Featured Speakers
Bishop Ed Smith
Zoe Christian Fellowship of Whittier
Bishop Edward A. Smith is the senior pastor of Zoe Christian Fellowship in Whittier, California, USA and the presiding bishop of Zoe Association International. He has spiritual oversight of churches in North America, Africa, Asia, and Central America.
Bishop Smith received Christ as his savior in 1973 and spent the first 11 years of his Christian life under the ministry of Apostle Frederick K.C. Price, pastor of Crenshaw Christian Center in Los Angeles, California. In 1984, Bishop Smith and his family joined Zoe Christian Fellowship of Los Angeles and served as an elder and executive board member, under Bishop Frank L. Stewart.
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Bishop Smith’s education includes a BA in Applied Mathematics and an MBA in Marketing/Finance. Before he entered full-time ministry, Bishop Smith worked in several executive marketing positions with corporations such as Ford Motor Company, General Mills, Carnation, AVCO Financial Services and Family Savings Bank.
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For 16 years Bishop Smith served as a Board Member of the Evangelical Christian Credit Union with 4 years as Chairman of the Board, the largest financier of church and ministry loans in the United States, with over $1 Billion USD under asset management. In 1995, Bishop Smith was invited to Russia to participate in training the staff of that nation’s fourth largest bank.
Bishop Smith also led the first South African Government sponsored trip of African-American entrepreneurs to South Africa. CNN Headline News acknowledged him for his ministry involvement in South Africa.
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Bishop Smith and First Lady Vanessa Smith have been married since 1975, and are blessed with four wonderful children, one daughter in law, and three grandsons.
Pastor Xola Jones Nzo
Change Bible Church, South Africa
Pastor Xola Jones Nzo is the Senior Pastor of Change Bible Church, formerly known as Life Changing Word Bible Church, in Katlehong, Germiston; which began more than 19 years ago. Change Bible Church has got five (5) branches and one (1) satellite church located in Gauteng Province, and one (1) branch located in KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa. He started the Change School of Ministry in 2002 under the instruction of the Holy Spirit. His passion is teaching the Word of God and helping people become authentic followers of Jesus Christ. Pastor Nzo is a member of Fellowship of Inner City Word of Faith Ministries (FICWFM), under the leadership of Apostle Fred K. Price. He ministers in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Africa, United States of America, and Australia. Through perseverance, tenacity and faith in God, Pastor Nzo stands strong as an anointed vessel of God. His messages refresh, challenge and place relevance into the lives of every person that hears him.
Pastor Tony Dunn
New Day Christian Fellowship
Pastor Tony Dunn and his wife Jacqueline have been married for over 33 years and are the parents of three adult sons, three beautiful daughters-in-law and one amazing granddaughter.
His ministry emphasis is purpose discovery and fulfillment, and leadership and personal development. He routinely conducts leadership development workshops in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and various countries on the African continent.
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The Dunn’s launched New Day Christian Fellowship in 2009, and the church currently supports 14 missionaries all around the globe. They also provide spiritual oversight of 11 churches and ministries in North America, South America, Asia, and Africa.
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Pastor Tony serves as vice president of Zoe Association International, as a faculty member of Cottonwood Leadership College in California, and as a board member of five non-profit organizations. He holds a Masters of Practical Theology from The King’s University, a certificate of leadership from the University of Southern California.
Pastor Kenneth Mulkey
Cottonwood Church
Kenneth Mulkey has entered his 20th year as a pastor at Cottonwood Church. As one of the main teaching pastors he’s known for his practical teaching and passionate preaching. He oversees the Pastoral Care of the church, serving and nurturing the spiritual needs of the congregation. Kenneth served as the Executive Director of Cottonwood Leadership College for 14 years and continues to equip students for local church leadership and beyond.
He speaks locally and internationally at conferences and churches while helping pastors and Christian leaders in personal and developmental strategies. Kenneth has authored his first book, Run To Win, Finding Your Lane and Finishing, to help people find their purpose in serving God.
Kenneth and his wife, Angel, reside in Southern California with their 3 beautiful daughters.
Pastor Chris Sonksen
South Hills Church
Chris Sonksen is the founder and Lead Pastor of South Hills Church and has an exceptional ability to inspire both secular and non-secular audiences. Under his leadership, South Hills has experienced phenomenal growth and in just a few short years has grown from a handful of people at a single campus to several thousand across nine campuses. South Hills has become a thriving, multi-service and multi-site church.
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In 1998 South Hills started with a single vision: to create a contemporary, friendly and down to earth church. Since its conception South Hills has held Sunday morning services in a local lodge, a public school auditorium and then finally in June of 2002 South Hills held its first service on their own property. With just a handful of people the vision has grown and continues to grow as we seek to make a difference in our world.
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Chris has a magnetic, captivating and humorous style for motivating and inspiring all audiences. As a motivational speaker, he has spoken both nationally and internationally in companies such as Verizon, Securitas and Home Depot, and there is no doubt that by applying his teachings, his audience will improve the quality of their lives!
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Chris is the founder of Church Boom an organization with an unwavering commitment to excellence in all things, with the goal to “raise the national average of church attendance,” by equipping church leaders with resources and coaching. Chris brings high-energy focus and a passion for vision and leadership to encourage and equip the local Church.
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Chris is also spearheading the Convoy of Hope’s Feed One initiative. Convoy is a relief organization with “A Driving Passion to feed the World”. Convoy of Hope was founded in 1994 and has served more than 55 MILLION people throughout the world through international children’s feeding initiatives, community outreaches, disaster response and partner resourcing.
Elder Abraham
Manase
Abraham Manase was born in Tzaneen, South Africa. He has been married to his wife, Mihloti for 22 years. They have been blessed with 3 children, Nsovo (Grace), Timothy and Hope. Abraham worked as a high school teacher in South Africa for 10 years, offering Business Management and Physical Science. Sixteen years ago he moved to the USA, where he now serves as an Elder at New Day Christian Fellowship under Pastor Tony Dunn. He also leads the Life Groups ministry and the Prayer Team Ministry. He worked extensively as a AFM Regional leadership development coordinator in the Apostolic Faith Missions (AFM) church with Dr. Rev Moses Shipalana and Pastor Adolf Machimana for more than 10 years. He attended the School of Ministry at Water of Life Church in Fontana, CA. He is a B.Paed graduate from the University of Limpopo in South Africa. He received his MBA from Hope International University in Fullerton, CA, and his Post Graduate Studies in Management from University of South Africa. He studied the USA Constitution with the University of San Diego, CA, and now he is completing his Doctorate in Business Administration with Columbia Southern University. He enjoys teaching the word of God and leadership development to churches. He is a motivational speaker with a weekly radio show with Phalaborwa FM and is featured on The Cross TV in Los Angeles, USA.