Jeff Cochran is a consultant, writer, speaker and pastor who loves helping people people and organizations get unstuck and start living out the future they were designed for. He has over 15 years of experience in ministry, and is the both the host of the Next Level Leader podcast and the author of the “Next Level Leader” book. Jeff currently resides in Knoxville, TN with his wife and two boys, Malachi and Imri.

Trey is the former executive director of the Bridges Project, an initiative of the United Methodist Conference of Greater New Jersey, funded by the Lilly Endowment. Previously, as the Director of New Disciples for the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Trey helped coach, resource, and church plant with the more than 550 churches across the conference. During his years of church leading, planting, consulting, coaching, and pastoring, Trey has remained convinced that high-impact churches simply know how to build habits that make growth predictable. 

Trey has served as Preaching Pastor of Princeton UMC, Lead Pastor of Kingston UMC, College Director (serving students at Vanderbilt, Belmont, and Lipscomb Universities), Director of Young Adult Ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, and international missions coordinator with Joshua Expeditions.  He and his wife Debbie live in Oklahoma City, OK, as the delighted parents of Liam and Jack.  

Lydia is a wife, mom of three kids, and a pastor. She has been serving as a pastor for more than 20 years in diverse settings of church plants, multi-ethnic, small, large, and multisite churches. Lydia is a graduate of Trinity Western University, Langley Canada (BA in Biblical Studies) and Regent College, Vancouver Canada (MA in Theological Studies) and is passionate about everything ministry. Lydia specializes in children, youth, and family ministries, multisite churches, and multi-ethnic churches. Lydia is currently the associate pastor at one of the six locations of Bethany Community Church in Seattle, WA.

Werner is a Guatemalan immigrant who grew up in Long Beach, CA. He jokes that he did not get into much trouble growing up because he has great parents who got him cable television and took him to church. Werner is an ordained minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He holds an M.Div and a MA in Christian Education & Spiritual Formation from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Werner has worked in youth ministry for over a decade on both coasts in suburban and urban contexts. He currently lives in Queens, NY with his wonderful wife April, and serves as the Associate Pastor for Congregational Care and Family Ministries at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan.

James is a Student Pastor in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and has been on staff at Coastal Community Church since 2007. While in college (pursuing a degree in physics) James worked at a church plant in Richmond, VA called Velocity Christian Church. When not at the church, James enjoys spending time with his wife, Kelsey, and son, Asher, who was born in September 2017, traveling, trying new restaurants and playing video games. If personality traits are your thing, James is an ENTP on Myers-Briggs, Apostle in the APEST found in Ephesians 4, a Pioneer according to The 5 Voices, and a 3 on the Enneagram.

Sarah Logemann has worked in congregational ministry with children, youth, and adults since 2005. She currently serves as co-pastor at Fort Street Presbyterian Church in downtown Detroit with her husband. Sarah earned a B.A. in Project Management from Malone University and a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Sarah writes Christian Education curriculum for all ages and teaches volunteer leaders across the country. She is a runner, a former professional ballerina, and mother to wise and funny daughter Naima.

Mike lives in the UK with his wife, two children, and pet cockapoo. He has been involved in youth ministry for over 10 years, having spent the last nine as youth ministry coordinator at the Anglican Church he came to faith in as a teenager in South London. As part of his role, Mike also serves as the assistant chaplain at the local high school and has been part of the chaplaincy team for the local Premier League Football (soccer!) Team.

Mike is passionate about young people finding their place in the church and equipping parents to disciple their teenage children at home. Mike recently completed the Certificate in Youth and Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. In his spare time Mike enjoys watching soccer, baseball (Let’s Go Mets!), and running marathons.

Melinda started her ministry journey in 1991, transitioning from public school teaching to become the first and second grade pastor at Beaverton Foursquare Church in Beaverton, Oregon (Nike, Columbia Sports and Intel land!) After serving in various ministry roles, in 2008, she became pastor of children’s and family ministry, allowing her to pursue her passion for equipping parents as spiritual leaders. In that role, she influenced church-wide ministry alignment toward a family ministry mindset, created milestone strategies and developed a physical discipleship space for families.

In spring 2018, she and her husband Michael moved to Boise, Idaho where she is now serving as an interim coach/architect at a 600-member dual-campus downtown church, coaching church leaders in raising the value of kids’ and family ministry and helping them build sustainable ministry systems. She’s excited for how the diversity of leading in a mega-church ministry to coaching and architecting in a smaller church setting has equipped her to serve with the Ministry Architects team.

She’s an Oregon Duck, graduating with a BS in Elementary Ed and Outdoor Ed. In 2016, she earned her Master’s in Strategic Leadership from Life Pacific College, feeding her passion as a strategic leader. In her spare time, she loves hiking and biking the Boise foothills, discovering Boise’s fun, quirky coffee spots, and exploring Idaho’s amazing outdoor spaces with her hubby.