Blog Contributors

Adam Embry is a follower of Christ, husband to Charlotte, and father to six children. He has served in various churches and ministries. He is currently helping to lead the Calvary Institute at Calvary Church in Englewood, Colorado. He is a graduate of Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

Adam Fix is the Senior Pastor of Our Saviour Evangelical Free Church in Wheeling, IL. He is a founding member of Reach Chicago, a network of churches committed to planting churches in the city and suburbs of Chicago. He is married to Holly and together they have a daughter. Adam really enjoys coffee and cookies. 

Adam Skatula works as an A&R rep at Tooth & Nail/ Solid Sate Records in Seattle, Washington. He is the drummer for Seattle based band Citizens & Saints. He and his wife Amy recently moved to Littleton, Colorado where they attend Calvary Church in Englewood.

Adam Wyatt is the senior pastor of Corinth Baptist Church in Central Mississippi. A bi-vocational pastor, Adam also serves his community as an English Teacher, Football Coach, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes sponsor at the local high school where he has the opportunity to serve alongside his wife.  He loves his wife, his three beautiful daughters, good conversation, books, and coffee.  He is also pursuing his PhD in Biblical Theology from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. Connect with Adam @pastor_adam

Ben Haley serves as a Pastor at Calvary Church in Englewood, Colorado. He loves the Gospel, his family, the mountains, and food.

Ben Nevius grew up in British Columbia (a province of Canada). The Lord captured his heart at the age of 15 and he continues to be molded and shaped by God for His glory. He is so thankful for his beautiful wife Elizabeth and their son, Levi. His great desire is to see people encounter the real Jesus, specifically in the Baker neighborhood of Denver.

Blake Deibel is the assistant for the Replant team at NAMB. He and his wife Valerie married in July 2014 and serve at Redeemer Fellowship in Kansas City. They live in KC to help cultivate communities of transformed disciples that exist for the Glory of God and the good of the city. He holds a BA in Jazz Saxophone Performance from the UMKC Conservatory and an M.Div from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Bob Bickford is a replanting pastor at The Groves Church in Webster Groves, Mo., founder of churchreplanters.com, is a Church Replanting Catalyst with the North American Board and serves as the chair of the Church Revitalization Team of the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association. He and his wife, Barb, and their youngest daughter make their home in Webster Groves, Mo.  Follow him on Twitter @bobick

Brandon Ryan serves as the Pastoral Resident at Red Village Church, an SBC church plant in Madison, WI, and obtained his Master of Divinity from Denver Seminary. He and his wife, Valerie, have been married for 8 years and have three wonderful children.

Brent Wildeson is a Pastor at Chambersburg Brethren in Christ Church in Chambersburg PA.  He and his wife April have 4 Children. After 7 years as a missionary in Taiwan, he is now serving as Pastor in the church he grew up in. 

Chad Mondragon lives in Centennial, CO with his wife Melody and their 5 kids.  He is lead pastor and planter of Sola Church in Centennial, and has also planted a church in Lexington, KY.  Chad is part of the Acts29 Church Planting Network, North American Mission Board, and the Soma Family of Churches.

Chris Martin is the lead pastor & church planter of Fathom Church (http://fathomchurch.org/), an Acts 29 church, in Littleton, Colorado. He and his wife, Maryse, have one daughter, Harper. You can find him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/cmartpastor).

Christopher Hooper recently began serving as pastor of First Evangelical Free Church of Brooklyn, NY (http://firstfreebrooklyn.org) after working in an executive pastoral role for several years at Open Door Fellowship Church in Denver, CO (http://odfdenver.org). His wife and ministry collaborator Holly has supported him for a couple of decades while his boys, Maxwell and Miles have brought him joy and pride for over a decade. Chris doesn’t tweet (but enjoys those who do), and can often be reached via email at: xchristopher@mail.com.

Dan Freng serves as the Lead Pastor of Calvary Church in Littleton, Colorado. He earned his M.Div from Denver Seminary. He loves Jesus, his wife, his five kids, and is a really big fan of Little Debbie snack cakes. 

Dan Hallock is the lead pastor at Cedarhome Baptist Church in Stanwood, Washington.  He is a graduate of the University of Wyoming and Denver Seminary.  He loves music, fishing, and hanging out with his wife and three kids.

Dave Anderson is a Pastor and Bible teacher at Littleton Bible Chapel.  He is married to the lovely Lonnalee, and together they have three kids--Mollie, Ryle Ironside, and Georgia.  Dave also is involved with Biblical Eldership Resources, a ministry that provides biblical resources for the practice of eldership (www.biblicaleldership.com)

David Gaskins is a Colorado-born nobody who loves telling others about Somebody. He graduated with a BA in Theology from Colorado Christian University and is currently earning his M.Div. at Denver Seminary. He and his beautiful bride Sara reside in Castle Rock, CO. and attend Calvary Church in Englewood, CO. David and Sara hope to plant a church in Salt Lake City so that Jesus might become non-ignorable in Utah.

Dean Wertz serves as the Lead Pastor of Hope Community Church in Denver, Colorado. He is grateful for his amazing wife, daughter and son. Dean earned his M.Div at Denver Seminary. His passion is to help lead people into an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ for God's glory and their joy. Feel free to contact Dean at dean@hopechurchdenver.com.

Don Whalen Jr. grew up and came to know Jesus in the greater Chicagoland area of Illinois.  He has served as pastor of churches in Illinois, Michigan and Missouri, but has served in Wyoming for the last 28 years as a pastor, church planter, Area Director of Missions, State Evangelism Director and presently serves as the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention State Director of Missions and Church Planting Strategist.

Jason Franklin is a follower of Christ, husband, father, pastor, and missionary for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While studying to be a missionary overseas Jason realized his own neighborhood was a cross-cultural mission field. Since then he and his family have worked to help churches purposefully see beyond themselves and reach the unchurched. He is currently serving as a ministry consultant among struggling churches along California’s north coast.  

Jeff Baxter has been married to beautiful Laurie for 22 years and they have three wonderful kids.  He has his M.Div. from Columbia International University in Pastoral Leadership and his D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary in  Theology and Family Ministry.  He has written two books with Zondervan, The Ultimate Guide to Being Christian in College and Together: Adults and Teenagers Transforming the Church. He is currently the Lead Pastor of River Church in Lakewood, Colorado. Church: RiverChurchMovement.org  Blog: Sacredoutfitter.blogspot.com

Josh Foor is a son of the King, Camille’s husband, and the lead pastor of Big Rapids First Baptist Church (bigrapidsfbc.com) in Big Rapids, Michigan. He loves people, porches, and coffee. Find his sermon podcast here  and connect with him at Facebook.com/josh.foor.

Kevin Hanly is Pastor of River Vale Community Church located in northern New Jersey (35 minutes north of Manhattan).  He and his wife Laura are blessed with two kids Grace (age 4) and Caleb (age 2).  He holds an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and ThM in Church History from Princeton Seminary.  In 1994 he fell one match short of playing Mark in the Wyoming state men’s tennis final where they planned to lead the crowd in gospel-centered devotionals during each changeover.

Kevin Warner resides in Des Moines, IA as an Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries at Lighthouse Community Church.  He is married to Adrianne, with two kids, Mitchell and Phoebe, and one on the way.  He graduated from Denver Seminary in 2009 with an MDiv concentration in Youth and Family Ministries.

Kolburt Schultz is the lead pastor of missio Dei: Falcon, an Acts 29 church plant east of Colorado Springs.  Kolburt and his wife Kellie have four children, Reagan, Anderson, Jackson, and Hudson.

Luke Harper resides in Bartlett, Tennessee with his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter, Hallie Ruth. He has the honor of being the Groups & Connections Pastor at Bartlett Baptist Church (bartlettbaptist.org). He holds a Master of Divinty from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, TN as well as a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.  His passions in life consist of his family, serving the local church, reading, and the pursuit of exegetical excellence in expository preaching.

Mark Hallock serves as the Lead Pastor of Calvary Church in Englewood, Colorado and as a National Replanting Catalyst with the North American Mission Board. He is grateful for 16 years of marriage to his wife, Jenna, and loves being a daddy to their kids, Zoe and Eli. He is a graduate of Denver Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary.

Mark Oshman is privileged to be married to his wife Jennifer of 17+ years and to be father of four wonderful daughters. For ten years he was blessed to pastor a military community in Okinawa, Japan.  Currently, he is the lead pastor of Redemption Church in Parker, Colorado.

Matt Patrick serves The Well Church in Boulder, Colorado as a Teaching and Lead Pastor. He is passionate about seeing the local church transform cities through church planting. He enjoys teaching and training up future leaders. Matt was born and raised in Lawrenceburg, IN. He graduated with a B.A. in Outdoor Leadership from Western State Colorado University and completed a church planting residency with Fellowship Associates. Matt was ordained at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, AR. He and his wife Ari have 3 kids. Matt enjoys great food, drink, campfires, and most sports.

Matt Perry serves as the Lead Pastor of Arapahoe Road Baptist Church in Centennial, Colorado.  He earned his M.Div and D.Min from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Check out his blog at http://www.leadwithjoy.net and follow him on twitter: @drmattperry.

Matt Svoboda is a Campus Pastor at The Bridge Church in Spring Hill, TN! He is husband to Meredith and father to Caleb & Calvin. He loves to read, golf, and cheer for his Huskers.

Matthea Haecker serves the Lord at First Baptist Church in Muscatine, IA as their lead pastor.  He is a recent graduate of Denver Seminary and is passionate about assisting the Lord in turning dying churches into disciple-making communities for His glory.  In addition, Matthea has the great privilege of serving his incredible wife, Jen, and with her, discipling their adorable kids, Halle and Malachi. 

Michael Morgan is the Lead Pastor at Calvary Wellspring in Aurora, Colorado. He also teaches at Gateway Seminary. He loves his awesome family and desires greatly to see Jesus made non-ignorable in Aurora and to the ends of the earth.

Mike Walter, MDiv., is the pastor at Hillside Baptist Church in Greeley, Colorado. Since 2007, Mike has been helping to revitalize churches in the rural plains of Eastern Colorado to the heart of the Colorado Mountains in Winter Park. Landing in Greeley in 2014, Mike has been leading his church in revitalization through the sharing of the love of Jesus Christ.

Nathan Rose is the senior pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Liberty, Missouri and a National Replanting Catalyst with NAMB. His love for the local church propels all he does, including his current pursuit of a Ph.D. in Historical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his role as the Director of Church Vitality for the Clay-Platte Baptist Association. He is also a regular contributor to For The Church, a gospel-centered website from Midwestern Seminary. He and his wife, Rachel, have three young children. You can connect with him on Twitter at @nathanrose33.

Rob Sanders lives in Littleton, Colorado with his beautiful and intelligent wife of 25 years, four awesome kids and an aging Border Collie.  His nine-to-five gig is in Downtown Denver as an energy executive.  During off hours he poses as an upright bassist for the band Plain Faraday, reps his neighborhood team on the tennis court, disciples a few guys from his local church and tries to keep up with his talented and active kids who range in age from 7-17.  One of Rob's favorite Bible verses is 2 Timothy 4:2, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

Roger Graves is a 35 plus year veteran of church ministry.  It has been his passion and life calling.  He has worked hand in hand with churches in Texas, Colorado, and Iowa, serving in church staff roles, pastoring and planting churches, and directing the work of two Associations of churches  within the Baptist Convention of Iowa while serving as a Missionary of the North American Mission Board as a Church Planting Catalyst.

Ryan Baitzel is a disciple of Jesus, husband and father of four.  He serves as the lead pastor of Emergence Church in Totowa NJ, which was launched in May of 2006. Emergence is committed to planting churches in North Jersey, and currently is training two church planters to plant gospel centered, missional, multiplying churches. 

Ryan Kearns is a Pastor at Redemption Church in Seattle, Washington. He has had the privilege of getting to Pastor in church revitalization’s, plants, and large churches.  He is a graduate of Denver Seminary.  He loves hiking, reading, and hanging out with his wife and two beautiful daughters.

Scott Iken is the Associate Pastor at Calvary Church Littleton. Scott loves spending time with his wife and four kids. He enjoys sports, music, laughing, the mountains, and being silly.

Sean Cole has served as the Lead Pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Sterling, CO, for the past eleven years. He has a Doctor of Ministry in Expository Preaching from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Masters of Divinity from the Rocky Mountain Campus of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as an adjunct professor of Old and New Testament, Systematic Theology, Church History, and Biblical Interpretation at Colorado Christian University. He served two terms as the President of the Colorado Baptist General Convention. He hosts a podcast called “Understanding Christianity.” He has been married to his wife Dawn for the past 22 years and has two boys, Aidan and Zachary. 

Zach Edwards serves Wyoming Southern Baptists as a church planting catalyst with the North American Mission Board.  Zach has previously served as church planting pastor and associate staff member of churches in Wyoming, Colorado, Texas and Arkansas.  His ultimate desire in ministry is to stimulate kingdom leaders to grow into their full potential as multiplying disciple-makers in Wyoming and the world.  Zach and his wife Amber are blessed with a daughter, Taryn and a son, Ryan.  The Edwards live in Casper, Wyoming and enjoy traveling and playing in the Cowboy State.