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.

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.

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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.

BIO COMING SOON.                                   

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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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Mukwenda Kandole has been a faith based entrepreneur and videographer for almost 10 years. Starting with a passion to serve his local church with marketing and video work, he has built a business that has worked with notable brands such as Chick-Fil-A, TBN, FOX, Chrysler, Toyota, Michigan Medicine, Universal and the 1DayLA “Freedom Experience” with Justin Bieber. From consulting $100 million dollar companies to directing TV commercials, Mukwenda’s passion for serving people has taken him further than he could imagine.

Back in 2024, Mukwenda launched the “Faithustle Podcast” to help young christian entrepreneurs learn how to build their business God’s way. The show has reached hundreds of thousands and has enabled him to interview people like the producer of the Chosen, CEO of Blue Bell Ice Cream, Tim Ross and many more.

Along with the podcast, he has built a community of christian entrepreneurs by doing in events in the Dallas metroplex and other cities with hundreds of business owners and content creators.

He currently resides in Dallas, TX where he serves at his local church.

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Faith Hustle

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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