YOUTH WORKER CONFERENCE WINNIPEG

Tim Barnett is an apologist and speaker with Stand to Reason (STR), an apologetics ministry dedicated to training Christians to think more clearly about their faith. Tim travels across the US and Canada, speaking to thousands of people each year. He’s also a frequent guest on podcasts and YouTube channels.

Jason is the lead Pastor of The Way Church in Vancouver British Columbia and the Director of The Pastorate (formerly The Canadian Church Leader Network). He is one of the Hosts of the Alpha Youth Series and The Pastorate Podcast.  He is Married to Rachael and they have three kids: Hudson (11), Mary (9) and Millie (7). You can find out more about him on Instragram @jasonaballard

Kaitlyn is a speaker, writer, and Certified Leadership Coach. She is accredited with the ICF (International Coaching Federation) and she is the Founding Executive Director of the youth empowerment organization, Inspire Our Nation. Kaitlyn is an Educator and Credential Holder with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. She is passionate about inspiring people towards God’s greatest purposes for their lives personally and professionally.

From camp speaker to local youth pastor to youth ministry professor, Sid draws from over 25 years of youth ministry experience. Sid Koop is the Executive Director of the Youth Worker Community where he and his team are dedicated to equipping, empowering, and relationally supporting youth workers to help the next generation follow Jesus. YWC is shaping ministry to adolescents in Canada through Digital Resources, The Coalition, Youth Worker Training Events, and Youth Ministry Coaching, and Consulting, equipping and encouraging thousands of youth workers each year.  Currently, his "most important" contract is working for his wife at Green Bay Bible Camp as the Director of Leadership Development and Discipleship).

Kaitlin Brennan currently lives in Moose Jaw with her husband Matt. She works as the Director of Youth Quake at Briercrest College and Seminary, where her main goal is to guide youth in their relationship with Jesus. During the summer, she visits and speaks at various Bible camps around Saskatchewan. Kait is deeply committed to helping young people grow in their faith and wants to see the next generation dedicated to following Jesus with their whole lives.

Kait graduated from Briercrest in 2018 with a degree in Psychology, and is currently working towards a Masters in Leadership. In her free time, Kait enjoys a good cup of coffee, playing board games with friends, camping, and spending time with her family at their farm.

Marv is a veteran youth worker who has given his life to serving the next generation and to caring for those who love them. An author, professor, trainer, mentor, consultant, advocate and thought leader, Marv has travelled the world to invest in students, leaders, parents, and decision makers at every level. As a registered clinical counselor, he continues to work each week with hurting teens and their families. Marv is the Founder of The Coalition for Youth Ministry Leadership, a unique apprenticeship based vocational ministry training program based in Kelowna, BC. Marv and his wife, Lois, live in Lake Country, British Columbia. They have three adult children and five energetic grandkids.

Karly grew up on the Manitoba prairies. She graduated from Providence College and in 2017, shortly after getting married, her and her husband moved to Calgary. Since then she has been working for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for their Internet Evangelism ministry Search for Jesus!

After ten years as a youth pastor and speaker, Ben joined Alpha Canada to create and host the Alpha Youth Series. He currently devotes his time to coaching youth workers, speaking, and creating content to help make faith come alive for youth, kids, and adults. Ben has a joy and enthusiasm for life that is infectious. He and his wife, Melissa live in Vancouver with their daughter, Livia. Find him on Instagram at @benwoodman.

Rev. Charles (Chuck) Hunt, D.Min is the Sr. Director of Training at Fuller Youth Institute and has been ministering to adolescents, young adults, and their families for more than 30 years. Chuck is passionate about Christ’s call to restore our relationship with God and with each other, thus he advocates for righteousness and justice. Through both his career and lived experience, Chuck has an ability to connect with individuals from diverse cultural, spiritual, and economic backgrounds. He lives with his wife Shannon and their young adult daughter Rhyen, in Southern California. Though cleverly disguised as a responsible adult, Chuck still runs, surfs, mountain bikes, and skateboards.

Jeremy has been a youth pastor in a large church with 100s of teenagers, in a small church where things grew from a couple volunteers and 6 teenagers, and in a multi-site church with six different youth groups. He is now the Director of Operations at the Youth Worker Community, Professor of NextGen Ministry at Kingswood University, and the Teaching Pastor at Moncton Wesleyan.

Steve’s passion is to be an encourager and catalyst for emerging leaders. His ministry adventure has spanned over a couple decades and has taken him around the globe, supporting leaders in camp and youth ministry on four continents. The teams he’s served with have pioneered dynamic ministries that reach hundreds of thousands every week. He deeply loves connecting with Jesus, people and good pizza.

AJ Crocker has worked at Briercrest for 15 years leading things like Youth Quake, High School chapel program, Recruitment teams and Marketing departments. AJ has a BA in Youth Ministry and an MBA in Digital Marketing. He currently serves as the Vice-President of External Relations for Briercrest Christian Academy, College, and Seminary.

Rick Hiemstra is Director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada's Centre for Research on Church and Faith (CRCF). Prior to coming to the EFC, he served as a Wesleyan pastor and as a high school mathematics and computer science teacher. Rick speaks on Canadian church and cultural trends, including the recent Parenting Faith, Significant Church and Renegotiating Faith studies. He holds a BMath from the University of Waterloo, a BEd from Ottawa University and an MTS from Tyndale Seminary.

Garth Friesen is passionate about inspiring youth & young adults to pursue God’s calling.  For the last twenty years, Garth has been a professor of youth ministry at Steinbach Bible College in Steinbach, MB.  Garth is married to his amazing wife Wendy and together they have three adventurous kids.  He continues to serve in senior high ministry with Emmanuel EFC, does staff training at a variety of camps and regularly helps with music in his church.  He also loves mountain biking year-round and spending time exploring outdoors!

Bill McCaskell has been serving as the National Director of One Hope Canada since 2012, leading a team of over 150 missionaries to share the Gospel with more than 30,000 children and youth annually. Prior to joining the mission, Bill was a pastor and entrepreneur, and together with his wife Bev, they are proud parents of two sons and grandparents to four grandsons.

Tristan Kruse is a husband and father to three beautiful kids. He is currently serving as the National Director for Christar Canada, an organization that focuses on reaching out with the Gospel to those who have yet to hear the good news of Jesus. He has been active in youth ministry both in Canada and overseas and has a heart to see this next generation equipped to fulfill Christ's call on their lives, wherever that might be.

Jeff is passionate about engaging young people in an encounter with the living Christ and equipping leaders with disciple making priorities and practices. Jeff works in Scarborough with Youth Unlimited where he leads leaders and teams focusing on making disciples that make disciples of Jesus. Jeff is a youth ministry veteran of two decades in Canada and the US. He and his wife Heather live in Toronto and they have one son, Nate and a dog named Dodger.