Hope IN ACTION

Jeff Vanderstelt

SATURATE | Executive Director & Founder

Jeff discusses the importance of discipleship and equipping all believers to live out their faith in every aspect of life, not just within the walls of the church. He encourages all Christians to be disciple-makers and to see their everyday lives as an expression of their love for Christ.

How do we lead a city to Christ? The way to do this is for the knowledge of God’s glory to saturate every area of life, with believers displaying the character of Christ in their workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities.

Dr. Crawford Loritts

BEYOND OUR GENERATION | President & Founder

Crawford explains the importance of mentoring and passing on the faith to the next generation of Christian leaders.

Crawford emphasizes the biblical principle of life-on-life discipleship, where believers are called to pour into one another and model the love of Christ. 

He describes the challenges facing the younger generation, such as the tendency to confuse exposure with experience and the need to develop a strong character that is greater than any platform or position.

Jordan Whitmer

HOW TO LIFE MOVEMENT | Founder & CEO

Jordan Whitmer is the CEO and Founder of the HowToLife Movement. This dynamic ministry is a student-led initiative focused on empowering young people, particularly those in Generation Z, to share the gospel and to make disciples.

Jordan discusses the challenges facing Gen Z, with statistics showing that this is the least Christian generation in United States History. However, he also emphasizes the openness of this generation to discussions about faith and describes exciting ways in which God is moving in effective outreach, both through physical efforts and digital platforms.

Shawn Lovejoy

COURAGE TO LEAD | Founder & CEO

Shawn shares the importance of courage in leadership as well as the need for courageous conversations.

As a successful real estate developer, former church planter and megachurch pastor, and now leader of a fast growing coaching and consulting organization, he highlights the similarities between ministry and marketplace work.

Jordan Montgomery

MONTGOMERY COMPANIES | Owner

Jordan shares how he learned to live out his faith in the marketplace. He emphasizes the importance of encouraging others for who they are, rather than just what they do, and the value of focusing on growth over goals.

Jordan also talks about the art of encouragement and how it is a choice, not just a style. He encourages leaders to be authentic and vulnerable, and to focus on being the person God made them to be, rather than comparing themselves to others.

Edgar Sandoval Sr.

WORLD VISION | President & CEO

Edgar shares his personal story of emigrating to the United States as a teenager, overcoming challenges, and eventually joining World Vision, a global Christian humanitarian organization.

He describes how his faith journey and witnessing the compassion of others like his former boss Steve led him to dedicate his life to serving the poor and vulnerable around the world through World Vision’s work.

Pastor Samuel Rodriguez

NATIONAL HISPANIC CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE (NHCLC) | President

Pastor Samuel Rodriguez discusses his role as an author, movie producer, presidential advisor and a pastor in California, where he leads a diverse, multi-ethnic church focused on biblical orthodoxy and social engagement.

He shares his faith journey and also highlights the growth and influence of the Latino Christian community in the United States and the unique perspective they bring by embracing both the vertical (relationship with God) and horizontal (service to others) aspects of the faith.

Jennie Allen

IF:GATHERING | Founder

New York Times bestselling author and IF:Gathering founder Jennie Allen shares her personal journey of learning to embrace and process her emotions, rather than trying to suppress or fix them. Jennie explains the science behind the importance of sharing emotional experiences, especially traumatic ones, with loved ones in order to process them and prevent them from resurfacing later in life.

She also talks about how her own upbringing shaped her views on emotions, and how she is now working to create a different emotional environment for her own children.

Michelle Diedrich

GLOBAL MEDIA OUTREACH (GMO)| Chief Experience Officer

Michelle shares how her husband’s heart transplant has paralleled the spiritual lessons of receiving a new heart from God. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, GMO has reached 2.7 billion people with the heartfelt message of the gospel during this time.

In explaining strategies for digital evangelism, Michelle provides practical advice for Christians on effectively sharing their faith online, emphasizing the importance of listening, sharing personal stories, and pointing people to the Bible.

Kevin Palau

LUIS PALAU ASSOCIATION | President

The Luis Palau Association is one of the most revered global evangelistic organizations. Yet its president, Kevin Palau, emphasizes the importance of first having a local impact at your church and in the city where you live.

Kevin describes how they approached outreach in their hometown of Portland, one of the least religious cities in America. It involved building relationships with civic leaders and mobilizing thousands of volunteers from local churches to meet practical needs. This led to an ongoing partnership between the church and the city in long-lasting and transforming ways.

Jon Gordon

JON GORDON COMPANIES | Bestselling Author & Speaker

Jon shares his personal faith journey, describing how he went from being a spiritual seeker to finding a relationship with Jesus Christ. He discusses how his faith has transformed his life, including his writing career, and how he now aims to bring hope and positivity to others through his work.

Jon also shares advice for connecting with and ministering to people from diverse backgrounds, focusing on building relationships and authentically sharing one’s faith.

Gary Gaddini

TRANSFORMING THE BAY WITH CHRIST | Executive Director

In inarguably one of the most unchurched cities in the United States, the aim of Transforming The Bay With Christ is to bring churches together in unity around the gospel, amplify the good works being done to create goodwill, and multiply through church planting and evangelism.

Gary shares that if unity can happen in the San Francisco area, it can happen anywhere and emphasizes the importance of equipping and empowering Christians in the marketplace to live out their faith, rather than just focusing on church roles.

Jason Brown

MARKETPLACE CHAPLAINS | CEO & President

Jason shares his personal faith journey and the mission of his organization to bring hope and truth to the workplace. He emphasizes the need for Christians to be present and authentic in their workplaces, building relationships and earning the right to share their faith.

Jason highlights the challenges and struggles that many employees face, such as mental health issues, isolation, and uncertainty, and how workplace chaplains and everyday Christians can provide a listening ear and practical support.

Will Plitt

CHRIST TOGETHER | Executive Director

Christ Together is an organization that aims to unify churches across the United States to reach cities with the gospel. The executive director, Will Plitt, shares his faith journey of going from being disillusioned with the church to becoming a pastor and eventually leading Christ Together.

He describes how Christ Together was formed by a group of pastors who recognized the need for a shift in the church’s priorities, moving away from a focus on individual church growth and towards taking responsibility for reaching entire cities and regions with the gospel.

Nazareth

Inspirational Comedian

Nazareth shares his journey of finding faith in Jesus after initially pursuing a career in mainstream comedy. Nazareth explains how he came to realize that he could use his gift of comedy to honor God and bring people to Christ. He discusses the power of laughter to provide relief and hope, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Nazareth emphasizes the importance of using humor in a way that is uplifting and not offensive, and he encourages others to incorporate more laughter and joy into their lives and ministries.

Jason Romano

SPORTS SPECTRUM | Director Of Media

Jason previously worked at ESPN and now works for Sports Spectrum, a Christian sports media organization. Jason shares his journey of coming to faith in his 20’s and how that led him to leave his dream job at ESPN to join Sports Spectrum, where he can more openly discuss faith and its intersection with sports. 

He talks about the themes he has observed in interviews with athletes, such as the struggle with pride and identity, and the importance of finding one’s identity in Christ rather than in one’s performance or success.

Dr. Todd Ahrend

THE TRAVELING TEAM | Founder & International Director

Dr. Todd Ahrend shares the vision and work of the Traveling Team, a ministry that has been mobilizing and empowering college students to engage in global missions for the past 25 years. He shares his personal journey of how he became passionate about reaching the unreached people groups around the world and how he has been inspiring and equipping students to get involved in this global mission.

He encourages us to embrace our role as global Christians, to seek God’s heart for the nations, and to take practical steps to get involved in the Great Commission.

Hope Training

Brad Dacus

PACIFIC JUSTICE INSTITUTE | President

Don’t believe what the world is trying to tell you. You have many more rights to share your faith in the workplace in the United States than you would imagine. Attorney and legal expert Brad Dacus discusses ways that Christians can share their faith in the workplace, such as displaying religious items on their desks, inviting co-workers to church, reading the Bible during breaks, and praying at their desks.

He notes that these rights apply to both government and private employers, and encourages Christians to be proactive in exercising their rights.

Brad Dacus

PACIFIC JUSTICE INSTITUTE | President

Brad shares about the spiritual warfare taking place in public schools in America and the various options parents have for their children’s education, including public, charter, private, homeschooling, and co-ops.

He emphasizes the importance of Christian students to assert their First Amendment rights to express their faith in public schools, such as sharing the gospel, forming Christian clubs, and organizing revival rallies. He also provides guidance for Christian teachers in public schools and for parents on how to get involved and protect their children. He also provides suggestions for pastors and churches in how best to reach out to public school students. 

Brad Dacus

PACIFIC JUSTICE INSTITUTE | President

Street preaching, or public profession of faith is one of the oldest…and still most effective…ways of evangelism. Brad discusses the rights and legal considerations around public evangelism  in the United States.

He explains how street preaching has a long history in the Christian tradition and is protected under the First Amendment’s free exercise and free speech clauses. However, there are reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions that can be imposed, and Brad takes care to explain these guidelines in detail.

Brad Dacus

PACIFIC JUSTICE INSTITUTE | President

Christian business owners have a unique platform for sharing their faith. So why do so few use it in this way?

Most will answer you that they are unsure of their rights in the United States. Join Brad Dacus as he brings clarity to this topic as he seeks to empower entrepreneurs to share their faith through their businesses. He covers various ways entrepreneurs can incorporate their religious beliefs and values into their business operations.

INDESTRUCTIBLE HOPE

28 Days of Hope is a journey together, as we rediscover and recommit to God's indestructible hope in transformative ways.

As you begin this journey, you'll experience a sense of excitement about what God is going to do.

If you have a desire to grow in your faith, strengthen your relationships, gain wisdom, cultivate new habits, experience more peace, and live daily with purpose and passion, then you are in the right place.