Exponential 2026 National Conference

Jason ‘Stew’ Stewart catalyzes movement for The 16% Mission as the Executive Director of Mobilization at Exponential.

He bridges the gap between vision, strategy, and implementation, spearheading initiatives to mobilize multipliers. Jason's blend of relational and strategic approaches has allowed him to lead in diverse ministry settings, crisscrossing the nation multiple times in church planting, multisite, and megachurch contexts.

Jason and his wife, Kelly, guide their "Stew Crew" of six from the Nashville area, consisting of two young adult daughters, a son in college, and their adopted high school son.

Dave Ferguson is the CEO / President and co-founder for Exponential. He is also the lead pastor of Community Christian Church, an innovative multi-site missional community that is passionate about "helping people find their way back to God." Community has grown from a few college friends to thousands every weekend meeting at multiple locations in the Chicago area and has been recognized as one of America's most influential churches.

Dave provides visionary leadership for NewThing, a global movement of multiplying churches. He is an award-winning author of eight books, including Hero Maker: 5 Essential Practices for Leaders to Multiply Leaders.

Dave and his wife, Sue, live in Naperville IL. They have three adult children - Amy, Joshua and Caleb.

The Most Reverend Dr Ric Thorpe is the Archbishop of Melbourne, elected in May 2025 and installed at St Paul’s Cathedral later that year. A leading Anglican voice in church planting, he previously served as the Bishop of Islington in the Diocese of London, a national role focused on helping the Church of England develop new worshipping communities and revitalise existing churches.

Ric founded and led the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX) for a decade and continues as a trustee. He has a doctorate in church planting and has trained many leaders at St Mellitus College, London. Earlier in his ministry, he and his wife Louie led a church revitalisation from Holy Trinity Brompton into St Paul’s Shadwell, which went on to support several further plants in East London.

Educated at Stowe School and the University of Birmingham, Ric first worked in marketing with Unilever before training for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He is married to Louie, with whom he has three children. He loves the sea, wide horizons, and sailing whenever he can.

As Archbishop of Melbourne, he is committed to listening well, discerning God’s leading, and strengthening the shared life and mission of the Diocese.

Darren's Bio is coming soon!

Bron is the Co-Senior Pastor of The Chapel Collective, a multisite church with eight locations across villages, towns, and cities. She carries a deep passion for the local church and for seeing people live heart and soul for Jesus, believing the Church is God’s primary vehicle for renewal and revival in this generation.

Bron oversees church planting training for the ACC in NSW and trains leaders across Australia. Currently into the second year into planting again herself, she speaks from the frontline with fresh faith and lived conviction, calling leaders and churches to spiritual vitality, courageous obedience, and a renewed hunger for the presence of God.

Kristin is a professional counsellor with her own private practice, where she works extensively with church leaders and provides supervision to those in ministry. Her work focuses on helping leaders navigate the complexities of life, relationships, and leadership with wisdom and emotional health.

Jason and Kristin have been married for nearly 30 years and have spent more than 25 years serving together in both local church and not-for-profit ministry contexts. With a shared passion for seeing leaders thrive in both life and leadership, they have devoted their lives to helping church leaders build ministries that are healthy, sustainable, and deeply aligned with the gospel.

Together, Jason and Kristin bring a unique blend of theological depth, relational insight, and practical experience. They have been personally trained and mentored for the past five years by Pete and Geri Scazzero, and have participated in multiple marriage intensives with them. This formation has deeply shaped their approach to marriage, leadership, and discipleship, and forms the foundation of what they teach.

At the heart of their work is a simple but powerful conviction: church leaders should not have to choose between reaching their goals and preserving their souls. Through their ministry, Jason and Kristin are committed to helping leaders build lives, marriages, and ministries that reflect the beauty and integrity of the gospel.

Jason is the founder and director of the Irresistible Churches Network in Australasia, and serves as the director of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship for Australasia. He also leads the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership, equipping pastors and church leaders to integrate emotional health and spiritual maturity in their leadership.

Jason and Kristin have been married for nearly 30 years and have spent more than 25 years serving together in both local church and not-for-profit ministry contexts. With a shared passion for seeing leaders thrive in both life and leadership, they have devoted their lives to helping church leaders build ministries that are healthy, sustainable, and deeply aligned with the gospel.

Together, Jason and Kristin bring a unique blend of theological depth, relational insight, and practical experience. They have been personally trained and mentored for the past five years by Pete and Geri Scazzero, and have participated in multiple marriage intensives with them. This formation has deeply shaped their approach to marriage, leadership, and discipleship, and forms the foundation of what they teach.

At the heart of their work is a simple but powerful conviction: church leaders should not have to choose between reaching their goals and preserving their souls. Through their ministry, Jason and Kristin are committed to helping leaders build lives, marriages, and ministries that reflect the beauty and integrity of the gospel.

Matt Millar lives in Nairobi, Kenya, with his wife, TaLarrya, and their sons, Ta'raii and Tavian, where he executes the vision of Exponential as the Global Integrator. Under his leadership 40,000 new churches have been catalyzed in nearly 70 nations since 2018.

He has an MBA in Business Management from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, a Masters degree in Global Leadership from Fuller Seminary, as well as a certificate in Intercultural Studies from the University for British Columbia.

He has traveled to seventy-five nations, trained local leaders in over forty of those nations, and planted churches in three different countries. He is the founder of a Cultural Equipping Center called Thriving Beyond and has authored the books: Thriving Beyond: Engaging Meaningfully with Our Multicultural World and The Church in Context: Harnessing Cultural Humility for Kingdom Advancement.

Reverend Dr. Lisa Pak is a second-generation Korean Canadian and Toronto native and currently serves as the Director of Partnerships (Asia) alongside Rick Warren at Finishing the Task (FTT), in addition focusing on collaborative efforts towards empowering women and the rising generations for kingdom purpose. She also serves with Wycliffe USA in collaborative strategy and prayer. She’s ordained by the Korean Association of Independent Churches and Missions (KAICAM) and holds a MDiv and a MABL from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a DMin in Leadership from Tyndale Seminary. Lisa travels globally and is passionate about mobilizing the global church, especially the rising generations, towards collaboration in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with all who have yet to hear.

Dave Ferguson is the CEO / President and co-founder for Exponential. He is also the lead pastor of Community Christian Church, an innovative multi-site missional community that is passionate about "helping people find their way back to God." Community has grown from a few college friends to thousands every weekend meeting at multiple locations in the Chicago area and has been recognized as one of America's most influential churches.

Dave provides visionary leadership for NewThing, a global movement of multiplying churches. He is an award-winning author of eight books, including Hero Maker: 5 Essential Practices for Leaders to Multiply Leaders.

Dave and his wife, Sue, live in Naperville IL. They have three adult children - Amy, Joshua and Caleb.

Dr Ruth Powell is Executive Director of NCLS Research, a research centre that focuses on church vitality and community spirituality and wellbeing. Ruth has worked with NCLS Research since 1991 and became Director in 2007. She also holds a position as Professor, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Charles Sturt University and Hon Professor, Alphacrucis College.

Major projects for NCLS Research include the five-yearly National Church Life Survey, which commenced in 1991 and forms the basis of one of the largest, most comprehensive databases on church life of its kind in the world. The 2026 NCLS will include around a quarter of a million church attenders from 3000 local churches representing most Australian Christian denominations, from Catholic, Anglican, Uniting, other Protestant and Pentecostal faith traditions.

Ruth’s role involves managing research projects on both church and community life, as well as the development of resources for local churches, denominational leaders and other community agencies. Her own primary research interests lie in assisting churches to reflect on their interaction with the wider Australian community. As well as church health, and tracking changes in church life over time, she has worked on differences between age cohorts, and potential generational influences over time.

She has co-authored NCLS publications on church life such as Winds of Change, Shaping a Future, Taking Stock, Build My Church, Mission under the Microscope and Enriching Church Life. Her doctoral thesis focused on age differences among church attenders.

Sam is the National Coordinator for 24-7 Prayer in New Zealand and is the lead pastor of Bay Vineyard Church in the Hawkes Bay. He is married to Jen, and they have three very active boys! He graduated from BCNZ (now Laidlaw) in 2003 and has in been in full-time ministry ever since. Sam loves good food, good music and good waves!

Cass Langton is a pastor, church planter, and creative leader based in Sydney, Australia, and co-founder of The Local Church. With over two decades in worship and creative ministry, she has led and developed teams globally, shaping environments where people encounter God and grow as disciples. Cass is passionate about helping people imagine their way into the story of God—raising leaders who love the church. Alongside her husband Rich, she encourages communities formed for the love of God and the good of the city, centered on Jesus and expressed through worship, relationships, and creative life. 

Andrew Ranucci is devoted to the spiritual renewal of Christian leaders. Through Partners in Ministry, he offers pastoral supervision, spiritual direction, coaching, mentoring, workshops, and retreats focused on spiritual formation and soul care 

Andrew is the founding pastor of Coast Community Church on the Central Coast of NSW, where he served as Senior Pastor for 24 years. He holds a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Direction from Fuller Theological Seminary (USA). 

Andrew is married to Kerrell, and together they have three adult daughters. They now live in Sydney, where Andrew balances his ministry with a love for kayaking, cycling, and sharing life with friends and family 

Katherine Chow is the Associate Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in London, working closely with Archie and Sam Coates in leading the church. She was born and raised in London, and after studying law at university, went on to practice law as an Attorney and later Partner at a firm in New York City. In 2016, she joined the HTB staff team and served as Director of Strategy before later training for ordination at St Mellitus College. She possesses a Master’s Degree in Christian Leadership and a Certificate in Theology, Ministry and Mission. She oversees preaching at HTB, develops leaders and also heads up the HTB Academy, our emerging young leaders development programme aimed at people aged 18-26. 

Dave Ferguson is the CEO / President and co-founder for Exponential. He is also the lead pastor of Community Christian Church, an innovative multi-site missional community that is passionate about "helping people find their way back to God." Community has grown from a few college friends to thousands every weekend meeting at multiple locations in the Chicago area and has been recognized as one of America's most influential churches.

Dave provides visionary leadership for NewThing, a global movement of multiplying churches. He is an award-winning author of eight books, including Hero Maker: 5 Essential Practices for Leaders to Multiply Leaders.

Dave and his wife, Sue, live in Naperville IL. They have three adult children - Amy, Joshua and Caleb.