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2022 Session Speakers

Chad Poe, Throughline Cohort

Chad has been speaking biblical truth into students’ lives for years. He believes in the importance of relationships and seeks to get to know people when he is away from the stage. Ultimately, Chad hopes to see students moved into a deeper relationship with Christ through the power of God’s Word. In turn, those students will impact their community and world for Christ’s sake. Chad is currently the Teaching Pastor at Grace Bible Church. He is the co-host of the Hold On Podcast and is the founder of Through-line Cohort – a ministry that exists to develop communicators of the Bible. He is married to Hope and they have three sons (Shepherd, Charlie, and Alder) and a daughter (Noli).

Hung Thach, Team Leader, Cru High School Los Angeles

Hung and his family fled from war torn South Vietnam in 1975 and came to the United States and was sponsored by a local Church in Chattanooga, TN. He and his wife Angela have been married for 25 years and have three children, Caleb, Brooke, and Jericho. They have served with Cru for the past 23 years and Hung currently serves as the Team Leader for Cru’s High School ministry in Los Angeles.

They are committed to reaching students in some of the most under-served areas of Los Angeles Their passion is to help bring the love and truth of Jesus to teenagers around their city and the world. Their family embraces the messiness of ministry and loves sharing life with the staff, college students, and teens in which they have the privilege of serving and leading.

2022 Breakout Sessions & Speakers

Andy Blanks, YM360
Doug Franklin, Leader Treks

Amy-Jo Girardier,
Brentwood Baptist Church

Chris Trent,
Georgia Baptist Mission Board
Zac Workun, Lifeway Students
Reggie Madison, First Things First
Jay Barbier, Tennessee
Baptist Mission Board
Tony Souder, One Hundred Years
Ryan Dunlap, Conflictish
Liz Edrington, Northshore Fellowship
Lorinda Roberts, Lee University

Chris Martin, Moody Publishers

Courtney Caroland, Elbow Tree

JaMichael Jordan,
Mt. Canaan Baptist Church
Justin Wilson,
Woodland Park Baptist

Robert Row, seeJesus

Dave Coryell, Christian Endeavor
Kerry Ray, YM360
Jake Rasmussen, YM360
Jake Rasmussen, YM360
Jake serves YM360 across the board with strategy in areas like marketing, launching new resources, and customer care. Jake has a passion for youth ministry having previously served with Group Publishing/Simply Youth Ministry for over six years. He loves being outdoors and was once known to be a Crossfit junkie. Growing up in Arizona, he’s a legitimate Arizona Wildcats fan, a rarity here in the South. Jake lives with his wife Jennifer and their four children in Birmingham.
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Lorinda Roberts, Lee University

Lorinda Roberts is the Youth and Family Ministry Discipline Coordinator for Lee University.  She and her husband also serve at Mt Olive Ministries as the Student pastors. Lorinda loves building relationships with students and leaders over a good cup of coffee. She also loves trying new hikes and new food with her husband Landon and her kids Kaden, Dylan, and his wife Gabriela.

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Doug Franklin, LeaderTreks
Doug Franklin started LeaderTreks in 1994 because he wanted to see students reach their potential. For over twenty years he has been training students and youth pastors alike, developing them into leaders who serve in God’s Kingdom. Before starting LeaderTreks, Doug was a youth pastor for twelve years, but discovered his true passion was discipleship and leadership development. He is married to a wonderfully creative woman named Angie Jones, and they live in West Chicago, Illinois.
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Zac Workun, Lifeway Students
Zac currently serves as the Student Ministry Specialist for Lifeway Students. Zac is also the co-founder and network lead for Youth Ministry Booster. Zac is a voracious reader, avid gamer, car-camper, folk musician, black coffee-drinker, beard aficionado. Enneagram 7 & ENFP. He loves to eat breakfast food at new places with his wife Karen and two wild boys Isaiah & Gideon.

For 15+ years, Zac has served on staff at local churches in Oklahoma and North Carolina to oversee the middle school, high school, and college-aged ministries. Zac received his undergraduate education from Oklahoma Baptist University and his Master’s of Divinity from Duke University.
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Reggie Madison, First Things First

Reggie is the VP of Community Relations for First Things First, a national nonprofit based in Chattanooga whose mission is to strengthen families and relationships. He also serves as the Youth Pastor at Greater Tucker Baptist Church. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Masters of Divinity. Reggie married his wife, Erika, in June 2004 and together they have 7 kids. Reggie enjoys spending time with family, playing and watching sports, reading, hiking, and outdoor activities.

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Dave Coryell, Christian Endeavor
Dave Coryell, and his wife, Jen, live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (Amish Paradise!) and have four children Kate, Kendra, Ben and Zach. DC’s 87 year old mother, Nancy, also lives with them.

DC began serving with Christian Endeavor in the USA in 2007 following fifteen years as a pastor of youth and leadership development. He was elected CEO for World CE in December 2016. Along with Christian Endeavor, DC currently serves as an adjunct professor at Lancaster Bible College, the volunteer Executive Pastor at his home church, and has authored numerous ministry resources.

Dave loves coaching soccer, movies, reading to learn, strategy games and challenging people to put Christ at the center of their lives. He is also a long-suffering Philadelphia sports fan.

He is trusting God to see Christian Endeavor spread to all fifty US states and at least fifty countries before the end of the decade. The CE network currently includes churches in ten states and thirty-eight countries. Most recently CE spread to the State of Maine and the country of Pakistan.
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Tony Souder, One Hundred Years
Tony is the CEO of One Hundred Years, a family of ministries dedicated to helping individuals, families and churches flourish in bringing the greatness of God to the next generation. These ministries include the Youth Leader Collective and the Pray for Me Campaign. Since 1994 the Youth Leader Collective has connected, coached and cared for youth leaders throughout the southeast. One of Tony’s passions is helping churches and ministries thrive in creating natural and effective intergenerational relationships beginning with prayer. Tony and his bride, Rhonda, have been married since 1985 and have twin adult daughters.
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Ryan Dunlap, Conflictish
Ryan is the CEO of Conflictish, a conflict strategy consultancy specializing in addressing workplace conflict and sexual misconduct behavior in leaders. From tarnished rapport to squeamish behavior, he’s passionate about helping leaders get their ‘ish together.

Ryan is an expert in his field and has conducted countless interviews, high-stakes interrogations, complex negotiations, de-escalations, and interventions. He is a decorated law enforcement veteran with 14 years of experience in various roles including a detective in the Special Victims Unit and member of the Child Abduction Response Team, SWAT hostage negotiator, and crisis intervention officer.

Previously, Ryan served as the Pastor of Life Safety and Executive Director of Operations at Victory World Church in Atlanta, and as the Executive Director of Street Grace Tennessee, a faith-based anti-human trafficking non-profit. Today, in addition to his consulting practice, he serves as the Pastor of Leadership Development at City Light Church in Chattanooga.

Ryan has been married to his high school sweetheart, Alicia, for 16 years. They enjoy serving as marriage and pre-marriage ministry facilitators, worshipping and playing music together, and practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with their 4 children.
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Liz Edrington, Northshore Fellowship

Liz Edrington is a Texan from Virginia who currently calls Chattanooga, TN home. She studied sports medicine at the University of Virginia and received her M.A. in Counseling from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. She is on staff at North Shore Fellowship and serves as an adjunct professor in the psychology department at Covenant College. She served on the steering committee for Rooted: Advancing Grace-Driven Youth Ministry for 10 years. Soccer, delicious food, and Bella the Golden Retriever are three of her favorite things.

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Matt Brinkley, PACT Ministry
Matt Brinkley’s ministry experience spans over 40 years. He is a graduate of Covenant College (BS) and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (ADiv). After serving as a youth pastor in Macon, GA, and Montgomery, AL, he moved to Atlanta to serve as student pastor at Perimeter Church in 1991. Eleven years later, Matt’s responsibilities there broadened to include leadership of the Nextgen Division and oversight of all ministries related to children and youth. In 2006 he went on staff at The Vine Community Church (PCA) serving as the Nextgen director and the oversight of adult discipleship until 2013.

Matt now serves full-time as the director of PACT Ministry which he founded in 1996 that serves and encourages youth pastors across the country in their personal walk with God, family and life balance, and strategic ministry.

He is an active certified coach and facilitator/trainer for RightPATH Resources impacting leaders in Fortune 500 companies as well as executives running medium and small businesses.

Matt is the author of four books (Mistaken Identity, Stay the Course, FOUR, and Dating by the Book), along with five discipleship manuals. He is a sought-after speaker for retreats and conferences. Matt and his wife Vickie have been married for 40 years and have three grown children… Matt Jr., Andrew, and Mary Beth, and five incredible grandchildren… Nathan, Luke, Olivia, Elena, and Hudson.
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Jay Barbier, Tennessee
Baptist Mission Board
Jay serves as the Youth Specialist with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. His desire is to help engage people with the Gospel and know the love of Jesus Christ. Jay believes that the message of Jesus changes lives and provides hope. He has worked at churches in Louisiana, Tennessee and has spoken throughout the Southeast. He leads Youth Summer Camps and YEC, Youth Evangelism Conference, for Tennessee Baptists. Jay holds a degree from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He enjoys traveling with his wife Natalee and two children, Caleb and Mary-Clare. Advocating for Special Needs, eating Cajun Cuisine, and travel brings joy to his family.
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Chris Martin, Moody Publishers
Chris Martin is a content marketing editor at Moody Publishers, an author, and a social media, marketing, and communications consultant. He writes regularly in his newsletter, Terms of Service, and is the author of Terms of Service: The Real Cost of Social Media (B&H, 2022). Chris lives outside Nashville with his wife, Susie, their daughter, Magnolia, and their dog, Rizzo.
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Courtney Caroland, Elbow Tree
Courtney lives in Chattanooga, TN with her husband Todd and their dog Teddy. Courtney served as the Youth Director at Rock Creek Fellowship for 7 years while completing her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Richmont Graduate University. She and Teddy are working at the Christian Counselor Cooperative, as part of the Elbow Tree Group. Courtney loves hiking, cooking, spending time with friends, and always up for the next adventure.
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JaMichael Jordan,
Mt. Canaan Baptist Church
JaMichael’s passion for ministry stems from his own challenges as a youth to his transformation to becoming fully dedicated and committed to Christ. In addition to serving as Youth and Young Adult Pastor at the Mount Canaan Baptist Church for many years, JaMichael served five years as Program Director for Stop the Madness National, Inc., a program that was centered around at-risk youth and families. JaMichael gives credit to Stop the Madness National, Inc. for allowing him to be a pioneer of change through teaching, mentoring, and leadership development throughout Chattanooga and Hamilton Country Schools while staying true to his destiny.

Although JaMichael is very focused on youth and young adults he has a vast skill set that includes serving on the advisory council for Glass House Collective (GHC) as well as serving as a consultant with the Supreme Court for the state of Georgia. JaMichael is also a proud graduate of the University of Memphis, where he was actively involved and served in many leadership roles such as President of the Empowered Men of Color (EMOC), Vice-President of the Black Student Association(BSA), Orientation Guide, Memphis State Eight honoree and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. JaMichael graduated in 2011 where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree. He earned his certification in Pastoral Leadership from Tennessee Temple University in 2014.

Most recently, JaMichael has become a newly published author with the release of his first book entitled “Decoded: Discovering the Mystery That Is You.”

JaMichael is married to Amanda, who equally shares and supports his vision and passions. The two share two sons together Micah and Nason.
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Chris Trent,
Georgia Baptist Mission Board
Chris serves at the Next Gen Catalyst at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Having recently wrapped up almost 17 years as the Middle School and Student Pastor at Johnson Ferry Baptist in Marietta, Georgia, he has a passion for pointing teenagers to Jesus and investing in leaders who are impacting the next generation for Christ. He lives in Marietta, GA with his wife, Wendy and has two grown up kids, Dillon and Abby. As an “old guy” in youth ministry (now 30 years), he is also the co-host of the The Youth Ministry Podcast for Volunteers (launching in August, 2022) and author of Consider This: A Youth Minister’s Guide to Longevity.
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Amy-Jo Girardier,
Brentwood Baptist Church
Amy-Jo Girardier is the Women’s Minister and has served as Girls Minister for 19 years at Brentwood Baptist in Brentwood, TN. She continues to speak and write resources for teen girls, moms, and youth workers engaged in the girls ministry conversation.  She is also the author of the two Lifeway biblestudy and DVD teaching series: Authentic Love and Faithful One and created the resource of girlsminister.com.

Amy-Jo loves Jesus more than anything else!  She loves talking about generations, technology, drinking coffee, running, serving on staff with her husband Darrel, wordle, and hanging out with her sons Scout and Skylar.

You can find her on instagram: @amyjogirardier.
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Justin Wilson,
Woodland Park Baptist
Justin Wilson is the Student Pastor at Woodland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga Tennessee. Justin has served in student ministry for 10 years and loves to help others know and love Jesus. He also loves to coach others who are looking for opportunities to grow and develop as a disciple maker. Justin is married to LeAnne and they have 2 daughters and a son. He loves the outdoors, reading, and winning.
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Robert Row, seeJesus
Robert is the Student Ministries Coordinator for seeJesus, a global discipling mission. He works with Student Pastors throughout the country helping them discover the beauty of Jesus as a Person. Robert served as a Youth Pastor for 20 years and he currently lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee with his wife Rebecca. They have five children, Emily (In Heaven since 2000), Tyler (Junior at the University of Tennessee), Campbell (Freshman at Covenant College), Laura (10th grade) and Mary Katherine (5th grade). Robert enjoys fly fishing, hiking, camping, landscaping and bonsais.
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Kerry Ray, YM360
Kerry is the Director of Publishing for YM360.com. Prior to joining the YM360 team, Kerry was a youth ministry veteran with 27+ years of experience serving and leading in churches of various sizes, denominations, and multi-site strategies. After nearly 3 decades immersed in all things youth ministry, Kerry is quick to tell you that he still finds immeasurable joy and life in every opportunity he has to engage teenagers and youth workers whether that be in the form of camp/retreat speaking, writing, content creating, coaching youth workers, developing young leaders, enlightening parents on adolescent development, church consulting, or training youth ministry teams. Kerry and his wife Stefanie live in Birmingham, AL, with their two children. You can connect with Kerry on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook at @kray2u.
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Andy Blanks, YM360
Andy Blanks is the Co-Founder of YM360 and Iron Hill Press. A former Marine, Andy has been doing ministry since the early 2000s, having led the development of some of the most popular Bible study curriculum and discipleship resources in the country. He is an author, speaker, and podcast host who has been communicating the transformational power of God’s Word for over two decades. He is passionate about helping people grasp God’s call to live with purpose and meaning, spending their lives well for the sake of the Gospel. Andy has authored countless books, Bible studies, and articles and is a sought-after speaker.
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