Speakers
EMCEES:
The Skit Guys
Tommy Woodard and Eddie James are The Skit Guys. They have been best friends since high school. Think of them as the wise guys in class who had everyone laughing and managed to make a career out of it. They’ve been teaching God’s word using comedy, drama and whatever category talking action figures fit into for over twenty years.
BIBLE STUDY LEADER:
Matt Popovits
Matt is married to Lisa, his high school sweetheart and daddy to Ava Elise. Since 2005 Matt has served as Lead Pastor of the Westgreen Campus of CrossPoint Community Church. Matt is also staff writer for Homiletics–a worldwide magazine for pastors providing insights and ideas for preaching and teaching. In 2010 Matt was honored to be a keynote speaker at the LCMS National Youth Gathering, New Orleans, where he was able to talk about Jesus to more than 25,000 students. Prior to becoming a pastor Matt studied acting at the University of Michigan. He was also once in a comedy sketch with Jimmy Fallon on NBC’s “Late Night.” So, he’s kind of cool in that sense.
SPEAKERS:
Travis Hartjen
Travis wasn’t born in Texas but got here as soon as he could. Serving as a DCE for over 10 years in Houston and Austin, his latest adventure is starting a Church from Scratch, Waters Edge Allen. He is married and has 4 amazing kids. He loves proclaiming the Word in powerful ways that make you laugh till your sides hurt and cry…maybe just once. Currently, Travis serves as a Church Plant Pastor in Allen, TX.
John David Mull
John David was born and raised in Texas. He is currently serving as a Vicar at St. Peter Lutheran in Roanoke, TX and building the foundations of a new church plant. Naturally, being Texas born and bred, his favorite ice cream is Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla (from Brenham, Texas), his favorite drink is Dr. Pepper (from Waco, Texas), and his favorite sports team is the Dallas Cowboys (from … well, Dallas, obviously!) John David is passionate about helping Christians live the lives God has called them to and the results – formerly lost people receiving Christ!
Paul Goeke
Paul Goeke is a Native Texan and Graduate of Concordia University at Austin, where he received a Bachelors Degree in English and Biblical Languages. He studied at the Instituto De Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and served briefly in East Africa with several Tanzanian churches. He later received his Masters in Divinity from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. After completing internship in Denver, Colorado, Paul was ordained and called by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod along with fellow pastor, Ryan Neuhaus, to the Buda area where they planted a new church called The Well. He now happily serves as a pastor of The Well, a church community that is often said to be comprised of people “with church backgrounds and church-hating backgrounds.” Paul loves to see people of wildly different backgrounds enjoy meaningful relationships with each other and God. He considers his most important role in life to be husband to his beautiful wife of 10 years, Angie, and daddy to his 3 children: Ava, Helen, and Gideon.
Michelle Thompson
Michelle was born in Houston, TX and still calls it her home. She is the ExecutiveDirector of CrossPoint Community Church, and also oversees Community Life and Children’s Ministry at their Westgreen Campus. She passionately believes in telling “the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord” (Psalm 78:4 NIV) as they are a powerful part of the church today and will be the leaders of our churches and communities tomorrow. When Michelle is not leading her team at CrossPoint, she enjoys spending her time encouraging and training others at a variety of retreats and conferences. In her spare time she enjoys hiking as a new hobby as well as traveling to new places, shopping, relaxing in coffee shops and spending time with friends.
Ken Chitwood
Ken was born and raised in California where he graduated from Concordia University Irvine in 2007 with a BA in Christian Education Leadership and Theological Studies. Since then he has found himself serving in a myriad of contexts.
Ken served as a Director of Christian Education Intern in Palmerston North, New Zealand from 2007-2009 and also taught as adjunct faculty at Laidlaw College (formerly the Bible College of New Zealand). Later in 2009 his wife, Elizabeth, and him went to serve as Christian Leadership Volunteers for the Themba Trust in Mabola, South Africa. While there, Ken taught religious education, assisted the local pastor, worked on community development projects and helped facilitate leadership gatherings for the rural community. In the last year Ken served as a Family Ministry Director in Apache Junction, AZ and as Assistant Director of International Friendship House at Arizona State Univeristy in Tempe, AZ.
Ken’s wife is called as the Director of Music Ministries at Memorial Lutheran Church in Katy, TX and the two of them moved to Houston in late August 2010. Ken is studying for his MA in Theology and Culture from Concordia Irvine. As a vicar (intern) at LINC Houston he assists Rev. David Kim in the Missions Department and is the Director of the LINC Bible Institute.
