Having distinguished himself as a teacher of worship studies for more than 35 years, under his leadership, Liberty University’s School of Music is the 7th largest music program in the country with 44 full-time and 31 part time/adjunct faculty, over 1,250 students in one of 20 undergraduate and 5 graduate degree programs, and an innovative Doctor of Worship Studies (DWS) degree. Dr. Whaley is married to Beth, has two adult children, six grandchildren, and resides in Lynchburg, VA.

Nikki Lerner is a cultural coach and translator and a gifted musician whose primary instrument is voice. Bridging divides between people of different cultures through music and conversation is Nikki’s passion. Nikki has produced three recording projects, Nikki Lerner, Longings, and The Things We Never Say (2016). In addition to being an artist and songwriter, is also a sought-after speaker, worship leader coach, and co-author of the book Worship Together: In Your Church As In Heaven. She currently serves as the Worship Director at Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, MD, an intentionally multicultural church.

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Dr. James R. Hart has served as President of the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies (IWS) since 2007. He has been involved in worship leadership and music ministry in various contexts around the globe for over 40 years, and has taught in the areas of worship, theology and music in various conferences, colleges and seminaries, including Asbury Theological Seminary, Christ for the Nations Institute, and Oral Roberts University. During his tenure at IWS he has held positions as Dean of Students (starting in 1999), Dean of Administration and Provost. He is a published composer/arranger, songwriter, author, and professional trumpeter. Dr. Hart holds a Bachelor of Music (Sacred) from Oral Roberts University, a Master of Music from the University of Tulsa, and the Doctor of Worship Studies from IWS. Dr. Hart and his wife Carol have three daughters and one grandson, and they reside in Orange Park, FL.

Worship leaders/writers/minister/authors/trainers/parents/ comedians/future DIY show host wannabe's that are passionate about equipping the local church to consistently experience the presence of the Lord. Selected as one of Worship Leader Magazine's "Best of" for training Steve + Shawn have spent years serving their local church and now travel to churches of all shapes and sizes with their two handsome but unavailable sons and Maggie Mo the dog (who is also unavailable). If you are still reading this bio then we hope you enjoyed it and look forward to seeing you at the conference.

Vonda is a singer, worship leader, teacher and writer. She has taught private voice since 1989, and her students have included Word recording artists BarlowGirl. Vonda has taught vocal seminars in churches and at conferences all over the world, including many years at the Willow Creek Arts Conference. Vonda was the Vocal Director at Willow Creek Community Church for 6 years, and served as a volunteer at Willow Creek, singing, leading worship and coaching vocalists for 8 years prior to her staff tenure. Vonda has sung at Willow Creek Conferences nationally and internationally, and was a featured vocalist on several Willow Creek CD’s and the recent CD, Still Amazed: Live Worship at Bent Tree. She has sung at the White House and also for the 2000 Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service. She has led in worship alongside Darlene Zschech, Tommy Walker and Robin Mark, among others. Vonda graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. in vocal performance.In 2004, Vonda moved with her husband, Scott, to Dallas, Texas, where she now serves at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in a volunteer capacity. She is Executive Producer over Bent Tree’s Sunday services and also has a major role in leading and coaching the Vocal Team and Choir. She continues to teach private voice in the Dallas area and regional vocal seminars at churches

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Scott is the Pastor of Worship and Arts at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship, in the northern suburbs of Dallas, TX, where he has served since February of 2004. Prior to coming to Bent Tree, Scott spent 14 years on the staff of Willow Creek Community Church and the Willow Creek Association. While at Willow Creek, Scott was a worship leader, songwriter and vocalist. Scott also oversaw the development of Arts products for the WCA, including Rory Noland’s book “Heart of the Artist” and Willow Creek drama products and music charts. Scott produced 4 CD’s for Willow Creek, and served as executive producer on 6 other projects. Scott’s song, “Forgive Me”, was recorded by Rebecca St. James and BarlowGirl on Rebecca’s latest CD, If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something, and it was performed live at the Dove Awards in April of 2011. His song, “Not I But Christ”, was featured on Worship Leader Magazine’s Song DISCovery volume #61. Other songs Scott has written include “Everything I Am”, “He Was”, “Lay Your Burdens Down”, “Still Amazed (Amazing Grace)” and “Ancient of Days”. Scott has taught private voice for 11 years and holds a B.A. in Communications from Indiana University.

Dr. Craig Gilbert is the founder and lead consultant of PurposedHeartMinistries.com. With over 25 years of experience leading and designing worship for churches of all sizes, Dr. Gilbert is a qualified expert in the area of worship renewal. A gifted speaker, teacher and writer with an international reputation, Dr. Gilbert provides guidance to many churches across the country and across the globe on a variety of congregational worship issues through various conferences, regional worship events, and local, on-site church coaching. The Adjunct Professor of Worship at the University of Houston Graduate School, Craig is also a national faculty member of the National Worship Leader Conference and a member of the Advisory Board of Worship Leader Magazine.

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Songwriter, author, inventor, arts advocate, and pastor—Manuel Luz is passionate about worship, coffee, the Oakland Raiders, and the intersections of faith and the arts. Manuel’s book, Imagine That: Discovering Your Unique Role as a Christian Artist (Moody Publishers) is a practical and personal theology of the arts. His current book, Honest Worship: From False Self to True Praise (InterVarsity Press), released in Fall 2018, addresses the critical intersections between spiritual formation and worship. He is also the inventor of the patented musical instrument, the WalkaBout™, which was wildly received at the world-renowned NAMM Show earlier this year.

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Kristen is a storyteller, international relations nerd and advocate for women and girls globally. She uses technology to equip the church to grow in the light of the Bible as a product manager at Faithlife. She has interviewed Melinda Gates and Barbara Bush and shared a speaking platform with our first female Secretary of State, Madeline Albright. Her work was featured in the book 10 Ways to Change the World in Your 20s and she was named "Emerging Leader" in Seattle Met Magazine's Light a Fire awards. She received a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Seattle Pacific University where she was named Young Alumna of the Year. Kristen and her husband Michael live in Bellingham, WA.

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Keith Stancil is the President/CEO of Artist Garden Entertainment, an artist management and marketing firm based in Brentwood, Tennessee. Keith served twenty years in various sales and marketing roles at Capitol/EMI, Warner/Elektra/Atlantic and Word Entertainment. His most recent label years were served in the role of Vice President of General Markets/International/ Digital for Word Entertainment. While personally overseeing sales of over fourteen million records, Keith worked on sales and marketing strategies for Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Tina Turner, Madonna, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, MercyMe, Amy Grant, Faith Hill, Jaci Velasquez, Hillsong, Randy Travis, Point of Grace, Francesca Battistelli, the WOW Brand and many others.

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Dr. John H. Johnson is currently the head of the Worship Leadership division at Visible Music College.

David Bunker currently over sees a ministry division of Visible Music College and Madison Line Records called Artist Care that involves spiritual direction for artists. David has been directly or indirectly involved in the music business for over 35 years. During that time Bunker has worked in A & R (signing acts like Six Pence None the Richer) & marketing, finding, developing, and signing talent, as well as being a life coach and spiritual director for creatives. He currently lives in Memphis and works with the city of Memphis and their artists in developing healthy creative lives and stewarding the talents as best one can.

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Matt McCoy is a worship leader and songwriter from Chicago, IL. He is an Ableton Certified Trainer and the founder of LoopCommunity.com. He enjoys teaching churches, worship leaders and touring artists about using technology in worship, as well as creating products that make it easy to use tracks. He has been using Ableton Live in worship for over 15 years and invented the Looptimus Foot Controller, Prime Playback App and Track Rig audio output interface.

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Randy Sheeks joined the faculty of the Lee University School of Music as an assistant professor of music in the fall of 2010. Before coming to Lee, he spent 23 years in local church music ministry. His outstanding leadership in the Music and Fine Arts ministries at three different churches has made him a well-known voice in the world of church music. He received the Distinguished Musicianship Award from the Church of God in 2004, recognizing his work at the Metropolitan Church of God in Birmingham, Ala., where he served for 16 years and built a large and effective music program. Randy’s passion for the local church continues as he instructs students at Lee in the music and worship curriculum.

Josh Waugh is the Associate Worship Pastor at First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, Tennessee and a graduate of Samford University. He leads the band with praise team and worship choir for weekend worship services and works with the Next Gen worship teams during the week. He has a passion for involving every generation in music and worship. Originally from Florida, Josh and his wife, Susie, moved to Nashville in 2016 and they have three daughters.

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Reggie has a love for God and others that is contagious and touches people’s lives in a powerful way. He is the CEO of Heartfelt Music®️ Ministry, the Music Department Head at Valley Christian High School, an Avid Certified Instructor, and ordained minister. He has a Masters Degree in Entertainment Business and can help you progress to the next level on your journey.

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Mark is the author of the worship book, “The Power of 1º”, a one-year devotional series for worship ministries. He is also the founder of WorshipConsulting.com. His experience as a Worship Consultant spans more than a decade and as a Worship Leader for over 20 years. He has written several worship songs including contemporary songs and updated hymns. Mark has served in multiple capacities in churches throughout the Midwest and Florida. He enjoys mentoring worship leaders in deepening their calling and seeing God raise up the next generation of worshippers to make much of Christ. He currently serves as the Worship Pastor / Associate Pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita, KS. He is married to his lovely wife, Tonya, and they have four sons – Tyler, Blake, Hudson and Jack (twins)!

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Erik Beyer is an audio and video professional with over 18-years’ experience in the design and integration market with a focus on houses of worship in both traditional and contemporary environments. Now with Sennheiser, part of the Customer Development Application Engineering team, he focuses on developing new relationships, supporting existing end users, and assisting them with services such as RF coordination, system design, technical application support, and event support. He brings his breadth of audio and video knowledge as it applies to the broad range of technologies Sennheiser is involved with industry wide.

Donnie is an international speaker, published author, accomplished musician, technology architect and manufacturing consultant for the industry he loves. He is daily involved in the design, engineering, installation and testing of many cutting edge A/V/L products on the market today*. With a solid background in engineering and business administration, he has guided AEGM through years of rapidly changing technology and solid growth while keeping the company at the forefront of the industry. His team develops campus wide technology systems for businesses and ministries worldwide. They have designed and installed thousands of production media systems around the world, along with planning and producing live events. Over 3 million people experience live production and worship on systems AEGM has designed and installed every week with millions more tuning in via customized broad casting and web-casting technologies.

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Daniel Morris is the Worship Minister for the Brentwood campus of Brentwood Baptist Church. He is married to Carolyn and they have three children. Daniel has been in ministry for nearly 18 years and has served in churches in Florida and Alabama before coming to Brentwood. Daniel and Carolyn are committed to investing in the lives of the people they are called to serve. Not only is Daniel passionate about leading people to live a lifestyle of worship, he is dedicated to training other leaders to help them develop successful ministries and businesses with influence and kingdom impact.