Adam Hamilton is the founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. He launched Church of the Resurrection with his wife and two children in 1990, and it has grown to become the largest United Methodist Church in the United States with an average weekend attendance of over 12,000.

He was named one of the “Ten people to watch in America’s spiritual landscape” by Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. For his work in racial reconciliation, Adam was awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award, as well as numerous other awards for community service.

Adam has written over 25 books, including: The Walk: Five Essential Practices of the Christian Life, When Christians Get it Wrong, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White, Making Sense of the Bible, and Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times.

Adam and his wife LaVon have been married for over 35 years and have two adult daughters and a granddaughter.

General Session 1: Thursday, 9/24, 10:00am CDT
General Session 4: Thursday, 9/24, 2:00pm CDT

Alma was born in Sonora, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States in 2003. Alma is a provisional elder in the UMC and a Th.D. candidate at Duke Divinity School. She is the director of the Hispanic-Latino/a Preaching Initiative at Duke Divinity School. Alma is the first recipient of the Lilly Endowment fellowship for Hispanic-Latino/a students in the Th.D. program in homiletics. She is also a Denman Fellow of the Foundation for Evangelism (FFE) 2016. She was awarded the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) Doctoral Fellowship, 2019, and the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI)/Lily fellowship, 2020. 

Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and College of Arts and Sciences. An internationally renowned scholar and teacher, she is the author of numerous books including the well-known The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus. Professor Levine, who has done over 300 programs for churches, clergy groups, and seminaries, has been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies.

Blake Bradford is a district superintendent and mission strategist in the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church, and co-author of  IMPACT! Reclaiming the Call of Lay Ministry (2018) and Mission Possible: A Simple Structure for Missional Effectiveness (2019). He is passionate about building lay-clergy teams to equip disciples of Jesus Christ who make disciples.  Dr. Bradford has pastored churches of different sizes and contexts, and has previously served the conference’s Center for Vitality as a congregational coach, consultant, and director of the ordination program.  A graduate of Hendrix College, he has masters degrees from Vanderbilt University and Iliff School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry from Perkins School of Theology at SMU. Blake also holds a second-degree black belt, which he believes may have been his best training for ministry! He and his wife Kerri have two teenage children and reside in Little Rock, AR.  Learn more at www.blakebradford.org.

Brittany Sky is Senior Editor of Children’s Resources at The United Methodist Publishing House and has written a number of resources including  Deep Blue Bible Storybook Bible, She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education from Oklahoma City University, a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and a Master of Business Administration from Tennessee State. Brittany continues to explore approaches to Christian Education and spiritual formation that create relevant, vibrant experiences with God for kids.

Cheryl Jefferson Bell is an ordained Elder in the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church. Formally an Electrical Engineer for 10 years, she received her calling to full time ministry in 1990 while serving as an active member of Saint Mark UMC, Wichita, Kansas. She earned her Master of Divinity from Phillips Graduate Seminary in Enid, OK.

Cheryl’s calling follows in the footsteps of 4 generations of family to be part of the UMC, including her great-great grandfather and great-grandfather who both founded several churches in Georgia.

She has served as either the first African American and/or female in all 4 of her Kansas appointments. She also served 8 years as a District Superintendent, before being appointed as an associate pastor at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas in 2012. She served in Congregational Care for nearly 8 years and began a new position as Pastor of Community Justice on July 1, 2020.

Cheryl has served as a General/Jurisdictional Delegate in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2019 and 2021.

She is the proud mother of an adopted sibling group of 4 and proud grandmother of 9 grandchildren.

Debi Nixon joined the Church of the Resurrection staff in 1994 as the founding children’s ministry director and has served in a variety of executive roles, from adult discipleship to capital campaigns and campuses. Debi is passionate about the renewal of the church, leading workshops on church leadership, sharing principles of outwardly focused churches, and extending radical hospitality. She has been married to Reed since 1984, and they treasure time with their two grown children and the joy of being new grandparents. Debi is author of CATCH: A Churchwide Evangelism Program, Catch a New Life: Connect with a Church and The Art of Hospitality: A Practical Guide for a Ministry of Radical Welcome (release date May 2020), all published by Abingdon Press.

F. Doug Powe, Jr. is the Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership and professor of evangelism and of urban ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. He is an ordained elder in the Baltimore/Washington Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. Powe is committed to helping urban congregations and congregations in transitional areas to flourish through community partnering.

Lia McIntosh is a certified life coach, author, and program officer for the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City.  She is a graduate of the University of Missouri and Saint Paul School of Theology with Masters Degrees in Business (MBA) and Divinity (M. DIV). She is an Ordained United Methodist Elder and formerly served as a pastor of four congregations and the Associate Director of Congregational Excellence for the United Methodist Missouri Annual Conference. She is wife, mom of three, and lives by grace.

Mark McPeak is the Vice President of Research at the 5by5 Agency in Nashville, Tn. Mark is a go-to research expert who opened and led the Nashville office of one of the 50 largest marketing research agencies in the world. He has provided insights and recommendations that affected real change for organizations such as the Tennessee Titans, Duracell, Gideons International and Zillow. Mark served for 7 years as Adult Ministry Director at a local church and has worked with many others as a leadership, strategy, and fundraising consultant.

Matt Rawle is Lead Pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana. Matt is an international speaker who loves to tell an old story in a new way, especially at the intersection of pop culture and the church.  He uses pop culture to create opportunities in study, events, and worship that draw generations together and create comfort for those well-versed in books and music but not in the verses of scripture.

Rachel joined the Church of the Resurrection staff in August of 2018. She is the CFO and Executive Director of Central Resources. Central Resources includes an amazing group of people that support all campuses through their shared service ministries: Finance & Accounting, IT, HR, Facilities & Construction Management, and Safety & Security.

Rachel has attended Church of the Resurrection since 2001, and has served on various governance committees as a volunteer. She started at Leawood in 2001 and moved to West in 2011. She earned her undergraduate degree from Kansas State University and her MBA from the University of Missouri - Kansas City. She joined Resurrection after 18 years in the corporate world where she worked in Finance and Marketing at Sprint Nextel and Teva Pharmaceuticals. 

For fun, she likes to do anything outside that includes sunshine, her family, her dog, and fresh air. She lives in Olathe with her husband and loves spending time with her two kids. Her favorite Bible verse is Matthew 26:39, "Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.

Theodore Hiebert is Francis A. McGaw Professor of Old Testament, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL. He was an editor and translator of the Common English Bible. A leading scholar among theological educators, he has done groundbreaking work in the study of Genesis.

Yvonne Gentile serves as Senior Director of Hospitality & Connections at Church of the Resurrection. Before joining church staff in 2011, Yvonne worked in an executive leadership capacity in retail, where she discovered the power of radical hospitality. She is co-author of four books: Serving from the Heart: Finding Your Gifts and Talents for Service, Leadership from the Heart: Learning to Lead with Love & Skill, Leadership Essentials: Practical Tools for Leading in the Church, and The Art of Hospitality: A Practical Guide for a Ministry of Radical Welcome (release date May 2020), all published by Abingdon Press. Yvonne and her husband Frank have been part of Resurrection since 1996. Together they enjoy movies, road trips, and spending time with family.