Church Leadership
Discuss the role of the local church in equipping Christians with a biblical worldview to celebrate what is good and restore what is broken.
Breakout Sessions
Shepherding Your Church Between Secularism and Politicized Faith
Drawing from his book "Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer," historian John Wilsey will guide pastors through a principled approach that avoids the pitfalls of both aggressive secularism and a hyper-politicized faith. Church leaders will walk away with a robust framework to defend their congregation's constitutional freedoms while preserving the Church's prophetic, Gospel-first witness.
John Wilsey
Professor
Understand the Times, Know How to Respond
This timely panel explores the critical cultural and societal shifts that are coming down the pipeline. Dave Yost, Senior Counsel and Vice President of Policy Innovation at Alliance Defending Freedom, and David Mahan, Center for Christian Virtue's Policy Executive Director, will give pastors and ministry leaders practical guidance on how to proactively equip and shepherd their congregations for what lies ahead.
David Mahan & Dave Yost
Policy Executive Director • Senior Counsel and Vice President of Policy Innovation at Alliance Defending Freedom
Navigating the New Frontier of Family Ethics
From modern reproductive technologies to the rapid redefinition of the family, our culture increasingly views children as commodities designed to fulfill adult desires. Founder and President of Them Before Us Katy Faust will equip pastors to flip the script, moving from an adult-centric model to one that fiercely protects the spiritual and emotional well-being of kids. Church leaders will walk away with a robust biblical framework to shepherd families through complex modern ethical dilemmas while unashamedly advocating for the most vulnerable among us.
Katy Faust
Founder and President
Biblical Practices for Families of LGBTQ Prodigals
Designed for church leaders walking alongside struggling families, author Rosaria Butterfield will outline a Gospel-centered framework for navigating the relational heartaches of prodigal children with Christlike grace and theological depth. This session explores how to anchor parents in God’s sovereign love, continuous personal sanctification, and persistent prayer, reframing severe family trials as opportunities for gospel endurance rather than divine punishment.
Rosaria Butterfield
Author and Speaker
Communio Dinner
Pastors and church leaders in the Church Leadership track are invited to join us for dinner after the final session of the Essential Summit, generously sponsored by our Hope and A Future initiative partner, Communio. Communio recently worked with the Institute for Family Studies on a groundbreaking report—Passing The Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations.
Kurt Blake
Communio
Session Presenters
Rosaria Butterfield
Author and Speaker
Rosaria Butterfield
Rosaria Butterfield, a former tenured professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse University, converted to Christ in what she describes as a train wreck. Her memoir, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into Christian Faith (Crown and Covenant, 2012), chronicles her conversion. Rosaria is married to Kent, a Reformed Presbyterian pastor in North Carolina. She is a mother, grandmother, author, and speaker.
Katy Faust
Founder and President
Them Before Us
Katy Faust
Katy Faust is Founder and President of Them Before Us, a global movement defending children’s right to their mother and father. She publishes, speaks and testifies widely on why marriage and family are matters of justice for children. Her articles have appeared in outlets including Newsweek, USA Today, Fox News, The Federalist, Public Discourse, WORLD Magazine, the Daily Wire, First Things, and the Blaze. She is on the advisory board for the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship. She detailed her philosophy of worldview transmission in her book, Raising Conservative Kids in a Woke City. Her third book, Pro-Child Politics was published September 2024. She is spearheading Greater Than, which aims to retake legal marriage on behalf of children. She and her husband have raised their four children in Seattle.
John Wilsey
Professor
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
John Wilsey
John D. Wilsey is Professor of Church History and Chairman of the Church History Department at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books, most recently Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer (Eerdmans, 2025) and God and Country: Upholding Faith, History, and National Identity (B&H Academic, 2026). He recently received the 2026 Faith and Opportunity Academic Prize from the Heritage Foundation for his work advancing American conservative thought. He lives with Mandy, his wife of 29 years, and his two daughters, Caroline and Sally, in Louisville, Kentucky.
David Mahan
Policy Executive Director
Center for Christian Virtue
David Mahan
David is a husband, father, minister, and CCV’s Policy Executive Director and cohost of The Narrative podcast. For years, he has been a sought-after presenter and consultant for organizations including the Federal Administration for Children and Families, Georgia’s Governor’s Office for Children and Families, Maryland Department of Health, Mississippi Department of Human Services, Heartbeat International, the Council of Urban Boards of Education, and the SWITCH Anti-Trafficking Network.A fierce advocate for youth and families across the U.S. and abroad, David tackles difficult topics like sexual risk avoidance, abortion, human trafficking prevention, fatherlessness, and gender identity—often in front of tough audiences who need truth spoken boldly and clearly.David's bold and engaging communication approach has influenced tens of thousands over the last 20 years. In 2016, he received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for exemplary service to the community.In 2019, he was invited to testify before Congress, sharing how he and his family overcame poverty, addiction, and abuse in just one generation—through God’s Power, God’s People, and God’s Principles.
Dave Yost
Senior Counsel and Vice President of Policy Innovation at Alliance Defending Freedom
Alliance Defending Freedom
Dave Yost
Dave Yost serves as Senior Counsel and Vice President of Policy Innovation at Alliance Defending Freedom, dedicated to protecting families, defending constitutional rights, and advancing policy innovation.
Kurt Blake
Communio
Communio
Kurt Blake
Kurt Blake lives in Huntington Beach CA with his wife and four kids. They attend Grace Community Church in Seal Beach. Prior to joining the team at Communio, Mr Blake was a Senior Relationship Manager, AVP at a large Christian Credit Union where he worked for 22 years. His primary areas of responsibility were commercial real estate financing and developing corporate cash management structures for Christian non-profits. Kurt serves on the boards of Grace Financial and New Breed Church Planting in various ministries at his local church.
