Description: In the EFCA, credentialing is critical because it is one of the primary ways of safeguarding doctrinal/theological integrity and denominational alignment. Additionally, credentialing is also one of the ways of ensuring accountability of pastors and ministers, especially in today’s culture where doctrinal integrity is questioned, and misuse of the pastoral role has caused harm. In this session, we will learn about credentialing, the process, and its importance, both for pastors and ministers and the church. All are welcome, as there is much to learn about credentialing in the EFCA. 

Trainer: Greg Strand 

Title: Executive Director of Theology and Credentialing 

Bio: Greg serves as Executive Director of Theology and Credentialing for the EFCA at the national office in Minneapolis, MN, a role in which he has served for twenty years. Greg provides oversight to the Board of Ministerial Standing, serves as chair of the Spiritual Heritage Committee and the Theological-Missiological Advisory Council, plans the annual Theology Conference, and helps pastors, leaders and churches think through issues biblically, theologically and pastorally. He also serves as adjunct professor of Pastoral Theology at TEDS and as a board member on the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding. Greg is husband to Karen, and father to three, father-in-law to three, and grandfather of eight. Greg likes to run, bike, hike and camp. He is a member at Northfield EFC, Northfield, MN. 

Description: Most churches agree that disciplemaking is important. Yet few churches have a shared picture of the kind of disciples of Jesus they are designed to develop and deploy– that their local community desperately needs more of. Without this clarity, ministry activity and program participation become the unintended scorecard of mission success.  

In this workshop, we’ll explore how having a shared picture of your dream disciple can become a linchpin to: 

• Focus  your leadership team 
• Energize your congregation 
• Inform your disciplemaking pathway 
• Shape your training culture 
• Maximize your collective gospel impact 

Trainer: Shane Stacey 

Title: Co-Founder, Clarity House 

Bio: Shane is the Co-Founder of Clarity House, a training and consulting organization that equips church teams across the country to lead with a shared vision fueled by disciple-making clarity. For the past 28 years, Shane has served in and alongside local churches as a pastor, coach, and consultant. 

Before launching Clarity House, Shane served as the Executive Director of Denominee, where he helped over 40 denominational and network teams lead with greater synergy, bringing increased value to the churches they serve. He also spent a decade with the Evangelical Free Church’s national team, helping local and regional leaders build disciple-making cultures rooted in a way of life in Christ. 

Shane is currently a non-vocational leader at River City Church in Minneapolis, MN, where he lives with his wife, Heather. Together, they have three young adult children: Isaac, Gavin and Ruth. 

Description: Retirement--whether it is in your near future or decades away, there is great value both for you and those with whom you serve to think and work ahead. At this workshop we'll look at how to make the most of transitions, talk about contribution and legacy, highlight realities that come with retirement and aging and consider next steps. 

Trainer: Terri Miller 

Title: ReachGlobal Europe Area Leader--Resourcing and Training 

Bio: Terri Miller serves as a member of ReachGlobal’s Europe Divisional Leadership Team and as the Global Church Representative of the National Association of Evangelicals. She has called four different continents “home”, having lived in Minneapolis, Johannesburg (South Africa), Wheaton (IL), Hefei (China) and Moscow (Russia). Terri enjoys teaching and training, exploring new cities, a great conversation and a good book. She lives with her husband, Matt, a professor of history, in Minneapolis and has three adult children. 

Description: Vision isn’t hard, but cultivating a shared vision fueled by disciplemaking clarity can be. Most church teams are hindered by undeveloped clarity and an undefined ministry model. The Great Commission has functionally been reduced to: Go into all the world and make worship attenders, baptize them into the name of small groups and teach them how to volunteer several hours a month. In our hearts, we know that reaching a post-Christian culture requires more and that the people of God empowered by the Spirit of God are capable of more. 

In this workshop, we’ll explore how the Funnel Fusion master tool can help to diagnose current reality as well as identify necessary shifts to empower your people to be a gospel influence beyond the confines of your ministry environments and into the places where they live, work, study and play. 

Trainer: Shane Stacey 

Title: Co-Founder, Clarity House 

Bio: Shane is the Co-Founder of Clarity House, a training and consulting organization that equips church teams across the country to lead with a shared vision fueled by disciple-making clarity. For the past 28 years, Shane has served in and alongside local churches as a pastor, coach, and consultant. 

Before launching Clarity House, Shane served as the Executive Director of Denominee, where he helped over 40 denominational and network teams lead with greater synergy, bringing increased value to the churches they serve. He also spent a decade with the Evangelical Free Church’s national team, helping local and regional leaders build disciple-making cultures rooted in a way of life in Christ. 

Shane is currently a non-vocational leader at River City Church in Minneapolis, MN, where he lives with his wife, Heather. Together, they have three young adult children: Isaac, Gavin and Ruth.

Description: The screen-based digital world is posing significant discipleship challenges for Christians and churches. In this workshop session, Brett McCracken discusses principles for growing in spiritual health and Christian wisdom in a rapidly changing technological landscape. 

Trainer: Brett McCracken 

Title: Senior Editor and Director of Communications, The Gospel Coalition 

Bio: Brett McCracken is a senior editor and director of communications for The Gospel Coalition. He is the author or editor of several books, most recently Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age (Crossway, 2025) and The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World (Crossway, 2021). Brett lives in Santa Ana, California with his wife Kira and three children.

Description: It's no secret that our culture's view of Jesus Followers and the Church are no longer positive or even neutral. Join Pastor Larry Osborne and he explores what we can do as individuals and a as a local church to reach an increasingly secular culture for Jesus and the truth. 

Trainer: Larry Osborne

Bio: Larry Osborne is a Kingdom Ambassador and Teaching Pastor at North Coast Church in Vista, CA. During his tenure as lead pastor, North Coast grew from 70 adults to over 13,000 in total weekend attendance with 7 local campuses – And now 11 campuses.

His rare mix of theological and practical wisdom has made him a mentor and major influencer to thousands of pastors, including many of the largest churches in the nation. Many of the  

innovative concepts he pioneered at North Coast Church are now common practice, including sermon-based small groups, teaching teams, video venues, and multisite campuses.  

His ten books include Sticky Church, Sticky Teams, Lead Like A Shepherd, Thriving in Babylon, and Accidental Pharisees.

Larry and his wife, Nancy, reside in Oceanside, CA. And consider their greatest in life that all three of their kids love Jesus, married up, and live nearby with their eight grandchildren.