SPEAKER BIOS
Matt Roberts
Senior Pastor, The Genesis Project National Network & Author of "The God of New Beginnings"
Matt is the Founder and Lead Pastor of The Genesis Project, a church based in Ogden, Utah that has grown to a multi-site movement in 6 communities across the nation reaching thousands every week. For 18 years Matt has served in various roles helping churches and denominations revitalize and reimagine their church planting strategies through an embedded, sustainable, community lens.
The Genesis Project operates a full-service event center (Hub 801 Events), community coffee shop (Hub City Coffee), multiple ministry and rehabilitation homes, and non-profit community services. Matt will share how these business models have helped the church expand ministry opportunities while becoming an integral part of their community.
Matt's new book, "The God of New Beginnings", tells the story of The Genesis Project, a network of believers whose goal is to plant churches in dark places, targeting people who don’t normally "do" church. Reaching drug addicts, convicts, strippers, and gang members, they’ve seen God do amazing things with seemingly hopeless lives. Through these dramatic stories, Matt offers practical wisdom to pastors for breaking through the darkness in a person’s life.
Don Mahoney
President & Principal Architect, Building God's Way
Don has one of the most extensive backgrounds in worship and performing arts architecture, designing prominent facilities all across the U.S. throughout his 35 year career. Don leads a team that has designed more than 800 ministry projects across the country since 1998 and he has been recognized with a number of awards for innovative and creative church design.
Throughout his career, Don has emphasized the need to maintain solid stewardship principles throughout the design process and he leverages the unique BGW approach to deliver ministry buildings throughout the U.S. at costs well below industry averages.
Don has developed unique design strategies focused on creating spaces that are more flexible, relevant and inclusive. This includes working alongside faith-based real estate developers to help ministries leverage their facilities seven days a week while creating a sustainable revenue source.
Eric Bahme
CEO, Mission-Based Sustainable (MBS) Solutions
Eric is the author of the book, “The Mission-Based Entrepreneur Revolution: Developing Economic Engines that Drive Mission-based Movements.” The success stories shared in this book about integrating for-profit business models in churches have been featured in a number of national publications and television broadcasts.
A senior pastor for over 20 years, Eric is an innovator and a pioneer in the financially sustainable, “embedded church” model and he travels the country helping church leaders to discover and develop the untapped potential of these opportunities.
As the CEO of MBS Solutions, Eric has assembled a team with a deep level of experience in all real estate development disciplines across multiple sectors – hospitality, child-care, residential, senior housing, office, institutional, and retail - with the mission of equipping ministry partners to be missionally sustainable and empowering them to serve better. Through the integration of for-profit business models, Eric shows ministries how to reduce their existing cost structure while creating a true catalyst for ministry growth and Kingdom impact.
Steve Poe
Lead Pastor of Northview Church - Carmel, IN
Known to his friends and colleagues as a leader, teacher and visionary, Steve has served for 19 years as Lead Pastor of Northview Church. Under his leadership, the church has grown in attendance from 500 to over 8,500 across 11 campuses. He has led Northview with a passion for the unchurched and serving the community is a key focus and mission at Northview. Steve and his leadership team have partnered with BGW on the design & construction of 3 new campus buildings – in Fishers, West Lafayette and Westfield, IN - and the integration of a full-time child care as a means to further embed themselves into the community.
Glenn Meredith
Senior Pastor of Brookhaven Church - McKinney, TX
Glenn Meredith has served as Pastor of Brookhaven Church for more than thirty years. He is passionate about leading the church to be a place where everyone feels welcome and accepted and where those who are looking for hope and change can find a partner to walk with them on that transforming journey.
Pastor Meredith recently led his congregation through a bold building expansion program with BGW that incorporates a full-time day care center that will serve the community and generate sustainable income for the ministry.