Converge will bring together hundreds of church planting leaders from throughout our movement to SURGE toward our collective faith dream of at least 351 churches planted by the end of 2015.
To accomplish this, we must work together and it will take a SURGE of epic proportions.
Bring your whole team out to Phoenix March 13-15, 2012. Group rates available to teams of 3 or more from the same church.
1595 S Alma School Rd
Chandler, AZ 85286
January 1-February 15
Regular pricing: $119/person or $99/per person for a group of 3+
February 16-March 13
Late or onsite pricing: $139/person (no group rates available)
Lower hotel rates have also been negotiated, so book early to save.
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Jud Wilhite
Jud Wilhite is an author, speaker and senior pastor of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas. His passion is to help people far from God experience his radical grace in Jesus. As a teenager, Jud wrestled with addiction for several years before surrendering his life to God. The grace God extended through a local church community saved his life. Out of that experience Jud dedicated his life to help others who are hurting find healing, and to do it through the local church.
Central is consistently listed as one of the largest and fastest growing churches in America. With four physical locations in Las Vegas and a growing online campus, Central innovated the launching of multi-site church campuses inside prisons in several states with God Behind Bars. In a recent survey, over ninety percent of people surveyed at Central said that God “saved their lives” through the church.
Jud is the author of several books, including the ECPA best-sellers Torn and Throw it Down, Uncensored Grace and Eyes Wide Open. He’s been interview by media outlets including NBC, FOX and The 700 Club and has written many articles for publications including The Washington Post, Beliefnet, and Christianity Today Online.
Jud co-founded People of the Second Chance with Mike Foster. People of the Second Chance is a blog and movement of people championing grace and love in our culture.
Jud graduated from Dallas Christian College and holds a master’s degree from Lincoln Seminary. He is an espresso fanatic and loves playing and studying guitar. His wife, Lori, leads a dynamic blog and community of faith for pastor’s wives and women in ministry called Leading and Loving It. He and Lori have two kids and live in the Las Vegas area.
Darrin Patrick
Darrin founded The Journey in 2002 in the urban core of St. Louis, Missouri. The Journey has four campuses and has released seven church plants. Darrin is Vice President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and serves as a leader in Exponential. Darrin’s passion is to equip the church to live the gospel in the world.
After earning his B.A. in Biblical languages from Southwest Baptist University and a Master’s of Divinity (summa cum laude) from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Darrin recently finished his Doctor of Ministry from Covenant Seminary. Darrin’s first book, Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission, was released in 2010. Darrin’s second book For the City was released in early 2011. Darrin is married to his high school sweetheart, Amie, and they have four beautiful children: Glory, Grace, Drew, and Delainey.
Matt Hammett
Matt Hammett is the lead pastor of Flood Church in San Diego, California. Flood developed out of Matt's passion and vision to see an emerging generation encounter the living God in a creative and diverse worship environment. He currently serves on the international board of Children Of The Nations. Matt and his wife Roxanne will celebrate their 20th anniversary this summer and have four children. Matt enjoys travel, CrossFit, and coaching basketball.
Bob Merritt
I love being the senior pastor of Eagle Brook Church! This August will be 20 years - amazing. But I still feel like the best years are ahead! For some pastors it seems the ministry is a vocation. It's not a vocation for me. Leading people to Christ is something that God put in my heart. It is my pursuit to present God to people in a joyful, excellent way through everything we do at Eagle Brook Church.
My wife Laurie and I have two wonderful children, Megan and Dave - and a dog who has flushed and retrieved more pheasants for me than I can count. My parents and siblings provide a network of pastoral support because all but one family member is a pastor or the wife of a pastor. They are an immediate and ongoing reservoir of ideas, insights, and support to assist me in doing ministry.
In the spring of 2011, I published my first book, When Life's Not Working. I used to think that writing a book was the hardest thing I could do. And I wasn't wrong; it was hard. But what I wasn't prepared for was everything that's happened since, and the new ways that God has grown and stretched me through this experience.
Finally, I love life, laughter, and pretty much every sport there is. And I will be very disappointed if there's no hunting and fishing in heaven.
For more information visit www.bobmerritt.net.
Ryan Axtell |
Brian Wurzell |
Bill Bush has been in full-time pastoral ministry for twenty years, the first ten years in youth ministry, two years in family ministry and the last eight years as Lead Pastor of Rock Point Church which he planted in 2001. He has a Bachelors Degree in Bible and Christian Leadership and is pursuing a Masters Degree in Adult & Family Ministries. He has a passion for leadership, and his expertise in leadership development is often sought after by both faith-based and secular organizations.
Bill has been married to his wife, Carrie, for seventeen years and they are the proud parents of three children, Micah, Jadon and Sarai. Bill serves on the Vision Arizona LEAD Team, Converge Southwest's regional church planting movement. Bill is a keynote speaker at IGNITE 2011.
Steve Russo is a best selling author, radio/TV host and professional drummer. He has been featured on The O’Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel; ABC, CBS and NBC news broadcasts as well as on Focus on the Family and NPR Radio.
Matt Hannan is the lead pastor of New Heights Church in Vancouver, WA. Under his leadership, New Heights has grown from a church of a few hundred to a multi site church with eleven services in four different locations. Additionally, he has served as key leader in Northwest Church Planting, an organization that provides training, coaching and consulting for leaders and networks committed to starting new churches. Matt’s doctoral work at Talbot School of Theology was on revitalizing declining and plateaued churches.
Nick Asolas is a writer and owner/creative director of Slugbug Creative, a one-stop shop for
communications, marketing, web development and design. He is also co-founder of Shrink the church, an online magazine covering the latest in church communication, media and creativity.
Lisa Winters is the Executive Director of Connecting Point Ministries at Cornerstone Christian Fellowship. She has over twenty eight years of ministry experience and was part of the launch team for a church plant that went from 6 to 5500 in 15 years. Lisa is currently on the Executive Lead team at Cornerstone in Chandler.
Rick has been in full-time ministry for more that 25 years. During those years he has worked as Executive Pastor of Creative Arts for some well known mega churches with single and multi-sitecampuses. He has been a writer for LifeWay Christian Resourcesfor more than 15 years and also is a creative consultant. He livesin the Phoenix area with his wife, Wendy.
Sam Crabtree is the Executive Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. Alongside pastor and author John Piper, the main preacher and vision caster at Bethlehem, Sam is the main vision keeper or implementer or guarder. This past year, Sam published the book, Practicing Affirmation: God-Centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God. Sam has been a pastor for 30 years (16 of which have been at Bethlehem). Sam serves on the boards of Desiring God and Bethlehem College & Seminary (chair). Sam has been married to Vicki for 37 years and he has two daughters and four grandchildren. Come hear Sam's keynote presentation as he answers questions such as, "What should all persons want to hear God say to them?” and “What non-optional costs will you incur if you don’t affirm people around you, and what benefits will you enjoy if you do affirm them in God-centered ways?”
Linn Winters is the founder of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship (www.cornerstonechandler.com) in Chandler, Arizona. Cornerstone was recognized by Outreach Magazine, in 2008, as one of the 100 fastest growing churches in America and it has grown from a Bible study to 5,000+ in 15 years. Linn is a graduate of Talbot Theological Seminary.
Paul Alexander is a Pastor, Leader, Communicator, and Church Strategist. He is currently serving as an Executive Pastor at Sun Valley Community Church, a large Multi-site Church located in the Phoenix metro area. Paul has been married to his wife Lisa for 15 years. Together they have three children Kennedy, Mia, and Lincoln.
After spending twenty years in the restaurant a retail world, Scott joined Eagle Brook Church in 1996 as its Facility Manager. Today, as Eagle Brook’s Executive Pastor, Scott’s role is to implement the vision of the Senior Pastor Bob Merritt through a staff of 200 in five campuses across the Twin Cities. Scott has been married to Sarah for 25 years and they have three adult children, a son-in-law and a perfect granddaughter.
I live in Chandler, AZ where my beautiful wife and I raise our daughter and are also foster parents of 2 boys. I have worked with youth from 5th grade to college students and I am currently the preteen pastor at Cornerstone Church. I have a master’s in clinical psychology and am finishing another master’s in Christian leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary.
I grew up in Maplewood, Minnesota as a pastor’s kid. Our family moved to Indiana my junior year of High School, so I ended up attending Indiana State University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education (they used to call me ‘’cello boy!’’) and continued my education at Indiana State University where I earned a Masters of Science in Student Development while working full-time for Indiana State. Most of my professional career has been in Student Development work; most recently I spent 1990-2000 at Bethel University as the Associate Dean for Residence Life.
Dr. Randy Deal was born and raised in Stockton, California, where he accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior and was baptized at the age of seven and served in lay ministry for 24 years, beginning at age twelve. In 1985, he graduated Suma Cum Laude from the University of the Pacific in Stockton as a Doctor of Pharmacy. After completing his Residency in Clinical Pharmacy one year later, he joined the pharmacy staff of St. Joseph’s Regional Health System, also in Stockton, completing his time there as the Assistant Director of Pharmacy Services in 1998, when he left his Pharmacy Career to go into full time ministry. He served as the Executive Pastor and Worship Leader of South Shores Church in Monarch Beach, California for three years, until the summer of 2001, when he and his family, along with four other families, moved to Gilbert, Arizona to plant Rock Point Church. Dr. Deal is currently the Executive Pastor of Rock Point Church, which is now averaging 1500 in attendance each Sunday and just broke ground on the first phase of their new 40 acre campus. His second doctorate degree, a Doctor of Ministry in Church Administration, will be completed soon as well. Dr. Deal is married to Dena Deal, a happily retired Registered Nurse. They have six adult children and are now enjoying an “empty nest” and grandparenthood.
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Brad and Sarah Wilkerson planted the Church of Celebration Metro on the far north side of Dallas, TX in 2008. In three short years they have seen the church grow from 20 in the launch team to now over 600 members, with 500 in weekly attendance. In just a little over three years, COC Metro has celebrated 197 salvations while baptizing 162. COC Metro is now helping with a new Converge Southwest church plant, Movement Church, in the North Ft. Worth area of the DFW Metroplex. Brad and Sarah have two children, Haley (17) and Ryder (12). Brad loves to play golf and Sarah loves crafts and interior design.
Dr. Tom Nebel is the Executive Director of Church Planting for Converge Worldwide, a position he accepted in 2006. Prior to that (1992-2005) he served as Director of Church Planting for the Great Lakes Baptist Conference and Associate Director of TeAmerica, the church planting movement of the Baptist General Conference. He has participated in the planting of more than 50 churches in Wisconsin and hundreds of churches across the United States, currently experiencing a success rate of over 90%. His passion is to fuel regional church planting movements so that they may be effective in expanding the Kingdom of God. Tom is author of Empowering Leaders Through Coaching, The Coach’s Logbook, and Big Dreams in Small Places: Church Planting in Smaller Communities and Church Planting Landmines: Mistakes to Avoid in Years 2-10. His newest book, Parent Church Landmines: Ten Mistakes a Multiplying Church Should Avoid, a co-authorship with Ben Ingebretson, was released 2010. Tom is an engaging and humorous communicator and a strategic leader. He holds degrees from Denver Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary. In the words of church planting strategist Bob Logan, “Tom Nebel combines visionary leadership and the solid experience necessary to see church planting movements propel.” Tom and Lori make their home in Madison, WI and Orlando, FL. They have two adult children, Andrew and Matthew.
Dwayne is the lead pastor of LIFE180 which is located in North Phoenix. This is Dwayne’s second church plant. Dwayne has a passion for church planting and seeing lives changed for Christ.
| 12:00- 5:00 | Pre-Conference: Next Steps for Planting a Missional Church |
| 8:30-12:00 | Pre-Conference: Next Steps for Planting a Missional Church |
| 4:30-6:00 | Check-in |
| 6:00-6:45 | Dinner (on site) |
| 7:00-8:30 | Main Session #1: Jud Wilhite |
| 8:00-9:00 | Q&A: Jud Wilhite |
| 9:00-10:30 | Main Session #2: Matt Hammett |
| 10:30-11:00 | Break |
| 11:00-12:15 | Breakout Workshops: Session #1 |
| 12:15-1:15 | Lunch (on site) |
| 1:15-2:30 | Breakout workshops: Session # 2 |
| 2:30-3:00 | Break |
| 3:00-4:30 | Main Session #3: Darrin Patrick |
| 9:00-10:15 | Breakout Workshops: Sessions #3 |
| 10:15-11:45 | Break |
| 10:45-12:00 | Main Session #4: Bob Merritt |
1595 S Alma School Rd
Chandler, AZ 85286
480.726.8000
1100 S. Price Road
Chandler, AZ 85286
Phone: 888.287.1811
$134/night +tax group rate (group rate expires February 17, 2012)
Hotel Group Code: Converge IGNITE
Book a Room (discount included)
Transportation to event venue provided by hotel shuttle free of charge.
1100 S Price Road
Chandler, AZ
Phone: 888.287.3001
Rate $124.00/night + tax (group rate expires February 17, 2012)
Discount code: ICCICCA (King Bed); ICCICCB (Two Queens)
Book a Room (discount included)
Transportation to event venue provided by hotel shuttle free of charge.
2929 West Frye Road
Chandler, AZ
Phone: 480.899.7400
Rate $139.00/night + tax (group rate expires February 13, 2012)
Discount Code: ICON
Book a Room (discount included)
1231 South Spectrum Boulevard
Chandler, AZ 85286
Phone: 480.917.9500 $129/night + tax group rate
(group rate expires February 17, 2012)
Discount code: ICCICCA (King Bed); ICCICCB (Two Queens)
Book a Room (discount included)
Transportation to event venue provided by hotel shuttle free of charge.
