2023 main Speakers
MATT BRADNER
Originally from Tallahassee, Florida, Matt received a scholarship to play soccer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It was during his freshman year that Matt became a Christian and began a life of following Christ. For the last 20 years, Matt has worked with college students through the ministry of Campus Outreach. After 13 years of serving as the Regional Director of Campus Outreach Lynchburg, Matt now serves on the East Coast Network (ECN) Development Team.
Matt currently focuses on facilitating the spiritual and relational health of CO staff in the ECN. Matt's passion for students and engaging speaking style has made him a popular conference and retreat speaker. His desire as a communicator is to glorify God by being catalytic, positive, and helpful.
Matt and his wife Julia currently live in Lynchburg, Virginia with their four sons (Isaiah, Toby, Coleman, and Benson) and daughter (Eliana). In addition to caring for the Bradner kids and partnering with Matt in their marriage and family ministry, Julia is also a certified childbirth educator and doula.
PASTOR NATHANIEL BISHOP JR.
Nathaniel "Nate" Bishop Jr., has the privilege of serving as Lead Pastor of Forest Baptist Church, a historic African-American church in the Petersburg / Newburg area of Louisville, Kentucky. Born and raised in Inkster, MI, he received his undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University and is also a graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Nate has served in various ministry capacities for the past twenty years and has a passion for seeing the gospel restore broken homes and lives. He’s been married to the love of his life, Dar-Isha Bishop, for fifteen years and they have four wonderful children.
Pastor John Onwuchekwa
Pastor John Onwuchekwa (pronounced Ahn-woo-check-wuh), is a native of Houston, TX, born into a Nigerian home where the gospel was cherished deeply and modeled excellently. After graduating from college, he studied at Dallas Theological Seminary. He’s served at churches in both Texas and Georgia and in 2015 moved into the Historic West End to help plant Cornerstone Church with his best friends. He and his wife, Shawndra, have been married since 2007. They welcomed their daughter, Ava, in 2017. They are eager to see the hope of the gospel restore a sense of family, dignity, and hope to their neighborhood through their local church of ordinary people.
Will Witherington
After experiencing an upbringing mixed with joy and difficulty, I went to play basketball at Berry College. At Berry God did a definitive work in my life. I came to know Christ in a very real and powerful way. Though I had grown up hearing about Christ from my mother, my family, my home church and others, it wasn’t until my junior year of college that I began to trust in Christ for my own faith!
After seeing God work mightily on the campus at Berry through many people, God gave me the opportunity to come on staff with Campus Outreach at the University of West GA. I married Danielle the same year that I came on staff, 1996, and we began ministering to college students together. As a result of our time and opportunities at West GA, God raised up a team that we were able to take to Central Kentucky to start a new ministry on the campuses in the Lexington area. Will now serves as an Associate Pastor at Tates Creek Presbyterian Church in Lexington, KY.
2021
Listen to conference audio here.
Derrick puckett
Derrick grew up near Chicago in Gary, Indiana. As a high school student, Derrick was introduced to Christ through a relationship with a young woman, Kaley, who would later become his wife. Both Derrick and Kaley were burdened by the division they saw on campus along racial lines, so Derrick created a new ministry that reached out to African-American students on campus. After college, Derrick and Kaley moved to Indianapolis, IN and helped develop a ministry in the inner city of Indianapolis where churches, college students, and high school students worked together.
After a few years in Indianapolis, the couple moved to Memphis, TN, where Derrick earned an MDiv at MidAmerica Baptist Theological Seminary while serving in the Residency Program and as a Campus Pastor at Fellowship Memphis Church. Derrick and Kaley relocated to Chicago in the Fall of 2013 to plant Renewal Chicago. They have four beautiful girls and one little man: Ramiyah, Elyana, Isabelle, Nalah and Derrick III.
Patrick Lewis
Originally from Kentucky, Patrick attended Murray State University with the aim to pursue law and politics. His attention and curiosity were won by a fraternity brother whose life and Bible knowledge was appealing. Before graduating, Patrick had trusted in Christ and decided to postpone law school to get ministry training and invest a few years in reaching college students. 20 years later his love of teaching the Bible, sharing his life, and investing to help people follow Jesus is put into practice in Columbus, OH where he now serves as the Regional Director of Campus Outreach Columbus.
He and his wife, Tara, have three boys - Lincoln, Isaiah, and Chase. Although they live in Columbus, Patrick still bleeds blue as a faithful UK basketball and Indianapolis Colts fan. When he’s not watching his sports teams play, he’s likely enjoying a good book or movie.
Mack and his wife, Leeann, have traveled and lived many places before landing in Erbil, Iraq, in July 2017, including 15 years in Dubai, UAE. He’s the pastor of Erbil International Baptist Church. Over the years he’s been involved in university student ministry, church reform and church planting. Mack has authored five Christian books. The most current book is Evangelism: How The Whole Church Speaks of Jesus. Mack enjoys photography, snow skiing, and thinking through how to proclaim the gospel of grace to those who haven’t yet heard whether next door or halfway around the world.
Tony Dentman
Tony was born and raised in the inner city of St. Louis, MO. He went to college and became a Christian during his freshmen year through Campus Outreach College Ministry. When graduation time came around, Tony was offered the opportunity to come on staff with Campus Outreach at the University of Memphis. He has served with the ministry in Memphis for over 10 years. Currently, he is the Director of Diversity and Regional Strategic Development. He is also pursuing a Masters of Theology from the Reformed Theological Seminary. He is very passionate about evangelism and discipleship. He lives in Chicago, IL with his wife, Jennifer.
D.A. Horton serves as Pastor of Reach Fellowship a church plant in Long Beach, CA. Prior to his current role he served as s Chief Evangelist for the Urban Youth Workers Institute (UYWI), a church planter/pastor in Kansas City, MO, a National Coordinator of Urban Student Ministries at the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the Executive Director at ReachLife Ministries.
He and his best friend Elicia have been married for 15 years, and they have have two daughters, Izabelle and Lola and one son, D.A. Jr. (aka Duce).
Originally from Tallahassee, Florida, Matt played soccer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It was during his freshman year of college that Matt became a Christian and began a life of following Christ. For the last 18 years, Matt has worked with college students through the ministry of Campus Outreach.
His passion for students and engaging speaking style has made him a popular conference and retreat speaker. His desire as a communicator is to glorify God by being catalytic, positive and helpful. Matt and his wife Julia currently live in Lynchburg, Virginia with their five children who range from age 14 to 4.
Though born and raised in Houston, Texas, Muche called Atlanta home as he served alongside his closest friends to help plant and pastor at Blueprint Church. With a passion for leadership, culture, and people, it brings him great joy to see the gospel come alive in people’s hearts. He cherishes his family consisting of amazing wife of 7 years, Diamone, & their three children (Serenity 6, Joelle 4, & Noah 3). He currently serves as the Lead Pastor of the Brook where he leads out in preaching, vision, and leadership development, helping mobilize the church to advance the gospel in Miami and beyond.
Paul is the regional director for Campus Outreach Minneapolis. Paul grew up in South Carolina and attended Presbyterian College where he met Samm his freshman year, no sparks yet though. They each served on staff with Campus Outreach in Greenville, South Carolina for several years before moving to be a part of pioneering Campus Outreach Minneapolis in 2003. Paul and Samm served with Campus Outreach at the University of Minnesota were they began dating and then got married in 2006. They have two daughters, Maddux (2008) and Sophie (2010). They each encountered Christ in a powerful way in college and decided to spend their lives investing in college students. As the Director, Paul provides oversight for the staff team, casts vision for catalytic events, and serves as a pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Joe is a pastor at Cities Church and leads the Community Group in the Howe neighborhood. He is a professor at Bethlehem College and Seminary where he teaches Bible, theology, philosophy, and history to undergraduate students. Both graduates of Texas A&M, Joe and his wife Jenny moved to the Cities for grad school and now live with their two boys in Minneapolis.
Eric is a husband and father of five and is dedicated to bringing Glory to God through the clear exaltation of Jesus. He has spent the last decade on the East Side of Detroit where he has founded Mack avenue Community Church and MACC Development which showcases a sports league to provide a positive outlet for youth, a literacy program for youth in his community, a legal aid clinic for those in need, and has helped lead the spark in renovations and beautification of the Pingree Park neighborhood.
John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church. He is author of more than fifty books, and more than forty years of his articles and messages are available free of charge at desiringGod.org. John and his wife Noël have five children and twelve grandchildren.
Matt came to know the Lord in high school, but his years at Furman University (1998-2002) with Campus Outreach were perhaps the most formative of his life. God used a number of older students and CO staff to show him the profound reality of the gospel. He saw his life change and many others' through his, and he decided to come on staff with Campus Outreach at Furman.
In 2004, he joined the CO Minneapolis team to watch the Lord build laborers on the numerous college campuses in the Twin Cities. His wife, Lisa, is a Minnesota native who got involved with the COM ministry as a student. They were married in February 2006 and ministered together to the staff and students downtown. They have three children: Annie, Lucy, and Eli.
Matt and Lisa and their family recently became the directors of Campus Outreach team serving in Charleston, SC.