Youth Conference

Momentum 2009 Speakers
	Bill Wilson, Senior Christian statesman and author, is the founder and senior pastor of one of the world’s largest ministry organizations, Metro Ministries in Brooklyn, NY. For more than two decades he has spent fifty two weekends per year traveling and ministering to adult congregations worldwide. Speaking to hundreds of thousands of men and women annually, he masterfully communicates a down-to-earth message that brings meaningful change to individuals, families, ministers, business persons, and youth He has been featured on ABC’s Nightline, and his newsworthy and riveting real-life stories leave congregations deeply affected, often bringing entire audiences to greater levels of personal commitment and ministry involvement. Bill Wilson’s urban ministry model for changing young lives amidst the battlegrounds of drugs, violence, abuse, is now operating in hundreds of cities around the world in both urban and suburban settings.
	Cheryl Fawcett currently serves as the director for Vision For Youth International in partnership with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. Cheryl obtained her undergraduate degree from Baptist Bible College and her Doctorate from Trinity International University. She is the author of Know & Grow Vol. 1 & 2, I Have A Question About God, and Understanding People ETA. In her free time, Cheryl enjoys kayaking and spending time with her two cats, Buster and Tabitha.
	Chuck Bomar: After serving for almost 9 years as pastor of student ministries at Cornerstone in Simi Valley, Ca., Chuck Bomar is now lead pastor of Colossae, in Portland Oregon. He’s founder of CollegeLeader - an organization focused on training those in the trenches of college ministry. He has written numerous articles and is author of Foundations of College Ministry, 99 Thought’s for College-age People, and College Ministry 101 - due to publish spring of ‘09.
	Dave Greber is a Christian author, attorney, and Bible teacher who has the gift of explaining complex subjects in clear terms. His book entitled The Lost Commandment: Have We Missed What Jesus Really Wants? (Kregel) will be released in July 2008. *The Lost Commandment* is about why and how we need to love others as Jesus loves us (John 13:34). At home in Frederick, Maryland, Dave is a member of Grace Community Church, where he has been actively involved in youth ministries, and serves on the preaching team. He and his wife, Lynne, have been married 27 years, and he has two daughters, Lauren (20) and Elizabeth (18). Dave loves coming to Momentum, but confesses that he still secretly calls it BNYC around the house. Visit Dave’s website at: www.davegreber.com.
	David Nicodemus is the Pastor of Student Ministries at the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus. He is a graduate of Grace College (’01) and Grace Theological Seminary(’03). Dave has served as an Operation Barnabas leader on many occasions, has attended Momentum for 16 consecutive years (over half of his life) and loves to serve at his local church by pouring his life into the lives of students. Dave is married to the love of his life; Carly, and together they have two crazy boys, Jack and Henry. Dave is a die hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, having grown up in Western PA and considers himself among other things, a Mountain Dew addict, and a master frozen pizza and mac & cheese chef.
	Dr. Don DeYoung is Chairman of Physical Science, Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana. Don is a graduate of Michigan Tech University (B.S., M.S., Physics), Iowa State University (Ph.D., Physics), and Grace Seminary (M. Div.). His writings include fifteen books on Bible-science topics including object lessons for children. Dr. DeYoung is a member of the Indiana Academy of Science and the AuSable Environmental Institute. He is currently president of the Creation Research Society with 1,700 members worldwide. This group publishes a technical journal and operates a laboratory in Arizona. Don speaks on creation topics and believes that the details of nature are a powerful testimony to the Creator’s care for mankind. Don and his wife Sally have three married daughters.
	Doug Kegarise loves people! Specifically, he loves to work with teenagers and see them develop into fully-devoted followers of Jesus, using their gifts to serve others in their everyday lives. Doug is the Director of Student Ministries at Grace Church in Lititz, PA where he and his wife, Renee have been serving on staff since 2006. Before being hired in June 2006, Doug had served as a volunteer student ministry staff member for two years, as well as for four years at Community Grace Church in Warsaw, IN. Doug has been a part of Operation Barnabas as a student, leader and Sr. Leader on multiple occasions and appreciates that he loses weight whenever he spends a summer on OB. Doug and Renee have a Puggle named Prada whom they love very much; and they enjoy walking, traveling, warm weather, Starbucks, McDonald’s ice cream and a good laugh in conjunction with any of those activities.
	Ed Lewis has served as Executive Director of CE National since 1985. CE National is a church effectiveness ministry. Prior to the role he now has, he served as a National Director of Youth Ministries for the Grace Brethren Fellowship of Churches. Ed’s desire is to be a catalyst to help believers see the need for moving beyond the norm to reach people for Christ. Ed lives in Warsaw, Indiana, and is active in the Community Grace Church in Warsaw, Indiana. He enjoys travel and travels frequently, using his frequent flyer miles. He has never been married and uses his gift of singleness as an opportunity to be in ministry—single to serve. He enjoys his A-frame house, long walks and his Miata convertible when he has free time. His passion is for seeing churches make “outreach” the engine that drives ministry.
	Eric Miller grew up in Warsaw, Indiana and attended the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church. He graduated from Grace College in 2004 with majors of Youth Ministry and Religious Studies. He has been the youth pastor at Grace Community Church in Frederick, Maryland for the past 4 years. Eric was a student on Operation Barnabas in 1998, and it was that summer he committed his life to full-time ministry.
	FEE. Steve Fee remembers standing on a stage before his high-school peers with little musical ability and even less worship leading experience. How times change. Since the early days, he’s been featured at Passion and Catalyst conferences, at 7:22, and also as worship leader at North Point Community Church in Atlanta, one of the nation’s fastest growing churches. Steve is also the front man for new INO Records signing, rock-worship band Fee, which released its debut album "We Shine" in the fall of 2008.
	Gabe Lyons founded Fermi Project in 2003, a broad collective of innovators, social entrepreneurs, church and societal leaders working together to make positive contributions to culture. Gabe recently engineered Fermi Project's first book, unChristian, which reveals exclusive research on pop-culture's negative perception of Christians and convenes 27 of Christianity's most influential voices to address what he describes as "the steady erosion of Christianity's reputation in America". Prior to Fermi Project, he co-founded Catalyst, a national gathering of young leaders, while serving as Vice President for John Maxwell's INJOY organization. Gabe, Rebekah, and their three children reside in Atlanta, Georgia.
	Jay Bell currently serves as the Director of Internationals-USA at Grace Brethren International Missions in Winona Lake, IN. Jay was born and raised in Los Angeles. He graduated from Cal-State University, Long Beach, CA, and went on to attend Talbot Seminary. In 1976, he joined the staff at the Long Beach Grace Brethren Church as the Pastor of College Ministries and Missions. Jay met his wife Jan through Campus Crusade for Christ and was married July 10, 1971. They have two children and two grandchildren.
	Jeff Bogue is currently the lead Pastor of Grace Church of Greater Akron, a thriving congregation of nearly 5,000 people who meet on two campuses in Ohio. Jeff graduated from Grace College in 1993 and later earned his master’s degree from Grace Theological Seminary. He serves on the CE National Board of Directors and was recently named FBBC Staff Person of the Year. Jeff is an author and enjoys traveling both nationally and internationally to speak and train other leaders. However, his proudest title is that of husband and daddy. He is the proud husband of Heidi, and the loving father of his five sons: Josiah, Isaac, Micha, Gabriel, and Elias, and his little princess, Naomi.
	Jim Brown has been the Lead Pastor of the multi-site Grace Community Church in Goshen and South Bend, Indiana for 13 years. Jim and Grace Community Church are known in Goshen and throughout the FGBC as a community of people who are passionate about sharing Jesus with others and reaching the under-privileged in our world. He has spoken in many conferences for youth and adults. He and his wife Anne have been married for 20 years and have three children, Joshua 17, Hannah 15, and Isaiah 10. He has been involved in multiple missions trips teams (to Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and Thailand). Jim spends his free time coaching basketball and baseball, teams and is an avid runner. He loves to read and to ride his Harley Davidson motorcycle.
	Jonathan Herron has been speaking to teens and young adults since 2000 at two of the fastest-growing churches in the country: Oak Pointe in Michigan and NewSpring Church in South Carolina. With a background in improv-comedy from studying under Tina Fey at The Second City in Chicago to his theology degree from Ashland Seminary, Jon is passionate about communicating strong theology in culturally-relevant ways. Part of The Source for Youth Ministry’s National Speaking Team, Jon is also the founding pastor of Catalyst Church in Kent, Ohio. This year he is celebrating 10 years of marriage to Amber. Together they are raising their 2-yr-old son, Josiah, along with Juliet the Wonder Pug. Jonathan is much funnier in person than in written form.... almost.
	Koreem Mack grew up in Washington, DC and has been working with youth for almost 18 years in Clinton, Maryland at the Clinton Grace Brethren Church. He currently serves as the head Youth Pastor for a very diverse youth group with many kids from different nationalities and backgrounds. Kareem is a member of the Youth Net Cabinet and is the Youth Council Chairman for Ward 5 in Prince Georges County. He has been married for 11 years and has four children, one of which currently attends Momentum Youth Conference.
	Kondo Simfukwe has served as the pastor of Worship Ministries at Christ’s Covenant Church since 2002. His ministry involves planning the content and flow of corporate worship services and leading the praise team. He has played guitar and piano on three albums of CCC worship music. Through worship, he hopes to see the CCC congregation grow in understanding of the significant way in which Christ is present when His body gathers together in praise. Aside from his duties as worship leader, Pastor Kondo also oversees the Young Adult Ministries and Recovery Ministries. It is his desire that the people of CCC would understand that the person of Jesus Christ can be truly experienced. Pastor Kondo holds a BA in Biblical Studies and a Masters of Divinity in Counseling from Grace College and Theological Seminary. He lives in Winona Lake with his wife, Melissa, and their two children, Judah and Jael.
	Mark Artrip is on staff at Grace Church in Powell, OH where he works with the high school ministry. He is a “grace brethren kid” originally from northeast Ohio before he went to Indiana for school. He is a graduate of Grace College with the double major in Biblical Studies and Youth Ministry, and Grace Theological Seminary with an M.A. in Family and Youth Ministries. He is married to his best friend Kristin and they have a beautiful redheaded boy named Malachi. Mark considers pop culture, hip-hop, and gum chewing his major interests. He blogs about his life on www.markartrip.com.
	Mel Walker has been Director of Student Ministries at Regular Baptist Press since 1998 and has led in the complete revision of RBP's junior high and senior high youth curriculum. He is also the president and co-founder of Vision For Youth, Inc., a national network for youth ministry. Mel is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world and has organized regional, statewide, and national youth conferences. A graduate of Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, he has done graduate work at Iowa State University and Faith Baptist Theological Seminary. He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at Baptist Bible Seminary and Northwest Baptist Seminary in Tacoma, Washington.
	Dr. Randall Smith is the International Director of Global Vision Outreach, and Pastor of Grace Church of Sebring, Florida. He and his wife Dottie have three children: Rachel, Aaron and Sara. Pastor Randy teaches a group of 12 students at the Great Commission Bible Institute, a one-year, dormitory based, Bible program in Florida each year. He is a frequent traveler to the Middle East and Europe, and is involved in teaching in foreign colleges and university programs.
	Sarah Knepper is on staff at CE National in Winona Lake, Indiana. She is a 'CE Ambassador', traveling the country with her partner in crime Stacie Fay, working with youth and adults in the area of discipleship. She graduated from Grace College with degrees in Math and Counseling, and taught math for a year in Thailand. Sarah has been going to Momentum for longer than she can remember, loves sushi, and grew up in Pennsylvania, but loves Ohio State football (GO BUCKS!).
	Pastor Shawn McBride has the skill, integrity and passion to effectively communicate truth to today’s generation in youth ministry. He has an uncanny ability to inspire, challenge, motivate, relate to and encourage youth. His unique style, humor and energy has made him one of the most requested speakers for youth retreats, conferences, revivals, public school assemblies, and seminars locally and abroad. After beginning to discern God’s call on his life at a young age, he began to pursue a fully committed life to Christ at the age of 17. Pastor McBride has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies, and holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling from the Capital Bible Seminary. He is the founder and senior pastor of the New Life Community Church located in Bowie, Maryland. He currently serves as the chairman of the Youth & Family Ministries Department at the Washington Bible College, where is a professor. Pastor McBride has more than a decade of experience ministering to young people. His ministry has blessed thousands of youth across the United States, including various ethnic groups and denominations. He is happily married to Dana Michelle and is the proud father of five children: TeShara, Jeremiah, Zachariah, Jessica-Faith and Naomi-Grace.
	Stacie Fay is on staff at CE National in Winona Lake, IN where she works on a new venture called CE Ambassadors alongside best friend Sarah Knepper. This is a program that trains people on the importance of Discipleship and trains people to see what Biblical Discipleship looks like. She is originally from Waldorf, MD before she headed off to Grace College to earn a degree in Physical Education and Health with a minor in Youth Ministry. There are three things that you need to know about her: She loves Jesus, she loves discipleship, and she loves the Miami Dolphins! You can hear about what is going on with the CE ambassadors at www.cenational.org/theroadtrip.
	Susan Behforooz was born in Los Angeles, CA to two nominal Muslim parents in 1979. Beginning at age three, she visited Iran every other year. When she wasn't visiting Iran, she was trying to be like any other Southern California girl. In Orange County, the stereotype is that you're blonde, whether by birth or by bottle. When the bottles at the grocery store transformed her hair into a pumpkin orange, she covered her hair with a hat, and pretended it was blonde She was first invited to church in junior high, and continued to go through high school and college, all the while not completely understanding Christianity. Susan believed Christianity was a book of rules to follow, and that if she became a Christian, the adventurous life she desired would be turned in for miniature golf and bowling. When she was 23 years old, she had done it all, had famous boyfriends, traveled the world, gone to the Hollywood parties, and still wasn't satisfied. She thought she would try Christianity like you try a new drink at Starbucks...if you don't like it, you could always go back to your carmel macchiatto. When she was 24 years old, she met "the one", but her husband didn't realize she was the one until she was 26! They got married when she was 27. She is now 29, does not have kids, but she does have an incredible story to tell. Come hear the rest of Susan's story at Momentum 2009!
	Tim Ahlgrim is the National Director of Vision For Youth.
	Tim Sprankle is a husband, father, pastor, former Starbucks barista, and future stand up comedian. But his true identity is Child of God. He enjoys teaching biblical truth and telling embarrassing stories. Tim is Senior Pastor of the Grace Brethren Church in Leesburg, IN.
	Timothy Kurtaneck (TK) has been on staff at CE National for 14 years. He directs church relations and oversees the ministries of Operation Barnabas and The National Institute, the youth ministry major that CE National runs for Grace College and Seminary. TK says, “When knowledge of God’s truth, plus godly character, are connected with service in the name of Jesus—it is an absolute pleasure to see that person mature in their faith. What motives me most is seeing young people and adults catch and live out a ministry spirit. ”TK is married to Dana and they have two children, Bekah, and Nick. They enjoy travel, youth ministry, serving in their local church, and sports. And their dog’s name is Indy.

Speakers