Upcoming Events

LifeWay Kid's Ministry Conference

KMC consists of three, power-packed days where children’s ministers come to soak up all they need to take their kids ministry to the next level through inspirational speakers, workshops and showcases of the talent kids love. The conference will feature the most current, cutting-edge developments in children’s ministry - music, curriculum, research,  trends and more. There are many different workshops offered to choose from. Go to LifeWay.com/KidsMinistryConference for more information.

 

CLAYTON KING is Teaching Pastor at Newspring Church in South Carolina. Along with being a husband and father of two boys, he is also Campus Pastor at Liberty University, Founder and President of Crossroads Worldwide/Clayton King Ministries, Founder of Crossroads Summer Camps and Winter Conferences, and an author of 6 books, including his newest book, 12 Questions To Ask Before You Marry.

SISSY GOFF, M.ED., LPC-MHSP spends most of her days talking with girls and their families, with the help of her counseling assistant/pet therapist, Lucy the Havanese. She has worked as the Director of Child and Adolescent Counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville,Tennessee since 1993, with a Master?s degree from Vanderbilt University. A sought-after speaker for parenting and teacher training events such as dotMOM, Lifeway Kids Conference, and Heart of the Child, Sissy has spoken to thousands of parents, teachers, and girls across the country. She is the author of a video parenting curriculum called Raising Boys and Girlsas well as five books, including The Back Door to Your Teen’s Heart, Raising Girls, Modern Parents, Vintage Values, Mirrors and Maps (for 11-14 year-old girls) and Growing Up Without Getting Lost (for 15-19 year-old girls). Sissy is also a frequent guest and contributor to media shows and publications such as Moody Midday Connection and Living with Teenagers magazine.

DAVID THOMAS, L.M.S.W., is the Director of Counseling for Men and Boys at Daystar Counseling in Nashville, TN. He is the co-author of five books, including the best-selling Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys (Tyndale House Publishers), a frequent guest on national television and radio, a regular contributor to ParentLife magazine, and speaks across the country on topics such as Nurturing Boys, Parenting Adolescents, and Being an Intentional Parent. He recently released his first video curriculum, Raising Boys and Girls: The Art of Understanding the Differences (Lifeway). He and his wife, Connie, have a daughter, and three Wild Things (twin sons and a feisty yellow lab puppy named Owen).

MELISSA TREVATHAN, M.R.E. first became a youth director at the age of 16. Since that time, she has been a teacher, retreat leader, head of spiritual life at a private school in Nashville, and is founder and Executive Director of Daystar Counseling Ministries, which began in 1985. A graduate of Southwestern Baptist Seminary, Melissa has spoken to various churches and schools across the country, taught graduate courses in counseling adolescents and been a guest on television and radio programs throughout the United States and Canada. She is a popular speaker for parents, teachers, and kids of all ages. Melissa is the author of a Lifeway video parenting curriculum called Raising Boys and Girls, as well as five books including The Back Door to Your Teen’s Heart, Raising Girls, and Modern Parents, Vintage Values, as well as Mirrors and Maps (for 11-14 year-old girls) and Growing Up Without Getting Lost (for 15-19 year-old girls). When Melissa is not listening, speaking or writing, she’s usually on her bike or playing with Blueberry, her Old English Sheeppuppy, somewhere between Nashville and Kentucky Lake.

DOUG FIELDS is a pastor, communicator, resource-provider, writer, & leadership mentor. He’s the author of more than 50 books and is currently working with Simply Youth Ministry & Azusa Pacific University (HomeWord’s Center for Youth/Family). More information about Doug is available at www.dougfields.com.

JOHN CROYLE was a former University of Alabama National Championship defensive end for the legendary Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.  At 19 John felt he had been given a gift to work with young people.  His dream was to have the best children’s home in America.  On the advice of Coach Bryant, John pursued that dream instead of a pro-football career.  Over 1,800 children have called Big Oak Ranch their home since 1974.  John’s philosophy is: “A hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of house we lived in, the kind of car we drove or how much money we had in the bank, but the world may be different because you and I were important in the life of a child.”
 
Rarely are the terms hilarious storyteller and theological scholar used in the same sentence, much less used to describe the same person…but then again, LISA HARPER is anything but stereotypical! She has been lauded as a gifted communicator, whose writing and speaking overflows with colorful pop culture references that connect the dots between the Bible era and modern life. Her style combines sound scriptural exposition with easy-torelate to anecdotes and comedic wit. Best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado calls Lisa one of the “best Bible tour guides around,” and speaker Priscilla Evans Shirer adds, “If anyone can help us to hear, understand and receive the truth of Scripture it is Lisa Harper. Her God-given ability to not merely teach the Word but package it in a way that stirs the heart and calls to action is incomparable.

COACH TOMMY BOWDEN is the former college football coach for Clemson University from 1999-2008. He is the son of former Florida State Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden. Tommy holds a record as head coach for 90 wins in eleven and a half years and never had a losing season.  He is 3-time conference coach of the Year (Conference USA, and twice ACC Coach of the Year). He is also 2-time Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Finalist. Along with being an award-winning coach, Tommy has been actively involved with faith-based speaking for at least 20 years. He has been involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for over 30 years and speaker for fundraisers and conferences.

TONY MERIDA serves as the Lead Pastor of Imago Dei Church, Raleigh, NC and as the Associate Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Kimberly, with whom he has five children. Tony is the co-author of Orphanology and author of Faithful Preaching. He travels and speaks all over the world at various events, especially pastor’s conferences, orphan care events, and youth/college conferences.

TRAVIS COTTRELL will serve as this year’s Kids Ministry Conference Worship Leader. Travis has sung with a lot of people who are way cooler than he is. He’s written and arranged projects for choirs and praise teams and felt nothing short of astonished by the opportunities he’s had to work with creative, inspiring people who are way cooler than he is (I mean, Max Lucado? Amy Grant? Cindy Morgan? Beth Moore? Come on. That’s dream-come-true stuff right there).  He’s even gotten to perform and record in places that are way cooler than he is, with Carnegie Hall and Abbey Road at the top of his you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me list. In addition to his writing, arranging, leading and singing, Travis has managed to carve out time to record several solo projects, including Found, Ring the Bells and the Dove award-winning Jesus Saves Live. He released his first book, Surprised By Worship: Discovering the Presence of God Where You Least Expect It (Zondervan) in the fall of 2010.

JAKE GULLEDGE is a worship leader living in Atlanta, GA with his wife, Denise, and their son Samuel. As of 2012, he will have been traveling for 20+ years sharing and leading worship. Jake will again be performing for us and will also serve, along with LifeWay’s Kids Ministry Specialists, as host for KMC!

 

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