Conference schedule and personnel are subject to change. Watch this page for updates.
Saturday, August 3
7:15 pm - Ken Davis
Sunday, August 4
8:30 am - Begin the day with prayer (Chapel)
9:15 am - Christian Life Communities
“Three Ways to Worship” – Skye Jethani (Chapel)
“The God Who Sends” – Ryan & Jenee Harmon (Middle School Room 109)
10:30 am - Worship Team, Jimmy Needham, Kyle McClellan
7:15 pm - Worship Team, Jimmy Needham, Kelvin Walker
9:15 pm – Friendship and food venues around the campus
Monday, August 5
8:30 am - Begin the day with prayer (Chapel)
9:00 am - Morning Bible Hour with Gary Burge
10:00-noon - Children and Youth Communities
10:30-noon - Adult Christian Life Communities
7:15 pm - Worship Team, Melody DeForge, Mark Ashton
9:15 pm - Conference Association Annual Meeting (all welcome)
9:15 pm - Friendship and food venues around the campus
Tuesday, August 6
8:30 am - Begin the day with prayer (Chapel)
9:00 am - Morning Bible Hour with Gary Burge
10:00-noon - Children and Youth Communities
10:15-2:30 - Pastors & Spouses Day at The Inn
Complimentary tickets required (click here to register)
10:30-noon - Adult Christian Life Communities
12:15 pm - Luncheon for Pastors & Spouses at The Inn
7:15 pm - Worship Team, Sara Groves, Mark Ashton
9:15 pm - Friendship and food venues around the campus
Wednesday, August 7
8:30 am - Begin the day with prayer (Chapel)
9:00 am - Morning Bible Hour with Gary Burge
10:00-noon - Children and Youth Communities
10:30-noon - Adult Christian Life Communities
1:00 pm - Women’s Luncheon at Arrowwood with Allison Allen
Click here to purchase tickets beginning May 6, 2013
7:15 pm - Worship Team, Sara Groves, Dale Beaver
9:15 pm - Friendship and food venues around the campus
Thursday, August 8
7:00 am - Men’s Breakfast (Founders Hall)
Tickets available at Conference.
8:30 am - Begin the day with prayer (Chapel)
9:00 am - Morning Bible Hour with Gary Burge
10:00-noon - Children and Youth Communities
10:30-noon - Adult Christian Life Communities
4:00 pm - Time of prayer for healing (Chapel)
7:15 pm - Worship Team, Dale Beaver
9:15 pm - Friendship and food venues around the campus
Friday, August 9
8:30 am - Begin the day with prayer (Chapel)
9:00 am - Morning Bible Hour with Gary Burge
10:00-noon - Children and Youth Communities
10:30-noon - Adult Christian Life Communities
7:15 pm - Jeremiah & Vanessa Gamble and Theater for the Thirsty
9:15 pm - Friendship and food venues around the campus
Saturday, August 10
8:30 am - Begin the day with prayer (Chapel)
10:30 am - The Joy of Communities Praise & Worship – Highlights of the week for all ages (Tabernacle)
10:30 am - Adult Christian Life Communities
“National Treasure: Diamonds in the Desert” (Part 1) with Bob & Barb Van Wyk (Chapel)
7:15 pm - Worship Team, The Gambles, Russell Muilenburg
9:15 pm - Friendship and food venues around the campus
Sunday, August 11
8:30 am - Begin the day with prayer (Chapel)
9:15 am - Adult Christian Life Communities
“National Treasure: Diamonds in the Desert” (Part 2) with Bob & Barb Van Wyk (Chapel)
10:30 am - Worship Team, The Gambles, Skye Jethani
7:15 pm - The Martins in Concert
Adult Christian Life Communities (Full course descriptions listed below)
Monday – Friday, 10:30 am to noon. Christian Life Communities are electives. Participants are encouraged to attend the same community all five days. Room locations will be announced at Conference.
Joshua Becker - Thinking Richer About Money
Don Bierle - FaithSearch Discovery
Michelle Christy - A Defining Word for Daddy’s Daughters
Nancy Davies – Spiritual Parenting (See Nancy’s bio below)
Bill Hartley - An Orphaned Evangelical Finds His Heritage
Kyle McClellan - Religion, Irreligion and the Gospel
William Struthers - Wired for Intimacy: Faith and Sex in the Digital Age
Sunday (8/4) Christian Life Communities – To be announced
Saturday & Sunday (8/10 & 11) Christian Life Communities – To be announced
Missionaries-in-Residence (present throughout Conference)
Ryan & Jeneé Harmon - Avant Ministries, Madrid, Spain
Ryan and Jenée lead a church planting team in Madrid, Spain. They arrived in Madrid in January 2011, and they live in the heart of the city. Prior to their work as missionaries, Ryan was a 20-something pastor at Lincoln Berean Church in Lincoln, Nebraska; Jenée was pursuing a career in counseling. They have been married for six years and have one son, Samuel, who is three.
Guest Missionaries
Bob & Barb Van Wyk - Assemblies of God World Missions, Botswana, Africa
Bob was an elementary school teacher for 20 years and pastor at Dayspring Assembly of God in Spencer, Iowa for eight years. Barb has been involved in ministry since receiving her degree in Christian Studies in 1990. In 2008 the Lord called them to leave the pastorate and become missionaries to Botswana, Africa. (This fulfills the missionary call the Lord gave Barb when she was 12, and Bob when he was 30.) Their focus in Botswana is to teach and train leaders to reach the children of Botswana with the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. They are currently on furlough and planning to return to Botswana in early 2014. Bob and Barb have three children: Austin, Stephanie, and Cameron.
Christian Life Community Descriptions
Thinking Richer About Money – Josh Becker: Your life is too valuable to waste chasing possessions. Unfortunately, both outside and inside the church, the pursuit of wealth and materialism remains one of the greatest undiagnosed distractions of our time. Correctly understood, Jesus’s plain teachings on money and possessions bring life, freedom, meaning and fulfillment. It is time we rediscover them. Come engage this rich conversation about money, wealth, possessions, generosity, and the kingdom of God. After discovering minimalism five years ago, he began inspiring others to find more life by owning fewer possessions.
Today, as one of the leading voices in the modern simplicity movement, Josh is the founder and editor of Becoming Minimalist, a website dedicated to intentional living. He is also the best-selling author of Simplify and Living With Less: An Unexpected Key to Happiness. Josh, his wife and two children live in Peoria, Arizona, where he pastors at Journey Church.
FaithSearch Discovery – Don Bierle: Former skeptic Don Bierle will be presenting the evidence that changed his mind from doubt to confidence about the Christian faith. A big turn-around in his life occurred when science colleagues challenged him to examine historical reliability evidence of New Testament writings about Jesus. Bierle discovered he has no purpose in life apart from an infinite and personal relationship with God. His realization caused him to reconsider the claims of Jesus. Bierle hopes when people understand the intellectual integrity of the Christian faith they are set free to embrace Jesus Christ, who will transform their lives.
Don Bierle is president of FaithSearch International of Minneapolis and has degrees in life sciences and New Testament studies. He has traveled to both Artic and Antartic polar regions with fellow members of scientific research expeditions. Dr. Bierle has been actively teaching college biology, Bible and worldview subjects 30 years. He has published several articles in scientific journals and is the author of Surprised by Faith and other books and dvds on practical apologetics. He specializes in evidential evangelism.
A Defining Word for Daddy’s Daughters – Michelle Christy: What life experience, circumstance, subtle message, human word or blatant lie speaks a defining word over us? In the Gospels, Jesus encounters women serving in their home, burying loved ones, drawing a drink, worshipping in the synagogue, hiding in the crowd, bound in despair, trapped in shame, grieving sin and loss. Jesus speaks and invites these women to a newly defined life. So too, is Jesus’ invitation for us. Through the study of several Gospel texts, discover Jesus’ defining word for His daughters! Michelle Christy is a speaker who is passionate about encouraging and leading others toward a personal and transforming encounter with God through the study of His word. She covets any opportunity to share the affectionate love of Christ with God’s image-bearers and her fellow sojourners.
Michelle brings over 15 years of experience to her inspirational speaking and Bible teaching ministry, Defining Word. Her natural and sincere style reveals her journey through life as a daughter of the heavenly Father, the wife of Greg, the mother of Ryan, Madalyn, and Kyle, and as a recent cancer survivor. Her husband and children describe her with one word, “intentional.” Michelle enjoys sharing her “overtures of intentionality” with all who will indulge her.
Spiritual Parenting – Nancy Davies: Passing on a vibrant faith from one generation to another is a desire for parents. Explore Scripture’s lessons to parents in forming faith for children of all ages. Learn how this guiding role impacts the spiritual growth of parents and children and home environments God uses to draw the hearts of young and adult offspring to Him.
Ministry to children, youth and families has been Nancy’s passion more than 30 years. As director of ministry environments at Christ Community Church, Nancy enjoys working with team leading discipleship for all ages. A graduate of Wheaton College and Bethel Seminary, Nancy and her husband Dale currently reside in Omaha, Nebraska.
An Orphaned Evangelical Finds His Heritage – Bill Hartley: Have you ever wanted to know more about your family tree? As evangelicals, our heritage is richer than we might think. Journey from the church in Acts to the evangelical church in the United States to trace major positive and negative influences and like-minded characters who have shaped the church and made us who we are today. Great for history buffs, church leaders, and for the promotion of “across the (church) aisle” relationships.
Bill Hartley has pastored 23 years in California, Washington, the Netherlands and most recently as the founding planter of Christ Church of East Mesa, Arizona. Bill also teaches church history at Phoenix Seminary and abroad at Saints Bible Institute in San Lorenzo, Italy. His ministry in both the church and classroom has been dedicated to the rediscovery of the riches of our Christian heritage, which can bring needed correctives to our contemporary evangelical experience.
Religion, Irreligion and the Gospel – Kyle McClellan: John 3 and 4 give fascinating insight into the differences between religion (Nicodemus) and irreligion (the Samaritan woman). We will see how the Gospel confronts both, and how these well-known chapters fit into the melodic line of John’s Gospel.
Kyle McClellan is a son of the Okoboji Conference. He is currently the pastor of Grace Church in Fremont, Nebraska. Kyle and his wife Amy have two children, Gabrielle and Nathaniel. Outside of Grace, Kyle writes for the blog Practical Shepherding, competes as a power lifter, and cheers for his kids at swim meets, basketball games, and track meets.
Wired for Intimacy: Faith and Sex in the Digital Age – William Struthers: This class will examine sexuality from a Biblical perspective and examine recent findings in neuroscience about male and female brain differences. Additional topics include: sex and the brain, pornography, cybersex, sexual brokenness, and restoration from sexual sin.
William Struthers is a professor of psychology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois where he teaches courses on behavioral neuroscience, men and addictions and the biological bases of behavior. Dr. Struthers’ animal lab research is on the effects of environmental enrichment on neural responses to novelty challenges. His clinical research is in the area of compulsive sexuality and pornography use. In addition to this empirical work, Dr. Struthers’ theoretical research interests are in the areas of neuroethics, the biological bases of spirituality and personhood, and science/faith dialogue issues.
