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IMPACTING GLOBALLY

Global
North America
N. American Español
Latin America
Africa
Oceania
South Asia
East Asia
Southeast Asia
Eurasia
Europe
MENA

GLOBAL TEAM

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Steve Gladen
Founder

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James Browning
Pastor of Small Group Network Development

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Dan Gunadi
Global Strategic Initiatives Director

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NORTH AMERICA TEAM

Our Regional Leaders each oversee a grouping of states/ provinces where they work with, encourage and support our huddles leaders and promote network events in their region. To help us serve on this team, email kiersten@smallgroupnetwork.com
Daniel Thomas
North America Director
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Willie Simpson
North America Associate Director

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Cynthia Considine
New Circle Specialist

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John Mozingo
Mid Atlantic Regional Leader

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Nadine McNeil
Southeast Regional Leader

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Brian Naess
Midwest Regional Leader

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Brian Brunke
South Central Regional Leader

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Nick Schonlau
Central Regional Leader

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Mark Kendall
North Central Regional Leader

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Jeff Sobczak
Mountain Regional Leader

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Peter Clow
Northeast Regional Leader

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Ryan Blau
Northwest Regional Leader

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Adam Workman
California/ Hawaii Regional Leader

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Dennis Funk
Eastern Canada Regional Leader

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Western Canada Regional Leader

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NORTH AMERICA TEAM (SPANISH)

Our Regional Leaders each oversee a grouping of states where they work with, encourage and support our huddles leaders and promote network events in their region. To help us serve on this team, email  alex@smallgroupnetwork.com
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Dr. Gerardo Espejel
North America Spanish Director

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Alex Gonzalez
United States Spanish Regional Leader

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Manuel Carrillo
Mexico Regional Leader

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LATIN AMERICA TEAM

Our Latin America team exists to connect with, encourage & support the hundreds of thousands of small group point people & ministry leaders in Latin America! Please visit & share our new website with your Spanish-speaking ministry friends, pastors & small group point people. To help us translate resources, email  mauricio@smallgroupnetwork.com
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Mauricio A Rojas
Latin America Director

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Central America Regional Leader

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Camilo Fonseca
North Andina Regional Leader

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South Andina Regional Leader

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Ruben Altamirano
Southern Cone Regional Leader

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José Alves
Brazil Regional Leader

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Guianas Regional Leader

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Caribbean Regional Leader

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AFRICA TEAM

Our Africa team exists to connect with, encourage & support the hundreds of thousands of small group point people & ministry leaders in Africa!
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Africa Director

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Manie Groenewald
Southern Africa Regional Leader

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Oluwadare (Joseph) Kolawole
West Africa Regional Leader

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Gebre Kahsai

East Africa Regional Representative

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Central Africa Regional Leader

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OCEANIA TEAM

Our Oceania team exists to connect with, encourage & support the hundreds of thousands of small group point people & ministry leaders in Oceania. To help us serve this region, email  tracey@smallgroupnetwork.com.
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Philip Kua
Oceania Director

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Western Australia Regional Leader

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Eastern Australia Regional Leader

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New Zealand & the Islands Regional Leader

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SOUTH ASIA TEAM

Our South Asia team exists to connect with, encourage & support the hundreds of thousands of small group point people & ministry leaders in Asia. To help us serve on this continent, email dharshan@smallgroupnetwork.com.
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Dharshan Fernando
South Asia Director

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EAST ASIA TEAM

Our East Asia team exists to connect with, encourage & support the hundreds of thousands of small group point people & ministry leaders in East Asia. To help us serve this region, email our director at sean@smallgroupnetwork.com.
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Sean Lee
East Asia Director

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Do Youl Kim
South Korea Regional Leader

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SOUTHEAST ASIA TEAM

Our Southeast Asia team exists to connect with, encourage & support the hundreds of thousands of small group point people & ministry leaders in Southeast Asia. To help us serve this region, email our director at  danielang@smallgroupnetwork.com
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Daniel Ang
Southeast Asia Director

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Fernando Mewengkang
Southern Regional Leader

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Peter Mang
Northern Regional Leader

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EURASIA TEAM

Our Eurasia team exists to connect with, encourage & support the hundreds of thousands of small group point people & ministry leaders in Eurasia. To help us serve this region, email our director at romalunichkin@gmail.com
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Roman Lunichkin
Eurasia Director

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Western Eurasia Regional Leader

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Caucuses Regional Leader

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Central Eurasia Regional Leader

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EUROPE TEAM

Our Europe team exists to connect with, encourage & support the hundreds of thousands of small group point people & ministry leaders in Europe. To help us serve this region, email our director at ben@smallgroupnetwork.com
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Ben Benjamin
Europe Director

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Tihomir Tenev
Eastern Europe Regional Leader

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Stefan Waldmann
Western Europe Regional Leader

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Southern Europe Regional Leader

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Northern Europe Regional Leader

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MENA TEAM

The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) exists to connect with, encourage & support the hundreds of thousands of small group point people & ministry leaders in MENA. To help us serve this region, email our director at  scott@smallgroupnetwork.com
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Scott Ostrowski
MENA Director

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Levant Regional Leader

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Islamic Republic of Iran Regional Leader

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Arabian Peninsula Regional Leader

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Near East Regional Leader

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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.

James Browning

Pastor of Small Group Network Development

562.448.2535

james@smallgroupnetwork.com

James has been leading small groups for over ten years & recently came from Harper Collins Christian Publishing where he led marketing for Spanish language Bibles, academic, and reference books. He has an MDiv from Talbot School of Theology and is married to Hannah Browning. They have two daughters: Eliza age 5 and Eleanor age 3.

Gebreigiziabiher Kahsai

East Africa Regional Representative

Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda

+251-965-69-66-33 (Cell)

Pastor Gebre is currently a part time faculty at the Evangelical Theological College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. After giving his life to Christ in 1970, he has served the Lord in different local churches and taught in theological colleges in Ethiopia and in Kenya. He has a passion to see small group ministry flourish in local churches. He earned his Masters of Divinity at the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, now (AIU) in 1999. Pastor Gebre, is married to Yetayesh and are blessed with three grown up boys, and two grandchildren.

Oluwadare (Joseph) Kolawole

West Africa Regional Leader

Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia

+234-803-4220-188

darekolawole@me.com

To help in this area, please email Joseph

Joseph Kolawole is the lead pastor of the island branch of Global Harvest Church and also serves as the executive assistant to the senior pastor of Global Harvest Church. He is passionate about serving his gift to ensure that’s God’s people attain their highest potential. He teaches the word with so much clarity and simplicity and this has endeared many of the parishioners to him. In addition to his work as a full time minister of the gospel in the last 13 years, he also sit on the board of a few businesses because of his drive for entrepreneurship. He believes that we as believers should never be trapped by our titles as we give expression to all God has placed in us. His passion for small groups spans from how he was raised spiritually through small groups and intimate fellowship. He’s taught and trained several small group leaders and point persons within the ministry he serves.
He’s married to Opeyemi who is also a co laborer in the work of the ministry and their union is blessed with a son.

Levant Regional Leader

Israel, Jordan, and Palestine

scott@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Scott

Near East Regional Leader

Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey

scott@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Scott

Arabian Peninsula Regional Leader

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen

scott@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Scott

Islamic Republic of Iran Regional Leader

scott@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Scott

Central Eurasia Regional Leader

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

romalunichkin@gmail.com

To help in this area, please email Roman

Peter Mang

Northern Regional Leader

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam

+95 9252899155

peter@petermang.com

To help in this area, please email Peter

Peter T. Mang is the founder and Managing Director of Peter Mang Company Limited, a private family enterprise that is a growing business as mission founded in March 2018. The Company seeks to provide services in livelihoods improvement and family empowerment, family healthcare and caregiver education, executive coaching and leadership development, executive education and professional development, professional psychotherapy and counseling, business solutions and management consulting, missional entrepreneurship ecosystem development, micro and small business development, professional web design and development solutions, and freelance services marketplace.

For more details about Peter T. Mang, please visit www.petermang.com

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.

Tihomir Tenev

Eastern Europe Regional Leader

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia

+359 89 9822722

tihomir@dovebulgaria.org

To help in this area, please email Tihomir

Tihomir Tenev was born and grew up in a pastors’ family. He graduated Bible collage in 1991 in England after which he joined a team in Bulgaria for a mass evangelism. In 1993 he started his ministry as a pastor in his native city – Sliven. In 1995 for the first time he heard about the cell church structure through small groups ministry and recognizes it as the strategy God gives for the church today. Tihomir's heart is to see the Church of Christ today strong and functioning in its full potential. He believes that a healthy church should be growing fathers and disciples who make other disciples and through whom the next generation will be able to receive at least a double portion. Tihomir also serves as Eastern Europe Regional Leader for the Small Group Network and he has started a movement of small groups all over Bulgaria with the heart of planting more and more churches through fathering and making disciples through the life of small groups ministry!

Eurasia Director

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus , Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

Dan Gunadi

Global Strategic Initiatives Director

909-489-4974

dan@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Dan

As the Global Strategic Initiatives Director, Dan will be connecting with each Global Director; making sure we stay aligned, share learnings with each other and help maintain our Mission goals in each region of the globe. Dan comes with a wealth of Global Team experience in ministry, sales and strategic operations.

Daniel (Dan) Gunadi came to the US when he was 14 years old and turned away from both the church and his family. He felt shameful, rejected, and lacking a purpose. But then through the work of the Lord, the Lord met him where he was at and transformed his heart. He now lives in California with his wife (Win), and two sons (Gregory and Phillip). Upon receiving Christ in 1986, Dan studied Christian Apologetics at Simon Greenleaf University, California. His life has been revolved around and has been directly impacted  by Small Group.  He hosted his first small group over 32 years ago with his college friends. Dan has been actively serving with Saddleback church since 2004 in various capacities, including Small Group Community Leader, Membership/Connection Champion (Lay Pastoral), Ministry Champion, SHAPE Guide, and wherever God calls him to serve. Dan is a founding member with the John Maxwell Team – an elite, global community of certified leadership development  coaches, trainers and speakers. Dan is a serial entrepreneur, and serves as managing partners in several global technology companies and international educational organizations.

Daniel Ang

Southeast Asia Director

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam

626-345-4443

danielang@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Daniel

Daniel is serving as an international community leader in Saddleback Church, California. He has been involved in small group for almost 20 years. He found his extended spiritual family and met his wife through small group. Being a small group host also brings him more connection to the church family. He’s also serving as a children leader in Bible Study Fellowship. He has a heart to serve for singles, marriage couple and children. His life purpose is to bring more young generations to experience and have personal relationship with God. Daniel and his wife, Anny, are both business owners and entrepreneurs. His family lives in Orange County, California.

Sean Lee

East Asia Director

China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan

949-232-5855

sean@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Sean

Sean Lee, PH.D & MBA, has over 25 years’ experience specializing in global strategy and management, board advisement and C-level executive roles for multinational business enterprise, tech ventures and startups. He has been making devotional efforts to integrate Christian faith into business and work disciplines and for Great commissions. He has been making devotional efforts to integrate Christian faith into business and work disciplines and for Great commissions. He organized international seminars and business missions by working with missionaries around the world including Russia and Indonesia, China, Vietnam and Turkey, served a church mission committee developing policies and procedures and bi-annual mission conventions to mobilize Christian missions, participated in global leadership training of Global PEACE program at Saddleback church, served as a board member of Faith and Worklife, and has advised and mentored to MBA and business school program at Crowell school of Business of Biol University

Willie smiling in his carWillie Simpson

North America Associate Director

- Born in Alabama

- Huge Crimson Tide fan

- Married to my high school sweetheart, Carolyn for 14 years

- Father to two wonderful children (Destiny, 11; Tre, 9)

- Son of an Army veteran (dad served for 25 years)

- Small Groups Pastor at LifePoint Church (Clarksville, TN)

Fun Facts

- I’m a published author!

- I love to play music (keys, bass and drums)

- I’ve been to every continent, except Australia and Antarctica

Western Eurasia Regional Leader

Belarus, Republic of Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine

romalunichkin@gmail.com

To help in this area, please email Roman

Manie Groenewald

Southern Africa Regional Leader

Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe

+2782-770-7465

manie@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Manie

Manie is leading the Lyttelton East Church on the southern side of the capitol, Pretoria, in South Africa. As the Country Leader for South Africa, Manie helps small group point leaders throughout the country to get excited about small group ministry in their respective churches, helps leaders to start new huddles and to get connected to one another for mutual support and sharing from their meaningful experiences around small group ministry. 

Mauricio A Rojas

Latin America Director

Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and The Caribbean Islands

+506-8845-4087

mauricio@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Mauricio

Mauricio lives in Costa Rica and is a member of the Saddleback Church online community.   His passion is to serve God by supporting and equipping Pastors and Small Group Leaders in Latin America with the tools and training that will allow them to develop healthier Small Groups while growing numerically.  He truly believes that Small Groups can make an impact in peoples lives, engaging them into a more profound relationship with God.  For over 4 years now, Mauricio and his wife have opened their home to host and lead a married couples Small Group.  Mauricio loves new technologies, but more importantly, he enjoys time with family and friends.  He and his wife Susy have two children, Marissa (13) and Isabella (11); they enjoy being outdoors and going out to dinners as a family.

Alex Gonzalez

United States Regional Leader

United States of America

213-324-2551

alex@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Alex

Salvadoran American citizen. 32 years of marriage. Three children. Pastor grazing in the City of Los Angeles. California South Central for 20 years. We have been working in the city for 27 years with Alinzas pastorales. We have known the Saddleback minister for 10 years and we are working together with the team, focused on the welfare of the churches.

Dennis Funk

Eastern Canada Regional Leader

Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec

519-660-8465

dennisf@navigators.ca

To help in this area, please email Dennis

Dennis serves as the Director of Ministry Resources & Small Groups Network for The Navigators of Canada. He oversees the Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces.

Adam Workman

California/ Hawaii Regional Leader

Hawaii, California

410-596-8714

aworkman@sandalschurch.com

To help in this area, please email Adam

Adam is the Small Groups Pastor at Sandals Church in Riverside, CA. He oversees the California and Hawaii Region of the SGN.

Brian Brunke

South Central Regional Leader

Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

713-397-1693

brian.brunke@parkwayfellowship.com

To help in this area, please email Brian

Brian serves as an Operations Pastor for Small Groups at Parkway Fellowship Church, TX and an adjunct professor at the Bible Seminary in Katy, TX. As the South-Central Region Leader, he serves Texas and Louisiana state area. In his spare time, Brian enjoysspending time with his wife and three daugthers, traveling, and enjoying the outdoors hunting and fishing.

Heather Lee

Norcal/ NW Regional Leader

Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming

209-275-0720

heatherlee@crossroadsgrace.org

Heather is the Groups Director at Crossroads Grace Community Church in Manteca, CA. She is passionate about helping other grow and serves on our team as the Northern California Regional Leader. Heather loves coffee, time with friends and going on adventures! She and her husband Seth have two kids, Rudy (11) and Cassie (13); they enjoy being outdoors and making each other laugh.

Caucuses Regional Leader

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

romalunichkin@gmail.com

To help in this area, please email Roman

Mark Kendall

North Central Regional Leader

Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin

623-680-0866

markmkendall@gmail.com

To help in this area, please email Mark

As North Central Region Leader, Mark serves Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Philip Byers

North America Director

United States of America and Canada

940-453-5779

philip@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Philip

Philip is the Executive Pastor at Historic church in Dallas, Texas where he pastors the small group ministry. God used small groups to greatly change his life. His greatest passion is to help people discover their identity and calling in Jesus and then live it out! 

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.

Philip Kua

Oceania Director

Australia, East Timor, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Whatsapp +61412003888.

pkua@churchesofchrist.org.au

To help in this area, please email Philip

Manuel Carrillo

Mexico Regional Leader

Mexico

+52 686 198 6299

manuylau@gmail.com

To help in this area, please email Manuel

A Mexican & married to Laura, they have 2 Children. Manuel has been in ministry as a Senior Pastor for many years & is a National Councilor for the Global Leadership Summit, a Senior Master in Training for the DCPI Dynamic Church Planting International, a Certified Instructor Saddlerback's PD Paradigm, & a Facilitator of the Pastors team.

 

Roman Lunichkin

Eurasia Director

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Republic of Moldova, Russia, Siberia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

+79992011427

romalunichkin@gmail.com

Roman is married and has one daughter. He is the pastor of discipleship and small group ministry at his local church. He loves small groups because believes that God can use them to change people’s hearts.

 

Stefan Waldmann

Western Europe Regional Leader

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland

+41 79 789 35 44

stefan@motiveparlessentiel.org

Stefan spent 6 years with his family in Congo DRC as a missionary pilot and preacher, then after having lived through a forced evacuation due to the war, he invested himself body and soul in the Geneva Bible Society at the headquarters in Switzerland, first as marketing and sales manager for almost 20 years, and since then as export sales manager. At the same time, since 2003, his passion having always been the development of churches that have an impact in today's society and in having an intentional process of discipleship training, he started the ministry Motivé par l’Essentiel that translates and publishes the French products of the Purpose Driven movement. His passion is to challenge people to get into a small group and to be balanced in their Christian lives. He likes to travel for leisure but also to do seminars in the French world (Europe and Africa). He is actively participating in Church life in Lausanne and also with his wife in a small group. He is speaking French, German, English and Dutch. He lives near Lausanne in Switzerland and is married to Nelly for 32 years who is Dutch and has 2 grown up sons who follow the Lord and a terrific daughter in law. His married son is just starting to pastor a church.

Fernando Mewengkang

Southern Regional Leader

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore

+62 812-2237-2237

nandokr@gmail.com

Fernando Mewengkang was the Senior Pastor of an Indonesian church in Seoul, Korea (2000-2014), before deciding to return to Indonesia with a call to train and equip church leaders.  He completed a Master of Theology (Th.M) in the field of Mission from Chongsin University.  At present, he is pastoring the Galilee Church in Jakarta, and is also entrusted with the position of PDC Indonesia Coordinator.

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.

Ryan Blau

Northwest Regional Leader

909-282-5027

Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington

rblau@crossroadschurch.net

To help in this area, please email Ryan

Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Ryan now serves as the Pastor of Discipleship at Crossroads Community Church in Vancouver, WA. He's passionate about seeing hearts and lives transformed through authentic biblical community. When not spending time with his wife Bethany and three kids RJ, Ella, and Alex and puppy Scout, Ryan can be found rolling Brazilian Jiu Jitzu, golfing, hiking, or reading and writing while sipping delicious Northwest coffee.

Dharshan Fernando

South Asia Director

Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives

(+94)77 7702 115

dharshan@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Dharshan

Pastor Dharshan Fernando has been in full time ministry for over 30 years at People’s Church Assembly of God, Colombo Sri Lanka and currently serves as the Deputy Senior Pastor. Small Groups are synonymous with The People’s Church which has over 700 groups that meet weekly. As a missionary, he has been involved in church planting and missions both locally and overseas. He is also on the Council of Colombo Theological Seminary from where he obtained his Bachelor of Theology and Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies. He is married to Deepika who is also a pastor at People’s Church and leads Kidz Klubz - a community based children’s programme for those in the 4-14 window. They have two sons Dhilhan (22) and Dhanuk (20).

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.

Nadine McNeil

Southeast Regional Leader

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee

301-364-3912

nadine@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Nadine

Nadine serves as the Director of Life Groups at Zion Church - a multisite church in the Washington, DC metro area. Over the past 20 years, Nadine has worked and served in many roles. In her current role, she uses her knowledge, experience, and love for God's people to develop a structure that supports groups across all Zion campuses. Nadine and her husband Richard live in Maryland, and have a goal to visit every Caribbean restaurant in DC, MD and VA.

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.

Central Africa Regional Leader

Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon

steve@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Steve

Scott Ostrowski

Mena Director

Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, State of Palestine, Quatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

704-490-6855

scott@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Scott

Scott is an experienced and multi-faceted Chaplain, Disciplemaker, Missionary, and Small Group Leader who loves Jesus more than anything in the world!

As a former Small Groups Community Leader at Saddleback Church, he spent more than 10 years teaching and leading small groups, identifying and developing leaders, as well as conducting training, seminars, and retreats. As a current Air National Guard hospital and police chaplain, he has extensive experience in counseling, pastoral care, advising commanders and leaders on religious matters, developing religious education programs, providing combat and emergency service stress intervention, and accompanying service members and emergency response teams into combat.

Recently, he founded the non-profit organization The Jerusalem Project, an extension of his overall ministry, aimed at advancing the gospel through small groups and resourcing ministry partners in Jerusalem.

When he is not doing ministry you can find him training others in boxing and kickboxing, scuba diving, or possibly flying an airplane

Western Europe Regional Leader

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland

ben@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Ben

Northern Europe Regional Leader

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom

ben@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Ben

Southern Europe Regional Leader

Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cypress, Greece, Italy, Malta, Macedonia, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain

ben@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Ben

South Asia Director

Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives

East Africa Regional Leader

Burundi, Djbouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda

steve@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Steve

Africa Director

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, DRC, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria,  Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, The Gambia, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe

steve@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Steve

New Zealand & the Islands Regional Leader

East Timor, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

tracey@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Tracey

Do Youl Kim

South Korea Regional Leader

South Korea

sosan@smallgroupasia.com

To help in this area, please email Do Youl Kim

Do Youl Kim is a church choir member, teaches high school students at Seoul Church, and serves as Elder and the head of the Church school. He was born and raised in a third-generation Christian family and serves as President of Hansung CBMC in Korea. He previously served as a Governor of Rotary club in South Korea as President of Hana Laser.

Caribbean Regional Leader

Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and The Caribbean Islands

steve@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Steve

Guianas Regional Leader

French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana

steve@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Steve

José Alves

Brazil Regional Leader

Brazil

+55 54 8406-3245

jalves.missoes@hotmail.com

To help in this area, please email José

José Alves is Pastor at the Assembléia de Deus Church in Gramado in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, where he resides with his wife Analice and their children Quemuel, Filipe and Valentina.

Since he was 16 years old, he has been related to different ministries that include evangelistic crusades, church planting, radio and television communication, the founding of a missionary training school and training of pastors and leaders in Brazil, Uruguay, Europe and Africa.

His church is part of the PEACE initiative, and José has worked supporting churches in Mozambique.

José is a researcher in the urban mission area, a subject on which he has also written a book.

Ruben Altamirano

Southern Cone Regional Leader

Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

+54 9 11 3008 2648

RubenA@saddleback.com.ar

To help in this area, please email Ruben

Rubén is the Connections' Pastor at Saddleback Church in Buenos Aires since 2016. He is accompanying people to understand the meaning of local Church Membership and serves as a leader of the Small Group Campus team. Passionate about the Lord and his Church, he has trained and served as a professional Librarian for much of his life. He is currently pursuing a Master of Theological Studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth, Texas. He is also passionate about teaching and for this reason he is a professor in Technologies applied to Libraries in a Higher Training Institute for Libraries and also in the Advanced Leadership Seminar of La Alameda on the subject "Creating Community", thus reaching Pastors and Leaders from Argentina, Chile and other Latin American countries.

His family is made up of his wife Cecilia, his 2-year-old daughter Ailén and their dog Theo, who make every day of his life happy.

South Andina Regional Leader

Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia

steve@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Steve

Camilo Fonseca

North Andina Regional Leader

Colombia, Venezuela

+57 3202750922

camilofonsecar@gmail.com

To help in this area, please email Camilo

Camilo Fonseca lives in Barranquilla, Colombia, where he resides with his wife Mary and their children Juan Camilo (18) and Ana (15). He loves serving God and others and enjoys spending time with his family. He has specialized in Marketing Management and has completed diplomas in coaching, project management, innovation Leadership courses, and is certified in Coaching, speaker and leadership at The John Maxwell Team. He has completed theological studies at the IBLI-FACTER Bible Institute, in which he has also served as a teacher for more than 20 years.

He has developed professionally in different organizations in the field of consulting and has accompanied more than 200 volunteer leaders in the church that he has lead for 17 years. He believes in the premise of growing the church by making it smaller through small groups.

Central American Region

Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama

steve@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Steve

Dr. Gerardo Espejel

North America Spanish Director

United States of America and Mexico

+1526641633019

gerardo@iglesiaparatodos.mx

Gerardo has been married for 30 years to Rosy & they have 2 adult children. Gerardo has served as a pastor with different positions in 1 single church for more than 25 years and is now senior pastor of Iglesia Para Todos. Gerardo asl serves as president of Zona Alternativa AC, a civil association with the vision of motivating, equipping and edifying the church. He has more than 20 years in organizing mass events for the church & non-profits. Gerardo has served as director of marketing and technology since 1990 of Acuario Fitness Center, one of the largest sports companies in the northwest of the country. He is also Lic. Marketing, M. Pastoral Ministries, Dr. Theology, Certified as speaker in John Maxwell Team.

Western Canada Regional Leader

Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Yukon

philip@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Philip

Nick Schonlau

Central Regional Leader

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

402-659-8914

nick@thirdcityc.org

To help in this area, please email Nick

Nick has served as Small Groups pastor at Third City Christian Church (Grand Island, NE) since 2007. He and his wife, November, have been married since 2006 and have one daughter. They stay busy with family activities, traveling both domestic and internationally and playing with their golden retrievers. In his spare time, Nick enjoys woodworking, genealogy, kayaking and enjoying the outdoors.

Southeast Region

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee

Ben Benjamin

Europe Director

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Macedonia, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom

949-500-1973

ben@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Ben

Ben is a native of Southern California and loves his wife, family, and the ocean. Ben has been blessed with the gift of innovation and the spirit of a connector. He & his wife have been involved with various ministry projects in Germany since 2015 and are passionate about serving the global church. He has a heart for communities seeking healthy relationships with Jesus and is excited to help build & support small group leaders in Europe.

Jeff Sobczak

Mountain Regional Leader

Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah

520-471-0414

Jeffsobczak1@gmail.com

To help in this area, please email Jeff

Jeff and his wife Tracy have a daughter Christy and son-in-law Kyle and 3 grandchildren; Cruz (4), Knox (2) and newborn Kinsley (6-4-19). Their adult son Brandon entered heaven in November 2013 (He died from a deadly infection). Jeff has served as the small group point person/small group pastor at 2 churches in Tucson, Arizona. He has a Master of Ministry Leadership Degree from Rockbridge University. Jeff is also a Michigan State graduate; Tracy and he are avid Spartan basketball and football fans.

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! 

Eastern Australia Regional Leader

tracey@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Tracey

Western Australia Regional Leader

tracey@smallgroupnetwork.com

To help in this area, please email Tracey

John Mozingo

Mid Atlantic Regional Leader

Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

703-307-1481

John@parkvalleychurch.com

To help in this area, please email John

John Mozingo is the Connect Group Pastor at Park Valley Church in Haymarket, Virginia. He has served for many years as both and educator and pastor in music and discipleship. He possesses a passion for connecting people to the church through small groups and loves coaching other churches to do the same. John lives in Warrenton, Virginia with his wife, Melinda, and their five children.

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.