Speakers
The Faculty of Community U is comprised of working pastors and a legendary figure in the small group movement. |
 |
 |
| Steve Gladen – (Prime - all conferences) Steve Gladen is the Pastor of the Small Group Community of over 3500 small groups at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California; an author; founder of the Purpose Driven Small Group Network, a network of North American small group pastors and point leaders; featured speaker at conferences around the world; and developer of numerous small group resources (www.smallgroups.net). He has traveled the world teaching the principles that have proven so successful at Saddleback, and has helped hundreds of churches successfully implement this model. |
|
|
 |
|
| Rick Howerton – (Workshop leader – all locations) Rick Howerton is the Small Group-ologist/Trainer at Serendipity by LifeWay. He honestly believes that small groups can and will change the world. He has been a small-groups pastor for many years, and he currently serves as the senior pastor at The Bridge—a church plant started by Rick that is built around healthy small groups. Rick is a highly sought after small-group trainer, leading over 40 conferences nationwide per year. He has authored or co-authored three small-group studies and is the author of Destination Community: Small-Group Ministry Manual. |
|
|
 |
|
| Ron Wilbur - Advanced Planning - all conferences) Ron Wilbur is the director of small group operations at Saddleback. Following a career in corporate marketing, Ron spent 20 years as the CEO of an ad agency working with global brands. In 2005 he left the corporate world to join the ministerial staff of Saddleback Church on the small group ministry team. In four years he has held various roles including Area Leader over 300 small groups, director of small group operations and affinities, team leader, and head of online small groups. He is a graduate of Rockbridge Seminary. He and his wife Faye have taken several PEACE trips to West Africa, working among Muslims. |
|
|