The Church in America is seeing a wave of succession as a generation of pastors begins to age out of ministry. How can we begin to prepare for the inevitable in a way that honors everyone involved?

In Colossians 1:28–29, Paul models the preacher’s calling—to proclaim Christ with joy, toil, and dependence on God’s power. This session will reorient pastors and leaders to the supreme privilege of preaching, distinguishing it from other demands and renewing our commitment to this essential, Christ-exalting work.

Speaker: Charles Whitaker (Pastor / River of Life Church)

Most churches are stagnant or declining. To foster a growing, conversion-focused community, pastors must model personal evangelism, spreading it to leaders and the congregation. Wheaton College offers cohort training to equip pastors in evangelism, discipleship systems, and innovative ministries to reach the lost in a relational, intentional way.

Speaker: Dale Sellers (Executive Director / 95 Network)

The emotional, physical and mental health of all church leaders are as important as your spiritual health in lasting ministry impact. A healthy leader can create a healthy ministry just like an unhealthy leader will create an unhealthy ministry. 1 - Accountability 2 - Counseling / Coaching 3 - Observing Sabbath 4 - Confronting Insecurity

Speaker: Dave Miller (Co-founder / Leadership Pathway)

A thriving church starts with a healthy staff culture. We'll cover four key marks of a strong team: trust, shared mission, healthy conflict, and joy. Through practical insights, real examples, and discussions, you'll learn to foster unity, purpose, and prevent burnout.

Speaker: MaryAnn Sibley (Founder / MatterSpark)

Building a volunteer culture in the church is an ongoing process that requires intentional effort and strong leadership. Empowering volunteers with clear vision and guardrails can create a leadership team of volunteers that fosters unity inside the church walls and into their community.

Speaker: Matt Miller (Head Coach & Owner / Worship Team Coach)

We’ll tackle the 7 Big Challenges unique to small churches and equip you with the practical tools to build a strong, dynamic team. Discover strategies to overcome obstacles, inspire your congregation, and lead worship that truly resonates.

Speaker: Tom Tulberg (Engagement Manager / Eagle Brook Church)

If the purpose of the Church is to reach our communities and transform lives, how do we know if we're doing that effectively? Whether we're a Lead Pastor, a volunteer, or a church member in the seats we can all learn how to create an environment worth inviting our neighbors.

Speaker: Bruce Hopler (VP of Church Strengthening / Converge)

Running short on volunteers and leaders in your church? Frustrated that 20% does 80% of the work? The real question is, whose fault is that? Often times, the lack of volunteers is not due to a lazy congregation, rather, inefficient systems on the Church's part. This workshop will give a simple structure to create a more robust leadership pipeline.

Speaker: Tania Martin (Director of Mobilization / Converge)

Discover innovative strategies to inspire and empower the next generation of leaders in your church. This session will provide practical tools and insights to harness their unique strengths, drive impactful change, and foster innovation. Regardless of your role within the church, you will gain valuable techniques to connect with and mobilize Gen Z and beyond for a brighter future.

Speaker: Eric Hoke (Founder / I Help Pastors Get Jobs)

Explore the challenges and strategies of bi-vocational and co-vocational ministry in this workshop. We'll tackle sustainability, time management, leadership empowerment, and team collaboration to prevent burnout. Whether you're curious or already co-vocational, gain practical tools to lead effectively in today’s church.

Speaker: Jason Moore (Author/Speaker/Consultant/Midnight Oil Productions)

AI is reshaping ministry—from worship planning to outreach. Based on Jason Moore’s AI and the Church, this session explores AI’s role in worship, administration, and branding while addressing concerns, ethics, and practical applications for churches.

Speaker: Tania Martin (Director of Mobilization / Converge)

Do you want to see your church become fully alive and excited? In this workshop, you'll discover a powerful tool that you can use in your church to explore how God has uniquely shaped you and your church community to join Him on mission. Through engaging activities and immersive experiences, you'll be equipped and motivated to take actionable steps in your mission journey.

Speaker: Elwood Matthews (Chief Innovation Officer / Zion Church)

In a rapidly changing world, churches must innovate to stay relevant. This hands-on workshop equips pastors and church leaders with practical, biblically aligned strategies to drive growth, engage communities, and solve ministry challenges using Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT), Systemic Innovative Thinking, and Human-Centered Design.

Speakers: Pastor Rod Hairston and Pastor Jim Eaton ( Co-Directors of Biblical Diversity / Converge )

Our world is changing more rapidly than we can process. Explore proven leadership strategies for this new intercultural world.

Speaker: Brian Dodd (Senior Generosity Consultant / INJOY Stewardship Solutions)

Winning In Leadership Beyond The Numbers is about the 7 Stages Of Leadership someone goes through to discover the essence of leadership.

Speaker: Dale Sellers (Executive Director / 95Network)

A thriving church has a shared Divine mission and vision with clearly defined objectives that show the ministry's purpose.We'll discuss creating on-ramps, unifying the congregation, aligning with God's plan to impact the communnity, and establishing clear objectives.

Speaker: Kyle Hoffsmith (Pastor of Family Ministry / Old North Church)

There are 884 Sundays before a child turns 18—how will you use them to teach and train lifelong faith? This session explores how to effectively disciple students at every stage, ensuring they graduate grounded in God's Word and wisdom for salvation.

SPEAKER: Bruce Hopler (VP of Church Strengthening / Converge)

Church boards are an essential part of ministry. Learning new tools will help prepare you to develop the right board for your organization and ultimately, help you to work with your board to reach common goals that produce eternal results.

SPEAKER: Dave Miller (Co-Founder / Leadership Pathway)

Struggling with staffing? Lacking the right team to pursue your ministry dreams? Losing young leaders due to limited time or know-how? Finding, supporting, and developing twenty-somethings is tough—but the solution may be closer than you think!

Speaker: Brian Dodd (Senior Generosity Consultant / INJOY Stewardship Solutions)

Creating A Culture Of Generosity will equip pastors and church leaders will the tools and wisdom needed to fully-fund their mission and vision.

Speaker: Twanna Henderson (National Director of Bridge Network Women's Ministry / Converge)

Offenses are inevitable even in ministry. This workshop will explore what an offense is, why we get offended, and how we can work through them.

Speaker: Eric Kabler, CKA (Christ-Centered Investing)

What if the servants in the Parable of the Talents had profited—yet invested in things that tore down God’s Kingdom? Would they still have heard “Well done”? This talk challenges the idea that profit alone equals faithfulness and invites pastors and leaders to rethink stewardship, risk, and Kingdom-aligned impact.