• Daniel A. Rodriguez, a native of California, is Divisional Dean of the Religion and Philosophy Division and Professor of Religion and Hispanic Studies at Pepperdine University. Since 1979, he has served the Churches of Christ as a minister in Central and Southern California, and as a missionary in Puebla, Mexico. Daniel holds a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. He has published numerous journal articles, and contributed chapters to edited volumes on the subject of Hispanic culture and religion in the United States. Daniel’s book, A Future for the Latino Church, challenges the assumption that Hispanic ministry is synonymous with Spanish-language ministry and challenges the evangelical church in the United States to become all things to all Latinos. Daniel also advocates for multigenerational and multilingual ministry models that strategically target millennials and Gen Z. Daniel and his wife Jeanette have been married for 46 years and have been blessed with five children who love and serve the Lord.

  • 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.

  • Dudley Chancey worked in youth ministry for 25 years before coming to Oklahoma Christian University in 1998 to teach youth and family ministry. He is the co-founder and director of the Winterfest youth events in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Arlington, Texas. He also founded the Intergenerational Faith Center at Oklahoma Christian. He is involved in several professional organizations, including the National Council on Family Relations, Groves Conference on Marriage and Family, Association of Youth Ministry Educators, and the National Conference on Youth Ministries. His PhD is in Family Studies Research from The University of Tennessee. He does mission work in Honduras and has taken Bibles to over 100 countries and all seven continents. Dudley is married to Vicki and has two adult children, Drew and Matt, two great daughters-in-law, Sarah and Jules, and four wonderful granddaughters--Lily, Haddie, Kinsley, and Cali Drew.

  • Dr. Ryan G. Erbe is an Assistant Professor and Emotional Wellness Advisor with the Character Integration Advisory Group at the United States Military Academy where he teaches and conducts research on character development, well-being, and meditation. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Rocky Mountain School of Ministry and Theology and previously was the lead minister of the Hudson Valley Region of the New York City Church of Christ. He resides in Highland Falls, NY with his wife Katie, daughters Evelyn, Vivian, Lilian, and son, William.

  • Nadine Templer is French. She became a Christian in London UK in 1983 while teaching at London University, after spending the first 22 years of her life as an atheist. She then led churches with her husband all over South Asia and the United Kingdom. Nadine now works as Senior Director-Volunteer Corps for HOPE worldwide, a global non-profit.

    Nadine and her husband Mark have five children, including two daughters adopted from India. Currently they live in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nadine is passionate about youth, as she works on a daily basis with millennials and Gen Z youth all over the globe.

  • David Pocta, is a spirituality scholar, ministry builder, and educator. After nearly three decades of pastoral work, he returned to school for his PhD in spirituality. His work blends his experience in pastoral ministry with spirituality scholarship. His research interests include the spiritual journey, spiritual wilderness, contemporary church culture, and Christian mysticism. His dissertation addressed how the spiritual journey of Christians, when in their own wilderness, exposes the need for a reimagined church culture in Protestant evangelicalism. David is a collaborator and builder. He enjoys creating spaces for honest dialogue and authentic learning. He lives with his wife of more than thirty years in San Antonio and treasures having his daughters, son-in-law, and grandchildren nearby.

  • Hannah grew up in East London. She studied English Literature and Spanish at King’s College London before getting a Masters in Victorian Literature from Oxford University, where her research centered on feminism and theology in the works of the Brontës. From 2018 Hannah served as a minister for the Boston Church of Christ, while also a part-time violin teacher. In 2021 she moved to Eastern Europe to serve as a missionary in Chișinău, Moldova; assisting in a large refugee relief effort when war began in neighboring Ukraine. Hannah is currently pursuing a Masters in Theology at Harvard Divinity School with interests in the relationship between religion and literature, gender and theology, and liberation theologies.

  • David Fraze (D.Min., Fuller Theological seminary) Assistant Professor and Endowed Chair of the Youth and Family Ministry Program (www.lcu.edu) David has been in student ministry and has worked with students and families for over 32 years.

    David is a popular speaker at Youth Events, Public/Private School Events, Ministry Trainings and Seminars. David is a writer who has contributed articles for youthspecialties.com, ENGAGE, the quarterly journal of The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, Youth Worker Journal, Journal of Student Ministries, and the Fuller Youth Institute. He authored Practical Wisdom for Youth Ministry: Not-So-Simple Truths That Matter and contributed a chapter to Owning Faith. David has coauthored a new book being released in January 2022 entitled Practical Wisdom for Youth Group Parents: Partnering With Youth Minister. David works with Youth Specialties (www.youthspecialties.com) as the leader of Ministry Coaching and seminar speaker at the National Youth Workers Convention and is the Co-Editor of the Youth Specialties Blog. He is a speaker and partner with the Fuller Youth Institute speaking on the topics of Sticky Faith Growing Young and Right Click (a seminar of technology). He is a coach with the Dallas Cowboys Football Youth Academy and a resource for various Dallas Cowboys youth and coach education programs. He writes and is the on-camera personality for the KCBD 11 “That’s Good Stuff” news segment. He also serves as Character Coach for the Frenship High School Football program.

    He has been married to Lisa for 30 years. They have two children, Braeden and Shelbee. Braeden is married to Jenna and they have their first child, Olivia Rose.

  • Kyle Spears was formally recognized as a Teacher in December 2021. He works as is a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner and Certified Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Nebraska. He works in private practice at the Attachment and Trauma Center of Nebraska utilizing EMDR in working with Complex Trauma, PTSD, and DID. As a Marriage and Family Therapist, he works to help heal marriages and complex family issues. He also specializes in helping men with trauma, masculinity, and depression.

    He has a Bachelor’s of the Psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and went on to complete a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Friends University. For the last four years he has been pursuing a Biblical degree beginning at Rocky Mountain School of Ministry in theology and is currently pursuing a Masters of Theology at Harding School of Theology. His area of focus is the integration of trauma and theology and his master’s thesis research is in the area of biblical humanity.

    Kyle’s ministry includes his YouTube channel, podcast, and blog and has a website where people can go to get resources for issues that relate to trauma and theology. He is also working on a book with Michael Burns called the “The Great Lie” that will address the aspect of racial and intergenerational trauma. Kyle is concurrently working on a book that will directly address the issue of trauma as a Christian while simultaneously providing a process of healing.

  • Dr. Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby is a professor in the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry at Abilene Christian University, where she specializes in practical theology, homiletics, and wisdom literature. Her scholarship has been published in the peer-reviewed journals Homiletic and The International Journal of Homiletics, with a forthcoming article to be published in Religions. Her most recent scholarship focuses on the impact of suffering on theological imagination and discourse. Amy and her husband, Nathan, currently live in Abilene, Texas, and are members of Highland Church of Christ.