Speakers & Musicians
Speakers
David Platt
Dr. David Platt, Pastor at The Church at Brook Hills, is deeply devoted to Christ and His Word. David’s first love in ministry is disciple-making – the simple, biblical model of teaching God’s Word, mentoring others, and sharing faith. He has traveled extensively to teach the Bible alongside church leaders throughout the United States and around the world. He has authored two books, Radical – Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream, and Radical Together – Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God. He is the founder of Radical, a resource ministry dedicated to serving the church in making disciples of all nations. David and his wife, Heather, have three children – Caleb, Joshua, and Mara Ruth. They are expecting their fourth child, Isaiah, this winter.
Michele Bachmann
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is the first Republican woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota. Congresswoman Bachmann has earned a reputation as a “principled reformer” who stays true to her conservative beliefs while pushing for real reform of the broken ways of Washington. Michele is a leading advocate for bipartisan earmark reform and tax relief and is a staunch opponent of wasteful government spending. She is among the leaders in the U.S. House pushing for increased energy exploration in the U.S. to provide much needed relief at the pump for hardworking Americans and put our nation on the path to energy independence.
Bachmann is a graduate of Anoka High School and Winona State University. After receiving her J.D. at the O.W. Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University and an L.L.M. in Tax Law at the College of William and Mary, she along with her husband, Marcus moved their young family to Stillwater, Minnesota. There they opened a small business health care practice that employs nearly fifty people. The Bachmanns, who have been married over thirty years, have five children, Lucas, Harrison, Elisa, Caroline and Sophia. The Bachmanns have also cared for 23 foster children, inspiring Bachmann’s tireless efforts in Congress on behalf of America’s foster and adopted children, a role that has earned her bipartisan praise. She is proud to represent Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District, which contains parts of seven counties, stretching from Scandia to Saint Cloud and Waconia to Waite Park.
Bishop W.C. Martin
For more than twenty years Bishop W.C. Martin has served the community of Possum Trot, TX as pastor of Bennet Chapel. In 1997, he and his wife Donna, adopted two children and began a miraculous adventure that has become one of the premier adoption stories in America.
Bishop W.C. & Donna Martin are the Founders of Saving a Generation Ministry, Inc., a nonprofit organization that has been recognized nationally for its success in facilitating, supporting, and under-girding the adoption/fostering of children who have been abused, neglected, & hard to place.
Saving a Generation's mission consists of helping rescue children who have suffered abuse and abandonment inside the foster care system. The Martin's share a roadmap to social transformation by demonstrating how his tiny church adopted and forever changed the destiny of 73 at risk children.
Bishop W.C. & Donna have two biological and four adoptive children.
Jedd Medefind
Jedd serves as President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans. Previously, Jedd served in the White House, leading the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. In this role, he guided reform efforts across the government to make the creativity and compassion of local non-profits central in all Federal efforts to aid the needy, from prisoner reentry to Global AIDS. Jedd also held a range of posts in the California State Legislature, and helped establish the California Community Renewal Project, which strengthens non-profits in some of the state’s most challenged communities. He has worked, studied and served in more than thirty countries, with organizations ranging from Price-Waterhouse, Moscow to Christian Life Bangladesh. Jedd has written numerous articles and two books, including The Revolutionary Communicator and co-authoring Four Souls.
Stephen Ucembe
Stephen Ucembe grew up as an orphan in institutional care from the age of around 5 till 18 years old. He has a BA in Social Work, and a Social Worker/ Counselor with HIAS refugee Trust of Kenya and currently am also undertaking my research in pursuance of MA Child Development. He started an organization called Kenya Network of Careleavers, currently known as Kenya Society of Careleavers. Started in 2009, the objective of the organization is to improve the wellbeing/ welfare of young people who grew up in institutional in Kenya, and helping them adjust with life after institutional care. He has been involved in advocacy work against unnecessary institutionalization of children and supporting family based care models as better alternative care approaches nationally and internationally. In addition he is a board member of the International Foster Care organization (IFCO) and a member of the Better Care Network (BCN) advisory team, promoting family care for children without parental care all over the world.
Dennis Rainey
Dennis Rainey is the President and CEO of FamilyLife, a subsidiary of Campus Crusade for Christ. Dennis has authored or co-authored more than two dozen books including the best selling Moments Together for Couples and Staying Close. Dennis serves as the senior editor of the HomeBuilders Couples Series® which has sold over 2.5 million copies and has been translated into 47 languages. A powerful and effective communicator, Dennis can be heard daily as co-host of the nationally syndicated radio program FamilyLife Today®. For his work in radio, Dennis was the recipient of the National Religious Broadcasters Radio Program of the Year Award twice. Dennis serves on the Board of Directors of FamilyLife and Dallas Theological Seminary. Dennis has spoken at numerous Weekend to Remember Marriage Getaways across the United States and internationally, but also for Promise Keepers events, YPO University, Fellowship Forum and at FamilyLife's I Still Do® and Rekindling the Romance® events.
Mary Landrieu
Mary L. Landrieu has been fighting and winning for Louisiana since she was first elected to the Louisiana state legislature at the age of 23. After serving eight years as a state representative and two terms as State Treasurer, in 1996 she became the first woman from Louisiana elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate. Senator Landrieu is currently the Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and a member of the Energy and Natural Resources, and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees. The nonpartisan Congress.org has ranked Senator Landrieu as the tenth most effective legislator in the Senate.
Musicians
Peder Eide
Peder Eideis a communicator who’s known as a singer/songwriter, speaker, worship leader, husband, daddy and an advocate for orphans and children in poverty. His newly released CD, Rescue, is heavily influenced by his deep passion for the life-changing power of The Father’s love. Peder also has a heart for helping youth and families draw closer to God and closer together through music and experiential worship. Peder’s critically acclaimed music has been described as playful yet spiritually challenging and it puts the fun back into contemporary Christian music…straightforward and relevant…His latest Christmas project, Perfect Surprise” was selected by the USA TODAY as a holiday favorite featuring his song about adoption, Why Wouldn’t I. The creator of Taste Worship, a family event, Peder has been highlighted by groups such as Focus on the Family, CBN, Christianity Today, CCM Magazine, and in 2000 was selected as a “Top Ten Young Minnesotan”. Peder and his wife Sherri live in Farmington MN. They have 5 children. The two youngest are adopted from Korea and Ethiopia.
Jason Germain
Jason Germain is a composite and Juno Dove and ASCAP award winning musician, singer, songwriter, producer and Mastering Engineer. His entire life is devoted to ministry and equipping the church which flows from the passion to follow Jesus. With 12 years experience on the road as a forming member of the band "Downhere" he brings a reverence and sensitivity to leading worship in his current role at Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, TN. He moonlights as the engineer in his mastering studio. No longer on the road full time he is enjoying some normalcy at home with his wife and daughter, and occasionally fly fishing.
Nicole C. Mullen
A wife and mother of three, Nicole C. Mullen just happens to be one of the most inspirational communicators of our time. Her ability to captivate an audience by telling a story, sharing from the scriptures or singing a song, has earned her many awards as well as bringing her into the company of greatness. Nicole’s gifts have allowed her to travel all over the world, and they have brought her many accolades. She has won multiple Dove Awards, for Song of the Year (Redeemer, and On My Knees), Female Vocalist, Contemporary Song of the Year (Call on Jesus), and the first African American to win Songwriter of the Year. She has also been nominated for two Grammy awards.
She has started two mentorship programs, which she is very involved in during the week. Baby Girls Club, which is a Non-Profit 501 (c) 3 Organization, mentors girls between the ages of 5-18, and teaches them the love of Christ through the arts. The second is Team NCM, which trains young guys and girls (ages 9-17) who are gifted in the arts, and provides them with outlets to showcase their talents while growing as Disciples of Jesus Christ. Prior to being married to her husband David Mullen, she was a victim of domestic violence. For three years, Nicole endured both physical and mental abuse, at the hand of her former husband. Overcoming obstacles of shame, hurt, and embarrassment, the Lord has truly empowered Nicole to be able to minister to those who are broken in spirit. She also enjoys sharing the freedom that comes through the act of forgiveness. *Nicole’s new CD “Captivated”, produced by Ed Cash, was released May 3, 2011.* She has also penned two children’s books, “Black, White, and Tan,” and “Baby Love”, and is finishing a book on her life story.
Jimmy Wayne
Jimmy Wayne grew up in Kings Mountain, NC. By the time he was 14, he had been in and out of the foster care system and attended 12 different schools in two years. Wayne had always been a writer, journaling his experiences from a young age. He soon found that he was a natural storyteller, weaving complete tales into three-minute lyrics.
When Wayne learned of a talent competition in the area that was being judged by Nashville executive Mike Whelan, he decided to give it a shot. While he didn't win the competition, he did attract the attention of Whelan, who encouraged him to move to Nashville and give songwriting a shot.
It didn't take long for others to hear what Whelan had heard. He quickly signed Jimmy to Acuff-Rose Publishing, where the budding writer soon had his first hit, a Top 10 single called "Put Your Hand In Mine," recorded by Tracy Byrd. Soon after, Jimmy signed his first label deal, based on his performance of the pop classic "Sara Smile" in the office of music executive Scott Borchetta. A self-titled debut album with the hit singles "Stay Gone," "I Love You This Much" and "Paper Angels" soon followed. And after that, his biggest hit to date, the three-week #1 hit single "Do You Believe Me Now."
George Dennehy
George is capturing attention all over the web (and the world) for his unique talents. Because he was born without arms, he sings and plays music from his heart using his feet. George also has a powerful message to share. Because George has overcome so many challenges in his own life, he believes that every individual has a purpose and absolutely anything is possible. People are surprised by his life story, including his brush with death in a Romanian orphanage, and his adoption by his U.S. family at the age of one. George started his musical journey by learning to play the cello at the age of eight. He advanced in classical music until he was able to play cello with regional orchestras. With the cello as his launching pad he has taught himself guitar, electric bass and basic piano. Regardless of the setting people in his audience are always inspired, deeply touched, and often realize their own goals are very much within reach.
His career has continued to take off. CBS News.Com named his video one of the “Best of 2012”.
George had the opportunity to open for and play with award-winning Christian artist Jeremy Camp in Dallas. He was profiled in an Australian TV feature that had over a million viewers. He traveled to his birth country of Romania to appear on live television and to have a surprise reunion with relatives, including four sisters he had never met. There have also been trips to Nashville to record original music. George’s first song is titled “It’s a Gift” and the writers felt it was a perfect match for his life story. As for the song and it’s lyrical content, George says: “ The song is so perfect for my message – life is a beautiful thing. Every life has meaning, purpose, and worth.”
Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman has sold over ten million records including two RIAA certified platinum albums and eight RIAA certified gold albums. Along with his five GRAMMY© awards, Chapman has won an American Music Award, has recorded 47 No. 1 U.S. radio hits and been awarded 57 Dove Awards, more than any other artist to date. Since his recording career began in 1987, Chapman has recorded seventeen projects with Sparrow Records. He has performed at the White House and has appeared on multiple national programs via CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, CMT, FOX News, the Hallmark Channel and E!, including Good Morning America, Larry King Live, CBS Sunday Morning, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and more. Chapman and his wife Mary Beth created Show Hope in 2001 after bringing their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah, home from China. Officially launching in 2003, the ministry’s goal is to help families reduce the financial barrier of adoption, to empower families, churches, and communities with orphan care resources and advocacy efforts, as well as provide life-giving medical care to orphans with special needs. To date they have helped provide financial grants to almost 4,000 adoptive families, affecting the lives of children from 50+ countries, including the U.S.
