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John Burke - President & Founder
John Burke is the founding pastor of Gateway Community Church in Austin,
Texas as well as the visionary leader behind ELI. John was one of the original founders of
Axis (along with Dieter Zander) at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, Illinois.
He then became the Executive Director of Ministries at Willow but soon felt called to
focus on church planting for our postmodern generation. John left Willow in 1998 and
he, his wife Kathy, and Ted Beasley started Gateway. Gateway effectively reaches out
to postmodern, post-Christian seekers, and continues to see many people who were once far
from God become followers of Christ.
Craig Whitney - Executive Director
Craig spent over 20 years in church ministry in roles that ranged from youth guy to church planter. His passion for facilitating kingdom growth led him to create ImpactPoint Strategies in 2004 where he helped pastors, churches and entrepreuners increase their kingdom impact. As the Executive Director of ELI, he now oversees the development and implentation of ELI's collaborative strategy for creating a self-sustaining, nationwide church multiplication movement. He lives in Sacramento with the cutest girl in his 4th Grade Sunday School class and their two teenage children. When he is not reading, writing or talking about ideas for reaching more lost people, he likes to spend time on the water skiing with his family or in his woodshop making sawdust and occasionally something actually useful.
Vince Antonucci - Pastor, Forefront Church
Vince grew up in a non-Christian home (his father was a professional poker player,
his mother is Jewish!) but became a Christian in college through studying the Bible on
his own. Vince had never met a Christian, been invited to church, or heard about Jesus,
and so he dedicated his life to doing whatever would lead the most people to God. This
conviction led him to transfer from Law School to Seminary, where he discovered that the
most effective way to reach lost people is through church planting. Soon Vince started
Forefront in Virginia Beach, dedicated to doing whatever it took to reach people for Jesus.
Forefront uses cutting edge methods and an extremely culturally relevant style to reach
people who will not be reached by other churches. Vince's first book, I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt, will be released in early 2008.
Nick Boring - Director of Vision 2020, Kensington Community Church
In February 2002, Nick left a 20 year corporate career to begin his journey as the Director, Vision 2020 at Kensington Community Church, Troy, Michigan. Nick has been a part of Kensington for 14 years. Throughout this time he has been involved with many different ministries, and in various volunteer leadership positions. Nick’s experience and background in sales / marketing,
strategic planning and international business has helped to equip him to lead Kensington’s mission
to grow God’s Kingdom through high impact churches. As Director of Kensington’s church planting
initiative, he has a focus on coaching church planters and leadership development of church
plant core teams; as well assisting in the development of ministry plans.
Patrick Furgerson - Director, Church Planting Solutions
Through his experience as a launch team member with New Life Christian Church,
Patrick Furgerson has developed a passion for church planting and reaching the lost in new and
exciting ways. Beginning as a volunteer and transitioning to a full-time staff position,
Pat served with New Life for over 10 years. New Life grew from a core of 7 people in a
basement to over 1,000 people during this time and continues to grow and reach people in
two campuses in the suburbs of Washington D.C. He currently serves as a Director and Project
Manager for Church Planting Solutions,
a non-profit church planting support organization whose purpose is to keep the church
planter focused on people by providing various support services for church plants.
Todd Wilson - Executive Minister, New Life Christian Church
As the Executive Minister of New Life Christian Church
in Centreville, Va., Todd took a predictable path to the ministry earning his Bachelors and
Masters degrees in Nuclear Engineering. You might say that Todd gives New Life that certain
glow! Always the overachiever, when Todd talks about his favorite TV show-he names the History
Channel! Todd works constantly behind the scenes at New Life to make sure everything comes
together and is the brains behind New Life’s sister ministry, Passion for Planting. Todd has
been married 17 years to the equally brainy Anna, and they have two boys and a dog named
Reagan. Todd relates most to Joshua in the Bible because he was a faithful leader, and
continued learner and went on to fill the big shoes God set before him.
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