Chris Orberg My name is Chris Oberg. It is my privilege to work with a team of Pastors and members to whom Church matters! In my ministry you find Christians committed to worshiping God, listening to our teacher Jesus, and caring for each other. These priorities direct our lives and our relationships. My primary assignment is preaching/teaching at our worship services. The Christian scriptures are inspiring and troubling, comforting and challenging, simple and profound–yet always ancient words relevant for today. This is why we open our Bibles expecting to encounter God. My additional responsibilities include administrative leadership and crisis visitation. What does it feel like to belong to a Church? What does life look like when we take our cues from Jesus instead of culture? These are questions I invite you to search for. And wherever your day takes you today, be at ease knowing the One who created you is absolutely crazy about you– and that never changes. Craig Jutila Craig Jutila is the founder and president of Empowering Kids. He served as Children’s Pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California for 13 years. Craig earned his Bachelors Degree in Christian Education from Biola University. He is the author of many books and articles including Leadership Essentials for children’s ministry and 5 minute encouragers for Teachers. Through his company Empowering Kids, Craig provides leadership and resources for children’s leaders in the local church. Craig has been a presenter for Group Publishing and the International Network of Children’s Ministry and has written several articles for Group's Children's Ministry Magazine. He was recently identified by ministry experts nationwide as one of Children’s Ministry Magazine’s Pioneers of the Decade. Craig has been in children’s ministry since 1988 and resides with his wife Mary, twin sons Alec and Cameron and daughter, Karimy, in Southern California.
José Vicente Rojas José Vicente Rojas leads two ministries for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America. He serves as the Director of the Volunteer Ministries Network for the North American Division. Based at the Office of the Secretariat, the Adventist Volunteer Ministries Network brings together church institutional and supportive organizations for shared goals in volunteer ministries such as student missions, taskforce missions, literacy programs, community projects, Bible work, campaign evangelism, and a host of other outreach activities. José also serves as Director of the Office of Young Adult Ministries for the North American Division. An accomplished musician and recording artist, Jose is also an author and a passionate preacher of the Word. His numerous honors include the Maryland Governor's Citation for leadership in community action and the privilege of carrying the official Olympic Torch into Washington D.C. as the flame made its journey to the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. José serves as a member of the U.S. national organization, The Alliance for Youth, founded by General Colin Powell. He has also served as a consultant to the White House assisting two Presidents of the United States with domestic policy initiatives for humanitarian leadership in the U.S.. He and his wife Ruthie have four children: Veronica, Angelica, Gabriel, and Maria. Shirani de Alwis-Chand Dr. Shirani de Alwis-Chand is an educational consultant and speaker whose training and experience has spanned almost 30 years. During this time, she has served as an educator, researcher, educational speaker, and mentor. She earned a doctoral degree in Educational Psychology and Counseling from Andrews University after which she completed post doctoral training in diagnosis/remediation of Reading Disabilities at Harvard University with Dr. Jeanne Chall.. She has taught various grade levels, from elementary school to university. In addition, she has founded three college/university Teaching and Learning Centers, one of which, the Loma Linda University Teaching & Learning Center, she also directed from 1993 -2003. Currently, Dr. de Alwis-Chand continues to promote active learning through application of her Brain-Compatible Teaching/Learning Methods as Director/Consultant at the Above The Bar Educational Center, motivating individuals from across the world to engage in life long learning. Wintley Augustus Phipps Wintley Augustus Phipps was born in Trinidad, West Indies and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Mr. Phipps is a pastor, world-renowned vocal artist, motivational speaker, and education activist. He is the founder, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Dream Academy, Inc. A humanitarian and visionary, Mr. Phipps inspires others to excellence and the realization of their life goals. Mr. Phipps currently serves on the Scholarship America Board of Trustees; Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Board of Directors; the Three Angels Broadcasting Network Board of Directors; and the Advisory Board of Directors of Family Justice. He has also brought his considerable skills to a number of organizations where he served formerly including the Council for Religious Freedom and Prison Fellowship Ministries. Mr. Phipps has received numerous service awards, among them: the Excellence in Mentoring for Program Leadership Award from MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership and the Oprah Winfrey Angel Network Use Your Life Award. Mr. Phipps has performed on Saturday Night Live as well as Sunday Live and has been the special guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show and CBS Nightwatch. Mr. Phipps was nominated for Grammy Awards in 1988 and 1989. He is the author of The Power of A Dream (1996), founder of Songs of Freedom Publishing Company and Coral Records Recording Company. Mr. Phipps is married to the lovely Linda Diane Galloway Phipps (an RN) and they have been blessed with three fine sons: Wintley Augustus, II, Winston Adriel, and Wade Alexander.
Craig Jutila
José Vicente Rojas
Shirani de Alwis-Chand
Wintley Augustus Phipps