Training for Transformation methods.

Workshop:
Assets and Generative Themes: Vital Resources for International Mission Teams

Mary Lederleitner

Mary Lederleitner is author of the book Cross-Cultural Partnerships: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Mission (2010; InterVarsity Press). She serves as the Cross-Cultural Consultant on the Leadership Team of the Wycliffe Global Alliance. She has an M.A. in Intercultural Studies and is completing Ph.D. studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. She serves on the Advisory Board for EMQ, the board of Faith and Learning International, and is an Adjunct Professor at Wheaton College and North Park Seminary.

Workshop:
Cross-Cultural Partnerships and Money

Workshop:
Resolving Conflict in Cross-Cultural Partnerships

Jonathan Bell
Director of Mission Ministries
Church of the Resurrection

Jonathan joined the Church of the Resurrection staff in April of 2001 as Director of Mission Ministries.  He has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS), a Masters degree in International Affairs from George Washington University (Washington, DC), and a Masters degree in Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington, DC).  For nine years prior to coming to Resurrection, he served on the staff of a United Methodist church in Washington, DC, where he was a leader in initiating mission ministries and helped organize Christians to impact social, economic, and political agendas citywide in the name of Christ.  He enjoys reading, gardening, hiking, fly fishing, and is passionate about helping people and churches live out their faith in the world.  He and his wife, Robin, have been married since 1992, and they have three sons – Joshua, Noah, and Christian.

Workshop:
...

David Phipps

Workshop:
Short-Term Missions That Help Long-Term

Dr. Warren Lathem

Dr. Warren Lathem is President of the Wesleyan Seminary of Venezuela which he co-founded in 2002. He is the former District Superintendent of the Atlanta-Marietta District of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has pastored churches since 1972. His experience includes numerous seminars, training events, church consultations, mentoring, teaching in semnaries, crusade evangelism, ministry pioneer, camp meetings, and revivals on a national and international basis. His last pastoral appointment was to the Mount Pisgah UM Church which he served for over 17 years. During his tenure, it grew to be the fourth largest UMC (based on average attendance) in the U.S. More importantly, during those years over 60% of the 5000 new members (net) who joined were by Profession of Faith. He has always been committed to reaching the unchurched with the Good News of Jesus Christ. This led him to start many innovative ministries, e.g., Lay Missionary Training, The Journey, Recreation Ministry, Beacon of Hope Women’s, The Summit Counseling Center and the first AID’s ministry outside the perimeter of Atlanta. He began an After School Program, a Pre-school , an Elementary school, Middle school, and High school, enrolling over 900 children. He co-founded the Aslan Group, a national church consulting firm. He also started what became the largest Hispanic ministry in the North Georgia Conference. In his last year as Senior minister, Mt Pisgah led the Conference in net new members. Thus, his ministry has been marked by transformed lives. He has always been committed to the ministry of the laity and has partnered with the laity in most effective ways.

Workshop:
Developing mission leadership in local church

Winston Worrell

Winston Worrell serves as Director of the World Methodist Evangelism Institute, a ministry of the World Methodist Council and Emory University. With a doctorate in evangelism from Emory University and a masters degree in media communications from Georgia State University, he organizes and leads evangelism training seminars nationally and internationally. He teaches worldwide church leaders in evangelism, mission and faith-sharing. He is a clergy member of the North Georgia Conference, and has served in pastoral positions in the United States and as circuit superintendent minister in the Caribbean. He is married, and he and his wife have one son.

Workshop:
Reach New Persons: Become More Missional

Stan Self

After thirty-seven years in management with BellSouth, Stan took early retirement to join the staff of The Mission Society. He currently serves in the Ministry Operations division of The Mission Society as Senior Director of Church Ministry. His duties include directing the church mobilization efforts to assist local churches to be strategically engaged in reaching the world for Christ. Additionally, Stan oversees missionary itineration and the Missions Representative program.

Workshop:
A Global Outreach Process for the Local Church

Wes and Joy Griffin
International Leadership Institute

Wes and Joy Griffin, co-founders of the International Leadership Institute (ILI), accelerate the spread of the Gospel by training leaders and changing lives around the world. Each year, more than 300 conferences equip over 10,000 leaders with advanced training in leadership, evangelism, and multiplication. Alumni serve on the cutting edge of evangelism in more than 50 nations speaking more than 200 languages. Wes and Joy are joined in ministry by their teenage children, Hannah and Caleb.

Workshop:
Accelerating the Spread of the Gospel through Leadership Training

Workshop:
Funding Strategies for Missions

Workshop:
When God Calls Your Name: Discerning God’s Vision for your Life

Workshop:
Accelerating the Spread of the Gospel Through Leadership Training

Craig Maxwell

Craig Maxwell is the Director of Ginghamsburg Global Missions, a church of 4000 just north of Dayton Ohio. Craig provides vision, leadership and administration for adult mission trips around the globe. More than 40 mission experiences are planned each year including opportunities to serve in the local community, large inner cities, hurricane-devastated neighborhoods in the Gulf region, and abroad in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Central America. Before coming to Ginghamsburg Church, Craig led multiple mission trips via Reign Ministries, Inc. and the Heart to Honduras as well as served as a youth pastor for two churches in Florida and Michigan. Craig, who is a member of the Dayton Area Missions Pastors Network, the United Methodist Largest Churches Missions Pastors Network, and the Most Influential Churches in America Missions Pastors Network, also coordinates missionary partner support for Ginghamsburg. Craig himself is an active “missionary” who has personally led 40 plus mission trips to 56 countries all over the world.

Workshop:
Magnetic Missions - The Blueprint to growing a missions ministry

Nate Gibson

Executive Director of Business Operations Nate Gibson serves on Ginghamsburg's Lead Team to support all areas of financial administration and to lead each fall's annual stewardship campaign. Nate also leads the ministry teams responsible for Ginghamsburg's guest services, including food service, The Vine bookstore, and Radical Hospitality, as well as coordinates with the facilities team, which is responsible for all housekeeping, vehicles, grounds, maintenance and event set-ups.

Before assuming his current role, Nate served as an accountant within the Ohio Auditor of State's Office, with responsibility for auditing state and local government entities receiving public funding. Nate has an MBA and his CPA license.

Workshop:
Converting Your Op budget

Rev. Nancy C. Yarnell

As the Program Consultant for Food Security for America, a program of Georgia Avenue Community Ministries, Rev. Yarnell’s passion is to fulfill its mission of “Enough good food for everyone, everywhere in the country, all the time.” As an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church, she is dedicated to accomplishing this mission with a spiritual perspective and dignified regard for the program participants. Rev. Yarnell is a native of Chattanooga, graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University, and left a business career in software development to answer a mid-life call to work with people who are homeless in downtown Atlanta. The former Executive Director of Trinity Community Ministries (Trinity Table, Trinity House-Big Bethel) jokes that she’s been promoted from the “homeless” to the “working poor.” The Northside UMC member is the mother of a college student and a high school senior, and enjoys dogs, scuba diving and slow jogging by the river.

Workshop:
Beyond the Food Pantry: Creating Christian Community

Brett DeHart

Brett DeHart has served in both smaller and larger congregations. Currently, he is Pastor of Boynton UMC in Ringgold in northwest Georgia. Previously, Brett served three years as Pastor of Austell First UMC on the western side of Atlanta. The church dramatically turned its attention outward to its demographically and economically changing community. Living out its BLESS AUSTELL vision following historic floods, the church was recognized as its city 'Business of the Year' in 2009; the first time a church had been so honored in the award's 50+ year history. Before Austell, Brett served as Associate Minister at Roswell UMC, overseeing missions, evangelism and communications. Brett holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Florida State University and a Master of Divinity degree from Emory University's Candler School of Theology. The second-career pastor previously was a sportscaster, salesman, and politician.

Workshop:
BLESS – Reviving Your Church While Transforming Your Community

Workshop:
Managing the Change from Maintenance to Mission

Lynette Fields

Lynette Fields brings first-hand experience to this topic. She was an intern during her social work graduate studies in Michigan and then served in Miami as a US-2 Missionary through the General Board of Global Ministries and then as a National Missionary. In her position at St. Luke's UMC in Orlando she has supervised many interns both those receiving academic credit and those exploring full-time Christian Service. Former St. Luke's interns now serve in full-time ministry (ordained and lay professionals) in at least four Annual Conferences.

Workshop:
Boost Your Mission Ministry with Interns

Leroy Barber

Leroy Barber has dedicated more than 20 years to eradicating poverty, confronting homelessness, restoring local neighborhoods, healing racism, and living what Dr. King called "the beloved community."

Leroy starts projects that shape society; in 1990, burdened by the plight of Philadelphia's homeless, he founded Restoration Ministries, to serve homeless families and children living on the streets. In 1997, he joined FCS Urban Ministries, to serve as the founding Director of Atlanta Youth Academies, a private elementary school, to provide quality Christian education for low-income families in the inner city.

He is currently the President of Mission Year, a national urban initiative introducing 18-29 year olds to missional and communal living in city centers for one year of their lives, and Executive Director of FCS Urban Ministries in Atlanta. Rev. Barber is the co-pastor of a church plant, Community Life Church; and on the boards of Word Made Flesh and the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA). Leroy is the author of New Neighbor: An Invitation to Join Beloved Community, and Everyday Missions: How Ordinary People Can Change the World and was also chosen as a contributor to the groundbreaking book UnChristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters.

Leroy is married to Donna and together they have three adult children - Jessica, Joshua, Joel, and two adopted children - Asha and Jonathan.

Workshop:
TBA

Patrick Friday

The Rev. Patrick Friday is Director of In Mission Together for the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church. In Mission Together is a partnership program which assists churches in engaging in shared mission and ministry with a developing congregation or in the development of a relationship that could lead to a new congregation. It encourages and affirms the role of local congregations, districts, and annual conferences to be in mission in a global setting. The 400 Fund is the channel for funding this engagement. Patrick is an ordained elder of the North Alabama Annual Conference.

Workshop:
TBA

Dan Crain

Dan Crain is married to Adrienne and they have two children. Dan served as a youth pastor in Orlando from 2001-2004. After obtaining a Masters of Intercultural Ministries in 2009 from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, they returned to Orlando where Dan was introduced to Polis Institute and became an intern. He and his family now reside in the under resourced neighborhood of South Atlanta. He is a Polis Liaison/Trainer to the city of Atlanta and also works alongside Community Life, a church supported by FCS Urban Ministries. Dan's passion is to mobilize the church to work with people in distress in a dignifying way. He longs to see God's reconciliation among people, places, churches and creation. He also loves to share about how Jesus is found among people in distress.

Workshop:
Diginity Serves

Robert Montague

Robert Montague serves as the Executive Director of the Binghampton Development Corporation.  Prior he was an Investment Analyst and Managing Director of Morgan Keegan and the Royal Bank of Canada, and in corporate management, marketing and engineering positions with BFGoodrich and the DTM Corporation.  Robert earned a Masters of Business Administration from Bellarmine University and a Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee.

Robert also serves as the president of the Community Development Council of Greater Memphis, and on Board or Executive Committee positions with the Memphis Teacher Residency, CommunityLIFT, Crichton College and Christ United Methodist Church.

Workshop:
TBA

David Chlupacek

David Chlupacek (Dec 21, 1975) was born in Jihlava, The Czech Republic, where he had joined local Methodist Church in his teenage years and later become a member. David had graduated at Palacky University of Olomouc, The Czech Republic. He is married and together with his wife Martina they raise two children (12 and 9).

David is involved in the music ministry at Jihlava UMC as a percussionist and has been active in several other ministries including the In Mission Together project between UMC in USA and CZ. Under the umberella of Striving Togther, McEachern and Jihlava UMC congregations have developed mission activities such as English Camps, Sports&Arts Kids Camp, and Easter Camp, Impact and others. The vision and objective of "Striving Together" has become mutual support, reinforcement and growth combined with mission and outreach.

His job is a consultant and project manager with EURES, international network of European Employment Services. David is keen on sports and arts. He is a new member of Gideons International.

Workshop:
TBA

Marcia Florkey

Marcia Florkey is the executive director for The New Path, Inc., a not-for-profit community development organization that serves as the local and regional outreach ministry for Ginghamsburg and Ft McKinley United Methodist Churches through seventeen program areas. Marcia, who holds a master's degree in Educational Administration from the University of Dayton, has also completed coursework at United Theological Seminary and the New York Theological Seminary and was commissioned as a Deaconess in 2001.

Before assuming leadership of New Path, Marcia served for four years as the executive secretary for International Ministries with Women & Children within the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. Marcia also formerly served as the executive director for the United Methodist NOMADS program, in which she directed the service of 1500 volunteers to more than 250 churches, mission institutions and camps. Currently she serves on the executive advisory team for the World Day of Prayer International Committee.

Marcia and her husband Jim have three grown children and three grandchildren and together they enjoy traveling and serving in local and international missions.

Workshop:
TBA