Biographies
Brett Andrews is the Founding and Senior Minister of New Life Christian Church in Centreville, Virginia. Brett is passionate about helping plant new churches and is a Director at Church Marketing Solutions, a non-profit marketing organization that exists to help churches reach their communities. He is a graduate of Cincinnati Bible College. Brett, his wife Laura, and their four children live in Centreville, Virginia.
Gene Appel began serving as the Associate Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in S. Barrington, Illinois in June of 2003. Prior to that, he spent 17 years as the Senior Pastor of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to being instrumental in church planting in the Las Vegas valley, Central grew during that era from 400 attendees to over 7,000. Gene and his wife, Barbara, have three children and reside in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Marcus Bigelow is the president of Stadia: New Church Strategies. Prior to that, he led the Northern California Evangelistic Association and also planted and pastored a church in Northern California. Since 1996, Stadia has proudly assisted in the planting of 45 churches. The development of assessment, coaching and mentoring processes, as well as a business model that provides strong financial stability have all been keys in Stadia’s successful church planting movement. Currently, Marcus and his coworkers at Stadia are working toward 30 new church plants in 2004. Marcus lives with his wife, Jan, in Vacaville, California. He is the father of three Christian daughters and four grandchildren.
Laura Buffington serves as the Young Adult Discipleship Leader at SouthBrook Christian Church in Centerville, Ohio. She started life out in Columbus, Ohio and spent a good long time in East Tennessee earning a B.A. from Milligan College and a Master of Divinity from Emmanuel School of Religion in May 2003.
Phil Claycomb is a passionate advocate of church planting. Phil’s father was a church planter, and Phil’s earliest memories are of that new church. Phil and his wife Barb planted two churches in the suburbs of Chicago, and each church gave birth to a daughter church. Phil is currently the National Director of Planter Care for Stadia: New Church Strategies. Phil’s current tasks involve the design and implementation of Stadia’s training, mentoring, and coaching systems. Stadia’s Planter Care system seeks to provide church planting couples the best care possible. Phil and Barb are the parents of two children.
Mike Decker is the lead church planter for Three Strands Christian Church, a new church in Greenville SC. Mike is a graduate of Concordia College, Emmanuel School of Religion, and most recently, the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. Mike lives in Greenville with his wife, Kathleen, and his two children, Benjamin and Samantha.
A veteran church planter and pastor for over twenty years, Dr. Tom Jones is a widely sought after new church development coach, consultant, assessor, seminar leader and teacher, and mentor. He has a Doctor of Ministry Degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, with an emphasis in church planting. Tom received his Master of Divinity Degree from Emmanuel School Religion and his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Milligan College. Among other things, he now directs the Supervised Ministerial Experience (SME) Program and teaches in the Christian Ministries Area at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tennessee.
John Emmert serves as the Shepherding Minister at First Christian Church in Johnson City, Tennessee. John and his wife Brooke met at Carson-Newman College, where John earned a B.A. in Religion and Psychology. John graduated from Emmanuel School of Religion in May 2003 with a Master of Divinity. John grew up in Jefferson City, TN at Jefferson City Christian Church—a church started by his family.
Dave Ferguson and five friends launched Community Christian Church in the west suburbs of Chicago in 1989. This church has grown to over 500 leaders, with more than 3,500 in attendance at four sites every weekend. Dave serves as a resource for other churches and leaders seeking to expand through multiple church sites and provides visionary leadership for the NewThing Network, a catalyst for a movement of reproducing churches. Dave can be emailed at davef@communitychristianchurch.org.
Jon Ferguson is one of the founding pastors at Community Christian Church, a multi-site church located in the west suburbs of Chicago. He plays a key role in identifying and developing small group leaders, coaches and staff personnel. He serves as Teaching Pastor and leads and directs all Community Ministries (small groups for children through adults). The church has grown to a congregation of 3500 in attendance with over 225 small groups meeting all over the West and Southwest suburbs of Chicago. In addition, he was a national trainer for Serendipity Small Group Training and Pilgrimage (NavPress) Publishers. He is a co-founder of NewThing Network and serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Community. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education from Lincoln Christian College and a Master of Arts in Educational Ministries with an emphasis in Small Groups and Leadership Development from Wheaton Graduate School. He is married to Lisa and they have two children.
Brent Foulke
continues to serve as Lead Pastor of Christ's Church of the Capital District in
Albany, New York. While leading
Christ's Church to become a growing and reproducing church, Brent has helped
oversee more than two dozen new churches, and currently serves as a
Vice-President of Orchard Group (formerly "Go Ye" Chapel Mission). Brent and his
wife Kay have 4 children between 12 and 18 years old.
Dr. Rick Grover currently serves as the Lead
Minister of a new church plant in New Orleans, LA called Journey Christian
Church. This plant has been a cutting edge new church implementing creative
ministry opportunities in a difficult context. Rick is married to Laura, and
they have three children—Will, Anna , and Luke. After completing his
undergraduate degree at Manhattan Christian College (Kansas), Rick
received an M.A. in Theology/ Philosophy from Lincoln Christian Seminary
(Illinois) as well as a M.Div. and D.Min from Emmanuel School of Religion
(Tennessee). He served as the Pastor of Evangelism and Discipleship at Central
Christian Church, Wichita, KS, which was followed by a growing ministry as the
Senior Minister of Woodlawn Christian Church, Knoxville, TN.
Bob Harrington is the founding and senior minister of Harpeth Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee and the Director of Planter Care for Stadia in the Southeast Region of the United States. He received his Doctor of Ministry degree in Evangelism and Church Growth from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY just before Christmas 2003. He is also the husband of Cindy and the proud father of Ashley Rose and Robert Chad. He also plays hockey every week with his pagan buddies.
Brian Jones is the founding and senior pastor of Christ’s Church of the Valley, a new church in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Brian has a B.A. from Cincinnati Bible College and an M. Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Brian is married to his wife Lisa and together they have three girls.
Debbie Jones has directed the Children’s Ministry at First Christian Church in Johnson City since 1999. This exciting ministry touches over 300 children and their families. She has twenty-five years of local church experience working with children, and has conducted children’s ministry workshops and seminars throughout the United States. Debbie was the founding Children’s Minister for Princeton Community Church (PCC) in Princeton, NJ. She also teamed with her husband Tom to start both PCC and SouthBrook Christian Church in Centerville, Ohio. Debbie graduated from Milligan College in 1977, and is the mother of two college age children.
Lisa Jones was the founding Children’s Director for Christ’s Church of the Valley, a new church in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Under her direction the Children’s Ministry grew from her own children to over 200 children (fifth grade and under) each week. Along with her husband Brian, Lisa was an integral part of planting two churches, one in a Philadelphia suburb and the other near Dayton, Ohio. Lisa taught as a public school teacher for many years and received her elementary education degree from the University of Cincinnati. She and her husband Brian have three wonderful little girls.
Tom and Nona Lohr are ministering at CrossPointe Christian Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Dr. Lohr is the Founding Pastor and Nona serves as Worship Leader. The Lohrs served with Tom and Debbie Jones on the new church planting team in Princeton, New Jersey in the early 1990s. They have served other churches in Tennessee and West Virginia. Nona has performed music professionally, taught private music lessons and worked as a public school teacher. Dr. Lohr received his Doctor of Ministry degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and M.Div. from Emmanuel School of Religion. Tom and Nona both have degrees from Milligan College, and are the parents of two boys, Ben and Will.
Greg Marksberry is the founding pastor and senior minister of the Heritage Christian Church in Peachtree City, Georgia. This dynamic congregation has grown from 77 to 800 in attendance in six years. Greg also serves as the Southeast Area Director for Stadia: New Church Strategies. He is a graduate of Cincinnati Bible College. He and his wife, Eliana, have two children.
R. Paige Mathews is an experienced and sought after church planting assessment veteran of fifteen years. He is one of three Directors of the Church Planting Assessment Center (CPAC-www.churchplanting4me.org) held at Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tennessee and sponsored by the Orchard Group. Paige is the Business Manager for LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colorado, a church of approximately 4,000, and serves as President of FIA Consulting which continues to serve the Capital Stewardship Development needs across America. He held ministry positions in Tennessee, Florida and Pennsylvania. He directed the Christian Evangelizing Association, a new church planting ministry, for sixteen years while living in Pennsylvania, and helped start a new church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Paige received a BS in Bible and Preaching from Johnson Bible College in 1979, and a MA in Communication Studies from Bloomsburg University in 1987. He is married to Lynne and they are the parents of two grown daughters.
Erin McDade graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2000 with a B.S. in Industrial Design. After completing her degree, she served as an intern for the Georgia Tech Christian Campus Fellowship, a thriving and dynamic campus ministry. Erin earned her M.A.R. in Christian Doctrine from Emmanuel School of Religion in May 2003, and now, along with her husband Nathan, is preparing to plant a campus ministry in Puebla, Mexico with Christian Missionary Fellowship (Globalscope).
Troy McMahon is Executive Pastor of Administration where he oversees Facilities, Finances and Serving Teams, and also serves as Campus Pastor for the South Campus of Community Christian Church. He has led various Facility Task Forces in acquiring property, leading stewardship campaigns, and designing and constructing facilities. Troy left his corporate job in 1996 to do vocational ministry and is living out his dream. Troy lives with his wife, Janet, and three children, Jacob, Mitchell, and Judiann in Naperville, Illinois.
Charlie McMahan is the Senior Pastor at SouthBrook Christian Church in Centerville, Ohio. The SouthBrook Church has nearly 3,000 attendees on a given weekend. He and his wife, Sherry, and children, Jordan and Austin, have been in ministry at SouthBrook from 1992 to the present.
Mont Mitchell is the Sr. Pastor of Westbrook Christian Church in Bolingbrook, Il which is a southwestern suburb of the great city of Chicago. Mont and his family moved to the Chicago area in February of 1996 and planted Westbrook in October of 1996. Westbrook is a multicultural church committed to reaching all people of all ethnicities in their region as well as planting additional church planting churches. Mont and his wife Christie have three sons. Visit Westbrook at www.Westbrookchurch.org.
Chris Smith serves as the Associate Minister at the Christian Church of Buckhead—a new church plant in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally from the Atlanta area, Chris completed his undergraduate work at the Georgia Institute of Technology, earning a B.S. in Management and specializing in Finance. He will graduate from Emmanuel School of Religion in May 2004 with a concentration in Church History.
Dave Smith first felt God’s call to ministry in April 1983. Over the years, his experiences in ministry positions have pushed him toward church planting, an area of ministry he still serves today. After finishing his fourth year of obligation to the U.S. Army, Dave attended and then graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Dave has served as the Minister of Outreach at East 91st Street Christian Church in Indiana and the lead planter and Senior Minister of Cross Way Christian Church in New Hampshire. In late 2000, he returned to Indianapolis, Indiana to take on two roles—Minister of Church Planting for East 91st Street Christian Church, and the Vice President of Development for Go Ye Chapel Mission (GYCM). In the spring of 2003, he joined the faculty at Ozark Christian College in developing a church planting program for the school. Dave has been married to wife, Nancy, for 21 years, and loves spending time with her and their three children, Katie, Joshua, and Amy.
Tim Stephens caught the church planting bug from a Church Planting Primer Class he took at Cincinnati Bible Seminary. He worked in West Palm Beach, Florida on a church planting staff before going to Tampa to help start Journey Christian Church in 1999. The church started with a launch team of 40, but through prayer and marketing had over 500 people show up for their first service. Tim currently serves in Atlanta, Georgia as Vice President of the Church Development Fund for the Southeast United States. Tim and his wife Amy have a one-year old daughter, Grace.
John E. Wasem is married and the father of three. Included in his 30 years of ministry leadership is serving as the founding/lead pastor of Suncrest Christian Church in St. John, Indiana (southeast greater Chicagoland) since 1994. He has directed the Master of Arts in Ministry degree for church planting at Lincoln Christian College and Seminary in Lincoln, IL since 1994. In 1998 he developed the New Church Leadership Certificate Program dedicated to providing affordable, high-quality training for church planters as well as emerging new church leaders. John’s contact information: john.wasem@suncrest.org or www.churchleader.net or www.suncrest.org.
Mark
Wilkinson is Founding and Lead Pastor of
Journey's Crossing, a Christian Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. One of the
fastest growing and largest church plants in the region, Journey's Crossing has
grown to around 500 in weekly attendance in just two years. Mark and his wife
Barbara are the parents of four girls, ages 15, 13, 11, and 7.
Paul Williams is the longtime Executive Director of the Orchard Group, a church planting non-profit organization in the Greater New York City area. The Orchard Group has been a pioneer in creating partnerships for church planting in the Northeastern United States. Paul is also Editor at Large for The Standard, a Christian periodical, and can be seen as a regular host of the Worship Network. Paul and his wife Kathy are the parents of three grown children.
Todd Wilson is the Executive Minister of New Life Christian Church in Centreville, Virginia and the Director of Passion for Planting. Todd is passionate about church planting and helping church planters to stay focused on people. Passion for Planting (www.church-planting.net) is a non-profit church planting support organization that exists to help church planters with the seemingly endless details associated with starting new churches. Todd’s contact information: todd@church-planting.net.