Plenary Sessions

John Stumbo

Pastor and former President of the CM&A

Sunday Morning & Evening

  • Since growing up in Iowa and Minnesota, Dr. Stumbo has travelled the nation and world with a Bible in his backpack to share God’s Word with gatherings of all sizes. As a local church pastor and then as president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, John has led in a caring and creative manner which brought significant change to both individual lives and the ministries he led.

    Dr. Stumbo has various degrees and has authored five books, but his biggest smiles come from being with his wife of 43 years, Joanna, and from his family which includes three children and five grandchildren. Add a fishing pole, chain saw or pickleball paddle, and his smile gets even bigger. After completing twelve years as president of the C&MA, John took a few months to renew with his family and now is re-engaging in public ministry. The Stumbo’s live in Ohio where John is currently serving as an interim pastor at an area C&MA church.

Aaron Mattox

Teaching Pastor at Coram Deo Church

Monday & Tuesday

  • Aaron and Shianne have been married since 2013 and have four wonderful children: Sienna, Kasen, Adia, and Juniper. As someone born and raised in Washington state, Aaron is an avid Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks fan. Aaron serves as Teaching Pastor at Coram Deo Church in Omaha, Nebraska, holds a ThM from Western Seminary, and is currently pursuing a PhD in New Testament at Ridley College in Australia.

    He loves Jesus and theology, believing the gospel is central and vital to seeing the church flourish in today’s world—all while remaining a loyal fan of the Seattle Seahawks and Mariners.

Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright

Author and Bible Teacher for Angel Ministries

Wednesday

  • Rachel-Ruth Wright was born and reared in Raleigh, North Carolina, the daughter of Anne Graham Lotz and granddaughter of Billy Graham. Following graduation from Baylor University in Waco, TX, she married Steven Wright, a high school football coach, and they have three daughters: Bell, Sophia, and Riggin.

    Rachel-Ruth teaches a weekly women’s Bible Study that originated at the University of North Carolina and now, through Zoom, has gone worldwide. She also shares God’s Word at numerous events around the country. She serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors for AngeL Ministries, in addition to chairing the weekly prayer team that undergirds her mother’s ministry.

    She has co-authored two books with her mother, Jesus Followers, and Preparing to Meet Jesus. God Won’t Leave You There: Joseph’s Story will be a new release in March, 2026.

    Rachel-Ruth feels called to encourage others to fall in love with Jesus through the teaching of His Word.

Joshua Becker

Author & Speaker

Thursday

  • For 15 years Joshua served as an ordained pastor in the Christian and Missionary Alliance where he led the largest youth ministry in New England.

    Today he is a full-time writer and speaker. He has been honored as a New York Times bestselling author for his most recent of four books, Uncluttered Faith. He lives in Peoria, AZ with his wife Kim. They have two young adult children.

Andrew Rutten

Lead Pastor at Providence Church

Friday

  • Andrew Rutten has been serving the church and preaching the gospel since 2012, with a heart shaped by both theological training and hands-on ministry. He spent four years investing in college students at Citylight Omaha before stepping out in faith to plant Providence Church in 2017. Andrew currently serves as Providence’s lead pastor with a passion for developing mature and equipped Christ followers and encouraging people to live all of life in the presence of God. Andrew married his wife, Bailey, in 2015, and together they are raising four adorable children.

Morning Bible Hour

Monday - Friday
9:00am-10:00am
In the Tabernacle

Andrew Rutten

Exodus - God’s Presence With His People

The story of Exodus shaped the people of God for thousands of years. Many remember a floating basket, burning bushes, hail storms and flying gnats, fire storms on mountains, golden calves, and intricate details about a giant tent. But what is this story really trying to tell us? Ultimately, Exodus is about God’s presence dwelling with His people. Redemption for ancient Israel meant the God of the Universe moved into their midst. How does this happen? What would that be like? And how does that impact our lives today as Christians? That’s what we will seek to understand as we study Exodus, the story of God’s presence with His people.

Adult Communities

Monday - Friday
10:30am - 12:00pm

Participants are encouraged to attend the same community all five days.

Jay Mills

  • Like an athlete, a follower of Christ needs a training program to succeed in the game of life—one designed not merely to build spiritual strength, but to shape the heart, renew the mind, and equip believers to run their race with endurance and joy. This class explores how the Holy Spirit transforms the mind, replacing destructive thought patterns with renewed vision, purpose, and expectation. Drawing from Scripture and practical illustrations—many from the world of sports—Coach Jay equips disciples with a clear methodology for aligning daily habits with God’s calling.

  • Jay Mills spent thirty years coaching college football, thirteen as a head coach, and served at premier institutions like Notre Dame and Harvard. Jay was mentored by some of the greatest coaches of our generation, taught a university course on coaching motivation, and received the Mike Campbell Lifetime Achievement award for his distinguished coaching career. He even had the pleasure of coaching a Heisman winner.

    Following his retirement, he established Coach Jay Mills Ministries (CJM). As an ordained pastor, writer, motivational speaker, and author he shares biblically based coaching principles in leadership. He distributes a digital newsletter (Coaching Points), produces a video series (Chalk Talks), and authored Game On! A Coach’s Game Plan for Discipleship. As a screenwriter, he is currently in talks with movie studios to produce and distribute a film based in part on his next book, Winning Spirit: Living Daily with Victory in Hand. More information on CJM is available at coachjaymills.com.

Cindy Bultema

  • From the backside of a tapestry, all you see are knots, loose threads, and colors that do not seem to belong together. Joseph’s life looked the same way. Betrayal. False accusation. Long seasons of waiting. Yet behind every thread, the Master Weaver was at work. In this community group, we will walk through the life of Joseph and discover how God redeems what was meant for harm and weaves it into purpose. Together we will also discover how our own stories, even the painful and confusing parts, are not wasted in God’s hands. When we step back, we begin to see that nothing is random, nothing is wasted, and nothing is beyond redemption. The Master Weaver is always at work.

  • Cindy Bultema is a speaker, author, and leadership consultant with over 25 years of ministry experience. She is passionate about helping others gain clarity in their calling and communicate with confidence and integrity. Cindy is the author of Red Hot Faith and Live Full, Walk Free, and has written curriculum for adults and children. She speaks and coaches from a place of hard-won faith, having walked through single parenting, addiction recovery, and tragic loss with God’s sustaining grace. With a background in Bible teaching and leadership development, Cindy equips communicators to steward their message with wisdom and courage. She lives in Michigan with her husband, John, and enjoys spending time with their four children, ages 22–32

Kimberly Stuart

  • Some of the most powerful words in Scripture can become dangerously familiar. When an idea as big and beautiful as, say, GRACE, ends up on a TJ Maxx pillow, it's time to take a fresh look.

    What does it really mean to hold fast to grace? To be a people of the covenant? To be redeemed? To grieve with hope? To proclaim and live a gospel? We’ll brush the dust off these five familiar concepts (hint: they are humdingers!) and the context we often miss, hoping to glimpse a fresh view of our extraordinary, generous God.

  • Kimberly Stuart is the author of nine books, including her most recent release Star For Jesus (And Other Jobs I Quit): Rediscovering the Grace That Sets Us Free. Stuart and bestselling author Bob Goff have coached hundreds of aspiring writers through their executive coaching, online courses, and live events in the San Diego area. Kim hosts two podcasts: her solo podcast, For Real with Kimberly Stuart, and a joint podcast with Goff, The Writing Room. Stuart has made her home in Minneapolis, Houston, Chicago, Costa Rica, Nebraska, and Iowa, where she now lives with her brave husband and three wily children.

Andy Bradley

  • Are you married or about to be? All couples -- whether 60 years together or just starting out, whether happy or hopeless -- this community group is for you! Welcome to Actually Joyful Marriage, led by Andrew Bradley, LMHC and his wife of 25 years, Joy. This isn't a repeat of your typical marriage retreat. Come to learn practical tools you can use right now to connect in a more satisfying way. Andy is a licensed mental health counselor, retired Marine, licensed pilot, scuba diver and linguist. He and Joy team up in their thriving private practice, NEXT Counseling of Iowa, helping individuals and couples find healing for the past, help for the present and hope for the future. Andy has Master's degrees in Professional Counseling and Pastoral Counseling, and both he and Joy are skilled in leading people through prayer for inner healing. Let's see what new life God injects into your relationship as you put into practice what you learn. Hope to see you there!

Jon Byron

  • Each day we are given the opportunity to nourish and cultivate healthy spiritual rhythms that enable us to better hear the voice of Jesus, experience His presence and walk in His way. Through these appropriate rhythms we can further align with His pace and enjoy His presence as He leads us to His destination. Over the course of these next days it is my hope that each person will begin to consider and learn to recalibrate their own rhythms of life and practices around the rhythms and practices of Jesus and His life.

  • Jon Byron is a gifted conference and retreat speaker, singer/songwriter and spiritual director who is able to combine gentle humor, strong Biblical content and practical application into challenging messages. Using these gifts, he presently travels and serves on behalf of Press Pause Ministries, Inc., encouraging people to pause and experience God’s transforming presence. Jon is a graduate of Westmont College, Fuller Theological Seminary and the Monastery of the Risen Christ School for Spiritual Directors. He is married to Francie and they have three children and eight grandchildren.

Chris Holck

  • This community group is designed to guide those who are downshifting from full-time employment so that they can find a God-honoring balance between “play” and “pray” with the goal of finishing well in God’s eyes. We will use a resource from Fuller Theological Seminary which is based on Scripture and enriched by science. It will help those who attend to understand how they can flourish in their “encore” stage of life, living fully as they experience abundant life in Jesus and fruitfully as they make a difference in the world

  • Pastor Chris Holck served Crosswinds Church in Spirit Lake before planting a thriving church in the world’s largest retirement community, The Villages, Florida. He is the author of “Play Hard! Pray Hard! Finish Well!” and “Don’t Call them Seniors, they’re the Encore Generation!”  and founder of Encore Generation - offering coaching and consulting to pastors, churches and faith-based organizations. Chris and his wife Kathleen enjoy their summer home in Okoboji where they can spend more time with their three married children, seven grandchildren and many friends, as well as adding in some golf, biking, pickleball and regular  trips to local coffee shops.

Our Missionaries

John Battern,
Live For Him Ministries

Monday and Tuesday

  • Rev. John Battern, an Arnolds Park native, served United Methodist Churches around Iowa for more than 30 years. In 2023 he and his wife took a mission trip to Uganda which has changed their lives. Witnessing the children walk to and from school for up to an hour to attend school all day with no food pierced their hearts. They began a day feeding program. Working with Pastor Juma and Elizabeth Fredrick, Ugandan natives has enabled their program to blossom into so much more.

Brevin Brands

Wednesday

  • I have a heart for spreading the Gospel through short-term missions. I partner with established mission organizations to serve and support the work that they are doing in their communities.

Bob & Barb Van Wyk, GEMS

Thursday and Friday

  • Bob and Barb Van Wyk have served in ministry together since their marriage in 1990. Parents of three and proud grandparents to Sierra Grace, their shared calling has always centered on investing in the next generation. After 20 years as an elementary educator and eight years in pastoral ministry, Bob and Barb followed God’s leading to Botswana in 2010 as missionaries. There they created GEMS — Gospel Evangelistic Ministry in the Schools, a three- year program now reaching thousands of children weekly. With bases in South Africa and central Iowa, they are expanding their mission to impact children in many African nations and American schools as well. They enjoy date nights, golden retrievers, hiking, games, and family time.