Welcome to CGN Ministry Conference
Main Session Speakers
Check out our lineup of 2025 speakers featuring leaders from around the world. Click on an image to learn more.
Alistair Begg has been in pastoral ministry since 1975. Following graduation from The London School of Theology, he served eight years in Scotland at both Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh and Hamilton Baptist Church. In 1983, he became the senior pastor at Parkside Church near Cleveland, Ohio. He has written several books and is heard daily and weekly on the radio program, Truth For Life. The teaching on Truth For Life stems from the week by week Bible teaching at Parkside Church.
Ted is the pastor of Reliance church in Temecula CA. He planted Reliance Church in 2007 and serves as the main teaching Pastor. Prior to starting Reliance Church, Pastor Ted was the founder & Executive Pastor of Revival Christian Fellowship in Menifee, where he served for 15 years. Ted is a graduate of the Calvary Chapel School of Ministry and has a heart for church planting, helping to plant many churches, both nationally & internationally. He is a trusted leader and serves on the Boards of several churches in two states.
Greg Opean was a pioneer church planter in Eastern Europe for almost two decades. During that time, he planted and pastored several churches in Hungary, finally settling in Budapest, where the Lord established a strong vibrant fellowship in the heart of that city. Golgotha Budapest is one of the most influential churches in that city today. Greg currently serves as a teaching pastor at the Packinghouse Christian Fellowship in Redlands, California.
Doug Sauder has served as the lead pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale and its regional campuses since May 2014. Before that, he was a founding member and president of 4KIDS Of South Florida and an associate pastor at Calvary Chapel since January 2000. As a former educator, youth pastor, and foster parent, he is a passionate advocate for kids in crisis and the author of The One Factor: How One Changes Everything. He also serves as a leading voice in Church United, a movement of gospel-centered, city-focused churches in South Florida uniting for the sake of one mission. Doug and his wife Suzanne have three sons: Jackson, Kaden and wife Megan, and Kennedy. To relax, he enjoys a good book, a cup of coffee with friends, and an intense game of basketball or chess.
Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is the Dean and Professor of Leadership and Christian Ministry at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He also serves as Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Wycliffe Hall at Oxford University, where he teaches twice a year. Ed has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; earned two master’s degrees and two doctorates; and written hundreds of articles and a dozen books. He is Regional Director for Lausanne North America, the Editor-in-Chief of Outreach Magazine, and regularly writes for news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. His national radio show, Ed Stetzer Live, airs Saturdays on Moody Radio and affiliates. Ed serves his local church, Mariners Church, as Scholar in Residence & Teaching Pastor.
Kike Torres is the lead pastor at Horizonte Queretaro as well as the founder and president of the Biblical Counseling Coalition, both in Mexico.
Daniel Williams has a heart for encouraging and equipping church leaders through his Leadership Lessons Podcast and ministry at www.eeleaders.com. Daniel currently serves as the Lead Pastor of Calvary Chapel of the Palm Beaches in Southeast Florida and on the CGN Connect Team.
Bruce Zachary was raised in a Jewish home and has been a follower of Jesus for more than 30 years. Bruce was an attorney for 25 years and has been an ordained pastor since 1995. In 1996, he planted Calvary Nexus, a Calvary Chapel church in Camarillo, California, where he continues serving as teaching and leader development pastor. Bruce has authored 18 books and directed a global church planting initiative in the Calvary Chapel movement. In addition, Bruce serves in a leadership role within the Calvary Global Network as a member of the CGN Executive Team and as leader of the Connect Team.
Workshops
A primary purpose of this conference is for leaders to connect with leaders from other churches who do similar ministry, share resources, ideas, and encouragement, and leave the conference with an expanded network of like-minded leaders who share their calling. In addition to ample opportunity to forge relationships, each workshop will be hosted by an experienced leader who will share their insights, and best practices, and facilitate connections.
We invite and encourage you to bring your team, whether paid staff or volunteers, who serve or have an interest, in the following areas:
Tuesday, June 24
- Lead/Senior Pastors with Brian Brodersen and Nick Cady
- Executive + Associate Pastors with Jordan Taylor
- Women in Ministry with Cheryl Brodersen and Brenda Leavenworth
- Children’s Ministry with Tami Pena
- Youth Ministry with Craig Finley
- Worship with Faith Wake and Royce Rull
- Small Groups + Care Leaders with Jeremy Einem
- Tech Teams with Abe Lambeth
- Administration with Shirley Ruiz
- Lay Leaders with Tommy Cota and Seth Allingham
- God’s Design for Gender: Answers to the Serpent’s Trans Attack with Gerry Breshears
Wednesday, June 25
- Lead/Senior Pastors with Brian Brodersen and Nick Cady
- Executive + Associate Pastors with Jordan Taylor
- Women in Ministry with Cheryl Brodersen and Brenda Leavenworth
- Children’s Ministry with Tami Pena
- Youth Ministry with Craig Finley
- Worship with Faith Wake and Royce Rull
- Small Groups + Care Leaders with Jeremy Einem
- Tech Teams with Abe Lambeth
- Administration with Shirley Ruiz
- Lay Leaders with Tommy Cota and Seth Allingham
Workshop Speakers
Check out our lineup of 2025 workshop speakers.
Brian Brodersen is pastor emeritus of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. He also serves as president of the Calvary Global Network, chancellor of Calvary Chapel Bible College, and co-founder and director of Creation Fest UK. Brian is the featured speaker on the Back to Basics radio program and a regular contributor on the live call-in program Pastors’ Perspective. Brian holds an M.A. in Ministry and Leadership from Wheaton College.
Cheryl Brodersen is a gifted speaker and Bible teacher. She is the author of several books, including When a Woman Lets Go of Her Fears and A Woman’s Battle for Grace, as well as Bible Study books for women. Her Bible teaching can be heard on the Gracious Words radio and podcast programs. In addition, Cheryl co-hosts the popular Christian podcast Women Worth Knowing. Cheryl holds an M.A. in Biblical Leadership from Western Seminary. She is a wife, mother of four adult children, and “grammabee” to seven grandchildren. She and her husband, Brian, live in Southern California and serve at their home church, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.
Jordan Taylor is the Executive Pastor at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. He moved to Costa Mesa, CA in 2019 after planting and pastoring Calvary Wallingford in Seattle, WA since 2011. Previously he served as the Administrative Pastor at Calvary Fellowship in Mountlake Terrace, WA. He holds an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Brenda Leavenworth is an author and speaker based in Temecula, CA. Her passion is to help women grow in their knowledge and understanding of Scripture as they pursue Christian maturity. She has written several in-depth Bible studies, including her 2016 release of Proverbs 31 study, Far Above Rubies. Brenda enjoys traveling the globe to share God’s Word and holds a master’s degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in Christian Leadership from Calvary Chapel University, where she has recently become adjunct faculty. As the host of When She Leads podcast, Brenda actively and passionately discusses the complexities and realities of leading ministry as a woman. Brenda currently serves and loves her community as the Director of Women’s Ministry at Reliance Church.
Tommy Cota is the lead pastor of Hope Alive Church. In Tommy’s young teenage years, the life he was living led him into darkness and ultimately 5 1/2 years of prison time in the California state prison system. It was during this time that his wife, Diana, began praying for him, and soon after his release in January of 2000 he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. Tommy was so excited to live his life for the Lord that he enrolled in Calvary Chapel’s School of Ministry, and after graduating in 2004 he was brought on staff as an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.
Jeremy has been in the role of the Community Life Pastor since he came on staff in March of 2020. Jeremy was born and raised just outside Detroit, MI. He attended Spring Arbor University where he majored in Pastoral Studies and Biblical Studies. He then went on to receive his Masters from Liberty University in Christian Leadership. He was serving in ministry as a pastor and Next Generation leader at a church in Michigan for 10 years before coming to Camarillo and Calvary Nexus. His wife Caley attended Nexus throughout her student years. They and their two daughters now get to serve this community. Jeremy is primarily responsible for the leadership of the Neighborhood Groups and overall assimilation.
Faith is a worship leader, artist, and Third Culture Kid who loves Jesus, people, and a good single-origin pour-over. By God’s manifold grace, Faith has led in worship, creative, and youth ministries across different denominational spaces since 2004 and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Theology. She serves as the Worship Director at Reliance Church, makes music with friends as REVO Collective, and loves championing Christic artists through The Table Art Society. She and her husband, Thales, love building a beautiful life with their son, Thomas, and border collie, Ahsoka, wherever God leads.
Royce Rull is the Design Lead at Reliance Church. A Southern California native, he gave his life to Christ in high school and began serving in worship ministry. He graduated from Calvary Chapel School of Worship in 2006. Royce is married to Krista and serves as one of the leaders in the Reliance Worship team. Passionate about Kingdom-building, he desires to see people know, love, and serve Jesus. He also enjoys helping others grow their creative and administrative gifts for God’s glory.
Shirley Ruiz is the Church Administrator at Reliance Church. Her position entails managing the church office and its staff, as well as assisting ministry leaders with organizational facilitation. Shirley previously served as the Youth Ministry Administrator at Revival Christian Fellowship for 5 years. Before that, Shirley was the CFO for Family Business in Washington for 5 years.
Seth Allingham is an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel Rohnert Park in Rohnert Park, California. Seth also serves on the Board of Directors for Calvary Global Network.
Gerry Breshears has been professor of theology at Western Seminary since 1980. In addition to teaching and lecturing at a number of colleges and seminaries around the world, he speaks in many churches. He works with a wide variety of people and issues in the pastoral side of his life. He works in leadership in the Evangelical Theological Society nationally and regionally, including having served as national president. He is coauthor of Vintage Jesus, Death by Love, Vintage Church, and Doctrine with Mark Driscoll. Gerry and his wife, Sherry, have two sons, Donn and David, and a daughter, Cyndee, and four wonderful grandchildren. He is an elder and a member of the preaching team at Grace Community Church of Gresham, Oregon.
Nick Cady is the lead pastor of White Fields Community Church in Longmont, Colorado. Prior to moving to Longmont in 2012, Nick spent 10 years as a missionary, pastor, and church planter in Hungary working with Calvary Chapel. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Theology from the University of Gloucestershire (UK) and a Master's degree in Integrative Theology from the London School of Theology. Nick is on the steering committee of the Expositors Collective. He serves on the Executive Team of Calvary Global Network and leads Cultivate, a program to assess, train, and deploy new church planters and missionaries. He also teaches as an adjunct professor for Calvary Chapel Bible College. You can keep up with Nick on X at @nickcady, on Instagram at @cadynick, or by subscribing to the White Fields Church podcast.
Tami Peña has served faithfully in the children’s ministry at Reliance Church since 2009 as the Reliance Kids’ Director. Tami has extensive experience in her position, as she has served over 20 years in children’s ministry leadership. She loves Jesus and His kids. Fittingly, Tami became a Christian at the age of 4 while attending a Vacation Bible School. She has carried with her a lifelong passion to help children know and to serve Jesus.
Craig Finley focuses on discipleship and leading people on short-term mission trips. He lives in Seattle, Washington. He’s been in full time ministry for over thirty years pastoring, leading missions teams around the globe, and discipling leaders.Working as a youth pastor at Mountlake Church for many years, Craig saw the power of short-term missions in the lives of both youth and adults. He has always had a heart for missions, developing many important relationships around the globe.
Abe Lambeth plays dobro and sings with EELB. He also plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, cello, trumpet, piano, banjo, mandolin, trombone, sax, drumkit, organ, percussion, flute, accordion, and tuba. He also is an Audio Engineer.
Event Schedule
Sunday, June 22
5:00–6:00 PM Check-In
6:00–7:00 PM Meet & Greet Dinner
7:00–9:00 PM An Evening of Worship
Monday, June 23
8:00–9:00 AM Check-in
9:00–10:30 AM Session #1: Ted Leavenworth “The Example of Jesus
10:30 AM–12:00 PM Session #2: Daniel Williams “A New Commandment”
12:00–2:00 PM Lunch Break (Western Seminary Student Lunch)
2:00–5:00 PM Free Time/Networking
5:00–7:00 PM Dinner “CGN Family Feast”
7:00–8:00 PM Session #3 Alistair Begg “Chosen and Fruitful”
8:00–9:00 PM Extended Worship
Tuesday, June 24
8:00–9:00 AM Morning Prayer with Wayne Taylor
9:00–10:30 AM Session #4: Alistair Begg “The Spirit of Truth”
10:30 AM–12:00 PM Session #5: Kike Torres “The Vine and the Branches”
12:00 PM–2:00 PM Lunch Break (Cultivate Church Planting Lunch)
2:00-3:00 PM Panel Discussion
3:00–5:00 PM Workshops
5:00–7:00 PM Dinner Break
7:00–8:00 PM Session #6: Bruce Zachary “If the World Hates You”
8:00–9:00 PM Extended Worship
Wednesday, June 25
8:00–9:00 AM Morning Prayer with Wayne Taylor
9:00–10:30 AM Session #7: Greg Opean “Another Helper”
10:30 AM–12:00 PM Session #8: Doug Sauder “The Prayer of Jesus: That They May Be One“
12:00–2:00 PM Lunch Break (Connect Lunch)
2:00–3:00 PM Panel Discussion
3:00–5:00 PM Workshops
5:00–7:00 PM Dinner Break
7:00–8:00 PM Session #9: Ed Stetzer “The Prayer of Jesus: So Send I You”
8:00–9:00 PM Extended Worship
Registration
Helpful Information
Area Hotels
CGN has arranged a discounted rate with a few area hotels. You can use the links below to book online or call using the information listed below.
Murrieta Hot Springs Resort
39405 Murrieta Hot Springs Rd
Murrieta, CA 92563
Resort Rooms (1 King bed or 2 Queen beds) or Twin Bunk Bed Rooms (4 twin beds)
$169 per night, plus tax (Full use of resort spa included. $49 resort fee waived)
You can contact the front desk at 951-290-0887 or use the link below. When you call mention the group name of code: IMCGRP
24-hour Soaking Access
Wellness Activities Included
Sleep Ritual Tray
Unlimited Towel and Robe Exchange
Fitness Center Access
Discounted Fitness Center Classes
(2) Refillable Water Bottles at Check-In
On-site Spa
Complimentary Self-Parking
Home2 Suites by Hilton
28400 Rancho California Road, Temecula, California, 92590
King Bed Studio Suite Nonsmoking
$140 per night plus tax – Single or Double Occupancy
This room block rate is open until 5/22/25.
Complimentary Continental Hot Breakfast.
Complimentary access to Spin2Cycle in the combined fitness/laundry facility.
Outdoor Salt Water Pool and Patio Area: Complete with Fire Pit and Grills.
Complimentary Self-Parking.
All Studio Suites feature either 1 King Bed or 1 Queen Bed (no rooms have 2 beds), full-size sleeper sofa, and full kitchen with full-size refrigerator/freezer, and induction burner-cooktop upon request.
Dog and Cat friendly
Event Location
Reliance Church
29825 Santiago Road,
Temecula, CA 92592
Questions? You can reach us at cgn@calvarychapel.com
Local Airports
Ontario Airport (ONT) 52.1 miles from Reliance Church
San Diego Airport (SAN) 59.9 miles from Reliance Church
John Wayne Airport (SNA) 67.6 miles from Reliance Church
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY
We are Family Friendly! We will be providing Children’s Ministry for children 3 to 11 years old for a donation of $25 per child. There will also be a family room available.
CONFERENCE DISCOUNTS
- Cross-Cultural Missionaries/Leaders Rate of $100 (working outside North America) Please request a coupon code for this option by sending an email to cgn@calvarychapel.com
- Special Discounted Rate of $50 for Bible College Students! (Student ID Required) To find out more, contact us at cgn@calvarychapel.com.
- Group Discount: A discounted rate of $200 for your team of 5 is automatically generated when you register together online.
BOOK LIST
A curated list of books suggested by our conference speakers and CGN leaders.
Conference Sponsors & Partners
Calvary Global Network is a family of churches working together to proclaim the Gospel, make disciples, and plant churches.
Resources
CGN invites any resources, organizations, ministries, and/or exhibitors who would like to participate in this year’s International Conference to complete the form below.