Rev. Ryan Canaday
Lead Pastor // Founder // Executive Director
Bio
Rev. Ryan Canaday is the Founder, Lead Pastor & Executive Director at FREE Recovery Community in Denver, Colorado. FREE is a community for Addicts, Loved Ones of Addicts, and Spiritual Refugees.
Ryan and his wife, Tami, started FREE in 2018 to break the silence of addiction while creating space for healing, recovery, and spiritual connection. Ryan is active in recovery and has been sober since January 7, 2013.
Ryan and his wife, Tami, started FREE in 2018 to break the silence of addiction while creating space for healing, recovery, and spiritual connection. Ryan is active in recovery and has been sober since January 7, 2013.
Rev. Kris Sledge
Lead Pastor // Founder // Author
Bio
Kris Sledge is the lead and founding pastor of The Journey Church, a vibrant United Methodist congregation planted in 2019 in the heart of urban Harrisburg, PA. The Journey is a diverse and inclusive faith community with a bold vision: to create a space where all people can experience the liberative and transformative spirit of Jesus. Approximately 65% of the congregation is under the age of 40, and the church’s multi-ethnic makeup (55% white, 45% people of color) reflects its commitment to justice, inclusion, and radical belonging. Together, they seek to wrestle with life’s hardest questions in love, honor differences with grace, and build authentic community rooted in Christ.
Kris is also leading a strategic partnership between The Journey and The Neighborhood Center, an urban United Methodist non-profit mission hub, working to deepen and expand their shared impact on human flourishing in Harrisburg.
He recently co-authored Followers Under 40: The Journey Away from Church for Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha with Rachel Gilmore. The book explores the challenges facing the church today -- declining trust, aging congregations, and dwindling attendance -- and offers a hopeful path forward for churches ready to foster belonging, curiosity, and safety for younger generations.
Kris was born and raised in central Pennsylvania, where a local church became a surrogate family, saved his life, and instilled a love for God and people. That nurturing foundation laid the groundwork for his call to ministry and continues to shape his leadership today.
Outside of ministry, Kris loves spending time with his wife, Hannah, and their daughter, Lydia -- traveling together, discovering new breakfast spots, kayaking in the summer, or sledding in the winter.
Kris is also leading a strategic partnership between The Journey and The Neighborhood Center, an urban United Methodist non-profit mission hub, working to deepen and expand their shared impact on human flourishing in Harrisburg.
He recently co-authored Followers Under 40: The Journey Away from Church for Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha with Rachel Gilmore. The book explores the challenges facing the church today -- declining trust, aging congregations, and dwindling attendance -- and offers a hopeful path forward for churches ready to foster belonging, curiosity, and safety for younger generations.
Kris was born and raised in central Pennsylvania, where a local church became a surrogate family, saved his life, and instilled a love for God and people. That nurturing foundation laid the groundwork for his call to ministry and continues to shape his leadership today.
Outside of ministry, Kris loves spending time with his wife, Hannah, and their daughter, Lydia -- traveling together, discovering new breakfast spots, kayaking in the summer, or sledding in the winter.
Rev. Magrey deVega
Senior Pastor // Author // Speaker
Bio
Magrey deVega is the Senior Pastor of Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, Florida, and the author of 13 books, including Questions Jesus Asked, Embracing the Uncertain, and The Bible Year.
He has served in numerous Conference and denominational leadership capacities, and has been a featured speaker in numerous conferences around the country.
One of his passions is in helping people discover a revitalized faith that is free from past fundamentalist harm, while still claiming the vital aspects of the historic Christian tradition.
He has served in numerous Conference and denominational leadership capacities, and has been a featured speaker in numerous conferences around the country.
One of his passions is in helping people discover a revitalized faith that is free from past fundamentalist harm, while still claiming the vital aspects of the historic Christian tradition.
Rev. Gail Song Bantum
Lead Pastor // Coach // Culture Curator
Bio
Rev. Gail Song Bantum is passionate about creating space for developing leaders and their flourishing. She has been a lead pastor, executive coach, and culture curator for diverse, multi, and inclusive organizations for nearly three decades.
As a second generation Korean-American woman, deeply formed in the Black Church tradition, Gail centers and prioritizes advocacy, liberation, and belonging for the marginalized and is a highly sought after speaker, preacher, and consultant. She currently serves on the board of WomanPreach! Inc. and as an advisor for organizational leaders. Gail served eight years as a WNBA chapel speaker for the Seattle Storm, and is the co-author of Choosing Us: Mutual Flourishing In A World Of Difference.
She is an ordained minister and received her M.Div. from Duke Divinity School. Gail and her husband, Dr. Brian Bantum, have three adult children and reside in North Carolina.
As a second generation Korean-American woman, deeply formed in the Black Church tradition, Gail centers and prioritizes advocacy, liberation, and belonging for the marginalized and is a highly sought after speaker, preacher, and consultant. She currently serves on the board of WomanPreach! Inc. and as an advisor for organizational leaders. Gail served eight years as a WNBA chapel speaker for the Seattle Storm, and is the co-author of Choosing Us: Mutual Flourishing In A World Of Difference.
She is an ordained minister and received her M.Div. from Duke Divinity School. Gail and her husband, Dr. Brian Bantum, have three adult children and reside in North Carolina.
Rev. Matt Miofsky
Pastor // Author // Equipper
Bio
Matt Miofsky is the Lead and Founding Pastor of The Gathering in St. Louis, Missouri. Since Matt founded The Gathering in 2006, it has grown into a thriving multi-site congregation with three locations scattered throughout St. Louis.
Matt is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis where he received a B.A. in mathematics. He then completed his Master’s of Divinity at Emory University in Atlanta. He served as an associate pastor for a local UM church in St. Louis before starting The Gathering.
Matt is passionate about church planting, connecting with new generations, and multi-site ministry. He frequently speaks and teaches on these subjects. Matt is the author of “The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer” (Abingdon, 2023), “Let Go: Leaning Into the Future Without Fear” (Abingdon, May 2019), “8 Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches” (Abingdon Books, October 2018), “Happy? What It Is and How to Find It” (Abingdon Books, April 2017), “Fail: What to Do When Things Go Wrong” (Abingdon Books, September 2017), a contributor to Disciple Fast Track: Into the Word, Into the World (Abingdon, 2017), “Flipping Church: How Successful Church Planters Are Turning Conventional Wisdom Upside-Down” (Discipleship Resources, 2016), and the “Ask: Faith Questions in a Skeptical Age” DVD project (Abingdon, 2015).
Matt has been elected to serve as a delegate from Missouri to the United Methodist General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 2012, 2016, 2019, and is a delegate for both Conferences again in 2024. Matt is also passionate about the Mozambique safe water ministry he began through The Gathering. To date, this ministry has raised over $2.2 million for safe water and dug over 200 wells.
When he's not writing, preaching, or teaching, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids.
You can connect with him via:
Facebook: @MattMiofsky
X: @mmiofsky
Instagram mmiofsky
Matt is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis where he received a B.A. in mathematics. He then completed his Master’s of Divinity at Emory University in Atlanta. He served as an associate pastor for a local UM church in St. Louis before starting The Gathering.
Matt is passionate about church planting, connecting with new generations, and multi-site ministry. He frequently speaks and teaches on these subjects. Matt is the author of “The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer” (Abingdon, 2023), “Let Go: Leaning Into the Future Without Fear” (Abingdon, May 2019), “8 Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches” (Abingdon Books, October 2018), “Happy? What It Is and How to Find It” (Abingdon Books, April 2017), “Fail: What to Do When Things Go Wrong” (Abingdon Books, September 2017), a contributor to Disciple Fast Track: Into the Word, Into the World (Abingdon, 2017), “Flipping Church: How Successful Church Planters Are Turning Conventional Wisdom Upside-Down” (Discipleship Resources, 2016), and the “Ask: Faith Questions in a Skeptical Age” DVD project (Abingdon, 2015).
Matt has been elected to serve as a delegate from Missouri to the United Methodist General and Jurisdictional Conferences in 2012, 2016, 2019, and is a delegate for both Conferences again in 2024. Matt is also passionate about the Mozambique safe water ministry he began through The Gathering. To date, this ministry has raised over $2.2 million for safe water and dug over 200 wells.
When he's not writing, preaching, or teaching, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids.
You can connect with him via:
Facebook: @MattMiofsky
X: @mmiofsky
Instagram mmiofsky