Mike Park

Rev. Mike Park is pastor at Hope West Side Church in New York City. Previously, Mike served on the pastoral staff at Hope Midtown and has been in pastoral ministry for 15 years. A SoCal native, Mike has a B.A. in Political Economy from UC Berkeley and a M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary. His passion is to see generations transformed through an encounter with Jesus and the power of the gospel. Mike is married to his amazing wife, Jeanne, and they live on the Upper West Side with their daughter, Jordyn.

Mary Elizabeth Moore

Mary Elizabeth Moore is Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of Theology and Education, Boston University. Her passion is to journey with others to cultivate deeper faith, compassionate humanity, and a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world. She feels privileged to work toward those ends with colleagues in Boston University and around the world, especially in the practices of knowing the Holy, building justice, resisting violence, and caring for the earth. Her books include: Teaching as a Sacramental Act; Ministering with the Earth; Covenant and Call; Teaching from the Heart; and The United Methodist Diaconate (co-authored); plus three […]

Mark R. Gornik

Mark R. Gornik (Ph.D., University of Edinburgh) is the director of City Seminary of New York. He and his wife, Dr. Rita Aszalos, live in New York with their sons, Peter and Daniel. He is the author of, To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith and the Changing Inner City, and Word Made Global: Stories of African Christianity in New York, and is completing a book about his friendship and ministry with Allan Tibbels.

Marc Afshar

Rev. Marc Afshar is a college minister that serves with chi alpha at the University of the Pacific and Delta College in Stockton, CA. While attending UC Davis for his undergrad, he encountered and gave his life to Christ. He traded in his biology degree for a ministerial license and has been working with college students since. His heart is to see young people discover the life transforming truth and power of Jesus Christ. Marc is married to his wife Natalie and they have one child, Alijah and currently live in central California.

Lorien Carter

Lorien Carter is an Associate Professor of Practice at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. She teaches graduate level Social Work Practice and Administration courses in Foundations and Children, Youth and Family concentration, including Social Work Practice with Individuals, Families and Groups, Social Work Practice with Youth in Families and Developing Programs in Health and Social Service Settings. She is the Lead Teacher for Social Work Practice with Individuals, Families and Groups and serves on the MSW Program Committee and the MSW Curriculum Committee as the Chair of the Foundations curriculum. She was awarded […]

Lakisha Lockhart

Lakisha Lockhart is a playful womanist scholar-activist. She is currently the Director of the STREAM Youth Theology Institute and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. She is also a doctoral candidate at Boston College in Theology and Education working on her dissertation: Doing Double-Dutch: Womanist Modes of Play as a Pedagogical Resource for Theological Education. This southern lady hails from Columbus, GA by way of Waynesville, MO. She received her B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from Claflin University, M.Div with a concentration in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Wesley […]

Kyle David Bennett

Kyle David Bennett is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Caldwell University in New Jersey, where he also directs the Spirituality and Leadership Institute, a think-tank and training center that focuses on spiritual formation and citizenship in North American democratic society. His first book, Practices of Love: Spiritual Disciplines for the Life of the World (Brazos Press), is slated to release August 2017.

Kenda Creasy Dean

Kenda Creasy Dean is an ordained United Methodist pastor and the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. She works closely with Princeton’s Institute for Youth Ministry and the Farminary (the seminary’s initiative in restorative agriculture and theological formation). In 2013 she founded Ministry Incubators with fellow youth pastor and serial entrepreneur Mark DeVries, which helps Christian leaders get their entrepreneurial ideas for ministry up and running, and engages congregations and communities in faith-based social innovation.

Kenda is the author of numerous books, including Knee-Deep in Flotsam: Why Churches Innovate and How to Start; and […]

Katherine M. Hyde

Katherine Hyde is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in mental health psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and families. She completed her graduate work at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, and held a Clinical Fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, a teaching hospital of the Harvard Medical School. Kate worked closely with Dr. Nadja Reilly at the Swensrud Depression Prevention Initiative providing training and consultation around adolescent depression and suicide awareness and prevention. She participated in the development of the Break Free from Depression documentary and school curriculum. Kate is a Clinical Supervisor and also […]

Dr. Kate Ott

Dr. Kate Ott ’00 M.A.R. is a Christian social ethicist addressing the formation of moral communities with specializations in technology, sexuality, youth and young adults, pedagogy, and professional ethics. She is the author of Sex, Tech, & Faith: Christian Ethics in a Digital Age (2022), Christian Ethics for a Digital Society (2018) and Sex + Faith: Talking with Your Child from Birth to Adolescence (2013). Ott is the Jerre and Mary Joy Stead Professor of Christian Social Ethics and director of the Stead Center on Ethics and Values at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL. Her […]

Kara Powell

Kara Powell, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) and a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary. Named by Christianity Today as one of “50 Women to Watch”, Kara serves as a Youth and Family Strategist for Orange, and also speaks regularly at parenting and leadership conferences. Kara is the author or co-author of a number of books including Growing Young, The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family, Sticky Faith Curriculum, Can I Ask That?, Deep Justice Journeys, Essential Leadership, Deep Justice in a Broken World, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World, and the Good Sex […]