SPEAKERS & ARTISTS

Check out the speaker and musician line-up.

Kristian Stanfill (worship leader):

From all outward appearances, Kristian Stanfill was like a lot of teenage kids growing up in the suburbs in the 90’s in a fairly typical American home. He went to church, loved music, and even taught himself to play guitar.
While the upbringing might have been typical, the kid was not. He didn’t just pick up the guitar because it was cool. He picked it up because, even without knowing how to play a single instrument, he had been writing songs in his head for years. He recognized a profound need to praise this God he was discovering, and he learned guitar to give voice to that praise.
Stanfill’s past is really a story about an almighty God who calls His people to praise. That call has been unmistakable in Stanfill’s life, even as that 15-year-old growing up in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, finding the connection between the strings of a guitar and the Maker of music.
Someone who would grow not just to teach Passion songs to his youth group, but also to tour with multi-platinum selling artist Chris Tomlin and take the stage at Passion conferences and the Passion World Tour, reaching audiences numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

Francis Chan (speaker):

Francis Chan is the best-selling author of books, Crazy Love & Forgotten God, and the host of the BASIC.series. He has also written the children’s books Halfway Herbert, The Big Red Tractor and the Little Village and Ronnie Wilson’s Gift. Francis is the founding pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California, and is the founder of Eternity Bible College. He also sits on the board of directors of Children’s Hunger Fund and World Impact. Francis lives in Northern California with his wife, Lisa, and their four daughters and one son. To find out more, visit www.francischan.org.

Craig Gross (speaker):

As a young pastor in Southern California, Craig Gross began to notice a recurring theme among those he cared for – a struggle with pornography. Boldly and courageously, he decided to address the root of the problem, so he went to the porn industry to ask some questions. This passion led him to start XXXchurch.com, a website devoted to telling the truth about porn. In the seven years since it began, XXXchurch.com has had over 70 million visitors to the website and almost a half of million
people using X3watch Accountability Software. Craig has been featured in GQ magazine,”Good Morning America,” Newsweek, CNN, LA Times, Nightline and The New York Times, and his ministry is the subject of an award winning documentary.

Craig has written seven books. His latest books, Eyes of Integrity and Pure Eyes released in the fall of 2010. Craig is married to Jeanette and they have two children – Nolan and Elise.

Eric Mason (speaker):

Eric Mason resides in Philadelphia with his wife (Yvette) and two sons (Immanuel and Nehemiah). Dr. Mason is the founder and lead pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA. In addition, to his role at Epiphany Fellowship he serves as President of Thriving, a ministry dedicated to aiding ethnic minorities to be resourced and trained for ministry to the urban context. He has also contributed to multiple publications to service the body of Christ. Dr. Mason is known for articulating and proclaiming the gospel with clarity, passion, and authority at churches and conferences nationally.

Dr. Mason received his Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM, 2000) as well as a Doctorate degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (DMin, 2007).

Bryan McWhite (speaker):

Bryan’s discipleship to Jesus began his sophomore year of college when Jesus said “Follow me,” and wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. His life was transformed despite his resistance to God and he became a captive to Christ and a renovation project of God’s grace.

Jesus immediately sent Bryan into the mission field of his college campus, which was a dangerous and often hostile environment for a new believer. But he soon discovered that God had gifted him as a communicator and given him a passion to teach the Bible and proclaim the good news that Jesus is King and has come to our rescue. By the time he had been a Christian for a year, Bryan was teaching over 100 students weekly in Fellowship of Christian Athletes gatherings. This is where he first discerned his call to be a pastor.

After finishing his Master of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, Bryan came to New Hope Church, just outside of Minneapolis, where he focuses on preaching and raising up and training leaders for the future of God’s mission. His wife Leslie and their kids Owen and Ruthie are the loves of his life, and when he’s not with them he’s probably out running. He’s run four marathons so far and plans to run one in all 50 states before he goes to see Jesus.

Shane Stacey (speaker):

Shane has served as the EFCA’s National Director of ReachStudents since August 2008. Prior to coming into this role, he ministered as a student ministry pastor for 12 years in New Jersey and North Dakota. Shane received his B.S. in Youth Ministry and Psychology from Nyack College and a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. His life mission is to beautify the bride of Jesus Christ by spreading a passionate treasuring of Him above all else among his family, friends, students and youth workers so that together, we may enjoy and glorify Him forever.

Shane lives in Minneapolis with his dear wife Heather and their three children: Isaac, Gavin and Ruth.

Eric Samuel Timm (artist):

He’s part artist, speaker, author and all passion – this is what gives the Rev. Eric Samuel Timm relevance in today’s changing landscape. As he speaks, paints and performs, Eric captivates his audiences with his unique style and unforgettable one-of-a-kind live art performances. He is sought after for his ability to present God’s truth in ways that connect both with the Church and to a person whom is on the fringe of faith. Eric stirs up what lays dormant and leave his audiences inspired. When he speaks, they’ll listen – when he paints, you will see art differently. Eric resides north of Minneapolis MN with his wife Danielle and son Xavier. For more information: www.nooneunderground.com

Emory Colvin (Drama)

Emory has been acting (and acting up!) since she was a toddler, and the moment she sat in a director’s chair at the ripe old age of three, she knew that the dramatic arts were calling her name. Her relationship with Jesus Christ began at a young age and she was called into Christian ministry when she was 15.

Emory’s experiences in ministry are diverse. She worked with students as a summer intern and had the opportunity to teach drama classes during summer programs. Out of curiosity, she entered the world of radio in 2001 and had so much fun she wondered if she’d really ever need to get a “real” job. In July of 2003, First Baptist Church of Lafayette, LA called Emory to serve as Associate Minister of Media and Creative Arts. In May of 2005 Emory embarked on her most exciting adventure yet when the Lord led her to begin Dramatic Encounter.

Following the Lord’s leading, Emory has committed herself to full-time drama ministry and spreading His love to everyone she meets. Her deepest desire is to know Him and make Him known. Emory currently resides in Franklin, TN and enjoys spending time with her friends, reading, cooking, good music, and catching as many concerts as possible.

Propaganda (Spoken Word Artist)

Dynamic, soulful, experimental, and clever, all focused on the heart of a person. With an uncompromising message intertwined with hot rhythms and beats, Los Angeles based, Propaganda, lyrically puts together potent relevant music and poetry that reaches across the spectrum of youth and pop culture. Bringing with him years of classroom teaching and community service experience, he is eloquently bold in the message of each song and never shies away from a strong poetic element in his music. His Subject matter ranges from staying accountable God as well as standing up boldly for one’s faith both in word and in one’s life. Not to mention aggressive battle rap and political awareness.

DJ Promote: (DJ)

Somewhere in West Texas, one humble man with a set of turntables is on a mission. He’s Dj Promote and he’s ready to make the party come alive. In his early 20s, Dj Promote was entrenched in the hip-hop scene. He was djing parties, youth events and any place that he could. It was just as he’d always dreamed of. However, something was still missing.

It would still be a couple of years before he would make a commitment to Christ. He still went to the club, but the lifestyle was starting to wear on him. One Sunday morning, he found himself wanting to go up to the altar, but he was hesitant. A older man in his church asked him what he was waiting for, adding, “If you think it’s right, then you just do it.”

After accepting Christ, Dj Promote turned his passion into a vehicle of soul expression. He created websites, did break dancing events and eventually became a fixture in the scene.
“I keep looking back at all the things that God has done. God has taken me through all those steps to make music and have fun. For me it’s about getting people excited and then how can I turn this excitement into something that will impact forever.. I want it to show that God is real. My job is just to be creative so God can work.”