BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS

Lorna is the Mission Georgia Mobilizer for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. She committed to ministry at Northside Baptist Church, Valdosta in 1993. Since that time, she has directed student ministry at three Georgia Baptist churches, then served fourteen years in community ministry as a missionary with the North American Mission Board in Nevada, Colorado, and Georgia.

Andy Blanks is the Publisher and Co-Founder of YM360 and Iron Hill Press. A former Marine, Andy has been doing ministry since the early 2000s, mostly in youth and men’s ministry publishing and discipleship. During that time, Andy has led the development of some of the most popular Bible study curriculum and discipleship resources in the country. He has authored numerous books, Bible studies, and articles, and regularly speaks at events and conferences, both for adults and teenagers. He is active in his local church, teaching youth, adult, and men’s small groups regularly.

Burdened for a movement of men that transforms families and churches to the ends of the earth, Keith founded REAL MOMENTUM Ministries to help pastors and leaders in families and churches across the US and Dominican Republic experience the power of discipling men. Keith combines a professional background in marketing and development with more than a decade of pastoral ministry experience and serves as a Missionary to Men by offering men’s ministry coaching, conferences, and content.

John Bolin has served as the pastor of Worship Ministries at Kingsland Baptist Church in Texas since March 2020. Formerly, John was the Minister of Worship and Arts at Houston's First Baptist Church from 2008-2020. John has written and arranged more than a hundred songs for print through LifeWay Worship and is a leading voice for local church worship ministries, choirs in worship, and multigenerational congregational worship.

Seth Buckley is a graduate of Furman University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in Youth Ministry. He served for the past 25 years as the Student Pastor at First Baptist Church of Spartanburg. He has written for numerous journals, periodicals, curriculum tracks, and books. He just completed his service as the Vice President of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. He is a Certified Coach, Mentor, and Instructor with the John Maxwell Team, as well as the Producer of The Seth Buckley Leadership Podcast. He is a co-founder of Fire Pit Ranch, a mentoring ministry reaching young boys as well as training fathers.

David Cardoza is the Georgia Baptist Mission Board Hispanic Representative for Central Georgia and is also pastor of Iglesia Bautista Yo Soy Calvario in Lilburn. He is a United States Marine Corps veteran and has an undergraduate degree from Toccoa Falls, a degree in Missiology with a minor in Church Planting, and a graduate degree from Luther Rice College and Seminary with a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Counseling.

Ashleigh Chapman is the Founder and CEO of Alliance for Freedom, Justice and Restoration (AFJR). Before founding the AFJR, Chapman served as the co-founder and director of the Center for Global Justice at Regent University School of Law in Virginia. She has worked solely on issues of human trafficking and protecting vulnerable populations for the past 18 years.

Amy serves Oklahoma Baptists as the Missions and Women’s Ministry Partner where she encourages women in the local church to advance the gospel. She holds a Master of Theology Degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

D. Ray Davis serves on the mobilization team at the International Mission Board. He has 29 years of experience with the IMB. D. Ray and his family previously served as missionaries among Sub-Saharan African peoples. D. Ray earned a master's degree in Missiology from Southwestern Seminary and a doctor of ministry degree in Leadership from Columbia International University.

Southwest Region Discipleship Consultant, GBMB, Duluth, Ga. Dr. PJ Dunn has a doctorate from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in single adult ministry. He served the local church for over 15 years before joining the Discipleship team at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.

Logan serves as the Middle School Minister at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga. A native of Warner Robins and the son of a pastor, his passion for ministry is to disciple and lead people to live for Jesus and make His name known. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Georgia, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as the Vice President of Church Planting in Peru at Grasp International, Inc.

Dr. Gray has a long history of faithful stewardship, serving as senior pastor of a local church for several years before joining the Foundation as the Central Area Director of Development. His calling has led him to Fort Worth, Texas and Louisville, Kentucky where he earned a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary and a Doctorate of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Seminary. He led the establishment of the Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation prior to returning to Georgia, and in his studies, he laid the foundations for his current role as GBF President with a doctoral emphasis on church endowment and cooperative missions giving.

For the past 15 years, Michael Gunnin has been working with donors and ministries to create partnerships that fund important Kingdom advancing causes globally. He joined Walk Thru the Bible in 2014 to lead the advancement team. In 2019, he was named Walk Thru the Bible's Chief Growth Officer. 

Mike Harland graduated from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and was named the Director of Worship of LifeWay Christian Resources for many years. He is a published author, two-time Dove Award winning songwriter, and a worship leader who writes, sings, and speaks nationally and internationally. Since July of 2020, Mike has served as the Associate Pastor of Worship at First Baptist Church, Jackson. Mike is also the author of two books: Seven Words of Worship (co-authored with Stan Moser) and Worship Essentials: Growing a Healthy Worship Ministry Without Starting a War. The most recent one was written from a pastor’s viewpoint and calls out values that transcend music styles that are found in healthy worship ministries.

Rick spent 13 years as the small group specialist at LifeWay Church Resources, three years with NavPress as their Small Group Specialist, and is currently the Kentucky Baptist Convention Church Consultant for the South Central Region of Kentucky. Rick has authored or co-authored multiple books, studies, and leader training resources, including A Different Kind of Tribe: Embracing the New Small Group Dynamic; Destination Community: Small Group Ministry Manual; The Gospel and the Truth: Living the Message of Jesus; Small Group Life Ministry Manual: A New Approach to Small Groups; Redeeming the Tears: a Journey Through Grief and Loss; Small Group Life: Kingdom; Small Group Kickoff Retreat: Experiential Training for Small Group Leaders; Great Beginnings: Your First Small Group Study; Disciples Path: A Practical Guide to Disciple Making; Countdown: Launching and Leading Transformational Groups; and For the Kingdom’s Sake: Discovering God’s Preferred Future for Your Church. Rick’s varied ministry experiences as a collegiate minister, small group pastor, teaching pastor, elder, full-time trainer, church consultant, and a successful church planter give him a perspective of church life that is all-encompassing and multi-dimensional. Rick is a highly sought after communicator and trainer.

Dr. Johnny Hunt is the Senior Vice President of Evangelism and Leadership for the North American Mission Board (NAMB). He is also an prolific author, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (2008–2010), and the Pastor Emeritus for First Baptist Church Woodstock where he provided 33 years of distinguished service before joining NAMB. Johnny's wisdom, experience, and leadership has made him one of the most trusted voices in ministry circles for decades.

Mark is the Children’s Pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City where he loves and teaches preschoolers, children, and their parents. He enjoys speaking all around the nation to train children’s ministry leaders and parents. He is the founder of Mr. Mark’s Classroom, an online leadership development and teacher-resource company. The company helps overwhelmed children’s ministry leaders get clarity, confidence, and the resources they need to win at reaching kids for Jesus, equipping kids with Bible skills, and teaching kids to serve others.

TJ Joy is the Church Planting Pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn. He is passionate about discipleship and helping others be disciple makers. TJ's experience, ability to connect with an audience, and leadership style makes him one of the most sought after speakers in the nation.

Nerily loves being a wife and mother, as well as a school counselor. She believes God has called her to be a school counselor where she can help students and parents connect to another. Throughout her career and church relationships, God has used her to help families connect to achieve their goals. She has a bachelor's degree in Psychology from LSU and a master’s degree in education in Counseling from the University of New Orleans. She is currently working as a school counselor in Colquitt County at Odom Elementary School and has worked in Tift County and in Mississippi.

Gregory Love is a recognized expert in legal standards of care related to child sexual abuse, providing crisis response to ministries and churches nationwide. His unique perspective provides valuable counsel to ministry and secular consulting clients, including the United States Olympic Committee, Awana International, Nazarene Global Ministries, Bob Jones University, Methodist conferences and Baptist Conventions and Associations. A shareholder and partner in the law firm of Love & Norris, Love serves as co-founder of MinistrySafe and Abuse Prevention Systems. Love regularly trains underwriting and risk management professionals to assess sexual abuse risk. Love has served as guest lecturer at Texas Wesleyan School of Law and several seminaries across the nation.

Gary Moritz is the lead pastor of City United Church located in Lunenburg, MA. The Lord called him and his family to New England in 2013 to take over a church in need of revitalization through a pastoral succession. Gary also works for Liberty University as a Subject Matter Expert in Church Revitalization and as an assistant professor in the School of Divinity. He also serves as the Director of Church Revitalization for the Baptist Convention of New England, and co-host on the growing podcast, Revitalizationtoday.com. He is the author of the new book Carry On: Tactical Strategies for Church Revitalization and Renewal.

William “Ben” O’Neal enlisted in the Army in February 1996. He earned a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and his master's degree in Security Management and has been deployed five times and traveled to 39 countries. He retired in March 2019 as a Major with 23 years, 1 month Active duty service. Ben is on staff at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and oversees the security needs for the building, the two summer camp locations, and 14 BCM buildings as well as all the security for any major events. He travels to Georgia Baptist churches and helps them start and/or improve their security programs at their church.

Chuck Peters is the Director of Operations for LifeWay Kids. Before his role at LifeWay, Chuck had an extensive career in television and video production. He is a three-time Emmy Award Winning producer, director, writer, and on-screen talent. A graduate of Columbia Bible College, Chuck, and his wife, Cris, have served vocationally & voluntarily in Student and Children’s Ministry for many years.

Teresa Royall is campus minister with Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Georgia State University and Georgia Gwinnett College. She is chair of the international student ministry team with BCNet, which gives guidance and resources for Baptist international student workers across the United States and Canada. Teresa's experience, abililty to connect, and leadership style makes her a great resource in collegiate ministry.

Dr. Mike Shipman is an evangelism and church planting consultant for the International Mission Board. Mike currently serves on the IMB Diaspora Coalition Core Team, assisting and equipping churches to implement the Great Commission among the international diaspora in North America. Mike developed the evangelism approach Any-3: Anyone, Anywhere, Any Time, and this approach has led to tens of thousands of professions of faith in Christ worldwide, among a broad variety of religious backgrounds. He has also authored numerous books, including Any-3: Lead Muslims to Christ Now!, Plan A: Abide in Christ, Disciple the World, and Going Up: Alive in Christ on Mission.

Harrison Smith is a Regional Alliance Director for the ADF Church Alliance and has been with Alliance Defending Freedom for over seven years. His passion for the gospel and interest in law and current affairs and how they intersect allows him to enthusiastically communicate with others. He works with major ministry and denominational leaders across the country on religious liberty issues to ensure that the body of Christ understands the current cultural and legal climate and also knows the resources available to them through the ADF Church Alliance.

Barry Thompson is a graduate of Truett McConnell University, Mercer University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Barry has served as a high capacity leader several great churches and currently serves as the Pastor of Prayer, Care, and Sr. Adult Ministry at Midway Church, Villa Rica, Ga. He has served on the board of directors for several universities and seminaries with multiple stints as the chairperson. Barry's experience, visionary leadership, and ability to create unity while leading into unchartered territory makes him one of the most sought after leaders in the nation.

Chris Trent is the Next Gen Catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. He recently served as the Student Pastor & Middle School Pastor at Johnson Ferry Baptist in Marietta, Ga., where he served for over 16 years with his wife, Wendy and two kids. As an “old guy” in youth ministry (now 30 years), he is also the co-host of the Longer Haul Youth Ministry Podcast and author of Consider This: A Youth Minister’s Guide to Longevity. Chris' experience and ability to connect with an audience makes him one of the most sought after communicators in the nation.

Kyle currently serves as the Senior Pastor at Cartersville First Baptist Church. After graduating from Alabama in 2007 with a degree in Organizational Leadership, Kyle earned his Master of Divinity and Ph.D. in Preaching/Systematic Theology at Southwestern Seminary. On December 26, 2010, he was ordained to the ministry by Fairview Baptist Church in Columbus, Miss. While serving at Southwestern Seminary, Kyle authored Let the Text Talk: Preaching that Treats the Text on its Own Terms. Kyle has preached and assisted in training preachers throughout the United States and internationally. Kyle's passions are equipping the church to make disciples who make disciples for the Great Commission and God's glory.

Finding his calling in the local church, Sam took an active role in ministry finances from the start. Over the years, he has advised congregations and church leaders on faithful stewardship strategy, and he shares his enthusiasm for God’s gifts by enabling ministries to multiply their efforts. Helping ministries manage funds and individuals invest through planned giving are cherished aspects of his daily work. Sam is Vice President of Development for the Georgia Baptist Foundation.

Paul and his wife, Christy, lead Christian Challenge at California State University, Chico, where they seek to introduce college students to Jesus and raise up multiplying disciples. Paul recently founded Campus Multiplication Network with the goal of training leaders to multiply ministries and churches around the world. He is the national collegiate evangelism director for the North American Mission Board. Paul is the author of Tips for Starting a College Ministry and the co-author, with Steve Shadrach, of The Fuel and The Flame: Igniting Your Life and Your Campus For Jesus Christ.