Daniel Akin is president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is a respected theologian, preacher, and evangelical leader.
Daniel has written 24 books, including Five Who Changed the World, and Vibrant Church: Becoming a Healthy Church in the 21st Century. Other publications include, "The Meaning of Baptism" in Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches, "Answering the Call to a Great Commission Resurgence" in Calvinism: A Southern Baptist Dialogue, and "Answering the Call to a Great Commission Resurgence: A Theology and Vision to Unite Us" in Great Commission Resurgence.
He and his wife, Charlotte, have four sons, Nathan, Jonathan, Paul, and Tim; three daughters-in-law; and three grandchildren.
Ken Cooper is the founder and president of Ken Cooper Prison Ministries, Inc., a consultation service to the Florida Department of Corrections, to various communities, and to religious organizations for the development and promotion of faith- and character-based projects.
Ken earned a B.A. in psychology from the University of Arizona, 12 units toward a correctional counseling master's degree, and certification as an organizational development trainer for the National Management Training Center in Washington, D.C.
Ken and his wife, June, have two children, six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Dr. Easley began his ministry at Roswell Street in February 2002. Under his leadership, Roswell Street has entered into a Journey in Faith Kingdom project that focuses on an expanded facility and ministry plan, reaching out to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Dr. Easley graduated from Dallas Baptist University with a B.S. degree before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earning a Master of Divinity degree. He received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary in Jacksonville, Florida. He recently authored a book titled Through the Valleys about his 1998 battle with malignant throat cancer.
Dr. Easley and his wife, Julie, have three children, Jordan, Jonah and Jessica, two of whom are married. They also have two grandchildren.
The son of missionary parents, Steve Green was raised in South America. He celebrates 25 years serving in the Christian music industry, beginning in 1984 when he established Steve Green Ministries.
After two years in college, two years with the group TRUTH, and four years with The Gaithers, the door opened for Steve to make his first recording with Sparrow Records. Following a significant spiritual awakening, Steve and his wife, Marijean, began responding to invitations from churches all over America. Throughout his years of ministry, Steve's music has been honored with four Grammy nominations, 13 No. 1 songs, and seven Dove Awards, Christian music's highest honor. With 29 recordings to his credit, including children's projects and Spanish-language albums, he has sold over three million albums worldwide.
Steve and Marijean have been married for 30 years. They have a daughter, Summer, and a son-in-law, Mark Schulz, and are looking forward to the birth of their first granddaughter this spring. Their son, Josiah, serves at a church in the Philadelphia area.
John Hays has served as senior pastor of Jersey Baptist Church in Pataskala, Ohio, for 28 years.
In 1979, John graduated from Ohio University with cum laude honors and a degree in business administration. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
When John was called to be the pastor of Jersey Baptist the church was meeting in a grange hall in the little town of Jersey, Ohio, with no heat and an outhouse for bathroom facilities. Driving from the city to his little country church, John would pass several small bars and dreamed that one day God would bring more people to Sunday morning services than were in the parking lots of those establishments. Beginning with 14 charter members, Jersey has experienced dramatic growth and now averages 1800 in Sunday morning services. Through John's vision and leadership, Jersey is unique in that it is one church, on one campus, with six worship venues and four worship styles.
John currently serves on the board of trustees at Cedarville University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. He and his wife, Jan, have been married for 30 years and have two adult children, John C. and Elizabeth (Benjamin) Curtis.
After several years of associated work, Jay Lowder felt called to launch his own ministry. With that passion, Jay Lowder Harvest Ministries, Inc, was born. With the support of his wife, Melissa, whom he married in 1993, the evangelistic ministry has continued to develop and grow into a nationwide ministry. Since his call into evangelism, Jay has participated in more than 250 crusades, rallies, and conferences.
Jay is a dynamic communicator who speaks truth with a passion and power that is riveting to audiences of all types. His engaging and contemporary style endows him with an uncanny ability to connect with adults and students alike. Motivated to reach the struggling masses, he travels the globe speaking in football stadiums, gymnasiums, civic centers, schools, churches, and even under shade trees in Africa.
Jay has been featured on at least 15 major networks, including The Discovery Channel, ABC, Fox, ABC Family, and TBN. In addition, he has many national radio shows to his credit. He has been profiled in countless newspaper and magazine articles including ESPN Outdoors, Baptist Press, and SBC Life.
Jay and his wife Melissa, have three children, Lane-14, Kayley Faith-8, and Graham-4. They reside in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Dr. Mike Landry is the senior pastor of Sarasota Baptist Church in Sarasota, Florida. The church has quadrupled in attendance over the past 10 years, averaging over 1700 attendees in worship and 1200 in Sunday school.
Pastor Mike received a B.S. in industrial management from Georgia Tech, his M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and his D.Min. from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee.
He and his wife, Cindy, have three children, Jason, Beth, and Michelle.
Robert Lewis is a pastor in Little Rock, Arkansas, and President of LifeReady—an organization that provides high-impact video resources to prepare couples, parents, men, and women to embrace God's best for their marriages, families, and lives.
Robert has authored numerous books and films, including the nationally recognized Men's Fraternity series: Quest for Authentic Manhood, Winning at Work and Home, and The Great Adventure. He also authored Raising a Modern-Day Knight, The Church of Irresistible Influence, The New Eve, and Culture Shift with Wayne Cordeiro. His latest release is Explore, an easy-to-use, interactive DVD series designed to encourage participants in their faith and equip them to share their faith.
Robert also serves on the board of trustees for Leadership Network. In 2001, he was awarded Pastor of the Year by the National Coalition of Men's Ministry headed by Patrick Morley.
Married since 1971, Robert and his wife, Sherard, reside in Little Rock, Arkansas, and have four grown children, Elizabeth, Rebekah, Garrett, and Mason; and two grandchildren.
Dr. James Merritt serves as senior pastor of Cross Pointe Church in metropolitan Atlanta. He has been there since 2003.
In addition to serving as pastor, James has written several publications: Crown Him King: You can Empower Kingdom Growth; How to be a Winner and Influence Anybody: The Fruit of the Spirit as the Essence of Leadership; Friends, Foes & Fools: Fathers Can Teach Their Kids to Know the Difference; and God's Prescription for a Healthy Christian: First Aid from I Corinthians.
James can also be heard on Touching Lives, a nationwide television ministry that broadcasts in all 50 states and 122 countries around the world via the Trinity Broadcast Network, The Church Channel, and The Liberty Channel. You can also access his sermons on PastorsEdge, a ministry resource website that includes James' research, manuscripts, artwork, and listening sheets. He has served on the board of trustees at Liberty University since 1991.
James and his wife, Teresa, have three children; James Gregory, Jr., Jonathan Michael, and Joshua Lee. They have one grandson (Harper William) born to James, Jr. and Natalie Merritt.
Vance Pitman is the senior pastor of Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the founder/president of Surgance, Inc., a nonprofit organization that transforms communities.
Vance speaks all over the nation to stimulate awareness that the Gospel is very needed in our own country as well as all over the world. His expositional teachings and command of the diverse biblical vernacular captivate his audience and motivate listeners to ask, "How can I be more involved in the Kingdom?"
Vance holds a B.A. in history and a minor in business management from the University of North Alabama and an M.Div. from the Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.
HeartSong is a talented group of students from Cedarville University that presents a fresh expression of their faith through music. Whether at a large conference or a small youth event, their quality of music and desire to serve provides a clear picture of the type of students at Cedarville University. HeartSong is excited to be leading worship for this year's Evangelism Celebration. This is the group's fourth year ministering at the conference. For more information or to request HeartSong for a church service, youth event, or conference, visit our website.
Alicia Wong is currently a national missionary focusing on women's evangelism at the North American Mission Board. Her desire is to see women be firmly rooted in biblical truth, built up in Christ, and established in their faith in order that they may share the Good News to the ends of the earth.
Alicia was born and raised in southern California. She graduated from Pepperdine University where she received a B.A. in Spanish from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary with an M.A. in intercultural studies, and an M.Div. in women's studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Currently, she is pursuing a doctorate in education at Southeastern Seminary.
She has served as a missionary in Venezuela (1995-1997) and in East Asia (2002-2004). For the past five years, she has served on the faculty of Southeastern Seminary and is the director of women's life.