Special Guests 2012
Midwest- General Sessions
Sam Clements- Cleveland, TN
Sam N. Clements, North American General Presbyter was born August 4, 1942 in Stewart County, Tennessee. He was converted and filled with the Holy Spirit at age twelve in a rural church in Middle Tennessee.
After attending Bible school in Cleveland, Tennessee he began his pastoral ministry in 1963, and was ordained as a Bishop in 1972. His pastoral ministry included churches in Tennessee, his home state, Oklahoma and Michigan. In 1991 Bishop Clements was appointed state overseer of Arkansas and in 1993 Oklahoma was merged with Arkansas which became the Mid-America Region where he served until 1998. He was then appointed as overseer of North Carolina. After serving two years in North Carolina, in 2000 he was selected as the General Presbyter for the Church of God of Prophecy in North America where he continues to serve. In recognition of his years of ministry and leadership, in May of 2012 he was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree from Kingsbury Bible College. He and his wife, Linda were married August 5, 1961. Their marriage was blessed with three sons; Greg, Gary and Gerald and seven grandchildren.
Tim Elmore- Atlanta, GA
Dr. Tim Elmore is the founder and president of Growing Leaders, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization created to develop emerging leaders. Through Growing Leaders, he and his team provide public schools, state universities, civic organizations, and corporations with the tools they need to help develop young leaders who can impact and transform society.
Tim trains high school and college students with the skills they need to become servant leaders at school, work home and the community. Since founding Growing Leaders, he has spoken to more than 300,000 students, faculty and staff on hundreds of campuses across the country, including Stanford University, Duke University, the University of South Carolina, the University of North Carolina, Florida State University, and Baylor University. Tim has also provided leadership training and resources for the National FFA Organization, and multiple athletic programs including, the University of Alabama, Auburn University, the University of Texas and the San Francisco Giants.
From the classroom to the boardroom, Elmore is a dynamic communicator who uses principles, images and stories to strengthen leaders. He teaches leadership for corporations such as Chick-fil-A, Inc., The Home Depot, American Eagle Outfitters, and Cox Communications among others. He has also taught courses on leadership and mentoring at nine universities and graduate schools across the U.S. Committed to developing young leaders on every continent of the world, Elmore also has shared his insights in more than 30 countries — including India, Russia, China, and Australia, among others.
Tim has written more than 25 books, including the best-selling Habitudes: Images that Form Leadership Habits and Attitudes, Life Giving Mentors, Nurturing the Leader Within Your Child and Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future. Recognized as a thought leader on the emerging generation, Tim has been quoted in articles on Generation Y and generational diversity in the workplace in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Investor’s Business Daily, Huffington Post, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, TLNT.com and Portfolio.com. His newest book Artificial Maturity: Helping Kids Meet the Challenge of Becoming Authentic Adults was released in June 2012.
Website: http://growingleaders.com/
Larry Acosta- Santa Ana, CA
Dr. Larry Acosta is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Hispanic Ministry Center, Urban Youth Workers Institute. Larry’s passion is to envision and shape the emerging generation of urban leadership for transformational ministry. Larry’s claim to fame is that he is married to his lovely wife Jayme and they have four wonderful children.Website: http://uywi.org/
Bryan Cutshall- St-Louis, MO
Bryan Cutshall, D. Min., is the Senior Pastor of Twin Rivers Worship Center in St. Louis, MO. Under his guidance and direction, the Twin Rivers church has grown from 52 people to one of the most vital megachurches in the Midwest. Bryan is a pastor, convention speaker and church trainer. In addition, he is a Level 5 Church Consultant and has done extensive research and training in the areas of church growth, with a particular emphasis on lay ministry development. Each year, he trains thousands of church leaders in conferences, diagnostic clinics, consultations and retreats. He is the author of several books in addition to the ChurchTrainer book label – a resource line for training pastors, leaders and workers in the Body of Christ. All of his books and resources can be found by clicking here. Bryan and his wife, Faith, have two daughters, Brittany and Lindsay.
Tim Harper- Great Lakes Region
Dr. Tim Harper is currently the Overseer for the Church of God of Prophecy in the Great Lakes Region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin). Dr. Harper began his ministry in 1981. He has served as Kentucky State Youth Director and held pastorates in Kentucky and Michigan.
He was educated at Kentucky Christian University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Bible and in Psychology, with a minor in Languages. He graduated magna cum laude. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies from Cincinnati Christian University, and a Master of Divinity degree in Pastoral Counseling from Ashland Theological Seminary, where he graduated with high honors. His Doctor of Ministry degree is in Transformational Leadership from Ashland Theological Seminary where his doctoral dissertation was titled, “An Instructional Manual for Equipping Ministerial Candidates in the Church of God of Prophecy.”
Dr. Harper is an adjunct faculty member of Lee University teaching classes in Bible, Pastoral Ministry and practicum in Christian Leadership. As a licensed psychotherapist, he was in private practice for five (5) years at the Dearborn Pastoral Counseling Center. He is also a nationally certified Healthy Congregations facilitator.
Bishop Randall Howard - Cleveland, TN
Bishop Randall E. Howard was selected as General Overseer during the 94th International General Assembly of the Church of God of Prophecy in 2006.
Prior to being selected as General Overseer, Bishop Howard had served as Global Outreach Director for twelve years, providing oversight of the missions, radio, television, evangelism, and orphanage ministries of the church. These ministries are perhaps known better by their titles, Harvest Partners, Global Outreach Committee, Pan de Vida, World Impact, One Child Fund, Helping Hands, Men and Women of Destiny. Other ministry involvements on the international ministry level include: 1. Serving on the founding staff of the Center for Biblical Leadership 2. Director of Evangelism, Sunday School, and Children’s Ministry 3. Campus Pastor at Tomlinson College (1987-1991) 4. National Evangelist and Coordinator of the Sharing Eternal Life Ministry
Bishop Howard also served local church ministries both as a Pastor of the Charleston, West Virginia church and as Youth Pastor of a local church at Newport News, Virginia.
Bishop Howard obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Spanish Education from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Christian Formation from the Church of God Theological Seminary
Midwest-Breakout Session Presenters
Developing Leaders
Josue Serpas- Atlanta, GA
Larry Acosta- Santa Ana, CA
Tim Elmore- Norcross, GA
Evangelizing Communities
Joe Cook- Broken Arrow, OK
Mike Jennette- Dickson, TN
Effie Woodard- Ashville, NC
Growing Healthy Churches
Scott Lee- Sheridan, WY
Brian Cutshall- St. Louis, MO
Michael Williams- Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Jason Sample- California
Strengthening Families
Kym Adame- California
Kathryn Creasy- Cleveland, TN
Northeast- General Sessions
Larry Acosta- Santa Ana, CA
Dr. Larry Acosta is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Hispanic Ministry Center, Urban Youth Workers Institute. Larry’s passion is to envision and shape the emerging generation of urban leadership for transformational ministry. Larry’s claim to fame is that he is married to his lovely wife Jayme and they have four wonderful children.
Website: http://uywi.org/
Bishop Randall E. Howard- Cleveland, TN
Bishop Randall E. Howard was selected as General Overseer during the 94th International General Assembly of the Church of God of Prophecy in 2006.
Prior to being selected as General Overseer, Bishop Howard had served as Global Outreach Director for twelve years, providing oversight of the missions, radio, television, evangelism, and orphanage ministries of the church. These ministries are perhaps known better by their titles, Harvest Partners, Global Outreach Committee, Pan de Vida, World Impact, One Child Fund, Helping Hands, Men and Women of Destiny. Other ministry involvements on the international ministry level include: 1. Serving on the founding staff of the Center for Biblical Leadership 2. Director of Evangelism, Sunday School, and Children’s Ministry 3. Campus Pastor at Tomlinson College (1987-1991) 4. National Evangelist and Coordinator of the Sharing Eternal Life Ministry
Bishop Howard also served local church ministries both as a Pastor of the Charleston, West Virginia church and as Youth Pastor of a local church at Newport News, Virginia.
Bishop Howard obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Spanish Education from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Christian Formation from the Church of God Theological Seminary
Rev. Clarence Laney Jr.- Durham, NC
The Rev. Clarence Laney, Jr. is a native of Selma, NC. He holds a Master of Divinity from Duke University School of Divinity, Durham, NC. and a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, NC and is a 2007 graduate of the Harvard Divinity School Leadership Institute in Cambridge Massachusetts. Currently he is pursuing a Doctorate of Ministry from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
In 1996 he was appointed Pastor of the Church of God of Prophecy in Durham NC. In May of 1998 the name Monument of Faith Church (MOF) was added to personalize the ministry. Since his appointment, significant growth in membership and finances has occurred. Existing ministries have been strengthened and over twenty new ministries have been birthed. Under Pastor Laney’s leadership, education, both spiritually and academically has become the cornerstone of this ministry.
Tim Harper- Great Lakes Region
Dr. Tim Harper is currently the Overseer for the Church of God of Prophecy in the Great Lakes Region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin). Dr. Harper began his ministry in 1981. He has served as Kentucky State Youth Director and held pastorates in Kentucky and Michigan.
He was educated at Kentucky Christian University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Bible and in Psychology, with a minor in Languages. He graduated magna cum laude. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Studies from Cincinnati Christian University, and a Master of Divinity degree in Pastoral Counseling from Ashland Theological Seminary, where he graduated with high honors. His Doctor of Ministry degree is in Transformational Leadership from Ashland Theological Seminary where his doctoral dissertation was titled, “An Instructional Manual for Equipping Ministerial Candidates in the Church of God of Prophecy.”
Dr. Harper is an adjunct faculty member of Lee University teaching classes in Bible, Pastoral Ministry and practicum in Christian Leadership. As a licensed psychotherapist, he was in private practice for five (5) years at the Dearborn Pastoral Counseling Center. He is also a nationally certified Healthy Congregations facilitator.
Pastor Brian Sutton- Cleveland, TN
Pastor Sutton came to PRC in January of 2012. He directly oversees the ministries of PRC, including the pastoral and administrative staff. Having served in pastoral ministry for the past 20 years, Pastor Sutton is committed to sharing God’s love through the preaching of His Word and strives to make EVERYONE feel special. He and his wife Renee were married in 1990 and are blessed with two teenage children, Tayler and Will.
Email: bsutton@peerlessroadchurch.com
Facebook: facebook.com/pastorbriansutton
Twitter: twitter.com/BrianTSutton
Bishop Carswell Leonard- Raleigh, NC
Bishop Carswell Leonard is a native of the United States Virgin Islands. He was converted at the age of fifteen and became a member of the Church of God of Prophecy. He was called into the preaching ministry at the age of eighteen.
He completed a degree in Nuclear Medicine Technology from George Washington University and was involved in many of the cutting edge technological advances in that field. He graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia University. He graduated Cum Laude with a Masters of Business Administration degree (MBA) from Webster University. In 2005 he graduated with the Masters of Divinity (MDiv) degree from Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh, North Carolina. He will begin his PhD studies at Regent University in The Fall of this year.
He moved to North Carolina in 1996. He served as Assistant to the Pastor at the Monument of Faith Church of God of Prophecy in Durham, North Carolina for four years. In 2005 He was appointed to serve as Pastor of the River of Life Church of God of Prophecy in Siler City, North Carolina (formerly Price Community). He served as Pastor at the River of Life for five years. He was ordained to the Bishopric during the North Carolina State Convention in August of 2009. He has served as an instructor at the North State School of Theology in High Point, North Carolina teaching courses in Systematic Theology, Biblical studies, Ethics, and Philosophy. He served as Chairman of the Program Committee of The Council of Churches of Siler City and was selected to be the keynote speaker for the Chatham County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration program.
Northeast-Breakout Session Presenters
Developing Leaders
David Bryan- Cleveland, TN
Jonathan Olavarria- Hoboken, NJ
Morais Cassell and Naomi Gilbert- Albany, NY/Boston, MA
Evangelizing Communities
Earl MacKay – Bronx, NY
Mike Jennette- Dixson, TN
Mirna Parada- Hempstead, NY
Growing Healthy Churches
George McLaughlin- Greensboro, NC
Todd Johns- Michigan
Trevor Reid- Cleveland, TN
Strengthening Families
Gary Smith- Salisbury, MD
Walkiria Pool & Damaris Frias-Batista- Lawrence, MA/
Kathy Creasy- Cleveland, TN