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Communications Team

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Derek Olson
Communications Director

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PODCASTING TEAM

Get equipped and inspired by joining the thousands of other small group point people who have subscribed to “Group Talk.” 1 podcast featuring 4 unique shows! Find it on Apple, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or iHeartRadio
Carolyn Taketa
“Here to There” Host

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Steve Gladen
“Inside Saddleback” Host

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Nick Lenzi
“Reading Lenz” Host

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Bill Search
“Leadership Journey” Host

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Jason Banzhoff
Podcast Producer

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BLOGGING TEAM

Our team of bloggers write some of the most insightful small group content and serve on the frontlines of small group ministry in their local churches. Enjoy their writings found on our blog page
Sean Buono
Newsletter Editor & Author

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Kiersten smiling outside wearing a red scarf
Kiersten Telzerow
Author

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JT Black
Author

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Mike Bullock
Author

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Andrew Camp
Author

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Peter smiling outside in a grey shirt
Peter Clow
Author

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Steve Curran
Author

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Peter Englert
Author

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David Grigg
Author

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Ryan James
Ryan James
Author

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Jon Laster
Author

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Chet Gladkowski
Author

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John Hunt
Author

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Jeremy McAllister
Author

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Jeremy Sauvé
Author

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Jackie Van Hook
Author

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SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM

Our team of social media managers share our daily resources with the small group network community and serve on the frontlines of small group ministry in their local churches.
Cynthia smiling outside
Cynthia Considine
Pinterest Manager

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David Holzmann
Twitter Manager

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MISSION

Founded by Saddleback Church’s Global Small Group Pastor Steve Gladen, the Small Group Network is an International and Inter-denominational community that “exists to connect personally with and resource strategically Small Group Point People to impact globally to build healthy biblical communities in their local church”. We currently serve ten’s of thousands of small group point people in over 100 different countries.

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Daniel Thomas

Connections Director

423-534-9321

daniel@smallgroupnetwork.com

Daniel serves as Executive Pastor at Community Church of Mountain City, TN.  Daniel and his family are on a mission to establish roots within their community, fight for peace and serve well.  He serves as our Connections Director in laying the groundwork for Circles. He loves great coffee and traveling with his wife Tia and two children, Deklan and Aden

START OR JOIN A CIRCLE

ACCELERATE! Hawaii

Pricing: 

Individual Registration – $209.00

Team of 2 Registration (price per person) – $199.00

Team of 3 or more Registration (price per person) – $189.00

*Registration ends on Nov 8th, 2021. Walk-in registrations are not available.

Jeremy McAllister

Author

909-709-0753

jeremymcallister@sandalschurch.com

Jeremy McAllister had his life radically changed by the Jesus he found in a Small Group almost 20 years ago and has dedicated his life to helping people connect meaningfully to life changing communities ever since. Over those 20 years, he has been blessed to work at seven different churches (ranging in attendance from 80 to 12,000+), six different denominations across multiple states, and in every role imaginable from the janitorial staff to Associate Pastor. He is currently living in Southern California and serving as the Groups Director at Sandals Church. He has an undergraduate degree in Christian studies from California Baptist University and a Masters degree from Azusa Pacific University in Church Leadership and Development. He is married to Jennifer, the one and only woman he has ever dated, and is father to Hannan (12), Noah (8) and Josiah (2).

Mike Bullock

Author

281-622-5875

mazbullock@gmail.com

Mike is an author, pastor and life coach living in St. Paul, Minnesota. His passion for groups, leadership development and Christian community has driven his actions for the last decade. Mike developed multiple discipling programs for Church Unlimited, a multi-site church in Texas, including UGROW, a pathway for rapid leadership development within a church body. In his spare time, Mike loves hanging out with his wife and son, writing music and dreaming up crazy ways to make the world a better place. You can follow Mike on his personal blog at www.hedesignedme.com

Nick Lenzi

“Reading Lenz” Host

724-331-7727

nick@smallgroupnetwork.com

Nick is the Host of our Group Talk Podcast show "Reading Lenz." Nick is also the Dinner Group Director at Hoboken Grace Community Church in Hoboken, NJ.

Steve Gladen

FOUNDER

949-836-6052

steve@smallgroupnetwork.com

Steve is the Global Pastor of Small Groups at Saddleback Church since 1998. He oversees the strategic launch and development of over 7,000 adult small groups on multiple campuses. He has authored Small Groups With Purpose, which has been translated into eight languages to date, and Leading Small Groups With Purpose. He frequently speaks at conferences and consults with church leaders both in the United States and around the world. He has a driving passion to see each church attendee connected to a qualified shepherd and become an integral part of their church body, living purposefully for Christ. Steve is also the Founder of the Small Group Network (SGN) giving influence and oversight to all the SGN initiatives. He earned a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1985, and a B.A. in Biblical Studies, with minors in Greek and Philosophy in 1982, from Evangel University. Steve and Lisa have been married since 1989 and have two children, Erika and Ethan.

Matthew Wray

Facebook Group Admin & Instagram Manager

502-558-4087

mwray29@gmail.com

Matt is the Director of Group Life at Hillside Chapel in New Albany, IN. He is responsible for the Small Group Network Instagram account.

Jeremy Sauvé Jeremy Sauvé

Author

Jeremy Sauvé currently serves as the Associate Pastor at The Bridge Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Alongside his wife, Amanda, he lived abroad for several years, first in Ulsan, South Korea as an ELC teacher and then in Aberfeldy, Scotland, where he was the Head Chef of a café. During this time away, they both grew to profoundly value the importance of community in their lives. As a result, upon returning to Canada nearly 17 years ago, building community has been at the core of Jeremy’s passion; first as a Youth Pastor and now as an Associate Pastor. He is committed to helping people create, or find, intentional community where they can be fully known
and fully loved.

Ryan James Ryan James

Author

Ryan is the Groups Pastor at Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville, TN and coaches leaders through Replicate Ministries (replicate.org/collective). With ten years of group ministry experience in churches ranging from 200-7000, he’s seen a wide-range of environments. No matter the size, the purpose of groups are the same—they are the environment where people become like Jesus. He’s Louisiana raised and Tennessee planted, so obviously he likes food, coffee, and living it up in the great outdoors. He can be reached at ryan.james@longhollow.com.

Chet Gladkowski

Author

chester.gladkowski@gmail.com

Originally from Baltimore, MD, Chet spent his professional career in the insurance technology arena; always looking for better solutions to help people. Now he uses his very unique, practical communication styles based on a variety of digital media, to approach the pain, issues, and heartache that people face with the solution-focused solely on a relationship with Jesus Christ as the answers to our greatest need.

Peter Englert

Author

607 222 0699

peter@browncroft.org

Peter Englert serves as the Adult Ministries Director at Browncroft Community Church in Rochester, NY. He is married to his wife Robyn and they have a daughter, Hayley. He loves the New York Yankees, New York Jets, Brooklyn Nets, and Buffalo Sabres. You can find Peter reading a good book or enjoying a great cup of coffee. He has a passion for seeing small groups experiencing the gospel in everyday life.

Bill Search

"Leadership Journey" Host

916 500 8688

bill@smallgroupnetwork.com

Bill is a coffee connoisseur, loves music, movies, and books. He enjoys woodworking and home remodeling. During his college years, he taught horsemanship at a summer camp. Bill and his wife, Karyn, love visiting National Parks.
Bill has written the following books which we pray will help your church and your Small Group ministry: Simple Small Groups, The Essential Guide for Small Group Leaders, and his most recent book Vibrant Small Groups: A 5-Step Process to Create a Ministry That Fits Your Church.

Josh Hunt

Author

575.650.4564

josh@joshhunt.com

Josh Hunt enjoys teaching and pastoring the people of Salem Baptist Church--a church so small it could be called a small group. He also writes Small Group Bible Study Lessons called Good Questions Have Groups Talking. He lives in Las Cruces, NM and enjoys hiking in the nearby mountains.

Cynthia Considine

New Circle Specialist

301-520-7725

cynthia@smallgroupnetwork.com

Cynthia serves as the Small Groups Coordinator at Grace Community Church in Fulton, Maryland. Cynthia serves the SGN by managing the Pinterest page, leading the Central MD Circle and serving as the Atlantic Coast Regional Leader supporting the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Cynthia lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her husband Darin and their puggle Hemingway

Join The Team!

Northeast Regional Leader

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C.

kiersten@smallgroupnetwork.com

Want to join the team? We're looking to build out our leadership team and need you! Contact Kiersten Telzerow to find out more.

Jackie Van Hook

Author

jackie@thechapel.org

Jackie Van Hook lives in Wayne, NJ with her husband, Dave, and their children, Mackenzie and David.  Jackie currently is an intern for The Chapel's Adult Discipleship Ministry.  She & her husband are actively involved with the Small Group ministry, serving as both Small Group leaders and Small Group shepherds.  Jackie is also involved with the Chapel Women's ministry.   Some of her favorite ways to spend her time include:  spending time with her family and friends, being outdoors, and reading.  She is passionate about small groups and getting people connected.

Sean Buono

Author

seanbuono@gmail.com

Sean lives to teach for the Kingdom of God. Currently serving as Life Group Director at Community Christian Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan, he has previously served in other ministry roles, including small group leader, men's ministry leader, youth minister, and youth pastor. He not only believes that transformation occurs through the context of relationships, but also that small groups are the perfect environment for such growth. When not studying or working, Sean enjoys time with family, building a challenging jigsaw puzzle, or watching a classic Britcom. One of the ways he helps equip other ministry leaders is through his writings, found at seanbuono.com

Steve Curran

Author

912-572-5319

scurran@compassionchristian.com

Steve’s life is driven by the desire to help leaders be legendary. He developed leaders for 23 years in the US Navy and now serves as the East Campus Community Pastor at Compassion Christian Church in Savannah GA. He believes that people can come to church, learn the right things to say, and completely miss out on a relationship with Jesus … until they connect into a small group. He is passionate about reaching these people because he was one of them. He loves Jesus, his wife, his kids and the Philadelphia Eagles!

Brian Naess

Midwest Regional Leader

Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio

614-580-8990

bnaess@violetbaptistchurch.org

To help in this area, please email Brian

Brian and his wife Sarah have three children (10, 12, and 15). They enjoy day trips, camping, and spending time with family and friends. Brian serves as the small groups pastor at Violet Baptist Church in Pickerington, Ohio. He loves small groups because he enjoys connecting people to community.

David Holzmann

Twitter Manager

dholzmann@erbc.ca

David Serves as the Adult Group Life Associate at Ellerslie Road Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta. Up in the Great White Canadian North. He provides Leadership to Small Groups, Semester Groups, Young Adults, Social Media and Production Teams. He is a member of the Edmonton Area SGN Huddle. David is Passionate about Connecting people into relationship with one another, and into communities and teams. He believes in the life changing power of a strong authentic community of believers. David and his Wife Madi enjoy trying as many new restaurants as they can, and when not hitting up the latest spot David Enjoys Long-boarding and Boards Games.

Kiersten Telzerow

North America Director

724-216-3008

kiersten@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Kiersten

Kiersten Telzerow lives in the Washington, D.C area with her husband, Matt, and their goldendoodle named Luna! Kiersten serves as the Small Group Director at one of the campuses at National Community Church and is a Master of Divinity student at Wesley Seminary through Indiana Wesleyan University. She loves being in community with people and learning about their stories. When Kiersten is not studying, her favorite thing to do is spending time with family and friends, trying new coffees, attending leadership conferences, or reading a new book. She loves all things small groups and believes that we were never meant to exist alone - community is always better! 

Carolyn Taketa

“Here to There” Host

818-575-2238

carolyn@smallgroupnetwork.com

Carolyn is the Executive Director of Small Groups at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, California. She serves on our Leadership Team and is the host of the Group Talk podcasts.

Reid Smith

Communities of Purpose Director

971-506-1556

reid@smallgroupnetwork.com

Living in Florida where he serves as Pastor of Groups at Christ Fellowship Church in Palm Beach County, FL, Reid is our Communities of Purpose "C.O.P." Director. He will be leading this forum for small group point people who have read the book or attended one of our “Accelerate!” small group workshops to receive exclusive resources, ask questions, to discuss and share their learnings with others. He has also been equipping leaders in churches of all sizes and stages of growth for effective disciple-making since 1996. Reid has been a contributing author for Christianity Today’s smallgroups.com, LifeWay’s Ministry Grid, and he developed small group training for the North American Mission Board’s Send Network. One of the ways he expresses his love for helping leaders start and multiply healthy groups throughout their churches is through www.reidsmith.org

Amber Sanders

Facebook Page Manager

amber@severnrun.com

My name is Amber Adams. I am the Small Groups leader at a church in Maryland. I lead Small Groups because I am passionate about people and seeing them grow. Plus I really believe that life is better connected!

David Grigg

Author

dgrigg@alcpnw.com

David Grigg serves as the Pastor of Groups at Abundant Life Church in Happy Valley, OR. He, his wife and their two young children absolutely love enjoying the Portland area together through hiking and supporting their local soccer teams. David’s journey of faith centered around seeking a community in which he truly belonged. For that reason, he loves playing a role in helping others find authentic community where they can grow closer to Jesus and others. David has a particular passion for finding out-of-the-box solutions so that everyone who wants to find a group has a way to connect.

Andrew Camp

Author

714-328-7145

andrew@ccof.church

Andrew Camp has an MA in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care from Talbot Seminary. He is also a professionally trained chef, most recently as the sous chef at Silver Restaurant in Park City, UT until it closed in 2015. He is currently the Adult Ministries Pastor at Christ's Church of Flagstaff. He and his wife, Claire, live in Flagstaff Arizona with their two daughters, Hazelle and Hannah.

JT Black

Author

jtblack@stevenscreekchurch.com

JT Black serves as the Small Groups Pastor at Stevens Creek Church in Augusta, Georgia. In addition to leading Small Groups, he helps guide the church’s outreach efforts in Augusta and the surrounding communities. He is married to his beautiful wife, Brittany, and is a loving father to June and John Bradley. 

Jon Laster

Author

615-948-5062

jon@smallgroupnetwork.com

Jon, along with his wife Tina, serve as Ministries Directors at Christ Chapel in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Together they provide oversight and leadership to the leaders and volunteers of several teams, including prayer, small groups, and outreach. Jon is a Real Estate Agent by trade and also leads a SGN Huddle in the Spring Hill area. He is passionate about seeing the impossible come to pass, people walking in forgiveness and becoming more like Jesus. Jon strongly believes in the power of Small Groups and the life changing effect they can have in peoples lives. He is a dedicated Tennessee Titans fan, Nashville Predators fan and music fanatic. Jon and Tina reside in Thompsons Station, TN with their son Cole, daughter Avelyn and beloved french bulldog, Arlo.

Jason Banzhoff

Podcast Producer

240-520-2557

jason@smallgroupnetwork.com

Jason is our Communications Director who produces our Group Talk podcast and oversees our graphic design and social media teams. He is also the Life Group Director of Lifehouse Church in Hagerstown, MD. He has had previous ministry experience in video, production, and social media but found discipleship is what his heart truly desires. Jason is married to his beautiful wife Tirsa, who is a pastor’s daughter from El Salvador. 

Derek Olson

Communications Director

253-886-2014

derek@smallgroupnetwork.com

Derek loves coffee, photography and being in the outdoors. He has been actively involved in building community and leading small groups for over 15 years.