Chris Clayman is the executive director of Joshua Project, an initiative that highlights peoples and places with the least access or response to the gospel so the Body of Christ can prioritize its prayer and mission efforts. He has been involved in pioneer mission work in West Africa and New York City among Muslim peoples, and he has initiated and helped develop numerous mobilization and outreach efforts focused on unreached peoples, including Global Gates, Heart for Muslims, Welcome Africans, and UPG North America. Chris is also the author of Superplan: a journey into God’s story and ethNYcity: The Nations, Tongues, and Faiths of Metropolitan New York. He lives with his wife Nichole and three children in New York City. Links to these initiatives and contact information can be found at linktr.ee/chrisclayman.

Matt serves as the President and CEO of Awana, a global leader in child discipleship. As a researcher in child discipleship and children’s ministry, Matt has commissioned 14 research projects since 2013, including a study conducted by Barna Group called, Children’s Ministry in a New Reality . He’s a board member at large for the National Association of Evangelicals and is the author or co-author of six books, most notably Forming Faith, winner of a 2025 Christian Book Award, RESILIENT: Child Discipleship and the Fearless Future of the Church, and The Faith of Our Children: Eight Timely Research Insights for Discipling the Next Generation. He’s also the co-founder of the Child Discipleship Forum and D6 Conference. Matt and his wife Katie have been involved in children’s ministry for more than 25 years and spend their time in Nashville. They have two sons and a daughter-in-law. For more information go to www.ChildDiscipleship.com and www.Awana.org.

Bekele was born and raised in Ethiopia. Before joining Campus Crusade for Christ, he worked for five years as a head of information management for the National HIV/AIDS Control Program in Ethiopia. Bekele holds a B.S. degree in Statistics and Mathematics from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Azusa Pacific University, and a doctorate in Global Transformational Leadership from Bakke Graduate University. He joined full-time missionary work with Campus Crusade for Christ International in Ethiopia in 1993. Since then, he has held diverse leadership roles for the organization including National Director for Ethiopia for five years, Regional Director for Southern and Eastern Africa for 11 years, and Global Vice President since 2010. Bekele also serves as President of the Global Alliance for Church Multiplication (GACX), a global network of church-planting organizations, which he helped to launch in 2011; President of the Global Institute for Transformational Leadership (GITL), which he founded in 2008. He recently published Never Alone: From Ethiopian Villager to Global Leader. Bekele and his wife Shewa have four children and live in Orlando, Florida.

Clay Smith is the husband of his high school sweetheart, Terrica, and is the proud dad of three daughters. The Smiths moved to Atlanta in 2019, wherein Clay became the Senior Pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, a thriving, multigenerational church on the north side of the city. A native of Greenville, SC, Clay’s passion for ministry revolves around the Great Commission, with a focus on three major areas: evangelism, relational disciple-making, and text-driven preaching. Clay loves to help people understand the Word of God so that they might know the God of the Word. He received his undergraduate education at the University of South Carolina and is a two-time graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, holding a Ph.D. in biblical preaching. He has served the Southern Baptist Convention in various capacities, including his role as President of the Board of NC Baptists, as well as serving as a current trustee at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. When time allows, he loves to read, lift weights, fish, find the best cheeseburger in Atlanta, and hang out with his Boykin Spaniel, Waylon.