General Session Speakers

Thabiti Anyabwile

Thabiti is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. He has written numerous books, including The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors, What Is a Healthy Church Member?, and The Decline of African-American Theology. Thabiti and his wife Kristie, have three children.

Bob Kauflin

Bob Kauflin is the director of worship development for Sovereign Grace Ministries. Bob was a writer and arranger for the group GLAD from 1976 to 2006, and is one of the worship leaders at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, led by Joshua Harris. He blogs at Worshipmatters.com, and his book, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God, was released in 2008 by Crossway. He and his wife, Julie, have six children and seven grandchildren.

C.J. Mahaney

After 27 years of pastoring Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, C.J. handed the senior pastor role over to Joshua Harris in 2004. Since then he has devoted his time to leading Sovereign Grace Ministries. C.J. is known and loved for his passion for the gospel, his application of God’s Word, and his humor. His books include Humility: True Greatness and Living the Cross-Centered Life. C.J. and his wife, Carolyn, have three married daughters and one son. They make their home in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

John Piper

John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied at Wheaton College, and has degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.) and the University of Munich (D.theol.). In 1980 he accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 30 books, including Desiring God and Don’t Waste Your Life. More than 25 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at DesiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noel, have four sons, one daughter, and an increasing number of grandchildren.

Jeff Purswell

Jeff has served as the Dean of the Pastors College of Sovereign Grace Ministries since 1998. He earned his M.Div. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from The Catholic University of America. Jeff is also known for his work as editor of Bible Doctrine, an abridgment of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. WorshipGod attendees appreciate Jeff for his communication of profound Scriptural truth in ways that are both understandable and life-transforming. Jeff and his wife, Julie, have two sons.

Special Guests:

Keith & Kristyn Getty

Keith and Kristyn Getty are known for pioneering modern hymns. Many of their songs are co-written with worship leader Stuart Townend. They have written “In Christ Alone”, “The Power of the Cross”, and “Speak, O Lord” to name a few. Keith and Kristyn are currently living in the United States where they write music and tour.

Shai Linne

Shai is part of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA, and has appeared on numerous independent and national Christian hip-hop releases. He excels at producing hip-hop music that is theologically sound, emotionally engaging, and gospel-centered. His most recent release is Storiez. All this from someone who doesn’t like hip-hop and never pursued a career in music.

Seminar Speakers:

Mark Altrogge

Mark has been senior pastor of what is now Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, Pennsylvania, since 1982. He has written hundreds of songs for worship, including “I Stand in Awe” and “I’m Forever Grateful.” Mark and his wife, Kristi, have four sons and one daughter.

Ken Boer

Ken Boer is director of music and is a worship leader at Covenant Life Church, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He oversees the Covenant Life Music Academy which focuses on training young musicians for God’s glory. Ken received training at Wheaton College, the Bethlehem Institute, and the University of Minnesota. He and his wife Rachael have one son.

Rachael Boer

Rachael Boer is the wife of Ken Boer, who is director of music and a worship leader at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Rachael got her degree in viola performance from Juilliard. She and Ken have one son.

Gary Bowers

Gary has a B.S. in Music Education from Millersville University and played sax for years as a professional musician. He has served on the Covenant Life music team for fifteen years and has taught at previous WorshipGod conferences. He and his wife, Kathleen, have four children.

Mike Bradshaw

Mike is the Pastor of Children’s Ministry (Discovery Land) and one of the worship leaders at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD. He’s been leading worship in various contexts since he was 15 years old. For the past 5 years he has led Summer Celebration, a kid’s camp that attracts 500 children annually, helping them grow in their understanding of God through song, drama, games and instruction. If you spend a few minutes with Mike you’ll soon hear about his beautiful wife Janelle and his two daughters.

Craig Cabaniss

Craig Cabaniss is the senior pastor of Grace Church in Frisco, Texas, near Dallas. His winsome and biblical preaching has been a favorite of WorshipGod conferences in past years. He and his wife, Ginger, have four children.

Dave Campbell

Dave has served on the worship team at Covenant Life Church for over 25 years. He has a passion to equip future generations of musicians with a passion to serve the Savior with the gifts entrusted to them by their heavenly Father. He and his wife, Tracey, have four children, and six grandchildren.

Jacob Campbell

Jacob, Dave Campbell’s son, has been serving as an electronic musician for over 10 years. He is apart of the Na Band which leads worship at Covenant Life Church.

Steve Cook

Steve has been writing songs for worship for more than twenty years, often collaborating with his wife, Vikki. Their songs include “I Will Glory in My Redeemer,” “There Is No One Like Our God,” and “I Bow Down.” Steve and Vikki are founders of Before the Throne Music and Underground Grace Records, which features the band West Coast Revival. Steve and Vikki are part of Grace Church (Winter Garden, FL) and reside in the Orlando area with their two daughters.

Vikki Cook

Songwriter, vocalist, and Steve Cook’s wife and creative partner, Vikki is the writer of “Before the Throne of God Above” and has collaborated with her husband on dozens of songs including “I Will Glory in My Redeemer,” “There Is No One Like Our God,” and “I Bow Down.” Vikki’s voice has been featured on albums such as Worship God Live, Songs for the Cross Centered Life, and Upward: The Bob Kauflin Hymns Project. Steve and Vikki are part of Grace Church (Winter Garden, FL) and reside in the Orlando area with their two daughters.

Jim Cowan

Jim has served on the sound crew at Covenant Life Church since 1978, seeing the church grow from a couple hundred to several thousand. He has designed, set up, and run sound systems for various conferences since 1983. Jim is married to Vicki, and is the father of three sons. The entire family serves together monthly on the church’s technical teams.

Bryan Deitrich

Bryan Deitrich has played keyboards for Covenant Fellowship Church for the last 10 years. Bryan is a wonderful mix of excellence and passion for his Savior. In addition to music, he also enjoys beach volley ball and has more vert than your average keyboard player. He and his wife, Cherlyee, have three sons.

Keith & Kristyn Getty

Ben Gowell

Ben Gowell has been a session guitarist, worship leader, and teacher for many years. He has played on over 50 recordings including projects by Paul Baloche, Sara Groves, Michael W. Smith and others. He has traveled the world teaching classes and seminars on electric guitar and worship leading. Ben leads worship at his church in St. Paul, MN, and is married to Jennifer.

Roger Hooper

Roger Hooper is a composer for TV and film. He writes music on a regular basis for Voice of America, has scored trailers for EA Games, and his work has also appeared on Fox News, CNN, and HGTV. Roger has scored many videos for Sovereign Grace Ministries, and also writes reviews and articles for audioMIDI.com, an online store that specializes in hard disk recording. He has been a member of Covenant Life Church’s worship team for 23 years.

Bob Kauflin

Bob Kauflin is the director of worship development for Sovereign Grace Ministries. Bob was a writer and arranger for the group GLAD from 1976 to 2006, and is one of the worship leaders at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, led by Joshua Harris. He writes a blog at Worshipmatters.com, and his book, Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God, was released in 2008 by Crossway. He and his wife, Julie, have six children and seven grandchildren.

Devon Kauflin

Devon serves at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, by leading worship on Sunday morning. He also has been leading worship at the New Attiude (now Next) conference since 2004. He sings, plays guitar, and is a primary songwriter for the Na Band, which released their album Looked Upon at New Attitude 2008. His songs include “God over All” and “What a Savior.” He and his wife, Kristine, were married in January of 2006 and have one son.

Jordan Kauflin

Jordan has been playing drums in corporate worship for over 10 years and is part of Covenant Life Church. He and his wife Tali have two sons.

Julie Kauflin

Julie is Bob’s wife and has been faithfully serving alongside him for over 30 years. She will be speaking to women from the experience she’s gained as a sound engineer, vocalist, pastor’s wife, and mother. She and Bob have six children, three of them married, and seven grandchildren.

Matt Mason

Matt serves on the pastoral team of Lakeview Christian Center, a Sovereign Grace church in New Orleans, LA, where Matt oversees the Worship and Singles Ministry. He and his wife Paula have three children.

Don Nalle

Don Nalle is communications director at Covenant Life Church. He loves being part of a team that supports the pastors he so deeply respects and getting to labor alongside his son-in-law, the church’s technical director. In a former life, Don played bass and sang with the group GLAD off and on from 1976 to 2002. Don and his beloved wife Nancy have three grown daughters and three grandchildren and reside in Gaithersburg, Md.

Jon Payne

Jon has been part of Sovereign Grace Ministries from a very young age, having been a part of a church plant to Denver as a teenager. Jon now has responsibility for the worship ministry at Sovereign Grace Church, in Gilbert, AZ and assists with their youth ministry. Jon and his wife Lory live in Gilbert along with their daughter.

Shelley Reinhart

Shelley Reinhart currently sings on the Worship Team at Covenant Life Church and leads the Middle School Choir at the Covenant Life School Music Academy. At Bucknell University, she was a member of the Bucknell Opera Company and sang in the BU Choirs. She has directed numerous plays and musicals during her teaching career, and is now a full-time wife and homemaker.

Erik Schmaltz

Erik is part of Lakeview Christian Center in New Orleans and leads worship on Sundays once a month. He also leads worship for the Pivot Ministry for college and career adults. He and his wife Erin have one son.

Pat Sczebel

Pat is a pastor at CrossWay Community Church in Surrey, British Columbia, where he oversees worship and evangelism. Pat’s songs include “Jesus, Thank You” and “His Forever,” and have been featured on several albums from Sovereign Grace Music. Pat and his wife, Cherry, have three sons and two daughters.

Todd Twining

Todd is a gifted musician and a pastor at Metro Life Church near Orlando, FL. He oversees ministries that include music and worship, drama, audio, evangelism, prayer, prophecy, and visual media. He and his wife, Michelle, were married in 1994 and have served together locally and internationally in evangelism and outreach. They have two sons.

David Ward

David Ward has served as the Director of Worship Ministries for Redeemer Bible Church in Minnetonka, MN (a suburb of Minneapolis) for four years, and has been leading worship and writing songs for congregational singing for fifteen years. His passion for reformed doctrine, hymn texts, and contemporary worship music led him to begin writing new tunes for old hymns in 1999 and to found ReformedPraise.org the following year to share his songs with others. He and his wife have been blessed with five children age ten and under.

Darryl Wenger

Darryl oversees the technical team at Living Hope Church in Harrisburg, PA and has experience as a musician, audio engineer, and stage and production manager. He has produced regional and national conferences including The Quest, Marriage and the Mercy of God, New Attitude, and Together for the Gospel. Darryl founded Next Level Production Services and lives in Central PA with his wife, Donna, and their four children.

Donald Whitney

Since 2005, Don has been Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he also serves as Senior Associate Dean. He is the founder and president of The Center for Biblical Spirituality. He is the author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, How Can I Be Sure I’m A Christian, Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, and Family Worship. His hobby is restoring and using old fountain pens.

Matthew Williams

After graduating from the University of Richmond in 2006, Matthew and his new bride, Aliza, moved to Maryland to attend the Sovereign Grace Ministries’ Pastors College. After graduating in 2007, Matthew joined the pastoral team of KingsWay Community Church (Midlothian, VA). He is primarily responsible for leading the parent-teen and music ministries.

Dave Wilcox

Dave Wilcox is technical director at Covenant Life Church, where he is blessed to serve the Lord with the people he respects most. Dave lives in Damascus, Maryland with the three people he loves most: his wife, Cara, and their two children.

John Yandell

John Yandell has been involved in audio for over 26 years. In that time he has worked for Walt Disney World, Full Sail University, Northwest Community Church and with Christian recording artists, GLAD. He currently serves at Grace Church in Winter Garden, FL and is employed by Full Sail University as an instructor in Session Recording. Married 20 years, John and wife, Cheri, have a son and a daughter.

WorshipGod09 Conference