Speakers

We are really excited by the lineup of speakers at this year's Mission Conference. Below is the list of confirmed speakers (with a couple more names to be confirmed shortly).

Check back soon for their bios and topics.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS - Friday & Saturday Morning

Pastor Tak Bhana—Keynote speaker

Tak is the Senior Pastor of Church Unlimited, a large multi-cultural church in West Auckland with seven campuses. Tak speaks at conferences, seminars and churches fulfilling his deep passion to see the rapid growth and advancement of the Kingdom of God. His ministry is characterised by a passion for the Holy Spirit, prayer, the Word of God, faith, winning souls and nations. He also has a radio and television program called Running with Fire, and is married to Adrienne and they have one married daughter and two grandchildren.

Keynote Address: Discipleship
Tak has a deep passion to see the rapid growth and advancement of God. Drawing from his experience and wisdom across years of church leadership, missionary and ministry work, Tak will explore what it looks like to develop passionate disciples that will do anything to win souls and nations for Jesus.

Pastor Nick Field—Keynote speaker

Nick serves as the Senior Pastor of The Street Church in Wellington, a multi-location church that focuses on outreach and disciple-making. He has a passion for developing leadership and strengthening the church. In addition to his work at The Street, Nick chairs the board of Christians Against Poverty and the Living Stones Network of churches. He is married to Sarah who serves alongside him leading The Street. They have three adult children who all married in the past year and a half.

Keynote: Organic Outreach
How Organic Outreach has changed The Street Church and has changed me.

SEMINARS - Friday Morning

The General and Commissioner Rosalie Peddle

The General became our 21^st General (International Leader) when in August 2018. The General, along with his wife, Commissioner Rosalie Peddle (WPWM), oversee the work of our international movement; leading, casting vision and encouraging our movement to further the work of the Kingdom around the world.

Seminar: Q&A with our International Leaders
Come and hear the heart of our international leaders, The General and Commissioner Rosalie Peddle (WPWM). We will be asking them a range of questions around our movement and their vision, as well as time exploring how we are addressing gender equity in the Army.

Kathryn Berkett

Kathryn has a Masters in Educational Psychology and is also a certified Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics practitioner - a qualification gained via the Child Trauma Academy (Dr Bruce Perry). Kathryn has been training people since 2007 and has a unique ability to engage audiences and convey complex information in an easy-to-listen-to, easy-to-understand way. Her intense passion for what she does comes across when she presents, and audiences constantly comment on how easy it was to listen to a session from Kathryn and implement what they’ve learned in everyday life.

Seminar: Mental Health and the Church
We all face challenges with our mental health, and with the current sobering statistics around mental health and suicide, it’s important for us to work together to seek a better way forward. Join Kathryn as she explores the response of the Church to mental health and how we can better care for those in our whānau, communities and networks.​

Chris Clarke

Chris Clarke is the Executive Director of Global Local and has over 25 years of local and global leadership experience in public policy, healthcare, and more recently as CEO of World Vision New Zealand. He holds degrees in law and commerce, and since 2009 has been the inaugural Praxis Visiting Scholar at Green Templeton College, Oxford University. He currently serves as Executive Director of Global Local working with leaders from the commercial, governmental, and non-profit sectors on projects to build the common good.

Seminar: Faith and Belief in New Zealand
Every census asks Kiwis to indicate their religious affiliation. Recent results indicate a drastic decline in faith and belief. However, numbers don't always tell the full story - they don't answer why people are losing their faith and leaving behind their religion. Join Chris Clarke as he "gets behind the numbers," answers the why question, and leads a discussion about how faith leaders and religious communities can respond to these trends.

Raki Wiringi

Raki is the God Talk National Director at Hope Project and shining lights trust based in Tauranga and has some major plans to see the ministry explode. Raki brings many years’ experience, working with youth in the church, and in the community, as well as his experience pastoring with his wife at C3 Coast in Papamoa, Tauranga.

Seminar: How to Reach and Engage the Next Generation.
Reviewing current trends and statistics around the drop in numbers attending youth ministries nationwide. The pathway to success' through "intentional, relevant and deliberate outreach. Engaging the gospel through "conversation not confrontation". Training leaders and ministries that persevere. Collaborating together to reach your city/town/region.

Major Janee Sawyer

Commissioned in 1971 and still going strong in 2019 - Janee Sawyer - a fossil or a falcon? Either way, she’s got something worthwhile to say. Tackling the challenging topic of evangelism of and ministry to Seniors she speaks from a wealth of experience and the privilege of seeing many come to faith in Christ in a myriad of ways. With a fire in her belly and a fight in her spirit, she epitomises our ongoing passion to see the lost won and to make a difference in our world.

Seminar: Over the Hill and Still Climbing: Empowering Seniors
In steadily aging communities, how do we reach, engage with and mobilise seniors? Seniors can play a vital role in the health, life and outreach of our corps/centre, but so often they feel undervalued, unnecessary or like their time is done. Hear how to encourage, value and empower our retirees and seniors to not just pass the torch on, but to continue to carry their own torch.

Representatives from Fiji Division, Tonga Region and Samoa Region

The Salvation Army has been at work in the Pacific Islands since 1973 when it began work in Fiji. The Salvation Army further solidified its commitment to the Pacific and its people when we began work in Tonga in 1986 and more recently in Samoa in 2018. These three nations are an integral part of our territory and are rich in history, culture and faith.

Seminar: Pacific Forum: Inspiring Insights from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa
The Salvation Army in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa continue to celebrate and incredible stories of salvation and life change through innovative and culturally-appropriate ministry. Come and hear how our Pacific nations are striving to care for people, transform lives and reform society, and what we can all learn from ministry in the Pacific.

SHORT TALKS - Saturday Morning

Hannah Medland

Hannah is the Territorial Children’s Mission Director where she dreams up new ways for children to be seen and heard throughout The Salvation Army. She is also part of Miramar Corps in Wellington where she volunteers in children’s ministry, enjoys being part of the creative team responsible for Sunday and community gatherings, and in 2019 is focused on identifying and joining in with the work God is already doing in her neighbourhood!

Short Talks: #FOR Strategy
For far too long the church has been known for what it is against. We want to be known for what we are for.
 

Brook Turner

Brook is the head of Community Services Development for VisionWest Community Trust. He believes the meaning of life is found in the service of others. He has twenty years’ experience in non-profit work where he honed his skills in community development, public speaking, project management and executive leadership. After founding and pioneering Zeal Education Trust as one of the country’s leading youth organisations, he recently turned his attention to solving inequality in New Zealand by tackling the issues of homelessness, food insecurity and unemployment.

Short Talks: Changing Systems to Empower People - A Journey From Charity to Justice.
This talk will explore innovative thoughts and practices that can influence the way we think and act in a community setting. It will give key insights to motivate audiences to innovate and re-create initiatives that truly empower people. The lessons will be applicable in multiple community settings and have faith-based values at their core.

Alastair Kendrew

Alastair is the Territorial Corps Growth Director and is passionate about seeing local churches thrive. With a dream of forming a church you could bring your friends to, he and his wife were part of the team that planted the Johnsonville Corps and he has served in various leadership roles there ever since. He works in our Territorial Headquarters where part of his role is church growth.

Short Talks: Dumb Things We Do
Inspired by the title of an old book, Alastair wonders if we sometimes put a whole lot of effort into trying to connect people to Jesus, only to be let down by something dumb.