KEYNOTE - Tuesday, July 15th
Zach Zehnder is a husband, father, pastor, public speaker, and author. He is married to Allison, and they have two boys, Nathan and Brady.
His life mission is to challenge people of all ages to become greater followers of Jesus.
He is the Founder and President of Red Letter Living, author of the bestselling Red Letter Challenge, and host of the podcast The Red Letter Disciple. Zach has written or co-authored ten books that have helped people become greater followers of Jesus. Zach currently serves as Teaching Pastor at King of Kings in Omaha, NE.
Zach is an experienced public speaker with a passion for making Jesus’s name great.
When the Good Life Keeps You from the Truly Good Life
The enemy doesn’t always attack loudly—often, he works subtly through comfort, success, and worldly “good.” In this keynote, Zach Zehnder explores how these subtle settles can keep us—and the churches we lead—from the truly abundant life Jesus offers. Through Scripture and story, you’ll be challenged to reject mediocrity, rediscover your God-given calling, and pursue a life marked by contentment, deep relationships, and eternal purpose.
KEYNOTE - Wednesday, July 16th
Erika Cole, known as The Church Attorney®, is the go-to resource for churches in legal matters. Having provided over 25 years of experience advising denominations and churches in their legal needs, including tax-exempt status, property matters, governance, and mergers, she has been relied upon by denominations and churches of all sizes. She was raised in the church and has a love and commitment to see that churches and their leaders have the legal and tax insights they need to avoid unwanted government scrutiny and the loss of precious resources.
With over 30,000 hours of legal services to various churches and denominations, Erika created a proprietary system, The Church Attorney Legal Audit® System to help churches avoid being tripped up with legal challenges. With this 4-tiered process, every church can make the internal assessment and any needed adjustments to maximize opportunities, minimize risk and grow in service.
In addition to her legal services, Erika founded Faithful Foundations Membership, a community dedicated to providing church leaders with ongoing legal insights and support drawn from her extensive experience.
Erika is the host of the Church Law podcast, a top 5% global podcast that offers need-to-know information about the everyday operation of a church.
Bringing together pastors and church leaders, Erika launched The Church Compliance Conference in 2008, an event that has existed reached thousands of church leaders with a forum for arriving at a deeper understanding of how churches can respond and adapt to the rapidly changing legal environment.
Erika loves traveling, long outdoor walks, and getting lost in a good book. She and her husband Brien live outside of Washington, D.C. with their active school-aged sons.
KEYNOTE - Thursday, July 17th:
Brad Hill has focused his career on the intersection of ministry, business and innovation. These passions come together in his role at Gloo where he serves as Chief Solutions Officer (
www.gloo.com). Brad’s teams are responsible for putting their platform capabilities to work for churches, networks, and the expanding portfolio of brands in the Gloo family.
Prior to Gloo, Brad co-founded Ministry Brands, which is the world's largest church/ministry technology company. Across his various leadership roles, Brad has been in a leadership role in 50+ successful M&A transactions.
Having been a founder and exited 2 prior small companies, Brad has coached many other founders and potential sellers who were thinking about a transition. He also serves on various boards and volunteer initiatives.
Brad lives in Knoxville, TN with his wife and two kids.
State of the Church 2025: Measuring What Matters in Ministry
Is your church thriving? Are your people flourishing? And how do you know for sure? State of the Church 2025 was built for every church and every network, orchestrated by Barna and Gloo. Available for free, you can see current research on the state of the Church, tools to measure the State of your Church, and next steps to help your people on a journey. We’ll cover key areas like attendance trends, evangelism, generational dynamics and more. This is the largest church initiative nationwide in 2025 and all leaders are invited to take advantage of these new abilities to understand the times and how to effectively lead your people forward.
KEYNOTE - Friday, July 18th:
Tim Hodges, Ph.D., is a senior consultant at Gallup. He consults a wide range of organizations and leads research projects in strengths development, employee selection, employee engagement and wellbeing.
Dr. Hodges has worked with Gallup since 2000. He has delivered presentations and written journal articles and technical reports on many topics, including CliftonStrengths, strengths-based development, positive psychology and leadership development. He has contributed chapters to the books Positive Psychology in Practice, Organizational Behavior (10th Edition), Positive Psychology on the College Campus and the Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work. His research has appeared in the journals Educational Horizons, Organizational Dynamics and College and University. Dr. Hodges serves as a reviewer of scholarly work submitted for publication in the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies and has often served on review boards for regional and national academic conferences.
Dr. Hodges has served in a variety of leadership roles helping to maximize education and the workplace. He has served as a member of the board of directors of the National Career and Technical Education Foundation (NCTEF), as a member of the Career Readiness Partner Council and as a commissioner of the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education.
Dr. Hodges has also served on several boards in the community, including the Gallup Federal Credit Union and for Christian Heritage, an organization serving at-risk children and youth. He currently chairs the board of elders at his church.
Dr. Hodges received a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness, a master’s degree in leadership education and a doctorate in business from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). He currently serves as an assistant professor of practice in the Department of Management and as executive director of the UNL Clifton Strengths Institute.
Building a Great Place to Work: Research and Actions that Lead to a Thriving Church Culture
Thriving churches enjoy strong workplace cultures where each employee feels known, valued, challenged, and called to do work that matters. Employee engagement doesn’t happen by accident, but rather by the intentional actions of caring and committed leaders. This session will review highlights from Gallup’s research on effective leadership, employee engagement, and wellbeing. We’ll explore the core needs of followers and the elements of wellbeing. Attendees will reflect on their own leadership effectiveness and consider ideas and actions that will help build and sustain a thriving church culture.