Seeds Project Fellows

Bryan Willkom is the founder and director of JesusFit – a nonprofit at the intersection of faith and wellness (getjesusfit.com). Bryan is an ecumenical faith leader, entrepreneur, coach and content creator. Bryan is also a part of a local community initiative called Beer Church.

Alejandra Williams is an educator by profession and has served in many roles at her local church in Jamaica. She uses the performing arts to unite believers in sharing the gospel. Moreover, she is a philanthropist, co-founding HeavenSent Foundation in Jamaica that spreads the love of Jesus Christ by meeting the psychosocial, spiritual, and economic…

Mark Vorenkamp is the pastor of Revolution Church, a made-for-online Open and Affirming church. He is also a doctoral student in Fresh Expressions and Church Renewal at United Theological Seminary. He is an openly queer pastor working in the area of trauma-informed LGBTQIA2S+ ministry.

Nikki Taylor is an urban church planter and bi-vocational pastor at the Yellow Door House, a community centric house church in Greensboro, NC. With over seven years of experience serving non-profits she is committed to healthy hiring practices, trauma-informed human resource policies and cultures that empower people. She is a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University…

Dr. LaDonna Sanders Nkosi is founder of The Gathering Chicago Global, a global community of prayer and service which launched in 2016. She is also Founder & CEO of Ubuntu Global Village Communications where she leads Global Ventures and Healing Racism Retreats and Initiatives. A published poet, spoken word artist, speaker and scholar, Dr. LaDonna…

Melva L. Sampson is a digital hush harbor curator, ritualist, scholar and preacher. She is the creator of Pink Robe Chronicles ™ a digital hush harbor that centers faith and spirituality using womanist and Afrocentric values to highlight the importance of collective work and responsibility in healing and sustaining marginalized communities. She is currently working…

Rory Philstrom is the Dungeon Master Pastor and has been exploring the intersections between tabletop roleplaying games and following Jesus for the last nine years. He leads retreats for church workers, organizes a local Dungeons & Dragons Youth Group, and works within the gaming community to promote justice, generosity, and love. Rory also serves at…

Samantha Louise Nelson is a leadership cultivator guiding girls and young women to become natural born leaders through her non-profit, Brave Girl International. She is an author, a Minnesota Teacher of the Year, and holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. Samantha is a small-town girl with a world-wide vision to transform leadership development and…

Shani E. McIlwain is a ruling elder at Faith Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC where she also serves as Moderator {2022-23) of National Capital Presbytery (PCUSA). Known for her candid personal stories she weaves her “messy” moments of life into practical teaching moments for others on Facebook or her new podcast Embracing Race. As a…

Dr. Timogi is an Author, Educator, Teacher, and Preacher helping individuals and organizations move from Elusive to Empowered. She has written 12 books and facilitates Leadership Development courses for government, non profit, and corporate agencies. As a keynote speaker she has graced stages from prisons to Harvard. Dr. Timogi is an Ordained Elder and serves the…

The Reverend Julie M. Hoplamazian is an Episcopal priest serving in New York City. She is the founder of Faith on Pointe, a ministry at the intersection of ballet and theology. Julie is passionate about making both dance and faith accessible to everyone.

Rev. Gail Goldsmith is the rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Lynchburg, VA. She loves parish ministry because the church can be our best practice for the Kingdom of God. She earned her M. Div from Bexley Seabury at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She felt called to parish ministry after serving as a…

Dallas Flippin is the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Michigan, a church that launched a restaurant style dinner ministry named Café Connection. After growing up in a toxic church environment, he feels called to develop safe churches where people can be real with who they are and who they are becoming. He…

Mike Davis is an electrifying performer and motivational speaker who reflects the knowledge of self, collective creativity, cultural consciousness, and the Gospel. He also makes space for youth and young leaders to encounter community, opportunity, and the presence of God through a program he founded called “Cultured” a performing arts based, outreach ministry in South…

Born in Taiwan, raised in Montreal, Ricki felt called to live incarnationally in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and pursue grassroots organizing and church planting. She has a passion for discerning with and equipping people to develop leaders who transform their neighborhoods for the common good. Ricki holds a M.Div through Fuller Seminary.

Andrew Nemr is an interdisciplinary artist, teacher, and speaker. His work has spanned the music, dance, theatre, and visual arts worlds, exploring art as a vehicle for storytelling, community building, and caring for people.

Rev. Tyler Sit is the pastor and church planter of New City Church, a church mainly led by queer people of color. Sit is a second-generation Chinese American, trained community organizer, and United Methodist pastor.

September Penn is a singer/songwriter and theater performance artist. She is the Music Director at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles and has recently become the pastoral leadership of Angeles Mesa Presbyterian Church.

Jennifer Oliver is an educator, food scientist, food justice advocate, and an ordained itinerant elder in the A.M.E Church. She aids in transforming communities by filling need gaps in the area of hunger, poverty, and clean water through her food systems solutions consulting firm Dixon & Dukely, LLC and its nonprofit arm Manna Movement Collaborative.

Pastor Colleen Montgomery is an ordained pastor in the ELCA and is the mission developer for All Place Together. She is also called part-time to the Virginia Synod staff as Director for Digital Ministries.

JD Larson and his wife co-pastor North City Church in North Minneapolis. He is a co-vocational pastor and works in real estate and various entrepreneurial endeavors.

Chuck Whitley is a coach, trainer, pastor, non-profit leader, and business owner. Chuck currently serves as the executive director of 4C Business and has dedicated his life to influencing culture through kingdom business practice.

The Rev. Sean Steele is Vicar of St. Isidore Episcopal Church and The Abundant Harvest. Sean is a church entrepreneur and traditioned innovator. He received an MA in Theology from Creighton University, an MDiv from Seminary of the Southwest, and is a fully trained mediator, LDWF, and ICF Coach.

Jane Lam is a HongKonger in San Francisco, a 6th generation Christian (5th in ministry) from a family of Lutheran ministers. She serves at a community services NGO for low-income housing and plants micro house churches among first-generation immigrant seniors outside of work with a team of “unlikely leaders” (amazing seniors in their 70s-90s).

Heidi Ferris is an author, teacher trainer, public speaker, advocate, and environmental scientist. Heidi started Growing Green Hearts LLC in 2012 to increase climate literacy for communities and spark wonderment in Creation for youth.

Joe Davis is an artist, educator, and speaker based in Minneapolis, MN. He is the Founder and Director of the multimedia production company, The New Renaissance, the frontman of the emerging soul-funk band, The Poetic Diaspora, and co-creator of JUSTmove, racial justice education through art.

Mike Wu is a Chinese-Australian pastor, vocational coach, and church planter based in Kuala Lumpur. He was born in Shanghai, raised in Melbourne, and worked in banking and strategy consulting before seminary in the US.

Chris Kramer has served as a pastor and non-profit executive. Chris currently serves Oregon Synod as Dean o’ the Desert and on the Stewardship Table; He serves on the Board of Directors at Luther Seminary. Chris enjoys his family, outdoor adventuring, making music, and disappearing across Oregon on his motorcycle.

Kimmothy Cole is a multidisciplinary artist, organizer, and ritual practitioner in Austin, TX. Kimmothy works as the Director of Family Ministries at Servant Church and the Creator and Facilitator of Communitas, a small community rooted in holistic health and tangible relationships.

Alma Lizzette Cárdenas- Rodríguez is countercultural and faith rooted Writer, Poet, Published Author, & Mentor. She is a México-Estadounidense born, raised, and living in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. She is her own definition of a mujer, a wife, mother, friend, mentor, mentee, pastora, and teóloga who values truth, justice, and the…

Charlene S. Bowden is an entrepreneur and a passionate minister and faith leader who focuses on building relationships by creating opportunities to invoke honest and transparent conversations. Charlene is the Founder of It’s Just Us Productions, and Founder and Executive Director of It’s Just Us in the Community, Inc.

Tim Anderson is an author, storyteller, dreamer, schemer, and neighborhood collaborator. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Ace in the City, a Minneapolis-rooted placemaking organization cultivating belonging by reimagining and repurposing spaces and how we inhabit them.

The Rev. Lou A. Weber IV is one of the Cultivators for the Florida Fresh Expressions Team. Lou serves as the Executive Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Melbourne, Florida. As the Executive Pastor, he leads staff development, operations, finance, Fresh Expressions of Church, and drives the vision and mission of the Lead Pastor. 

Tamisha A. Tyler, MDiv is Executive Director of Arts | Religion | Culture and a Ph.D. Candidate in Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary. Her work focuses on theopoetics and the arts, with her most recent project centering on the work of Octavia E. Butler. She serves in leadership at Kinship Commons, a worship…

Rosario (Roz) is an experienced church planter who has planted and restarted four different congregations. Along with being a church planter, Roz is the author of 7 books, consults with church planters from across the country, and serves as Dean of the Chapel, Director of the Pohly Leadership Center, and a professor at United Theological…

Trin is a church planting pastor whose church is in its first years of life. Eden Community Covenant Church is a very different church that observes the Christian calendar but also the Jewish calendar. Eden Community takes a learning position as they observe the Jewish calendar and have the deepest respect for their Jewish brothers…

Scott serves as an associate pastor at Northstar Community, a faith-based recovery ministry in Richmond, VA. As part of his role there he has run support groups for people in recovery, led Bible Studies, adult education classes, and a children’s ministry, as well as preached around 20-25 times a year. He’s currently in his final…

Josh grew up in Orlando, Florida, discovering a passion for marching band, Jesus, and serving others. After working in media production at a few large churches, he felt the longing to make a difference beyond the consumer-focused show of Sunday morning and was either going to do communication work for a non-profit in Africa or…

A graduate of Fuller Seminary (MAT, 2020) and former Young Adults and Assistant East Campus Pastor at Neuma Church, Melbourne, Australia (formerly Bridge Church, 2012-2018), Sam Lim is now embarking on the adventure of church planting somewhere in the central southeastern region of Melbourne, with an anticipated launch in Spring 2021.

Dea Jenkins is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, curator, and CEO of Dea Studios. Through a series of life twists, including deciding not to pursue a career as a professional track runner, Dea “accidentally” discovered an interest and a talent for art making. As she discovered the world of painting, drawing, and graphic design, she ultimately…

Bethany McKinney Fox is the founding pastor of Beloved Everybody Church, an ability-inclusive church in Los Angeles where people with and without intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities, as well as neurodiverse folks, lead and participate together. She is director of spiritual formation for Cyclical LA, a church starting network.

Jeff is a youth and teaching pastor in Crossville, TN. He grew up agnostic but at the age of 22, gave his life to Jesus and answered His call to ministry. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife were asked to come on as the full-time youth pastors at the church where he was saved. In…

Lydia Kelsey Bucklin serves as Canon to the Ordinary for Discipleship and Vitality in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan. She was formed from a young age in baptismal, collaborative ministry and currently works with congregations and communities of faith in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan re-imagining and co-creating transformative ways of being Christ’s presence…

Linda K. Brown is the founder and CEO of Fully Unleashing Life. Her mission is to help individuals, particularly women, women in leadership, and churches and organizations know who they are and why they exist. Through transformational life coaching, evidence-based and psychoeducational trainings and workshops, people experience a metamorphosis.

Inés Velasquez-McBryde is a pastor, preacher, reconciler, and speaker. She is co-lead pastor of The Church We Hope For, a multiethnic church plant, with her co-pastor, Bobby Harrison, in southern California. She is also a chaplain at Fuller Theological Seminary where she earned her MDiv. Inés is originally from Nicaragua and has 20 years of…

Alexus Rhone (affectionately known as “Lex”) is a writer, producer, artistic theologian, and “revolutionary artist” devoted to candidly exploring the power of truth when “dressed” in story. Lex holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and a Bachelor of Journalism/Public Relations degree from the University of Texas at…

Aleah’s current context is working in and with the Deaf community, both locally in Washington D.C. and globally. She is passionate about addressing the barriers and obstacles that marginalized peoples experience, especially in regards to accessibility within the church. Before moving to DC she served as an international missionary in the Dominican Republic and Mexico.

Jonathan earned his M.Div from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, was ordained in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, and opened a brewery in Ashville, North Carolina before being called to Spokane, WA to serve as Vicar of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and the West Central Abbey. 

Cat Moore is an applied philosopher focusing on belonging and simple ethics, which starts with being a mom to her 11-year-old superhero son, Noah. She apprenticed to philosopher-theologian Dallas Willard, trying to make her lonely life work and come to understand the conditions for community. 

Darin McKenna is a queer pastor and church planter, currently located in North Hollywood, CA. Born and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA, he has worked in church contexts for 8 years. He received his MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2018. He is also a certified enneagram coach and teacher. 

Lily is a Marriage and Family Therapist in California. She has a particular interest and passion for serving marginalized and oppressed populations as a therapist and bringing the truth of Christ to her clients. Previous to the counseling profession, she spent 6 years working as a consultant for creative agencies globally.

Although a Massachusetts native, Cath Kaminski is a church planter in Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln has one of the highest populations of refugees per capita in the United States. This is one of the many reasons Cath moved there a year and a half ago to start Beacon Community Church. Beacon is called to racial justice and reconciliation…

The Rev. Charisse Jones is a dream catcher, purpose pusher, and vision catalyzer. Charisse is the founder and CEO of Grace + Grit Unlimited, LLC. Charisse seeks to create brave and bold spaces for women who are ready to own their worth and live the vision of who they are created to be. 

The Rev. Carl Johnson moved to the Twin Cities (MN) in the fall of 2016. He has a mission to abolish food insecurity in major cities starting with St. Paul, believing that race and economic justice are tied to food. Carl’s extensive knowledge of black culture and structures of identities in the black community has…

Al Han is the pastor and church planter of Perch.Church in Glendale, CA. The Perch.Church tagline is to simply “love Jesus and love like Jesus.” Even though he’s new to church planting, he’s served as a pastor for 18 years in youth, college, and young adult ministries. He has a passion to minister to Millennials…

Paul Gorrell is the Founder of Peace Right Here a nonprofit on mission to recover and reshape imaginations to embrace, practice, and champion alternatives to violence. Paul is committed to equipping leaders to build what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to as the Beloved Community.