Speakers

David Platt

David Platt serves as pastor at McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C. He is the founder and chairman of Radical (Inc.), a global missions organization that serves the church for the cause of Christ—to glorify God by making disciples and multiplying churches among all the nations. Resources from David Platt and Radical can be found at radical.net. Books by David Platt include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, and Something Needs to Change, as well as the following volumes in the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series: Exalting Jesus in Matthew, Exalting Jesus in James, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, and Exalting Jesus in Galatians. David Platt received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Along with his wife and four children, he lives in the Washington D.C. metro area.

John Piper

John Piper serves as founder and lead teacher at Desiring God and is chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, Piper served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church. He has authored more than 50 books, and more than 30 years of his preaching and writing are available free of charge at desiringGod.org. Piper resides in the Minneapolis area with Noël, his wife of 53 years, and they have five children and 14 grandchildren.

Ryan Fullerton

Ryan Fullerton was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and grew up all over western Canada. Throughout his teen years, he pursued political causes to make him feel righteous, and then drugs and sex to make him feel happy. Thankfully, when he was 21 he found his righteousness was a joke and his happiness had turned sour. Through the simple and intelligent witness of his step-mom, he came to trust Jesus Christ late in the evening just before Good Friday in 1995. Shortly after his conversion, he studied at Prairie Bible College in Three Hills, Alberta, and then at Tyndale College in Toronto, Ontario. In Toronto, Ryan worked in an inner city church under the leadership of Dr. Stephen Beck. He also met the lovely Christy Joy Teal who became Christy Joy Fullerton shortly after their graduation from college. The next eight years were a whirlwind and included drilling for oil, pastoring a church in a town with a population of 311, having four children (Jordana, Luke, James, and Christopher), starting seminary, stopping seminary, and becoming the Lead Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.

Thabiti Anyabwile

Thabiti Anyabwile is the pastor of Anacostia River Church in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, Thabiti served as the pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman for seven years. He is a native of Lexington, North Carolina. Thabiti holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in psychology from North Carolina State University. He is the author of Captivated: Beholding the Mystery of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, The Gospel for Muslims: An Encouragement to Share Christ with Confidence, The Decline of African-American Theology, The Life of God in the soul of the Church, Finding Faithful Elders & Deacons, and What is a Healthy Church Member?. He is the happy husband of Kristie and the adoring father of three children. A former high school basketball coach and bookstore owner, he enjoys preaching, reading, sports, and watching sci-fi films.