Wayne Taylor is the founding pastor of Calvary Fellowship Seattle, where he was the lead pastor for 41 years. (It’s now called Mountlake Church.) Over time, God used the church to help plant over 50 churches, about half locally and half globally. Recently, Wayne transitioned to the roles of itinerant Bible teacher and support Missionary to many global Calvary churches. He is the author of 4 books: “The Civil War Within,” “The Unsearchable Riches of Christ,” “He Dwelt Among Us,” and “Tidings of Great Joy.”

Rafael Manzanares, originally from the island of Mallorca, is the lead pastor of Santa Ponsa Community Church. He became a Christian in the US and attended Calvary Chapel Bible College in Austria. Rafael then served with Pastor Brian Brodersen in London before moving to Spain to take over the pastorate of SPCC in 2002 and eventually open a Calvary Chapel-affiliated Bible College as well in 2005. He is now working on a long-standing vision of opening a Christian school on the island.

Brian Brodersen is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. He also serves as president of the Calvary Global Network, chancellor of Calvary Chapel Bible College, and co-founder and director of Creation Fest UK. Brian is the featured speaker on the Back to Basics radio program and co-host of the live call-in program Pastors’ Perspective. Brian holds an M.A. in Ministry and Leadership from Wheaton College.

John Dickson is a professor at Wheaton College, host of Undeceptions (a podcast “Advocating for the Christian faith in a sceptical world”), and busy writer and public speaker. His story is an eclectic one. After starting out as a professional singer-songwriter, John now works as historian, professor, author, and media presenter. Before moving to Wheaton College, he held teaching and research positions in various departments, i.e., Ancient History, Jewish and Biblical Studies, and Classics in Australia and Oxford, England. A prolific writer, John has published over twenty books (two became television documentaries, and one was released in Australian cinemas), not to mention “A Doubter’s Guide to World Religions” (2022), “7 Reasons to (Re)consider Christianity” (2021), and “Bullies and Saints – An honest look at the good and evil of Christian history” (2021).

Dan Kimball was the founding point leader of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California, where he still serves on staff. He is also the Vice President of Church, Strategy and Mission at Western Seminary as well as an Associate Professor of Leadership and Theology. In addition to earning graduate degrees from Western Seminary (M.A.) and George Fox University (D.Min.), Dan is the author of several books including “How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-science, Pro-violence, Pro-slavery and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture.”

Justin Thomas is president of Calvary Chapel Bible College (CCBC) in Twin Peaks, California, where he is an alumnus. Prior to serving at CCBC, he was the founding pastor of Calvary: The Hill in Seattle, Washington. In addition to holding an M.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary, Justin is continuing his studies at Western as a doctoral student (Ph.D.) in Intercultural Education.

Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is the Dean and Professor of Leadership and Christian Ministry at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He also serves as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Wycliffe Hall at Oxford University, where he teaches twice a year. Ed has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; earned two master’s degrees and two doctorates; and written hundreds of articles and a dozen books. He is Regional Director for Lausanne North America, the Editor-in-Chief of Outreach Magazine, and regularly writes for news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. His national radio show, Ed Stetzer Live, airs Saturdays on Moody Radio and affiliates. Ed serves his local church, Mariners Church, as Scholar in Residence & Teaching Pastor.

After serving two decades as a missionary and church planter in Hungary, Phil and Joy are now back in Southern California where Phil is the lead pastor of Calvary San Diego and Joy leads the women’s ministry. While in Hungary, Phil was the lead pastor of Calvary Chapel Budapest as well as the ministry director of Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Phil oversees Calvary Church plants throughout Eastern Europe, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. Their heart and ministry is focused on making disciples and seeing the church impact the world for Christ. They would love to see more and more churches planted in order to bring the Word of God to the lost. Phil is a graduate of Veritas International University (M.A. in Theology/Theological Studies) and Western Seminary (Ph.D. in Intercultural Education). His podcast, “Crossing Cultures,” is dedicated to helping people connect to those who live, think, and believe differently than they do. Phil is also the co-author of “A Story of Grace: Beyond the Iron Curtain.”

Bobby Conway serves as lead pastor of Image Church in Charlotte, North Carolina and is well-known for his YouTube ministry, One Minute Apologist, which now goes by Christianity Still Makes Sense. He also serves as the co-host of Pastors’ Perspective, a nationally syndicated call-in radio show on KWVE in Southern California. Bobby earned his Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, his Doctor of Ministry in Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Birmingham (England). Bobby has also written several books, including “The Fifth Gospel,” “Doubting Toward Faith,” “Does God Exist? and Fifty-One Other Questions About God and the Bible,” and “Does Christianity Still Make Sense?”

Billy Almaguer and his family are no strangers to Florida or ministry. He met his wonderful wife Kelli in 2000 in West Palm Beach, Florida, while serving in a young adults ministry at Christ Fellowship. He will be quick to tell you that his wife has an incredible gift as a worship leader, and she is a beautiful gift from the Lord. In 2001, Billy, Kelli, and other young adults went to the Dominican Republic for a mission trip. Immediately after the trip, Billy and Kelli began dating and were married in November of 2002.

He and Kelli are big believers in the local church and have served together in various ministries since 2001. They have been on staff at Calvary Chapel Port St. Lucie and Southbrook Church since 2007.
In 2012 God began to work in the heart of Billy and started a slow and steady process of preparing him and his family to go and make disciples. In January 2015, God gave Billy the vision of planting a Calvary Chapel church in St. Augustine, Florida. With the full blessing and support of Southbrook Church, Billy and Kelli have begun to transition to fulfill this call in their lives. Billy will quickly tell you that Jesus never said to plant a church but instead make disciples. His heart is on reaching those who are close to us but far from God with the life-changing message of Jesus and cultivating discipleship opportunities.

Billy is a licensed professional engineer with ten years of experience doing consulting work along the east coast of Florida and has served in the local church since 1998.

Brian Brodersen is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. He also serves as President of the Calvary Global Network, Chancellor of Calvary Chapel Bible College, and is the co-founder and director of Creationfest UK. Brian is the featured speaker on the Back to Basics Radio program and co-host of the live call-in program Pastor’s Perspective. Brian holds an M.A. in Ministry and Leadership from Wheaton College.

Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is the Dean and Professor of Leadership and Christian Ministry at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He also serves as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Wycliffe Hall at Oxford University, where he teaches twice a year. Ed has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; earned two master’s degrees and two doctorates; and written hundreds of articles and a dozen books. He is Regional Director for Lausanne North America, the Editor-in-Chief of Outreach Magazine, and regularly writes for news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. His national radio show, Ed Stetzer Live, airs Saturdays on Moody Radio and affiliates. Ed serves his local church, Mariners Church, as Scholar in Residence & Teaching Pastor.

Peter Voorhees is the Lead Pastor of City Chapel of Bremerton in Bremerton, WA. He holds a graduate degree from Western Seminary and is an alum of Calvary Chapel Bible College.

With his educational background and personal experiences, Peter is passionate about creating a welcoming environment where individuals can be introduced to Jesus and grow in the gospel. He is married to Crystal, and they have three daughters: Celia Aviya, Molly Olivia, and Stella Violet.

In co-leading a breakout session at this conference, Peter brings his expertise in trauma-informed ministry to equip other pastors with the knowledge and skills necessary to support their communities effectively.

Pastor Lu Wing is the Associate Pastor at Olive Branch Christian Fellowship. He graduated from San Francisco University with a BA in Cell Biology (1980) and completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland (1992). Lu, his wife Pam, and their family of four have lived in the San Diego area for 32 years. Pastor Lu is also currently a toxicology consultant in the biopharmaceutical industry with Cardinal Health in San Diego. He effectively brings his background into his Bible teaching.

Gerry Breshears has been professor of theology at Western Seminary since 1980. In addition to teaching and lecturing at a number of colleges and seminaries around the world, he speaks in many churches. He works with a wide variety of people and issues in the pastoral side of his life. He works in leadership in the Evangelical Theological Society nationally and regionally, including having served as national president. He is coauthor of Vintage Jesus, Death by Love, Vintage Church, and Doctrine with Mark Driscoll. Gerry and his wife, Sherry, have two sons, Donn and David, and a daughter, Cyndee, and four wonderful grandchildren. He is an elder and a member of the preaching team at Grace Community Church of Gresham, Oregon.

Jeff Gipe is the leader of Local and Global Outreach at Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, Tennessee. His prior pastoral roles include founding pastor of Newport Coast Lighthouse Church, a Calvary Chapel in Newport Beach, California, where he served for 15 years. In addition to serving in Brentwood, Jeff is a member of the CGN Executive Team.

Justin Thomas is president of Calvary Chapel Bible College (CCBC) in Twin Peaks, California, where he is an alumnus. Prior to serving at CCBC, he was the founding pastor of Calvary: The Hill in Seattle, Washington. In addition to holding an M.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary, Justin is continuing his studies at Western as a doctoral student (Ph.D.) in Intercultural Education.

For the past twenty years Brian Kelly has been involved in church planting and mission work in East Africa, New Zealand, and the United States. Brian has a passion for planting churches and has hands-on experience seeing churches grow from the ground up. He recently planted a church in Bradenton, Florida—WestChurch—where he serves as lead pastor. Brian is also a member of the CGN Executive Team.

Mike Neglia is the lead pastor at Calvary Cork located in Cork, Ireland. After graduating from Bible College in Siegen, Germany in the summer of 2002, he served at Calvary Cork as a full-time missionary youth outreach coordinator/assistant for two years before taking over as lead pastor. Mike also channels his passion for Christ-centered expository preaching by serving on the steering committee of Expositors Collective and hosting their weekly podcast.

Bruce Zachary is the senior pastor at Calvary Nexus in Camarillo, California. In addition, he is a member of the CGN Executive Team and core initiative Cultivate team. Bruce is also a church planter, having previously directed the Calvary Church Planting Network, a global church planting initiative.

Daniel Williams has a heart for encouraging and equipping church leaders through his Leadership Lessons Podcast and ministry at www.eeleaders.com. Daniel currently serves as the Lead Pastor of Calvary Chapel of the Palm Beaches in Southeast Florida with his wife, Laura, and their two teenage children.