North Central University is hosting The Now & The Next, a leadership conference September 19-20.
As leaders in the church, we have to be experts in what we are doing today, but constantly thinking about what God wants to do tomorrow. North Central University wants to help you strengthen your skills now while starting conversations about what is next in church leadership. Learn more about the NCU Leadership Conference and buy your tickets here!
Between the two days of the conference, we have several featured speakers who are experts in their area of ministry. Here is a little preview of what to expect!
Thursday Breakout Session Speakers
Wade Goodall: Compassion Ministry
Dr. Goodall is a noted career missionary, educator, author, leadership coach, pastor, and non-profit executive leader. He regularly travels the world and crosses multiple cultural and socio-economic boundaries to share Christ’s message of hope, healing, and help with others. Dr. Goodall is the Executive Director of Hope Education Network for Convoy of Hope and the Strategic Pastoral Advisor for Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs CO.
Dr. Goodall will be sharing on the role the church can play in compassion ministry and disaster relief. During his breakout session you will have a chance to learn about strategic partnerships as well as practical tools for the church to make a different to those in need.
Lon Flippo and Beth Brown: Spiritual Formation and Sexual Formation
Lon Flippo and Beth Brown are both highly esteemed professors at North Central University. Beth is a passionate advocate and enjoys bringing students along to engage in advocacy at both the community and political level.
Previously Beth has worked as a psychiatric therapist at a rural community mental health center in Indiana provided individual, family and group therapy services to children, adolescents and their families addressing topics such as depression, anxiety, psychotic disorders, abuse/trauma, substance abuse, sexual identity, divorce and other relational concerns. Beth joined the faculty at NCU in January 2014 and teaches courses that frequently address topics that are front and center to our current culture and politics.
Dr. Lon Flippo has pastored for over 30 years in a variety of roles. He has a passion for inspiring parents to pass their faith on to their children–and for providing information and insight to help them do it. Dr. Flippo has been with North Central University since 2014. During his tenure at North Central he has written and published 4 books, ranging from autobiographies to children’s books.
In this breakout session, Beth and Lon will be talking about sexual formation and the Church. How does the church understand, relate and reach those struggling in our culture? How can we offer pastoral care in an identity focused culture? And how can we equip the church for sexual identity conversations.
Jeff Deyo: Awakening Pure Worship
Jeff Deyo is a worship leader, author, recording artist, songwriter, speaker, podcaster, and professor at North Central University. He is known internationally as the former lead singer of the Grammy-nominated, Dove Award-winning group, Sonicflood, and lives to help people grow closer to God. He recently released his first book, Awakening Pure Worship, worldwide through Destiny Image Publishers, and he is the creator of the Pure Worship Podcast and the Pure Worship Institute.
Jeff will be talking on the topic of awakening pure worship and shifting your perspective on relationship with God from obligation to invitation and rediscover authentic worship that reaches from the secret place to the marketplace.
Friday Break Out Sessions
Dr. Robyn Wilkerson: Pastoring a City, Not Just A Church
Robyn Wilkerson has led multiple ministries, raised four sons who are in ministry, and she currently co-pastors Trinity Church in Miami, Florida with her husband Pastor Rich Wilkerson. Robyn completed her Doctor of Ministry degree from Evangel University in 2017, focusing on coaching and women in leadership. Her formal education, and her personal experiences, allow her to coach individuals to help them grow and succeed in their personal and professional lives.
Robyn’s gift for teaching and her flare for staying on the cutting edge of ministry makes her tremendously effective in all aspects of ministry—including teaching, preaching, and the administration of a cross-cultural, faith-based, social service ministry. She is a speaker, preacher, and professional life coach. Robyn is the co-author of Inside Out: How Everyday People Become Extraordinary Leaders and the author of Shattering The Stained Glass Ceiling: A Coaching Strategy for Women Leaders in Ministry.
Robyn’s breakout session will focus on how the Church goes beyond its own walls to reach the heart of their community. Hear practical insights on how to reach your city through practical and relevant ministry.
Jeff Grenell, Kwame Anku, and Eric Samuel Timm: Spiritual Formation and Effective Communication
Join these elite communicators on the topic of spiritual formation. This session will explore the relationship of communication and discipleship by discussing the importance of millennial and Generation Z discipleship, new models of discipleship, and communicating theology.
After 4 decades of Youth Leadership, Jeff Grenell founded ythology to raise the level of Youth Leadership. ythology exists to educate, resource, and inspire youth and to train youth leaders to prepare the NextGen to lead in the Church and the world.
Eric Samuel Timm is a Minnesota-based hope communicator. As a Christian speaker, Bible teacher, live artist painter, public school motivational speaker, and aspiring author, Eric aims to be a multidimensional world class communicator. Over 19 years, Eric has brought hope to more than 3 million people, in 36 different countries. Speaking and painting in a wide range of venues including arenas, music festivals, concert tours, churches, corporate events, camps, conferences, and public schools. Eric, with love, helps communities to take action and inspires and challenges people.
Kwame Yao Anku is the CEO of Black Star Fund and the Founder and President of New Dawn Global Enterprises, an international business development and strategic growth consulting group. For over 20 years, Kwame has also worked extensively in business development and media marketing blending entrepreneurship, social impact and corporate engagement. Kwame serves on the Board of Regents at North Central University, speaking and inspiring students, staff, and faculty alike.
Ellington Porter: The Future of Worship Diversity
Dr. Ellington Porter, professor in the College of Fine Arts at North Central University, is known for being both an accomplished musician and a sought-after preacher, that uses his gifts to encourage and empower others in the kingdom. He has served in ministry for most of his life , is an award-winning musician, artist, and producer known as one of premier organist throughout the Gospel industry.
In a season when the nation is finding itself in a time strong hold of racial tension, what does the church have to say corporately about diversity in the body of Christ? Take a deeper into ways the church of today can be better equipped to navigate the choppy waters of Diverse Worship, and how we can prepare for what is coming on the horizon.
Phil & Katja Zarns: Reaching The Non-Religious
Working together with the National Church, Phil and Katja Zarns have focused on Pioneering University & Young Adult Ministry, encouraging the planting of Faith Communities and participating in Academic Endeavors to assist Pingst, the Swedish Pentecostal Movement.
How do we share the gospel with a people that is increasingly states that God doesn’t exist? The culture we live in is choosing secular rituals and traditions over those the church offers. We’ll take a look at why they/we think and live this way and investigate how the gospel transforms people even today.
Dr. Adam Sikorski and Dr. Doug Graham: Spiritual Formation and the Youth Pastor
Doug Graham currently serves as Vice President of North Central University and as the Assistant District Superintendent in Minnesota. These two roles provide Doug with the opportunity to invest into emerging pastoral leaders at NCU as well as those who are in the trenches of pastoral life and leadership. “It’s not how you start, but how you finish. In light of this, pastoral life is a marathon that requires strategic time, energy, and emotional energy management.”
Adam is an assistant professor in the College of Church Leadership. Adam brings over 20 years of pastoral experience, primarily in youth and college ministry. Adam has diverse experience, pastoring in Urban and Suburban contexts. “Lead by example. Be teachable and be willing to serve. The qualities we desire in those we lead, must be first demonstrated in our own lives.”
In this breakout session, Drs. Adam Sikorski and Doug Graham will address the most important component for a successful and healthy youth ministry – the spiritual formation of the youth pastor. The session will highlight three categories of life and ministry that every youth pastor is called to steward in their passion to reach the next generation of students: (1) spiritual vibrancy, (2) personal health, and (3) emotional resiliency.
Dr. Aaron Allison: Three Streams of Worship
Dr. Aaron Allison is the Lead Pastor of CIL Church in Hendersonville, TN, a suburb of Nashville, where he has served for eleven years. Aaron grew up in Irving, Texas, and has been in vocational ministry since 1995, serving as a children’s pastor, youth pastor, associate pastor, and church planter. Aaron’s positive experiences in different expressions of Christianity have led him to advocate for the Three Streams perspective of church life. The Three Stream perspective strives for participation in the liturgical, evangelical, and charismatic streams of Christianity.
Discover how the convergence of three streams – liturgical, evangelical, and charismatic – can bring full Biblical expression to our worship. This session will explore the Biblical foundation, historical roots, sociological realities, and practical benefits of a three streams perspective in worship. We will explore how practices such as regular communion, using prepared prayers, reciting the creeds, acknowledging the church calendar, drawing from the Book of Common Prayer, and use of the lectionary compliment Pentecostal theology and practice.
Break out Session 4
Scott Hagan, Allen Tennison, Bill Tibbetts, Shawn Sauve: Pastoring An Organization
Scott Hagan, President of North Central University and a natural leader, has been drawn to the study and practical application of leadership inside and outside the church. He has written six books on leadership, influence, and biblical topics, and since 1995 has written more than 60 articles appearing in publications such as Charisma Magazine, Ministries Today, Pentecostal Evangel, and Influence Magazine (formerly Enrichment Journal). He speaks regularly at conferences, seminars, and on college campuses.
Dr. Allen Tennison has been the Dean of the College of Church Leadership at North Central University since 2018. He has worked at North Central University for nine years and taught at various undergraduate and graduate institutions since 2001. Before coming to North Central University, Dr. Tennison served in pastoral ministry for over fifteen years.
Bill has been teaching at North Central University since 2008. He currently serves as the Dean of the College of Business and Technology. His primary areas of concentration include Management and Marketing. He also serves as the Sam Walton Fellow for Enactus. Bill started serving the Lord at the age of 16 in Indiana. The very first scripture that he read was “I came that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). This soul impacting scripture has led him to invest his life into students to help them experience a life transformed for Christ. He is known for spending just as much time, if not more, with students outside of class as he does in class.
Shawn Sauve serves as the Associate Professor of Accounting & Finance in the College of Business and Technology. For students of business and management, Professor Sauve wants to equip them with language, ideas, and tools that allow them to be effective managers, whether they run their own business or work for one. He tries to focus on ideas and tools that are not current business fads but are rooted in timeless principles that are true today and will be true tomorrow. He tells learners that he doesn’t want them to simply graduate with a degree—he tells them that after taking one of his classes he’d like them to think differently as they approach business, management and leadership situations. Armed with new sets of tools and ideas he would like them to make higher quality decisions after taking his class than they would have prior to the class.
At the heart of being a pastor is the image of a shepherd yet leading a church today seems to rely as much on the image of the business administrator. Pastors need to know how prepare a budget, lead ministry teams, plan outreaches, oversee programs, etc. while still maintaining their focus on preaching the Word of God, building relationships, ministering to the hurting and making disciples. Pastors do not have to choose between knowing how to shepherd a flock or manage a corporation. This breakout session will discuss how to successfully pastor, and not just lead, an organization.
Jeff Grenell and Reggie Dabbs: Youth Ministry
Jeff Grenell serves at North Central University as the the Next Gen Specialist, working in Advancement with a focus on recruiting and external partnerships for NCU. Grenell previously served at North Central in numerous capacities from 2005–2015. He holds both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Evangel University, and is one of the most valued voices in America when it comes to teenagers and youth ministry. He is the founder of ythology, an organization that exists to resource, mentor, and inspire organizations to better communicate to a younger generation in the 21st century.
After graduating from college, Reggie began his public speaking. During one speaking engagement, his host asked if he would be interested in addressing a high school assembly. From that small beginning in 1987, Reggie has become a popular public school speaker. When addressing a school assembly, Reggie talks to the kids in a humorous style about choices each of them has when faced with drugs, alcohol, suicide, etc. Reggie is fast becoming one of the most in-demand speakers who helps teenagers meet their problems head-on and overcome them.
Youth ministry operates within a broad philosophical and methodological spectrum. There are a variety of approaches to Youth ministry, including, the Discipleship, Evangelism, Worship, Relational, Campus Access, and Small Group models.
This session will be a discussion between the two presenters and what they see as trends in youth ministry globally and here in America.
Vinnie Zarletti: Ancient Liturgy in Modern Worship
Vinnie Zarletti is Associate Professor and Director of the School of Worship Arts at North Central University in Minneapolis, MN. He also serves as the Creative Arts Pastor at New Life Church in Princeton, MN. Vinnie has been working in full time worship ministry for over 15 years, serving in the local church as well as in higher education. He is committed to telling God’s story in worship and training future worship leaders to do the same. Vinnie’s most recent work is related to diversity in worship, convergence worship, modern liturgical music and the use of Psalms in contemporary worship.
“For too long we have been led to believe that liturgical worship is identified by a particular style of Christian worship. This workshop is designed to show us how we can recover some valuable ancient liturgical practices while staying true to our modern worship contexts.” In this break out session we will explore the importance of liturgy within church.
“Leadership is about stepping toward the unknown,
not the understood. No leader is ever given
the whole story first.”-President Scott Hagan
Now that you’ve gotten a a little insight into what the North Central University Leadership Conference has to offer, we hope you are able to join us for a two day conference will be both practical and encouraging in developing your skills in leadership.
