1:00-4:00 pm

The Middle Way with Bobby McGraw. The workshop uses table exercises and tailored content to create an experience that you will not forget. We discuss overall team dynamics and the impact of family of origin to uncover many problems teams face these days due to differences in individual orientation. Special enrollment needed.

1:00-4:00 pm

New XP Workshop with David Fletcher. Fletch leads this time on the critical first year for an XP. Some XPs had prior roles at the church for many years and others are new to that culture. The key is learning your new role and responding to the role dynamics: Working with the Senior Pastor, staff leaders, the entire staff and the congregation. Special enrollment needed.

1:00-4:00 pm

What Truly Drives Giving Discipleship? with Brad Leeper. Go beyond the basics of Church Management Systems and dive into what drives Giving Discipleship in your congregation. Explore the essential frameworks you need to inspire a spirit of lifetime giving and stewardship. Discover proven strategies and maximize your financial giving in 2025 and beyond. Special enrollment needed.

6:30 pm

XP-Seminar Registration and Cookies. We like to begin with an evening welcome and social in the Beverly Ballroom. Talk to old friends and meet some new ones.

7:00-7:30 pm

Getting Ready for the Giving Shift. Understanding the Evolving Church-Giving Landscape from the Executive Pastor Seat with Brad Leeper. Few know more about generosity and church culture than Brad. He has been a key mover in instigating a culture of generosity in the church landscape. Brad earned a Masters in Theology degree from Dallas Seminary and a B.S. in Economics from West Virginia University. He has diverse experience in church risk management, human resources, financial analysis, adult education, cross-cultural missions and strategic planning.

7:30-7:45 pm

Short Ride with JB Bowling. Listen to a fresh interview on some tough questions with JB and Fletch. JB is the Vice President of Clark and leads the Design & Business Development teams. George and Houston Clark first met JB 25 years ago, while working at his home church. JB went on to work for a few large churches, including Shadow Mountain Community Church as Production Director and Turning Point's television broadcast. He was the Global Arts Director at LibertyLive.Church, leading the worship, production, and creative teams across three campuses.

7:45-8:30 pm

Managing Your Adrenaline with Bill and Kristi Gaultiere. They founded Soul Shepherding in 2009, a ministry to help pastors and churches go deeper with Jesus in emotional health and loving leadership. They oversee 20 operations staff and over 40 contractors. Bill is a psychologist (Ph.D.), ordained pastor, and spiritual director. Kristi is a marriage and family therapist (Psy.D.) and spiritual director.

8:30-9:00 pm

Stop Apologizing About Your Space: Completing Projects to Communicate Vision with John Lindsey. Your physical space tells a story—what is yours saying? Too often, leaders apologize for outdated, uninspiring environments that fail to reflect their vision. With over 10 years’ experience as the Creative Director for a multi-campus church, John's passion for providing the highest level of concierge service can be seen in his strategic and structured approach to each project. John is the Director of Enviropop.

7:00-8:20 am

Management’s Perspective: Where Are We Headed in 2025 and Beyond? with Fred Johnson. He will share a broad perspective on the church market from a lender’s perspective. The Full breakfast is sponsored by Thrivent Church Financing. Thrivent has been serving churches for 120 years with over 6,000 churches served, and many lessons learned. Fred Johnson is the Managing Director, Church and Institution Financing, at Thrivent.

8:20-8:50 am

Estate Planning in the Church—7 Compelling Reasons with Dave Hess. Dave is a 22-year veteran of the United States Air Force. He served two congregations over a 12-year period as pastor of education, pastor of worship, and executive pastor. For the past twelve years Dave has served with Financial Planning Ministry. As Vice President of Training & Development, his role is to assist in the training and management of a team of 40 professionals who provide education on estate planning processes while assisting individuals and families with their specific planning needs.

8:50-9:20 am

Yes … Internal Control Is Boring and Annoying … Until It Isn’t with Mike Batts. Mike Batts is the managing partner of Batts Morrison Wales & Lee, a national CPA firm dedicated exclusively to serving nonprofit organizations and their affiliates across the United States. Mike has more than 30 years of experience serving nonprofit organizations in a variety of ways. He has served on and chaired the boards of nonprofit organizations – both nationally and locally. He advises nonprofit organizations on matters related to board governance, financial oversight, tax compliance and strategy, risk management, corporate structure, international activities, and other related topics. Mike has authored several books and has actively engaged in nonprofit legislative matters at the federal and state levels. Mike leads BMWL’s national headquarters office in Orlando as well as its Dallas office.

9:20-9:35 am

The Future of the Large Church with Fletch & Warren Bird. Warren is the SVP of Research at the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Warren is an award-winning writer and researcher. His background includes pastoring and seminary teaching, and a 13-year run as research director at Leadership Network. Warren has authored or co-authored over 30 books including Hero Maker with Dave Ferguson, How to Break Growth Barriers with Carl George and Unleashing the Word with Max McLean.

9:35-10:05 am

Watch Out For Your Church Staff! with Bryan Stine. Are there risks or gaps when it comes to the financial well-being of you and your staff? Find out how to help save costs and increase the value of your employee benefits and avoid risks such as payroll tax errors and penalties plus other critical information to best serve your church and your valuable staff. Bryan Stine, a Director with Brotherhood Mutual, will present information to help you avoid pitfalls and find a better way to do things to help your church staff. While many companies are moving away from the church or at least not focusing on ministries, Brotherhood Mutual is forming Brotherhood Works to serve church staffs with critical cost savings on employee and health benefits, payroll and tax services and much more. Bryan will also share the heart behind this new venture.

10:05-10:25 am

Compensation with Fletch. This is always a hot topic. How much should we pay our staff? Where do we get solid data and how do we use the data that we get? Fletch with walk through specific salaries from XPastor's $2.3 billion of church salaries in the Salary Forecaster.

10:25-10:55 am

Top Financial Matters for a Church’s XP to Navigate with Mark Yoder & Ken Tan. Learn insights into the top financial matters XPs should be navigating as they oversee their church’s finances. Topics will include technology, board matters, financial management, internal controls, and other considerations for churches of all sizes. Whether you’re a seasoned XP or new to the role, we’ll share practical, actionable ideas to help you lead your church well.

10:55-11:25 am

Legal Landmines for Your Ministry—How to Avoid Them and Thrive with David Middlebrook. The times are full of public storms which are best navigated when churches and ministries are prepared for the unexpected. Moral failures, donation refunds, and bad PR are just some of the many landmines that can be worked through with a good crisis management plan. We'll discuss some ways in which your church can prepare itself now for the inevitable.

11:25-11:55 am

Architecture and Design with Bruce Woody. Bruce is President & CEO for HH Architects and a frequent speaker on both large and small-scale church/faith-based campus planning projects. Since joining the firm in 1990, he has served as Design Lead or Principal-in-Charge on the vast majority of the firm’s large-scale projects, many of which are award winning. Bruce is best known for his creative problem-solving skills and the passion he has for design, which is evident in each long-standing partnership he has developed through his 33 years with the firm.

Noon

Networking Lunch. Pick up lunch outside the Ballroom and take it to a room on either floor. Use this time to meet new colleagues and network with friends.

1:15-2:15 pm

Workshops: Session 1

2:15 pm

Afternoon snack on first floor

2:30-3:30 pm

Workshops: Session 2

3:45-4:45 pm

Workshops: Session 3

Dinner

Take an XP/SP friend to dinner! Schedule it early with someone from your state or similar-sized church. We see scores of people do this every year.

6:30 pm

Special Dessert Array
As we say in Texas, these are “ta’ die for.”

7:00-7:30 pm

How AI is Drastically Changing the Landscape of Church Communications, Sermons, and Operations with Jason Hamrock. As CEO of Missional Marketing, Jason guides the vision for how Missional Marketing best serves church partners and strives to help churches digitally to capture attention, engage, educate, and persuade people to take action. He was a Communications Director for 11 years at Central Christian Church of Arizona. He hosts the Missional Marketing podcast, which just passed 100 episodes and has thousands of downloads.

7:30- 8:15 pm

Lessons from Catering and the Church with Tim Badal. Since 1995 I have had the privilege to serve as General Manager of 5-B’s Catering Service, a business my parents started in 1979. This time has enabled me to serve Christ in so many ways by being a light to my employees and customers. My bi-vocational work also allows me to be an example to the rest of the church that ministry doesn’t just happen when we are pastors but through every Christian using their vocation to glorify God. In 2003, I began to transition from an active lay leader to an interim preacher at Village Bible Church. Then in early 2004, I took on the role of Lead Pastor across all VBC campuses. I also enjoy helping to lead our church staff, writing small group material and leadership training as well as dreaming about what God may have next for us as a church.

8:15-8:45 pm

The Elephant In The Room: How to Help Your Church Grow by Taking Advantage of the Opportunity It Doesn’t Know It Has with Dave Rhodes & Stan Endicott. We see them every week but who are they? Should we pay attention to them? They are the 55+ age demographic in your church! They’re like customers who frequent a store who are welcome to enter and browse but there’s really nothing in the store that piques their interest. Lots of smiles, hellos, but no conversations. The elephant in the room surprise was, this important 55+ topic was simply either overlooked or not a priority. Regardless of church size, those 55 and older represent 35% of the attendance.

8:45-9:00 pm

The Parable of the Boss & Brother with Matt Davis. With 25+ years in faith-based executive leadership, Matt Davis knows the wins, the losses, and everything in between. As Executive Pastor, he led a team of 140+, tackling the challenges that come with big vision and real impact. As President of Pastoral Transitions, he guides churches through tough leadership changes. Matt and his wife, Marilee, host the Life After Ministry Podcast, where they dive into real talk with former pastors who’ve found their kingdom assignment beyond church walls—unfiltered stories of grit, growth, and God’s purpose beyond the pulpit.

7:45-8:30 am

Church Design Nightmares: 5 Fatal Mistakes and How to Fix Them (Before It’s Too Late) with Dave Milam. Your church building might be a masterpiece—or it might be a ticking time bomb. From outdated, awkward layouts to spaces that don’t match your church's vision, church design failures can be costly—and they’re more common than you think. Dave is the Chief Strategy Officer at Visioneering Studios. Dave stands firmly at the intersection of ministry, design, and visual storytelling. Having served in the church for over 20 years, Dave has a heart for guiding pastors through unique challenges of ministry to awaken the beauty that God has placed within them and their facilities.

8:30-9:15 am

People Are the Point: Building an Operating System to Steward Your Greatest Resource with Jenni Catron. Jenni is the founder of The 4Sight Group, a consulting group focused on developing healthy leaders and thriving organizations. Jenni’s passion is to lead well and to inspire, equip and encourage others to do the same. Jenni is the author of several books including Clout: Discover and Unleash Your God-Given Influence and The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership. She has served on the executive leadership teams of Menlo Church in Menlo Park, California and Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee.

9:15-10:15 am

Keynote with David Kinnaman. David is the author of the bestselling books Faith For Exiles, Good Faith, You Lost Me and unChristian. He is CEO of Barna Group, a leading research and communications company that works with churches, nonprofits, and businesses ranging from film studios to financial services. Since 1995, David has directed interviews with more than two million individuals and overseen thousands of U.S. and global research studies. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas and has three children.

10:15-10:45 am

What You Need to Know about Being a Coaching Leader with Nathan Baxter. Dr. Baxter has been coaching leaders for over 30 years—as a youth pastor, Executive Pastor, Senior Pastor, and for the past 15 years as a professional coach with Lead Self Lead Others, which he founded in 2009. Nathan and his wife Dianne have successfully coached over 5,000 leaders, issued over 3,500 Birkman® assessments and 360 performance evaluations, and designed and conducted hundreds of individual, church and corporate surveys. In 2020, they co-authored Real Coaching Success to encourage and equip coaches by sharing their best practices. They also share their coaching secrets on the monthly podcast, Real Coaching Sips & Tips. Nathan earned a M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Dallas Theological Seminary.

10:45-11:20 am

How To Staff When Nobody's Coming To Church: Emerging New Church Trends and How to Navigate Them with William Vanderbloemen. Attendance slipping at your church? You are not alone. The ground is shifting, but there is a way forward. In this session, William will share research and insights about what is causing this trend, what to expect, and most importantly, what to do about it. William has written: Next: Pastoral Succession That Works, Search: The Pastor Search Committee Handbook, Culture Wins: The Roadmap to an Irresistible Workplace and his latest blockbuster Be the Unicorn.

11:20 am

Break for Lunch. Pick up lunch outside the Ballroom and take it to a workshop.

11:30-12:30 pm

Lunch Workshops: Session 4

12:45-1:45 pm

Workshops: Session 5

2:00-3:00 pm

Workshops: Session 6

Have a safe trip home