Leadership Bios
Laura Story – laurastorymusic.com
Worship Leader, Author of the song Indescribable
Once an aspiring symphony conductor, Laura Story didn’t even know she could sing-much less write songs-until she was in her early twenties. Today, Story is not only a gifted vocalist and worship leader but also the composer of one of the most beloved worship songs of our generation: “Indescribable.” The song has topped charts and been recorded by multiple artists, but most importantly, it has helped people all over the world experience our magnificent God.
Like the twists and turns of a mountain road, Laura Story’s life has held its share of unexpected moments-some exhilarating, some terrifying, and some simply beautiful to behold. Leaning solely on her faith in the sovereignty of God, Story has learned that no matter what comes around the next bend, it’s going to be an incredible view. Click here to learn more about Laura Story
Jim Griffith
Campus Ministry Bootcamp Leader: Sun.-Mon.
A veteran of 6 church plants, Jim focuses on assessing, training, and coaching new church starts. Since 1996 he’s assessed over 1900 church planting candidates, trained over 7,000 planters, and coached over 1500 projects in their efforts to reach the mission field around them. He works with over thirty (30) organizations.
Yolanda Villa
Conference Care Pastor
We are excited to announce that the Rev. Yolanda Villa will be serving as one of Conference Pastors this year at Refresh ‘10. Yolanda is the District Superintendent of the Heartland Central District of the Missouri Annual Conference. A pastor’s pastor, Yolanda has served churches in Kansas and Missouri including an appointment as the Executive Pastor of Congregational Care at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. Her leadership gifts exudes out of her love for pastors, love for the Word, and love for the church.
Rev. Olu Brown
Speaker: Tues. afternoon
Olu serves as a the lead pastor of Impact Church in Atlanta. Rev. Brown is a native of Lufkin, Texas. He graduated in 1999, from Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, with a degree in Elementary Education. In 2002, he earned a Masters of Divinity degree from Gammon Theological Seminary of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
Alan Hirsch
Speaker: Wed. morning
Alan Hirsch is the founding director of Forge Mission Training Network and co-founder of Shapevine. He is a sought-after speaker and trainer who travels the world extensively sharing his missional church experience. He is the author of The Forgotten Ways and coauthor of ReJesus and The Shaping of Things to Come.
Adam Hamilton
Speaker: Thurs. morning
Rev. Adam Hamilton is the founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas. He grew up in the Kansas City area, attending Shawnee Mission schools before graduating from Blue Valley High School. He earned a B.A. degree in Pastoral Ministry from Oral Roberts University and a Master of Divinity Degree from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.
Pete Greig
Speaker: Thurs. evening
Pete Greig is one of the founding champions of the 24-7 Prayer movement, and the Director of Prayer for Holy Trinity, Brompton in London, and a facilitator for the Campus America initiative. 24-7 Prayer has grown rapidly and unexpectedly from a single night-and-day prayer vigil into an interdenominational movement of prayer, mission and justice that has touched more than a third of the nations on earth since 1999. Thanks to an innovative approach to spirituality and culture, 24-7 has captured the attention of newspapers and magazines from Rolling Stone to Readers’ Digest and was the subject of a British television documentary.
