Speakers

Pastor Mike Park (Main Guest Speaker)

Rev. Dr. Mike S. Park serves as an associate pastor at Grace Downtown, one of the Grace DC network congregations in Washington, DC. He received his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry at Covenant Theological seminary. In addition to his local church involvement, he’s the US Director with Radstock Ministries, an international missions organization committed to connecting churches for missions in difficult parts of the world. He is the Director of Admissions and a Guest Lecturer at Reformed Theological seminary in Washington, DC. He currently lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and four kids. During his free time, he enjoys exercising, reading, watching movies and spending time with his kids.Fun facts:
I love sports – basketball, football, and weight training are my favorites
I love reading – anything good/solid biblical/theological books; anything on American History
Random facts – I once received a Christmas gift from Yoyo Ma, yes the Yoyo Ma

Pastor Brandon Smith (Workshop Speaker)

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Brandon grew up in a Christian household but didn't begin to follow Jesus until College. He graduated from Morgan State University with a degree in Industrial Engineering and the Lord called him to ministry. He met his wife, Tulani in high school, they started dating at the end of college and now have been married for almost 9 years with 2 boys (Parker, 2 years, and Nicholas 1 year) with one more boy on the way in November. The Lord has burdened Brandon's heart with a desire for growing young believers to maturity and showing non-believers the beauty of the gospel. He currently serves as the Student Ministry director at The Well Community Church. He loves sports, movies, theology, music, and mixed martial arts. Before children, he trained in Muay Thai Kickboxing and Brazilian Jui-Jitzu and would love to get back to it one day.

Pastor Ken Tran (Workshop Speaker)

Hello, brothers and sisters. I'm Pastor Ken and I'm married to Chi TV (Tee Vee) and is a father to Milli, Izzi, Uriah, Asa, and Esmae. We make our home in the humble abode of West Springfield, Virginia. We are passionate about relational discipleship and couples ministry. Currently, we are leading a house church and mentor young couples in the early stages of their covenant relationship. It is our desire to see make disciples of Jesus Christ beginning with Washington D.C. and beyond, one relationship at a time. We enjoy family time, food, snacks, and a nice movie all at the same time. Joshua 24:15 is our life verse, "as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Pastor Stanley Williams (Workshop Speaker)

Pastor Stanley’s background in collegiate ministry dates back to his college years where, as an undergraduate at Howard University (Class of 1987) he grew deeper and stronger in Christian faith and spiritual disciplines. 

Pastor Stanley has an abiding visceral sense of calling to engage the next generation.  For the course of over 35 years of vocational Christian ministry, he has served campus ministries and congregations in Alaska, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Pastor Stanley, who holds a Master of Divinity degree in Great Commission Studies from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, says his ministry passions are impacting lostness and multiplying apostolic leaders for the sake of Kingdom advancement. He and his wife Trina have four adult children, and a host of adopted grandchildren from the several years of being integrally involved in the lives of former students in an extended family capacity.

Location

This year, we had our retreat at Pine Creek Retreat Center, the same location as the previous year. The address is:

1794 Back Creek Rd, Gore, VA 22637

Workshops

Friday

Discipleship - Modern Day Paul & Timothy - Speaker - Pastor Stanley Williams

How to disciple and how to be discipled; how to find a disciple or someone to be discipled by. Paul in 1 Tim 4:6-16 is discipling Timothy and instructing him on how to be a good servant of Christ. How can this model be used today for youth and young adults? What if we do not feel equipped to mentor or not sure how to ask?

Gender Roles - Pastor brandon Smith

Are gender roles good? How have our experiences affected our ability to see the beauty of the way that God has made us?

Saturday

Sound Doctrine, Error, and Heresy - Pastor brandon Smith

What are primary, secondary, and tertiary matters as a Christian? What issues affect salvation, and which issues are of high importance or lesser importance?

What's Stopping Us From Praying? - Pastor Ken Tran

Prayer is such a powerful gift that we often overlook or don't fully understand. Many times, we often pray for ourselves or for our loved ones. What are things that hinder us from praying for others, such as leaders and authorities? We are called to pray for our leaders and governors, but how can we pray for those who we don't agree with or those who are hurting us?