Maggie Bertram
Maggie Bertram is a content editor at Lifeway Christian Resources with The Gospel Project for Kids. Previously, she served in the local church as a children’s minister. She is a graduate of Mississippi College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She loves helping children understand who God is and who He has made them to be, and she is passionate about working with families as they equip their kids to live in light of these biblical truths.
Suzanne Burnett
Suzanne Burnett works at Lifeway Christian Resources as a preschool content editor with
The Gospel Project for Kids. Prior to coming to Lifeway, she served several years as a preschool minister and early learning center director. She has a Master of Divinity in Christian Education from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and lives in Lonoke, AR, where her husband, Jason, serves as a children’s pastor. She and Jason are currently in the process of a domestic adoption, patiently waiting and excited for what the Lord has in store.
Karan Burnette
Karan Burnette has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in speech-language pathology. Specializing in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and positive behavioral supports, Karan has spent 40 years working with children with disabilities in educational and residential settings. She has experience providing training and technical assistance to childcare centers and day care family homes across Arkansas to support quality inclusion of children with disabilities alongside their peers. As well as being a consultant and conference speaker, she currently serves as the executive director of Partners for Inclusive Communities, Arkansas’ University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service (UCEDD), a program of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Stephanie Chase
Stephanie Chase has worked in education and kids ministry as a
teacher, director, writer, and trainer for over 25 years. She currently serves as the global kids minister at Champion Forest Baptist Church and is a national speaker for family conferences, women’s events, and leadership training. Her enthusiasm and joy in living is contagious and will inspire you to live the life God has planned for you.
Ricky Chelette
Ricky Chelette has served as the executive director of Living Hope Ministries for the past 18 years, and for the past 28 years, he has also served on the pastoral staff at First Baptist Church Arlington. Speaking around the world to thousands of teens and adults who struggle with their sexuality and gender identity and to those who love them, Ricky brings vast experience and personal knowledge to this difficult and controversial subject. His logical, humorous, and straightforward approach makes sense of a very complex and often confusing topic. Ricky has a bachelor’s in political science/pre-law and a master’s in religious education and has taught at the college and seminary levels. An ordained Southern Baptist minister, Ricky has served churches in Louisiana and Texas for over 40 years.
Lance Crowell
Lance Crowell has been serving as executive pastor over administration and church ministry at Parkway Hills Baptist Church since the fall of 2022. Previously he served 17 years with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, working as a senior strategist in the Digital Ministries and Communications department as well as ministering in the SBTC Church Ministries department in discipleship, family, collegiate, single adults, men’s ministry, and online training. Lance was called to ministry at Sagemont Church, where he served as a collegiate/young adult minister. He is a two-time graduate of the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in telecommunication engineering. He holds a Master of Divinity as well as a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Lance is married to Mandy, and they are blessed with two amazing kids, Caleb and Cora.
Gary Felton
Gary Felton serves at First Baptist, Dallas as the minister of special needs with the mission to ensure that the church is a place for everyone. Before taking on this full-time role, he was a special education teacher in public schools for 18 years, working with students on the autism spectrum and serving part-time at First Dallas as the director of ministry to adults with special needs. Gary
and his wife, Jennifer, have four incredible children.
Ally Freeman
Ally Freeman is the family minister at Grand Avenue in Fort Smith, AR. She leads a
team who ministers to babies through 12th grade and enjoys connecting families to
community within the church and watching them thrive as they worship, grow, and
go on mission within Fort Smith. Ally has over two decades of ministry in churches in Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, and Arkansas serving on church staff with preschool, elementary, and student ministries, as well as in private school and church weekday learning centers. Her heartbeat
of ministry is to equip volunteers and parents with the gospel and a heart like Jesus, giving the next generation a church experience that will not deconstruct in adulthood.
Taylor Garmon
Along with serving as a family ministry pastor in Fort Worth, TX, Taylor serves as the bible drill consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Taylor’s wife, Keri, is a coordinator in their church’s Mother’s Day Out and together they raise 9-year-old twin sons (Carson and Kamdyn), a 5-year-old daughter (Caroline), and a 4-year-old son (Kole).
Ashley Gross
Ashley Gross is passionate about seeing children come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. She was called to ministry at the age of 13 and has served in full time vocational ministry for eight years. Ashley graduated from Dallas Baptist University with a bachelor’s in Christian studies and a master’s in children’s ministry. She and her husband, Kris, are proud parents of their
daughter, Avery, and two dogs, Murphy and Asher. In her free time, you can find her in the dirt of her garden or in the kitchen baking fresh bread or brownies.
Billy Hardesty
Billy Hardesty has pastored in Arkansas since 2007. He pastored New Liberty Baptist Church in Blytheville for five years and later shifted his ministry focus to children’s ministry, beginning this phase of his ministry at West View Baptist Church in Paragould. During the past seven years, he has
served as the preteen pastor and currently serves as the children’s pastor at Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas. He and his wife, Rachel, have two wonderful daughters.
Luke Harding
Luke Harding is the lead pastor at First Baptist Church in Clever, MO. Previously, he spent 10 years in kids ministry at churches in North Carolina, Arkansas, and Missouri. He regularly preaches for CentriKid Camps in the summer and has a passion for teaching the Word of God with clarity,
simplicity, and application for daily life. He believes that if you can explain biblical truth to a third grader, you can teach anyone. Luke and his wife, Hannah, have three kids ages 6, 3, and 1. He loves Chiefs’ football, gardening, reading, board games, and he owns a Christmas tree farm.
Monica Healer
Monica Healer is the executive director of the Early Childhood Christian Network. She has a broad range of experience in almost every level of early childhood education—from classroom teacher to weekday program administrator. Monica’s passion is to see young children learn about the truth of God from birth and for families to experience the deep love of Christ in the process. She believes administrators and staff should be equipped with the latest research-based training available to provide the highest quality experience for young children in their first school exposure. Monica has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Tech University in management information systems.
Wynn Anne Hook
Wynn Anne Hook was born in Norman, OK, and grew up in Oklahoma City. She graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with a degree in music education and taught public school music and
continues to teach private voice and piano. She worked at the Oklahoma Baptist Convention for 27 years. Wynn Anne has led conferences in children’s music in several states and has directed the Young Musicians Camp and Worship Arts Camp for Kids (WACK) for Capital Baptist Association several times. She delights in her family—her son and daughter and their families.
Mark Jones
Mark Jones is the children’s pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma
City where he loves to teach preschoolers, children, and their parents. He enjoys speaking around the nation to train children’s ministry leaders and parents. Mark is the founder of Mr. Mark’s Classroom, an online leadership development and teacher-resource company, helping overwhelmed children’s ministry leaders get clarity, confidence, and the resources they need to win at reaching kids for Jesus, equipping kids with Bible skills, and teaching kids to serve others.
Jana Magruder
Jana Magruder serves as the Strategic Initiatives Director of Lifeway Kids in Nashville. With a background in education, publishing, and ministry, she loves championing the local church to help families disciple kids of all ages. Jana and her husband Michael are native Texans planted in Tennessee and love to explore both states with their three big kids.
Keri Meek
With over 20 years of dedicated service at Hillcrest Baptist Church, Cedar Hill, TX, Keri Meek has served in various roles in preschool and children’s ministry, currently serving as the director of family ministries. She is passionate about helping believers discover their unique gifts to serve others and bring God glory. Known for her unwavering commitment to discipleship, Keri is faithful in nurturing the spiritual growth of children and students.
Shelly Melia
Shelly Melia serves as the associate dean of the Graduate School of Ministry and professor of Childhood Education at Dallas Baptist University. She oversees the Master of Arts in Family Ministry and Master of Arts in Children’s Ministry. Prior to coming to DBU, she served as a children’s minister for over 25 years and is a licensed professional counselor.
Christy Nance
Christy Nance is the Vacation Bible School strategist for the Missouri Baptist Convention. She also leads “Kids Worship” at The Rock Church, Ballwin Campus. During her time on staff, Christy has begun a Mother’s Day Out program and Christian Academy and is currently developing a full-time day care program for the church. She also writes curriculum and provides activities for a Ukrainian ministry in the St. Louis area.
Peggy Osborne
Peggy Osborne has been in the field of education for over 25 years. She spent 14 years in the elementary classroom teaching Pre-K, kindergarten, second, and fourth grades. From 1998 through 2010, she was an administrator within the College Station Independent School District’s Early Childhood Department in College Station, Texas. Since December of 2010, she and her daughter, Lauren, have been consulting with faithbased schools and childcares, school districts, and Head Starts all across the state. Peggy is married to Chris. They moved in 2020 to Fort Worth, where Chris is a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Donna Peavey
Donna Peavey has a great passion for teaching and ministry. She is most interested in the spiritual formation of children and equipping parents and church leaders to lead children to know God. In more than 35 years of teaching and ministry, she has served as a professor, teacher, keynote speaker, writer, director of early childhood programs, trainer, children’s ministry consultant, and camp director. She frequently consults with churches desiring to develop or improve their plan for facilitating the spiritual formation and education of children. She and her husband both serve in the children’s ministry of their church.
Sandra Peoples
Sandra Peoples is the disability ministry consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and an adjunct professor for Liberty University, teaching classes in disability ministry. Sandra is currently a Ph.D. student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in family ministry with an emphasis on inclusion for disability families. She is the author of Unexpected Blessings: The Joys and Possibilities of Life in a Special-Needs Family. She and her family live outside of Houston, Texas. You can connect with her at sandrapeoples.com.
Shane Pruitt
Shane Pruitt serves as the national director for next gen for the North American Mission Board. He and his wife, Kasi, reside in Texas with their five children. He has been in ministry for over 20 years as a denominational leader, church planter, lead pastor, and student pastor. Shane is also a traveling communicator, evangelist, and Bible teacher. Every year he speaks to over a 100,000 people about the good news of Jesus Christ. He is the author of two books, 9 Common Lies Christians Believe: And Why God’s Truth Is Infinitely Better and Calling Out the Called: Discipling Those Called to Ministry Leadership, and one Bible study, Revival Generation: Awakening to a Movement of God. Shane is also one of the hosts of the GenSend podcast.
Dawnellen Pybas
Dawne Pybas is a member of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, where she teaches kindergarten Sunday School with her husband. She taught week-day Pre-K at Quail Springs for two and a half years after having taught 28 years in public schools. Twenty of those years were spent teaching kindergarten. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and English from Oklahoma Baptist University and a master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Central Oklahoma. Dawne has two children and four grandchildren.
Rhonda VanCleave
Rhonda VanCleave is the publishing team leader for Lifeway’s VBS. Rhonda served as a freelance writer for Lifeway Kids for 15 years prior to coming to Lifeway full time in 2006 as VBS team leader. Rhonda has taught Bible study for all ages of kids, directed her church’s VBS, and filled a variety of roles as a pastor’s wife. She is a graduate of Clear Creek Baptist Bible College and Lincoln Memorial University. Rhonda’s greatest joy is watching kids connect with God’s Word and get excited about knowing more. Rhonda and her husband, Richard, are the happy grandparents to five amazing grandkids.
Kayla Wescoat
Kayla Wescoat is the preschool minister at Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield, MO. She loves helping preschoolers grow to know Jesus and love worshiping Him. She has a heart for seeing parents take on the role of the primary spiritual leader of their family. She lives just outside of Springfield with her firefighter husband, Chris, and their three awesome kids, Aiden, McKenna, and Hadlee. If the Wescoat family has some downtime, you’ll find them at the closest fishing spot.
Jonathan Williams
Jonathan Williams is the executive director of Gospel Family Ministries. This ministry focuses on strengthening family ministry in the local church and cultivating family worship in the Christian home. Jonathan is the author of A Practical Theology of Family Worship and Gospel Family. He teaches as an adjunct professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and is the managing editor of the Southwestern D6 Family Ministry Journal. Previously, Jonathan served for 10 years as the senior pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church, a multi-ethnic church of more than 50 nations. He lives in Fort Worth with his wife and three children.
Delanee Williams
Delanee Williams serves as a ministry specialist with Lifeway Kids. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Delanee has served in kids ministry for over 20 years in churches in Texas, Wyoming, and Tennessee. Currently, she enjoys teaching preschoolers and children at her church in the Nashville area. Delanee is passionate about developing, equipping, and encouraging kids ministry leaders.
Erin Woodfin
Erin Woodfin served as children’s minister for eight years at Immanuel Baptist Church in Marshall, TX. She is currently a stay-at-home mom of three beautiful girls. Erin has a master’s degree in Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Helping train and equip children’s ministry leaders brings her so much joy. You will find her with a strong cup of coffee in her hand, reading, writing, crafting, watching baseball with her husband, and enjoying a taco with her family.
