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ALICIA LLEWELLYN is co-founder of Quite Uncommon, a technology firm that helps organizations build, test, and launch new and innovative ideas. She is also a strategist and collaboration leader at NASA, currently directing the 1958 Coworking Space at the Johnson Space Center. She has more than two decades of cross-sector experience in growing effective teams and building engaged communities with resiliency and foresight--including for some of the largest hackathons in the world. Ali has served as a teacher, a team trainer, a youth pastor, and the Director of Ministries at Antioch Community Church in Houston, TX. This background in education, communication, and theology provides the clarity and articulation necessary to help organizations and communities take their mission to the next level.
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JIMMY DODD (B.A. Wheaton College; M.Div., Gordon-Conwell Seminary) is the founder and CEO of PastorServe. This organization works across denominational lines to strengthen the church by serving pastors. He is the author of Survive or Thrive, 6 Relationships Every Pastor Needs, and Pastors Are People Too, co-authored with Larry Magnuson. Jimmy and his wife Sally have five children and three grandchildren. He enjoys reading, taking walks with his wife Sally and dog Finn, and cheering on his beloved Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS.
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BEV GODBY is a senior associate and change management coach at The Giftedness Center in Dallas, Texas. She focuses on graduating students and women who are navigating challenging life transitions. She feels called to the role of an educator, teaching others about giftedness to help them find fulfilling lives. She serves as a consultant to schools and nonprofit organizations, and speaks and writes often on these topics. Bev holds degrees from Wheaton College and The University of Texas at Dallas. She is married to Dr. Dale Godby, with whom she has three married daughters and six grandchildren.
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TED ESLER is the President of Missio Nexus, an association of agencies and churches representing about 30,000 Great Commission workers worldwide. He worked in the computer industry before becoming a church planter in Sarajevo, Bosnia, during the 1990's. Ted is the author of Overwhelming Minority, which tells the story of their family's ministry in Bosnia. In 2000, Ted became the Canadian director of Pioneers, and three years later moved to Orlando to join Pioneers USA's leadership team. He was appointed as President of Missio Nexus in 2015. Ted holds a PhD in Intercultural Studies (Fuller Theological Seminary, 2012).
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DR. ROGER PARROTT is one of America's most experienced presidents, leading Belhaven University, a doctoral-level institution, highly regarded as one of the 36 schools in the world working at the highest level of collegiate Arts programs. Behhaven was named in 2021 as "Best University to Work For" by the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Roger was recognized as one of "The 10 Most Visionary Education Leaders of 2021" by Education Magazine. For a quarter-century, he served in board leadership roles with Lausanne Movement and The Mission America Coalition and was chairman of the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization. He is the author of The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders.
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BRITTANY SALMON is a professor, writer, and Bible teacher. She has a MA in Intercultural Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, a MA in Teaching from North Carolina State University, and a doctorate from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Brittany is passionate about taking theology and applying it to everyday life. And yet the people closest to her think of her as the friend who loves oversized sweatpants and a great conversation over coffee. She lives in Wilmington, North Carolina with her best friend, Ben, and their six children. You can connect with Brittany on Instagram @brittanynsalmon.
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SAMANTHA DECKER is a wife, mom, writer, Bible teacher, and above all, a follower of Jesus. She is passionate about encouraging believers to deepen their walk with Jesus through discipleship relationships and an unrelenting love for the Word of God. She and her husband, Dustin, live in Oklahoma and enjoy serving in their local church, trying new restaurants (especially if it’s Tex-Mex), and adventuring with their three rambunctious boys and baby girl. You can connect with her at samanthadeckerwrites.com
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MATTHEW SOERENS serves as the Vice President of Advocacy & Policy for World Relief. He is the coauthor of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate and Inalienable: How Marginalized Kingdom Voices Can Help Save the American Church. He is a graduate of Wheaton College, where he also serves as a guest faculty member for the Humanitarian & Disaster Institute, and of DePaul University. Matt lives in Aurora, Illinois with his wife Diana and their four children.
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BECKY HARLING has a degree in Biblical Literature and is a speaker and Bible teacher. The host of The Connected Mom podcast, Becky has a passion for helping women find hope, healing, freedom, and life transformation through Jesus Christ. She is the author of many books and Bible studies, including Our Father, The Extraordinary Power of Praise, Who Do You Say That I Am, Psalms for the Anxious Heart, The 30-Day Praise Challenge, How to Listen So People Will Talk, and How to Listen So Your Kids Will Talk. Becky and her husband reside in Colorado.
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SYD BRESTEL (B.A. Moody Bible Institute; M.A., Western Seminary) is a retired pastor who served a number of congregations for nearly fifty years. He has taught biblical classes at Kilns College in Bend, OR and is passionate about creating opportunities for lay people to receive biblical and theological training. He has ministered in several countries including India, Pakistan, UAE, Uganda, and Ireland. God has given him a passion to proclaim and defend both His grace and His holiness and wrath.
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JOSH CLEMONS resides in Atlanta, GA along with his wife Lakisha and sons Langston Grant and Duke Ellington. He has built a reputation as a lover of God, builder of people, and a reconciler of cultures. Leading a racial reconciliation movement and serving as a professor, Josh shares his brilliance, wisdom, and practical instruction impacting audiences in both religious and secular communities. He is privileged to serve as the Executive Director for OneRace Movement, and is pursuing his Ph.D. at Fuller Theological Seminary.
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CHRIS RAPPAZINI is a Professor of Leadership at Anderson University, SC, and a professional speaker and leadership life coach. Eleven years prior to his role at Anderson University, he was a Professor of Pastoral Studies and Preaching at the Moody Bible Institute and served in various pastoral roles throughout the nation. He is a former writer for Moody’s Today in the Word and past President of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. He has earned a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University, an M.Th. from the University of Edinburgh, an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a B.A. from the Moody Bible Institute, and did postdoctoral research at Baylor University.
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RYAN LOKKESMOE PhD is the Senior Pastor of Community Church at Lake Wylie in the Charlotte area. He earned his master's degree in New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and his doctorate in New Testament at The University of Denver. Ryan is the author of Blurry: Bringing Clarity to the Bible (CLC Publications), and has written Small Group curriculum for LifeWay as well as articles for the Lexham Bible Dictionary. Ryan previously served as the Small Groups Pastor at a multi-site church, and as the Lead Pastor of Real Hope Community Church for seven years. He lives in Richmond, TX with his wife Ashley and their two children.
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DAN STANFORD is not a comic book superhero. The glasses make you do a double take but under his shirt is not a cool costume and cape. He doesn't have a catch phrase like "Up, Up and Yahweh!" and there's no blockbuster movie about his heroic deeds. He's an ordinary, decaf drinking, nap taking, Jesus loving citizen. But in spite of being ordinary, he married his true love, Suzanne and they have three dynamic boys: Caleb, Connor and Colton. Dan holds a Masters degree from Trinity International University and started The Well Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. To learn more visit www.danstanford.net.
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GIL MERTZ is Assistant to the President at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. He has been involved with full-time Christian service for nearly forty years and draws from a vast background of ministry with international missions, humanitarian causes, public policy, and consulting. He is a former pastor and radio talk show host. His daily commentaries on forgiveness have been broadcast on more than 300 stations across America. Gil and his wife Patricia reside in southern California and have three children and three grandchildren.
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DEBORAH GORTON (B.A. Arizona State University; M.A., Ph.D. Fuller Theological Seminary) is the Gary Chapman Chair of Marriage, Family Ministry, and Therapy at Moody Theological Seminary and Graduate School. For more than fourteen years Deb has worked as a change agent for individuals, organizations, and emerging leaders, helping them refine, embrace, and thrive in their purpose. Built on the foundation of relationship, her core philosophy is that collaboration in community produces radical transformation. She resides in Chicago and loves the Cubs. If she's not home in the city or traveling for work, you're likely to find her with family in Colorado, Oregon, or Oklahoma.
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