Jeffrey Rosario is an evangelist, revivalist, and trainer. He is also an instructor for ARISE, a discipleship training school. His biblically-sound preaching has made him a featured speaker all over the world. Jeffrey has been in full-time ministry since he was 17 years old and is currently pursuing formal studies in History as relates to worldviews. He and his wife Marianna enjoy traveling to explore the various cultures of the world.

General sessions
1. My Story
God is not looking for great abilities, but for our sincere availability.
2. The Great Conspiracy
Is the Great Commission actually a great conspiracy designed to save our own souls and not merely those we seek to evangelize?
3. Significance of the Insignificant
Those who feel they have very little to offer are the ones in greatest danger of neglecting their gifts and squandering their opportunities.
4. What’s Your Legacy?
We live in a world where the culture makers are young adults in their twenties and thirties. What do young Adventist Christians have to contribute?

Petr Cincala: After 14 years of missionary and outreach work in the Czech Republic, Petr presently works at Andrews University as the Institute of Church Ministry Director and Assistant Professor for the Mission Department in the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. Petr cofounded an Outreach Center in Liberec, Czech Republic in 2005 (www.centrumgenerace.cz), planted a church in Liberec/Jablonec (www.generaceviry.cz), has worked for years with youth as lecturer, coach and counselor. Petr is married to Daniela. They have four kids, Timothy 20, Jonathan and Nathanael 18, and Matthew 4, and live in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Ministry Highlight:
Outreach Gospel Choir: Petr will be sharing how he used music to share Christ with the community.

Josephine Elia is a chemical engineer working in the energy industry, a bookworm, and writer. In college, her life was impacted by the ministry of an Adventist student group, and she has since helped campus ministry efforts on secular universities. She holds degrees from MIT and Princeton.

Ministry Highlight:
Public Campus Ministry: Josephine will share how secular campuses are exciting mission fields that students, professionals, and churches can work on.

Terez Edmonds is the founder and president of CAYA Ministries Chicago. He was born and raised in Detroit, MI. During his time in Detroit, he attended City Temple SDA Church with his family, and was partly educated at Peterson Warren Academy. Mr. Edmonds relocated to Columbus, Ohio to pursue further education at Ohio State University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Financial Services with a specialty in sales and retail. Ohio is where Mr. Edmonds rediscovered his walk with God and got involved with Bible study and community service groups in and out of the church. He is currently  working for Tesla Motors in Chicago, and is the owner of CVM Services LLC. Along with his very smart and beautiful wife, Dorothy Mefom Edmonds, he is always looking for ways to spread the SDA message, help people, and enjoy life.

Ministry Highlight:
Taking It To the Streets: CAYA Ministries is a Christian community group of young adults in the Chicagoland area. The acronym CAYA is broken down as Chicagoland Adventist Young Adults. Our main focus is creating programs that help individuals both spiritually and physically. Programs range from financial literacy programs for adults to after school programs for teens and children in the neighborhood.

Kathy Griffin is the Recruiter and Alumni Development Director/ English 10 Teacher at Indiana Academy, located in Cicero, Indiana. She has been involved in her church’s Journey to Bethlehem program for more than 10 years. Kathy enjoys music, reading, organizing events, and being with people.

Ministry Highlight:
Journey to Bethlehem is a Christmas production that has been going on at the Cicero Seventh-day Adventist Church for more than 15 years. It has an interactive Jerusalem village with 8-10 merchants. As the journey progresses, participants will view a total of 12 stations with live actors. A Christmas production such as this is a gift to the surrounding community. Over the years it has seen thousands of visitors. You will receive a glimpse into why this ministry is important, and a guide to help implement it into your own church community.

Sandrew King has been in youth ministry in the Greater Detroit area for the past 15 years, and has served as the Adventist Youth Leader of City Temple Seventh Day Adventist Church for 8 years. He has also spent 15 years in various roles in the Motor City Youth Federation Ministries where he is now president.

Ministry Highlight:
Extreme Youth Ministries. Sandrew’s greatest role in youth ministry has been his involvement in Extreme Youth Ministries.  He has not only developed several different outreach ministries that target youth but also requires the youth to be leaders in these ministries.  Extreme Youth Ministries outreach programs include: Movie Night, Meals and Ministries, and Clothes for Kids.

Toson Knight is a graduate of Oakwood University where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in History Education. Toson works closely with youth ministry and plans special programs for his local church, such as the New Year’s Eve Program, and the Community Service and Youth Day. Toson works for the City of Detroit Mayor’s Office as Deputy Manager for the Department of Neighborhoods. He is responsible for working with community organizations, businesses, and religious groups on fighting blight, lowering crime, and handling citizen complaints. Toson finds it a distinct honor to serve the citizens of the Detroit community and to play an integral role in his church.

Ministry Highlight:
Caught Up is a mentoring program that seeks to inspire, mold and empower teenagers to be productive members in their society.

Kurtis Lam is currently the AY leader in his church. He was raised in the church, but during his teen years he strayed away from Jesus. After being away from Jesus and experiencing what little the world had to offer, he realized how much he needed Jesus in his life. He rededicated his life to Christ and, after attending the 2013 Lake Union Youth Evangelism Congress, he developed a passion for youth ministry. When Kurtis returned to his church, he realized he was the only one left from his original youth group of 15 members. He didn’t want that to happen to the next generation of youth in his church. So he started up an AY ministry with a 16 year old kid named Michael Hughes. It was just the two of them and God. What more did they need? Kurtis’ mission is to share the love of Jesus with everyone he can reach, especially the young people. Kurtis doesn’t have any training or a degree in Theology. He is not a professional speaker. He realizes you don’t need to be any of those to serve Jesus. All you have to be... is willing. Kurtis loves Jesus with all his heart, and he just asks for Jesus to use him. His favorite quote is “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.”

 

Ministry Highlight:
How to Start a Youth Group With Just You and God! We will be going over ways to start a youth group even if it’s just you and God. We’ll go over what works, and what doesn’t. We will talk about ways to reach your community, your church and other youth. Most importantly, we will talk about how you as a young person can share your love for Christ.

Joe Reeves and his friends launched the Bridge Young Adult Ministry to build the faith of young adults and unify them for evangelism around the Detroit area. Since then, he and his wife Ruthie have moved to Berrien Springs where he currently serves as youth pastor at Village Church. In 2015 he launched the first Extreme Bible Workout trip for teens looking for adventure and a raw encounter with Jesus. He also serves as president of new Lake Union iShare, a ministry designed to harness the energy of young people for local church evangelism.

Ministry Highlight:

GLOW: How did one young adult's innovative idea explode into a world-wide evangelism tool selling in the millions?

Scott Schalk has been involved in youth ministries as a lay person.  He ran the Pioneer Memorial Church FLAG Camp for over 10 years.  This summer camp ran for eight weeks with over 100 kids attending every day.  In addition, he has been conducting FLAG Camp mission trips for over 15 years to places such as Honduras, Romania, Slovakia,  and Republic of Georgia.

Ministry Highlight:
FLAG Camp stands for Fun Learning About God, targets kids ages 5-13 and can be a self-sufficient ministry. The camp can be run for a week or whole summer, utilize any local church or school and has even been incorporated into mission trips. The staff is comprised of high school and college youth who act as both counselors and teachers.

Maurice Small is a Pathfinder leader in the South West Region Conference and the Lake Region Conference. He has also served as the Youth Federation President of the Southwest Region Conference. He has experience in developing activities for the youth and organizing community programs and events

Ministry Highlight:
Pathfinder Community Club: In this session, we will learn how to start a Pathfinder Community Club. This will include creating awareness of how to be involved in the community culture.

Jonathan Swan serves as the Sports Ministry Director for the Florida Conference. This is a volunteer position which started in 2012. Jonathan is an Oakwood University graduate who works at Florida State University. Jonathan is passionate about sports and has launched Sports Ministry for the Florida Conference.
 
Ministry Highlight:
Sports Ministry: using sports to empower young people to connect with and disciple non-Adventists.
 

Sherri Uhrig is currently the Children’s Ministries Director for the North American Division.  She has worked in various areas of children’s ministries for over 30 years. Sherri has a heart for mission, serving in Guam and Palau with her husband, Bob, developing curricula for the children’s outreach program, “Kids in the Park,” as well as child evangelism programs.

Pamela Daly is the Children’s Ministry Director for the Lake Region Conference.  She has a passion and love for children and wants them all to know Jesus as their best friend and personal Savior.  She enjoys serving for the Lord by helping leaders become equipped in children’s ministry through leadership trainings, VBS, Sabbath School, and children’s church. 

Ministry Highlight:
Children's Ministries.VBX (Vacation Bible Xperience) is one of the very best children’s outreach there is! Where else can you go and learn about God in fun, interactive, praise worshiping and yummy to the tummy ways?  Few other events offer the potential to reach out to children and adults in your community the way VBX can. Put on your tenny shoes and come and step into a day of Children’s Evangelism: VBX, Children’s Church and Children’s Health Expo… Warning:  this breakout may get a little messy with lots of laughter and lots of moments connecting to Jesus.

Scott R. Ward is a 25 year youth ministry veteran currently serving as Youth Pastor at the English Oaks Adventist Church, Public High School Campus Ministries Coordinator for the NAD, and Executive Director of the Living It High School Outreach Resource Center (livingiths.org). Pastor Scott is passionate about training youth leaders to reach the 70% of Adventist youth that aren’t being reached by our Christian schools. Pastor Scott’s first book, Authentic: Where true, life-changing Christianity begins, was released by the R&H Publishing Association 3 years ago and shows how the key to fulfilling the gospel commission is a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus.

 
Ministry Highlight:
Angel 1 Project: The Angel 1 Project is all about teaching teens and their leaders how to share the everlasting gospel of the first Angel of Revelation 14. In this seminar, we will discuss what the gospel is and how it applies to life today to meet the needs of hurting people. In the afternoon breakout session, participants will write out their own 2-3 minute gospel presentation and learn how to use all the Angel 1 Witnessing Leaflets, booklets and other resources, including the angel1project.com website and how to conduct a Gospel Rally and Outreach in their area. The Angel 1 Project is sponsored by Living It: High School Outreach—a part of the NAD Youth Department.

Rabel Ortiz has been involved in youth ministries since a very early age. Her father, a retired pastor in Puerto Rico, was always involved with Pathfinders. She first came to Indiana in 2009. She has worked with summer camp ministry for 7 summers and as a missionary English teacher in South Korea for 1.5 years. There she was able to experience first hand what a difference a life of prayer can do in your life, and the peace that can be experienced when you trust your life to God. Rabel currently works as the Administrative Assistant for the Education Department and as Conference Clerk for the Indiana Conference.

Ministry Highlight:
The purpose of the Prayer Room is to give you space and time for spiritual and personal reflection in a world that crowds it out. It is a place where a person can connect with God through writing, reading, meditating, resting, and praying.