SPEAKERS
DR. DAVID IRELAND
Sr. Pastor, Christ Church, Montclair & Rockaway NJ
(SPEAKER)
Dr. David Ireland is founder and senior pastor of Christ Church, an 8,500-member multisite congregation in North Jersey of over 70 nationalities. Former diversity consultant to the National Basketball Association, Dr. Ireland leads chapel services for the New York Giants, New York Jets, and at the U.S. Pentagon. He is a global religious leader having preached in over 75 countries and is a well-respected contributing columnist to such media outlets like Fox News, Huffington Post, and Ministries Today. Dr. Ireland is the author of over 20 books including Raising a Child Who Prays. Ireland has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows including The Dr. Phil Show, The CBS Evening News, The 700 Club and Focus on the Family. Through his community development corporation, he offers a home for victims of domestic violence.
The Rev. Ireland holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering (Fairleigh Dickinson University), a graduate degree in civil engineering (Stevens Institute of Technology), a master’s degree in theology (Alliance Theological Seminary). He has an earned Ph.D. in organizational leadership (Regent University) and completed post-doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Ireland was recently appointed as a member of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Faith-Based Initiatives. He also serves on the boards of Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary and was an adjunct professor at Drew University. He and his wife, Marlinda, have been married since 1984 and have two adult daughters and a son-in-law.
SANTIAGO “JIMMY” MELLADO
Compassion International, President and CEO
(SPEAKER)
Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado is President and CEO of Compassion International, a global ministry that is dedicated to holistic child development through sponsorship. Jimmy is passionate about Compassion’s church-based approach to rescuing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. The son of an engineer, Jimmy spent his childhood in the developing world and saw firsthand the powerful impact thriving local churches can have on their communities, especially in under-resourced environments. Before taking office as CEO of Compassion International in September 2013, Jimmy served for 20 years as the president of the Willow Creek Association. He earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School and is an accomplished athlete who competed in the 1988 Olympic Games for the country of his birth, El Salvador. Jimmy married his wife Leanne in 1986 and they have two daughters and a son.
PASTOR MARLINDA IRELAND
Associate Pastor, Christ Church, Montclair & Rockaway NJ
(SPEAKER)
Marlinda is a wife, a mother, Bible teacher, and an worship director. For more than three decades she and her husband, David, have led Christ Church with campuses in Montclair and Rockaway, New Jersey. Their multigenerational and multicultural congregation exists To Unite People to God and People to People and is home to people from over seventy nationalities.
Through all of the challenges and joys that go along with her many life-roles, the Father has etched on Marlinda’s soul a passion for full-blown-surrender to Him. It’s out of this internal imprint that she embraces people, serves the Church with her gifts and teaches the Bible. She holds Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Alliance Theological Seminary where she serves as an adjunct professor. Marlinda and David have two adult daughters, Danielle and Jessica.
PASTOR JAMAAL BERNARD
Senior Pastor, Christian Cultural Center Long Island Campus
(SPEAKER)
Founded C3 the Christian Cultural Center fellowship of youth and young adults
Christian Cultural Center Director of Public Safety, overseeing all aspects of security on the 11.5 acre campus.
Christian Cultural Center Ministry of Helps Director, managing 700 volunteers who address the needs of the congregation and visitors, the medical staff unit and the Customer Representative Training department.
Pastor Jamaal speaks on a wide range of subjects to youth groups, churches, retreats and school settings. One of the things setting Pastor Bernard’s work with young people apart is how he reaches out and connects youth from diverse churches and areas to create a new model culture, by communicating truth on the streets, thereby cultivating seeds of greatness.
DR. JOSEPH MATTERA
Bishop and Founding Pastor,
Ressurection Church
(SPEAKER)
Dr. Joseph Mattera is an internationally-known author, consultant, and theologian whose mission is to influence leaders who influence culture. He is the founding pastor of Resurrection Church, and leads several organizations, including The U.S. Coalition Of Apostolic Leaders and Christ Covenant Coalition. Dr. Mattera is the author of 10 bestselling books, including his latest “The Divided Gospel,” and is renown for applying Scripture to contemporary culture . To order his books or to join the many thousands who subscribe to his newsletter go to www.josephmattera.org.
REV. DR. MARC RIVERA
Senior Pastor,
Primitive Christian Church
(SPEAKER)
Dr. Rivera serves as the Senior Pastor of the Primitive Christian Church (La Iglesia Cristiana Primitiva) in Lower Manhattan since 1994. The church is a vibrant bilingual multicultural urban ministry that is home to people from many cultures and walks of life. Prior to becoming its Senior Pastor, Dr. Rivera served the same church for 16 years as Associate Pastor. He has been in pastoral ministry there for over 30 years.
In 1991, after working on Wall Street for over a decade, Dr. Rivera left a promising career with a high tech Fortune 500 corporation to enter full time pastoral ministry. Today, Dr. Rivera is considered a resource in the area of urban inner city ministry. He is sought after because of his depth of knowledge of the Latino church and it’s emerging role in the 21st century.
Dr. Rivera serves on several boards, bringing his experience and insight to assist organizations maximize their potential. He provides spiritual counsel and guidance to individuals in the corporate and civic sectors, as well as to leaders in the community of faith. He served as Vice Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the 2005 Billy Graham Greater New York Crusade. In fact at the invitation of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Dr. Rivera traveled to the Montreet, North Carolina home of Dr. Graham to personally invite him to come to New York for his final crusade. Additionally, Dr. Rivera is the Co-Founder and Chair of Vision Urbana, Inc., a non-profit community based organization with offices in Lower Manhattan.
He has received numerous awards and recognition for his work in the community and his exemplary leadership during the 9/11 attack. His efforts were permanently inserted in the United States Senate Congressional Record of October 9, 2001. More recently, Dr. Rivera was recognized with the 2007 Outstanding Ministry Award by the New York City Council of Churches.
A graduate of the Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute in New York City, Dr. Rivera holds a seminary Masters Degree in Urban Ministry from the Alliance Theological Seminary. He also has an earned doctorate degree from the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston, being the first Latino to earn such an advanced degree in the urban track. He is married to the Rev. Enid Rios Rivera since 1976. They have two grown sons, Timothy (and daughter-in-law, Kimberly) and Matthew (and daughter-in-law, Lezette), and grand-daughters Bella, Caliya & Jolie. They are life-long residents of Lower Manhattan.
MART GREEN
Founder & CEO Every Tribe Every Nation,
Mardel Christian & Educational Supply
(SPEAKER)
Mart Green began his retail career in the home of his parents as a youth. With $600 his family started Hobby Lobby in their living room, which is now a chain of over 800 arts and crafts stores. He is the Ministry Investment Officer for Hobby Lobby and also serves as Board Chair. In 1981, Mart established Mardel, a chain of Christian and educational supply stores. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Mardel has 34 stores in seven states.
In June 2002, visionary Green founded and was Producer/CEO for Every Tribe Entertainment, a feature film production company. Their movie End of the Spear was released to theaters in January 2006. Millions in the U.S. viewed End of the Spear with great impact. The film is now being shown in many countries around the world. Mart also produced a companion documentary called Beyond the Gates of Splendor. In January 2005, Christian Retailing named Mart Green one of the Top Fifty People who have most shaped and impacted Christian retailing in the last half century. In 2008, he was also awarded the Jim Carlson Christian Bookstore of the Year Award by the Christian Book Association (CBA) for setting standards of excellence in the industry.
From January 2008 to April 2014, Mart served as Board Chair of the Board of Trustees at Oral Roberts University and now serves as Trustee Emeritus.
In 2010, Mart began a journey to help build a Digital Bible Library through an alliance called Every Tribe Every Nation. Its goal is to centralize, digitize, standardize and finalize the Bible texts of the world. This will make it easier for audio, video, mobile and print-on-demand ministries to obtain the Bible texts they need. It is Mart’s belief that by 2033 95% of the world will have a complete Bible, 99.9996% of the world will have a New Testament, and 100% will have at least 25 chapters.
A native Oklahoman, Mart and his wife, Diana, have enjoyed over 30 years of marriage. They have four adult children, three children-in-law and seven grandchildren.
DR. DUANE DURST
Network Superintendent,
NY Ministry Network
(SPEAKER)
Dr. Duane P. Durst is a graduate of Central Bible College in Missouri and Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio. While at Ashland Seminary, Duane acquired a Masters of Divinity, Psychology and Counseling as well as a Doctorate of Ministry in Administration. He is an adjunct professor at Ashland Theological Seminary and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. He has served as a church consultant in the area of administration, planning and leadership development, and conflict resolution.
Dr. Durst has pastored churches in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and New York State. He has served in a number of sectional positions within the New York District Assemblies of God, including serving as the first sectional presbyter of the New York City – Queens section. Duane has served in the district office as the administrative assistant, district assistant superintendent, and currently as the district superintendent.
Duane also serves as the Non-Resident Northeast Region Executive Presbyter for the General Council of the Assemblies of God, in which he also serves in several committees for.
Duane and Beverly, both natives of Warren Ohio, have served congregations as youth pastor, music pastor, associate, and senior pastor. They have led couples retreats and are a clergy presenting couple for Assemblies of God Marriage Encounter. They have three children and eight beautiful grandchildren: Marcus, Eileen, Abraham, Noah, Ada and Jacob Burhanna of Huntsville, Ohio; Jonathan, Carmen, Alicia, Matthew and Gabriela Durst of Phoenix, New York; and Joel, Julianna, Benjamin, Abigail and Isaiah Durst of Solvay, New York. Out of all their jobs and ministries being “Papa” and “Nana” are the best!
