SpEAKERS

Rick Dempsey and his wife, Kari, are active members of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA. Their family includes five children, 4 of whom are married, and are blessed with 11 grandchildren.

Over the past 35 years, Rick has worked for The Walt Disney Company. As a founding member and Sr. Vice President – Creative at Disney Character Voices, domestic and international, he played a pivotal role in directing some of Hollywood’s most prominent talent in their character portrayals. Additionally, he oversaw the creation of all Disney, Pixar, Lucas and Marvel projects in as many as 65 languages worldwide. In 2017 he received an Emmy for his contributions to the industry in international localization. He was also a key figure in bringing The Chronicles of Narnia franchise to the Disney Studios.

Presently, Rick serves as the President of SnoCone Productions, a venture he established to continue his endeavors in family entertainment. The Chosen TV series relies on Rick and SnoCone Productions to achieve a groundbreaking feat: delivering The Chosen in 100 dubbed and 600 subtitled languages, marking a milestone in media.

Natalie Runion is the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and ECPA bestselling author of Raised to Stay: Persevering in Ministry When You Have a Million Reasons to Walk Away and The House That Jesus Built: Leading Our Churches Back to God’s Original Blueprint (September 2024). She is also the founder of Raised to Stay, an online community nearly 200,000 “Stayers” who are honest in their wrestling about their relationship with Jesus and His Church. 
 
A pastor’s daughter from Cincinnati, Ohio, Natalie graduated from Miami University with a degree in education and has served as a pastor in the local church for over twenty years. She is a songwriter, worship leader, podcaster, and sought-after speaker at churches and conferences around the world.
 
Natalie lives in Kentucky with her husband, Tony, and their two daughters. Natalie and Tony work together to provide training and education to pastors and leaders in pursuit of a healthy and reconciled church. 

Joseph Sojourner (aka Sojo) has emerged as a refreshing voice of creativity and leadership for this generation, harnessing the power of story to connect people to purpose. Sojo is owner of Two Cents Creative Thinkers, an Atlanta-based creative agency, as well as creative consultant for Trilith Studios, where he lives. Sojo is a trusted voice on next generation business leaders for many events throughout the world, has been featured on NBC’s Your Move in candid conversations with leadership guru Andy Stanley, and inspires schools, universities, churches, and teams alongside Orange and Growing Leaders. In 2022, Sojo launched The Moonwalkers Podcast, a place for the doers to uncover the steps needed for true success and the dreamers to discuss the leaps needed for the betterment of mankind.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Long Island, Miles McPherson grew up in a large family and after excelling in football throughout high school, he attended the University of New Haven where he majored in engineering. McPherson was the university’s first player to achieve All-American honors in football and be drafted into the NFL.

Miles played four years in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers from 1982-1985 and went back to school at Azusa Pacific University for his master’s degree and worked as a Youth Pastor for Horizon Christian Fellowship. In 2000, he started the Rock Church in San Diego. Today, the Rock Church has 6 campuses, with its newest campus in Oahu.

As a passionate Evangelist, Miles is currently working on developing Just 1, an evangelistic tool that empowers every Christian to confidently share their faith. Pastor Miles is convinced that this is the hour for the Church to rise up and be the beacon of hope the Lord has called us to be.

Bella Taylor Smith is a worship leader, recording artist, and speaker with over 12 years of ministry experience. Known for her heart for the local church, Bella has served in worship leadership across Australia and beyond. Now residing in Nashville Tennessee with her husband Josh,  Bella is committed to blending her love for community, leading people into a deeper understanding of God’s presence, and character and her love for expressing that through music.

After winning The Voice Australia, Bella’s journey opened doors in both mainstream music and Christian ministry, allowing her to share her story and songs with a wide audience.

Today, she leads worship, pastors the creative community at her local Church, writes songs, and speaks into the heart of worshippers and leaders navigating the blend of ministry and music — Bella always carries a passion to see people encounter Jesus and live out the commission they’ve been given as believers with a focusing on living sustainable lives of worship on and off the platform.

Kierre is a worship pastor and resides in Kernersville, NC with his wife Marika of 9 years along with their 3 children Esther-Rose, Nehemiah and John.

Kierre studied music business at Winston-Salem State University with a concentration in classical vocal performance. Cultivating his love for classical music led him to performing at historic opera houses like Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and being cast with a lead role in an off Broadway show (“Soul on Fire”). Kierre has recorded and toured with artists like Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Elevation worship, Will Reagan & United Pursuit and a host of others. He is also passionate about songwriting and has written for artists such as Maverick City Music, Housefires, JJ Hairston, Faith City Music, and more. He is a core contributor to Common Hymnal, a songwriting community dedicated to creating worship music with a social conscious. Kierre also takes his faith beyond music and into the market place as the Director of Investor Relations of a commercial real estate development firm and a Strategic Advisor for Glyph Shoes. 

Above all, he is a son of God and his goal is to embrace that in an ever changing world.

Terryl Padilla has been leading worship and training worship and creative teams for the last two decades.
He is passionate about the local church and seeing teams create excellence within their community. Terryl is a part of Capitol CMG and Worship Together and has the privilege to work with worship songwriters who feel called to serve the local church.

Brian Taylor has served and equipped the local church for over 20 years. His background spans various denominations, cultures, and settings as he has led worship ministries in churches of a few hundred to over 30,000 across multiple locations. As a worship and creative pastor, he loves creating worship environments that are transformational and engaging. As a member of senior leadership teams, his mission has been to help clarify vision and strategy, cultivate healthy team culture, and develop strong leaders. As an executive coach and speaker, he is passionate about helping high-performing leaders ditch discontent, maximize potential, and align their performance with their purpose. 

Brian and his wife, Lauren, live just north of Dallas, Texas, where they live with their two beautiful kids (five, if you count their two dogs and one cat, as Brian does). They’ve had the opportunity to lead worship and invest in teams together across the country. Brian also serves as Vice President of Slingshot Group’s Worship & Creative Arts division, leading a stellar team helping churches build healthy teams across the country in Worship, Production, and Digital/Communications.

Wade Joye is a speaker and leadership coach, author of “This Dream Is Not For You,” and host of the “Dreamers and Disciples” podcast.

Wade served as the Worship Pastor at Elevation Church for over 14 years until transitioning off of staff in late 2021 to serve churches across the country through his teaching and coaching ministry.

During his time at Elevation, Wade oversaw the development of worship culture and staffing for over 20 locations, and spearheaded the growth and pastoring of Elevation Worship. In addition to building worship culture across all Elevation locations, Wade was instrumental in creating the systems that allowed Elevation Worship songs to go around the world as he led the record label and touring teams. Wade was also a songwriter on several of the earlier Elevation Worship songs, being part of the writing team for songs like O Come To The Altar, Resurrecting and many more sung in churches all over the country. Serving on the overall leadership team at Elevation, Wade also led the teams that executed the weekend worship experience, and oversaw service programming and coached campus pastors on their stage hosting and preaching. Having preached on the main stage at Elevation on a regular basis, Wade’s greatest passion is to teach and coach people to develop and maintain consistent spiritual rhythms and disciplines that cultivate a heart that is grounded in a personal devotion to Jesus.

Wade and his wife, Ferris, have 3 daughters they adore and are learning to navigate ministry and faith as they raise children with special needs like Cystic Fibrosis and Cerebral Palsy.

The creative team behind the Passion City Church, Passion Conference, and Lift Conference. This team sets the bar for creativity in the church every year and now you get to learn from them.

Brad is the Creative Director of Watermark Church in West Michigan where he designs and creates gatherings & spaces for people to encounter Jesus. He is passionate about resourcing churches to share the gospel, so he created ChurchMediaDrop.com, a free media-sharing site. He also hosts the official ProPresenter training videos. Brad loves playing music, building Legos, and trying new and creative things.

Bio coming soon.                                         

Building teams, especially for behind-the-scenes ministries, is what Dennis Choy has done for over 30 years. For 25 years Dennis was at North Coast Church in San Diego as Executive Pastor and Production Pastor. After that, he was the Global Production Pastor at Saddleback Church in California for years and moved on to be Executive of Creative Arts at Skyline Church in San Diego. He is currently the General Manager of Design and Projects for Houseright.com. Creating and developing production, creative and communications teams are his favorite ways to lead and serve, and he lends real-life perspective on how things really work in the church world. Having taught classes at NAB, INFOCOMM, SALT, NAMM, and other conferences around the country, he is excited to share his experiences—good and bad—with anyone who wants to hear. He loves Jesus, Technology, and People. Dennis resides in Oceanside, California, with his wife, Michelle, three amazing kids, and daughter-in-law.

BIO COMING SOON.                                   

Stephen helps Churches overcome being overwhelmed.

His unique path has allowed him to lead as an Executive and Creative Pastor in several local churches as well as an executive in the music business. Today, he helps churches create and release original music. Additionally, Stephen coaches Pastors, Executive leaders, and creatives on leadership and creative processes.

Stephen lives with his amazing wife, Jackie, and four awesome kids just outside of Nashville, TN.

BIO COMING SOON                                    

BIO COMING SOON.                                   

Jeff Mathena is a vocal coach, speaker, and founder of The Unhindered Voice, a platform devoted to helping singers in the Church discover freedom in their sound and boldness in their calling. Known for his unique blend of technical mastery and spiritual insight, Jeff has coached many of today’s most influential artists, including Kari Jobe, Phil Wickham, Elevation Worship, Bethel Music, and For King & Country.

More than just a coach, Jeff is a prophetic voice to worshippers—equipping them not only to sing with excellence, but to carry the weight of God’s presence through their voice. He has served as vocal faculty for Bethel Music College and continues to partner with ministries that are raising up the next generation of anointed voices.

Whether leading a coaching session or speaking into identity and purpose, Jeff is passionate about helping believers sing with clarity, conviction, and joy. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife and children, where he leads a thriving online community of worshippers through The Unhindered Voice.

BIO COMING SOON                                    

BIO COMING SOON.                                   

Rohn Starling is a dynamic leader and visionary with a unique gift for empowering leaders across diverse ministries. At just 28 years old, Rohn has already made a profound impact on the Big C Church through his innovative approach to ministry, particularly in the realms of social media engagement and biblical teaching. His journey began with a passion for teaching young children the fundamentals of the Bible, a foundation that has blossomed into a broader mission to teach biblical literacy and worldview on a global scale.

Rohn’s expertise extends beyond traditional ministry roles; he has been instrumental in revolutionizing how churches and creatives showcase their communities online. His work with influential churches and organizations such as Transformation Church, Forward City, Elevation Rhythm, and Maverick City has positioned him as a sought-after voice in the Christian community.

BIO COMING SOON                                    

After 20 years of full-time creative ministry, Dustin Pead now seeks to help other creatives through coaching, consulting, and fractional services. He resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife Sarah, and their two children, Ethan and Aubrey. Dustin’s mission is to help creatives know themselves, their process, and their teams so they can create greater things together.

Darrel Girardier currently oversees digital and creative for Brentwood Baptist Church and its seven campuses. Previously he was a Creative Director at LifeWay Christian Resources. He’s married to Amy-Jo and has two amazing boys.

With over 18 years of experience in lighting, stage design, and production, Andy Rushing has built a distinguished career shaping compelling visual experiences. After touring as a lighting and stage designer for 10 years, Andy Rushing transitioned to a leadership role at The Belonging Church, where he has been a dedicated team member for 8 years. For the past 5 years, he has excelled as the Production Director, overseeing innovative production strategies and fostering creative excellence. Known for their expertise in live event production and meticulous attention to detail, Andy Rushing continues to influence and elevate the standards of stagecraft and production management.                             

Mary Tatum is a former special education teacher who joined the staff at her home church, Southeast Christian, in Louisville KY to develop a Deaf and Disabilities Ministry. In her 25 years in ministry she has helped start classes for children, teens and adults affected by disability at many of their multi-site campuses. The Disabilities Ministry which is now called the “Shine Ministry” has expanded to also offer an overnight camp, a coffee shop, annual outreach events and much more. Mary loves to help churches embrace individuals and their families who are truly indispensable, but often overlooked.

BIO COMING SOON.                                    

BIO COMING SOON.                                     

Ryan Longson currently serves as the Lighting Director at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN. Prior to this role, he was part of the show creation team at Cirque du Soleil and has worked in a variety of lighting roles for churches and live events across the country.

BIO COMING SOON.                                    

BIO COMING SOON.

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Kat is a fan of Jesus and deeply grateful to know Him. She has a heart for serving the Church, especially when it comes to equipping smaller churches to better reach their communities for the Kingdom of Heaven. Whether through worship, media, or creative strategy, she is passionate about helping ministries thrive.

Somehow, she *accidentally* became viral for playing the McDonald’s theme song during her pastor’s sermon—proof that creativity, quick thinking, and a little humor go a long way in ministry. While it wasn’t planned, she’s embraced the moment as a fun reminder that God uses everything—even a fast-food jingle!

Kat currently serves as the Worship & Media Director at Emmanuel Worship Center in Lubbock, TX, where she leads teams across English and Spanish services. She is also part of a wonderful community of worshippers called Echo of Heaven, dedicated to creating spaces where people can encounter Jesus through worship.

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My journey in the creative industry began as a musician on the worship team in 2016, which then sparked a passion for visual storytelling through motion design. In 2018, I moved from Australia to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to attend Rhema Bible Training College. After graduating, I chose to stay in Tulsa and have since had the honor of helping believers and churches worldwide bring their unique stories to life through music, animation, and motion and graphic design. My background in music and worship leadership brings a unique rhythm and emotional depth to every project. Whether I’m leading worship or creating visual media, my passion is to serve, inspire, and help others experience the gospel through creativity.

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Ryan serves as the Academic Director for Southeastern University’s campus at The Belonging Co College, where he teaches, oversees faculty, and helps develop programs that best tie the heart of TBCO to the student’s education. He holds a master’s in theological studies and is currently entering the dissertation phase of the Ph.D. in Christian Worship at Liberty University.

Ryan’s pastored for nearly twenty years in the worship, creative, and production space and has a passion for equipping church leaders with the spiritual and practical tools they need to do effective ministry in their context.

@ryanloche @thechurchcollective

Shep is a content creator, consultant and video engineer with a passion for resourcing and equipping church production teams. With years of experience leading live production, he specializes in systems optimization, volunteer training, and high-pressure problem-solving. Shep creates engaging behind-the-scenes content that is both educational and entertaining, offering a unique perspective on church tech. Whether consulting, directing live broadcasts, or crafting creative content, he brings energy, expertise, and a solutions-driven mindset to every project.

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I’m the founder and chief creative director of Actify Creative, specializing in high-end video and audio production for non-profits and churches. Fueled by a deep passion for worship, I’ve spent the past two years sharing my mixing expertise on social media, offering weekly tips and advanced techniques that empowers other mixers to elevate their craft.

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