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Doug Fields has been a pastor to teenagers and ministry leader for over 30 years, serving the past 18 years at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. Amidst the growing demand of speaking, writing and ministry consulting, Doug resigned from Saddleback Church in September 2009 to pursue ministry opportunities that best aligned with his gift for relational leadership and still allowed him to engage in his first love: in-the-trenches ministry to teenagers and youth workers.
Doug is the author of more than 50 books, including Purpose Driven Youth Ministry which is a Gold Medallion award- winning book and a youth ministry textbook used all over the world. He is the founder of Simply Youth Ministry, and later partnered with Group Publishing to bring these two leading youth ministry resource providers into collaboration for wider, global impact.
Of all these things, Doug would say his greatest accomplishment is marrying way out of his league to Cathy, his wife of 25 years, and having three teenage children; Torie, Cody and Cassie.
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| Duffy Robbins is the Professor of Youth Ministry of Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. When Duffy isn’t teaching, he’s speaking at conferences and workshops all over the world. In addition to his speaking ministry, Duffy has authored 17 youth ministry books and textbooks. |
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| Derwin "Dewey" Gray, former NFL player, (also known as “The Evangelism Linebacker”) is the Pastor of Preaching and Spiritual Formation at a young, vibrant multi-ethnic Church called theGathering in Charlotte, North Carolina, and he serves as the President of One Heart At A Time Ministries. He is a 2004 graduate of the Billy Graham Institute of Emerging Evangelists and a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Southern Evangelical Seminary with a Masters of Divinity with Apologetics. Derwin is the author of Hero: Unleashing God’s Power in a Man’s Heart. Learn more about Derwin at www.oneheartatatime.org |
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| Jeanne Mayo has been leading thriving youth ministries for nearly four decades and is currently the director of Oxygen Youth and Youth Adult Outreach. Acclaimed by Ministries Today as “America’s #1 Youth Pastor,” Jeanne is the founder of Youth Leader’s Coach, a nonprofit organization that seeks to instruct, equip, inspire, and encourage youth leaders of this generation. |
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| Rick Lawrence has been editor of Group Magazine for 21 years and is in a leadership role for Group’s youth ministry training events, printed resources, and web resources. Rick has authored hundreds of magazine articles and is the author, co-author, or editor of 26 books. His latest books are Youth Ministry in the 21st Century and Jesus-Centered Youth Ministry. He’s also a consultant to national youth-serving organizations and a convention/workshop speaker. |
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| Bo Boshers is the executive director of student ministries in the Willow Creek Association. Bo teaches how to reach and lead this generation to Christ by building prevailing student ministries. Bo is currently the chairperson for the National Network of Youth Ministries and author of several youth ministry resources. |
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| Jeffrey Wallace has served in local youth ministry for over a decade and brings a fresh and relevant approach to effective and healthy purpose-driven urban youth ministry. He is the President & CEO of Front Line Urban Resources, Incorporated, which focuses on training and mentoring other urban youth pastors and leaders and providing life-changing youth ministry resources. He also serves Pastor of Youth Development at Peace Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia. |
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| Tic Long has been involved in Youth Ministry since he became a Christian at a youth group outreach event in high school. He has worked with middle school, high school and college students. His passion is training, equipping, encouraging and ministering to youth workers. Tic was with Youth Specialties for 32 years and continues to care for youth workers and youth ministries with his writing and speaking and as a consultant, coach. Tic is known for his warm relational style, sense of humor and strategic thinking. His latest book “Hair is overrated” is wildly popular with old guys. |
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| Mark DeVries is the author of Family-Based Youth Ministry and Sustainable Youth Ministry and has served as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Their Families at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee for the past 24 years. Mark is also the founder of Youth Ministry Architects, a consulting team that helps churches build sustainable youth ministries, one church at a time. |
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| Greg Stier is the founder and president of Dare 2 Share Ministries (D2S) based in Denver, Colorado. Dare 2 Share’s vision is to equip 1,000,000 Christian teens across the nation to know, live, share, and own their faith in Jesus. He has authored several books and has developed many youth ministry resources. |
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| Chap Clark is the professor of youth, family, and culture and department chair at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the senior editor of YouthWorker Journal and the president of ParenTeenTM Seminars. As a leading academic and researcher, Chap is also a uniquely gifted trainer-teacher and energetic speaker. |
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| Dr. Walt Mueller is the founder and president of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding. Its work has been embraced by the federal government, which has allowed numerous opportunities to be salt and light in the culture-at-large. Walt is also the author of seven books and is a sought-after authority on youth culture and family issues. |
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| Kara Powell serves as an Assistant Professor in Youth and Family Ministry and the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI). FYI translates research into resources that transform youth and family ministry. Kara also currently volunteers in student ministries at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena and authors numerous books and articles. |
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Jim Burns is President of HomeWord and host of HomeWord’s radio broadcasts heard on over 800 releases a day around the country. Jim speaks to thousands of people around the world every year. He is a three time Gold Medallion Award winning author and has written books for parents, students, children, youth ministry and church leaders. Jim has over 1.5 million resources in print in over 20 languages. His most recent resources include The Purity Code, Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality and Accept Nothing Less; God Made Your Body; How God Makes Babies; Confident Parenting, Creating an Intimate Marriage; Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together; The 10 Building Blocks for a Happy Family; and The Youth Builder. Jim and his wife, Cathy, and their daughters Christy, Rebecca, and Heidi live in Southern California.
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| Chris Brooks has been ministering to youth and families for over 15 years, primarily in an inner-city context. He has worked in Churches, for the National Network of Youth Ministries, and for the Willow Creek Association. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife Bobbi, and his 2 kiddos Selah (9) and Gabriel (7). Word on the street is that he plays a mean game of Wii bowling… |
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| Kent Julian is founder and president of Inside Out Youth Ministry (IOYW), an organization dedicated to helping all youth workers live and lead from the inside out. Specifically, IOYW focuses on equipping youth pastors and their adult volunteer leaders to serve together as a team, and empowering volunteers to use the 3 to 7 hours a week they give to youth ministry to shepherd, not just chaperone, students. Kent lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area with his incredible wife, Kathy, and their three awesome children. |
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| Kurt Johnston has been in junior high ministry since 1988 and is currently the junior high pastor at Saddleback Church in Southern California. Kurt is also an author of youth resources, the founder of simplyjuniorhigh.com, and a contributing editor for Group Magazine. |
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Marv Penner chairs the youth and family ministry department at Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan, Canada, and is the director of the Canadian Centre of Adolescent Research. With 34 years in youth ministry, he has written: Help! My Kids Are Hurting, The Youth Worker’s Guide to Parent Ministry, and Creative Bible Lessons in 1 & 2 Corinthians.
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| Chuck Bomar - After serving for almost 9 years as pastor of student ministries at Cornerstone in Simi Valley, California, Chuck is now lead pastor of Colossae, in Portland Oregon. He’s founder of CollegeLeader and has helped over 45 churches start and develop a college-age ministry. He’s written numerous articles and is author of Foundations of College Ministry, 99 Thought’s for College-age People, and the newly released, College Ministry 101. |
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| Cathy Fields has been a volunteer youth worker for 20 years and has served in every role known to youth ministry, from camp speaker to bus driver to youth pastor’s wife. She helped start Simply Youth Ministry with her husband, Doug Fields, and is currently loving teenagers at Saddleback Church with her husband. |
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Josh Griffin is the high school pastor at Saddleback Church. He blogs more than anyone in the world (shameless plug: www.morethandodgeball.com) and is the host of the Simply Youth Ministry podcast. Would you believe he also owns www.theforce.net? Seriously, he does. May the Force be with you.
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| Dan Webster is an author, teacher, communicator, mentor, and founder of Authentic Leadership, Inc. He has over 30 years of experience working with leaders from all walks of life. He has worked in education, probation, and on the staff of two of the most influential churches in America. |
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| Scott Rubin is the junior high pastor at Willow Creek Church outside of Chicago he's been on the staff there since 1991. The ministry he leads at Willow is called Elevate. He's had a blast writing a few youth ministry resources and encouraging other middle-school ministers to explore what God can do in their ministry! |
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| Stephanie Caro has been working with children, youth, and adults for over 28 years in all aspects of church ministry. Stephanie’s humorous, yet straightforward style has made her a popular speaker at youth gatherings, camps, conferences, training events, retreats, women’s ministries, and more. She’s also a frequent contributor to both Group and Rev! Magazine plus several ministry resource books. Stephanie leads the SYMC Inside Track Team. |
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| Les Christie has been in youth ministry for more than 40 years and has led popular seminars all over the world, training more than a million volunteers from a wide variety of organizations. Les is the author or co-author of more than 20 books and has been the chair of the Youth Ministry Department at William Jessup University since 1993. |
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| Danette Matty has been a youth ministry volunteer since big hair was in. She’s a freelance writer and speaker, and contributing author and resource reviewer for GROUP Magazine and Youthworker Journal. She’s also on Group’s R.E.A.L. Ambassador and National Presenting Teams. Book contributions include Youth Ministry in the 21st Century (Group), The Youthworker Book of Hope (Zondervan), and 365 More Meditations for Teens (Abingdon). She lives and laughs with her family in St. Paul, MN.
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Jason Carson has been the Youth Pastor for 9 years at Mission Hills Community Church in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Jason authored the resource, “Worship Band From Start to Finish: How to Start and Maintain a Healthy Worship Band.” His desire is to see churches and youth groups around the world equipped and trained to get kids involved in leading worship, no matter how big or small the group. Jason was the founding member of The OC Supertones, one of the most popular bands in all of Christian music. He has spoken at numerous Harvest Crusades, Billy Graham crusades, Food for the Hungry events, Creation festivals, and youth camps.Jason and his wife, Julie, have been married for 11 years and have 3 beautiful daughters.
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| Maggie Robbins Having completed a five-year course of study at the Kairos: School of Spiritual Formation, with two years of special focus on spiritual direction, Maggie is a certified spiritual director. She and her husband Duffy are coauthors of the book, Enjoy the Silence: A 30 Day Experiment in Listening to God. |
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| Toby Rowe has served in junior and senior high ministry since 1990 and has helped lead more than 30 missions experiences throughout the U.S. and Canada. Currently, Toby works for Group Publishing where he oversees the spiritual content and programming of Group Workcamp's mission opportunities. He is the Missions Mentor for youthminstry.com and is also an experienced worship leader. |
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| Rich Van Pelt is a veteran of 35 years of church and parachurch youth ministry. Recognized for his expertise in crisis prevention, intervention, and recovery, he has written and spoken extensively on the topic all around the world. |
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Dave Thorton is the Director of the Church Leadership Department at Group Publishing. He serves as publisher of REV! magazine, books for pastors, and leads both churchvolunteercentral.com and safechurch.com. Dave earned a B.A. in Speech Communications at Bethel College in St. Paul, MN, and an M.Div. in
Christian Education at Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL. He serves as chairman of the elder board at Crossroads Church in Loveland, CO. Dave is addicted to his Amazon Kindle and Lost. In his free time you’ll find him body-surfing in Hawaii just like Obama. |
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| Amanda Maguire has been “Married to a Youth Pastor” for 10 years and is mom to 3 children. After working in full-time youth ministry for 4 years, she got married and got a “real job”, allowing her to continue to be a volunteer in youth ministry for another 4 years. Now she is just married to the Youth Pastor.She has a passion and a calling for wives that are married to a Youth Pastor. She loves to write, do creative activities, run, shop, and eat out. And she would love time to do any of these things more. |
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| Amy Nappa is Executive Editor and Champion for Women’s Ministry at Group. She cheats at miniature golf, never misses a stop for ice cream, and has more pairs of shoes than she’s willing to admit in public. She’s involved in both women’s ministry and girl’s ministry at her local church. |
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| Tim Schmoyer is a youth pastor in Minnesota where he works with an amazing group of teenagers and adult youth workers. He blogs often about youth ministry (www.timschmoyer.com) and runs a youth ministry mentorship program. |
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Katie Edwards has served in middle school student ministry for 16 years. She currently oversees the junior high and high school volunteer teams at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. Katie regularly speaks at youth ministry events, and she’s the co-author of Full of It: Ideas to Fill Youth Ministry Volunteers With Encouragement with Kurt Johnston. She is more brilliant than she’ll ever get credit for, and she gets a ton of credit.
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| Guy Wasko Guy Wasko has been in youth ministry as a volunteer and pastor since tight rolled blue jeans were "in," serving both local church and at risk students and families. He's served in small and large, suburban and urban contexts and is a contributing author to The Inside Out Youth Worker. He's also regularly contributed to Group Magazine and Group's National Presenter Team and speaks at youth camps and retreats across the country. He currently lives in New York City where he and his family are planting a church in the East Village of Manhattan with Trinity Grace Church. |
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| Jana Sarti is a minister and intern Program Director at Saddleback Church. She also leads the Purpose Driven Youth Ministry team and directs all PDYM events. Jana has been in full-time ministry for over 11 years and has played a variety of leadership roles in youth ministry, as well as “big” church. Jana has a unique mix of strong administrative skills and a heart that bleeds ministry – this is what she likes to call “administry!” |
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Jeff Maguire has been in full-time youth ministry for about ten years. He has served as Mariners Church in Irvine, CA for the past 8 years and is currently the Student Ministries’ Pastor. Jeff enjoys spending time with his wife, Amanda, and teaching their three beautiful children, how to battle with light sabers.
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Steve Schneeberger, is the Executive Director of the Youth Ministry
Institute. Founded in 2005, YMI is an organization that helps youth
ministers become skilled and effective leaders. He blogs and tweets as The YMI Guy. He also serves (since 1994) as the Director of Youth Ministries at First United Methodist Church of Orlando, Florida, and has been a youth minister serving churches in Kansas and Florida since 1985. He is married to Carol, a former teacher and counselor. They have three children, one cat and one dog. |
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| Ted & Nancy Lowe - For the last eight years, Ted Lowe has served as the Director of MarriedLife at North Point Church, in Alpharetta Georgia. His wife Nancie plays a huge role in hosting and planning MarriedLife events at North Point. Prior to their work at North Point, he and his wife Nancie traveled the country playing various roles at marriage and youth events. Ted and Nancie also served on the youth and drama staffs at Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, California. Ted and his wife Nancie, have three 3 children, Chapman age 10, Judson age 7, and Teddie age 4 and live in Cumming, Georgia. |
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| Doug Franklin is the president of LeaderTreks, a leadership development ministry serving students and youth workers. He was a youth pastor for 12 years, leading both jr. high and high school students. Doug’s passion is partnering with youth workers to help them develop students into leaders. You can read his blog at www.dougfranklinonline.com. |
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Jason Ostrander is a veteran youth pastor who lives in Colorado Springs. He’s been to his wife Calu for 10 years and they have two boys, Liam and Jams. As an experienced speaker and filmmaker Jason has traveled all around the world. He’s now the national youth director for Alliance Youth.
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| Christine Yount Jones has over 20 years of children’s ministry experience. She has a BA in English Education (University of Oklahoma) and an MDiv in theology (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary). She is the author of 10 books and hundreds of articles related to Christian Education. She is the executive editor of Children’s Ministry Magazine and serves as Group’s children’s ministry champion, responsible for research, development, and innovation in children’s ministry resources. |
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Ryan Nielsen currently serves as the Youth Director at St. Mark
Presbyterian Church in Boerne, TX. He has worked in youth ministry for 18 years in Colorado, Canada, Denmark, Oklahoma, California, and Texas. Ryan has a M.A. in Youth and Family Ministry, a MDiv, and will graduate in June with his Doctorate from Fuller Seminary. He is also owner and president of pastor2youth.com. Ryan married in 2005 and has 2 foster-children.
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