MARCH 2-3, 2026
Meet our 2026 Speakers
Main Session Speakers
Chris Clayman
Executive Director of Joshua Project
Meet Chris
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.
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Meet Amir
Hear stories about the persecuted church from a Muslim background believer.
Matt Markins
President & CEO of Awana
Meet Matt
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.
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Meet Heather
Heather is an associate teaching professor at Penn State, speaker, and author. She designs advanced writing curriculum for the English department and loves helping students thrive professionally. She has written eight books, including the bestseller Seated with Christ: Living Freely in a Culture of Comparison, and an award-winning book on evangelism (cowritten with her husband, Ashley Holleman) called Sent: Living a Life That Invites Others to Jesus. Her latest book, The Six Conversations: Pathways to Connecting in an Age of Isolation and Incivility (Fall 2022) helps fight the loneliness epidemic by inviting readers to enjoy better conversations.
Heather also serves with Faculty Commons, the graduate student and professor ministry of Cru. She has two daughters and three cats, and she blogs daily at heatherholleman.com. Her podcast is “The Verb with Heather Holleman.” When she’s not writing or teaching, Heather is growing a plum orchard, looking for turtles in the woods, or gathering with friends for dinner and a movie.
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Meet Edward
Edward Paz planted The Movement Church in Oakland, California in 2013. After 8 years of proclaiming the gospel, making disciples, and serving the city, Edward transitioned the leadership of the church to a new Senior Pastor, and took a role at Hope Church in Las Vegas as their Lead Pastor of Prayer and Teaching Ministries.
Edward has been married to his wife Rebekah for 18 years. His passions include creating/cultivating a culture of corporate prayer within a church, training the next generation of preachers, and encouraging pastors to be spiritually and emotionally healthy.
Edward also enjoys writing. He published “Only God – A Supernatural Church Planting Story” in 2020 and has written extensively at edwardpaz.com.
Dr. Clay Smith
Senior Pastor of Johnson Ferry
Meet Clay
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.