Speakers

Gary Wilkerson

GARY WILKERSON
Founding Pastor, The Springs Church. President, World Challenge. Author.

Gary Wilkerson is the President of World Challenge, an international mission organization that was founded by his father, David Wilkerson. He is also the Founding Pastor of The Springs Church, which he launched in 2009 with a handful of people and the church has rapidly grown by God's grace. He has traveled nationally and internationally at conferences and conducted mission ventures such as church planting, starting orphanages, clinics, feeding programs among the poorest of the poor and the most unreached people of the earth. Gary and his wife Kelly have four children and live in Colorado Springs, CO.

David Wilkerson

DAVID WILKERSON (1931-2011)
Founder, World Challenge Inc., Founding Pastor, Times Square Church. Author.

David Wilkerson was the Founding Pastor of Times Square Church in New York City. He was called to New York in 1958 to minister to gang members and drug addicts, as told in the best-selling book, The Cross and the Switchblade. In 1987, David Wilkerson returned to "the crossroads of the world" to establish Times Square Church. As a pastor of the church, he faithfully led this congregation, delivering powerful biblical messages that encourage righteous living and complete reliance on God. David Wilkerson had a strong burden to encourage and strengthen pastors throughout the world. From 1999 to 2008, he traveled around the globe holding conferences for Christian ministers.

Carter Conlon

CARTER CONLON
General Overseer, Times Square Church. Author.

Pastor Carter Conlon is the General Overseeer of Times Square Church. He joined the pastoral staff in 1994 at the invitation of the founding pastor, David Wilkerson, and was senior pastor from 2001 to 2020. Following a successful career in law enforcement, Pastor Carter pastored a church and directed a Christian school east of Ottawa, Canada. During his early years of ministry in Canada, he also owned and operated a sheep farm.
Pastor Carter’s shepherd’s heart is evident in the tender and compassionate way he lead the large congregation at Times Square Church. He is loved and well respected for his strong leadership and fiery passion for God. He is married to Teresa Conlon and they have three married children and eight grandchildren.

Tim Dilena

TIM DILENA
Lead Pastor, Times Square Church. Chaplain.

Pastor Tim Dilena is senior pastor of Times Square Church. He is the third senior pastor since the founding of the church by David Wilkerson in 1987. The relationship between Tim Dilena and TSC is a close one. Pastor Tim’s father, Paul Dilena, was the police captain in David Wilkerson’s bestselling book The Cross and the Switchblade.
Pastor Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Corporate Finance and has taken extended studies in apologetics at Oxford University in England. He travels extensively with Gary Wilkerson and Nicky Cruz speaking at pastor conferences globally.
He and his wife, Cindy, have four children.

Claude Houde

CLAUDE HOUDE
Senior Pastor, New Life Church. Chairman, French-World Theological Institute. President, Christian Association for the French Speaking Nations.

Claude Houde is the principal pastor of Église Nouvelle Vie (New Life Church) since 1993. Under his leadership, the church has seen a marvelous growth, from 50 people in its beginning to more than 4,000 in 2014. As an international speaker, he has ministered to pastors and leaders in many countries. He is also the chairman of the French-World Theological Institute and president of the Christian Association for the French speaking nations. He teaches on leadership, communication and pastoral theology and his courses are followed in all four corners of the French speaking world.
He has been married to Chantal for more than 25 years. They are parents to two children and an adopted daughter with two grandchildren. He resides in la Rive-Sud in Montreal.

Nicky Cruz

NICKY CRUZ
Evangelist, Nicky Cruz Outreach. Author.

Nicky Cruz is the best-selling author of eighteen books, including the all-time Christian classic, Run Baby Run, published in 1968 and translated into several dozen languages worldwide. It is still a top-10 best-seller in the United Kingdom. His most recent book is Soul Obsession. Nicky is a minister and evangelist who has reached tens of millions of people around the globe with his powerful testimony. He is the president of Nicky Cruz Outreach, and founder of TRUCE, an international discipleship and evangelism ministry located in NYC dedicated to reaching and mentoring young people around the world. Each year he speaks to more than 500,000 people in stadiums and venues throughout the world. The Wall Street Journal described Nicky as the “Billy Graham of the streets,” a title that aptly describes his influence for Christ. He is the father of four daughters and eight grandchildren. Nicky lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Gloria.
If you would like to learn more about Nicky Cruz Outreach, or find out how you can support TRUCE urban evangelism training center, please visit www.nickycruz.org.

John Bailey

JOHN BAILEY
Founding Pastor, Springs Church Jacksonville. COO, World Challenge

Pastor John Bailey is the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at World Challenge. After giving his life to Christ in the Tampa City jail, John felt that the Lord placed in him a great hunger to know Christ and study God’s Word. John spent 12 years discipling young leaders and was then called to pastor and evangelize in Western Europe for 10 years.

In 2011, John, his wife, Crista, and two children returned to Jacksonville, Florida to plant The Springs Church. The church began with seven people in a trailer and stands today as a thriving multi-campus church, making disciples, reaching the community and engaging in missions work around the world.

After over a decade of ministry in Jacksonville, John was invited by Gary Wilkerson to come and serve at World Challenge. Today, John gives vision and direction to World Challenge as well as serving as a keynote speaker, author and conference speaker. His life’s purpose is to seek a genuine awakening of God’s Spirit in America and around the world.

Joshua West

JOSHUA WEST
Director, World Challenge.  Pastor, evangelist and author.

Joshua West comes from a background of life-controlling addiction. While in jail, the saving power of Christ radically transformed him. He has authored several books and has taught all over the world. From 2015 to 2022, he was the pastor at Sonrise Adult & Teen Challenge in Cache, Oklahoma as well as director of the Berean School of Ministry. He is the Pastors Network Director at World Challenge.

The burning passion of Joshua’s life is to boldly preach the gospel to a lost and dying world. He encourages believers to be conformed to the image of Christ through sound biblical preaching and teaching. He also has a great burden to equip and encourage pastors.

Joshua lives in Colorado Springs, CO where he partners in life and ministry with his wife, Kiara. They have one son, Jameson.

Jim Cymbala

JIM CYMBALA
Senior Pastor, Brooklyn Tabernacle. Author.

Jim Cymbala has been the pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle for more than twenty-five years. He is also the author of the bestselling titles: Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire; Fresh Faith; Fresh Power; Breakthrough Prayer; The Life God Blesses; The Church God Blesses; and The Promise of God’s Power. He lives in New York City with his wife, Carol, who directs the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.

Rob Brown

RON BROWN
Executive Director of Teen Challenge Southern California, minister and speaker

As Executive Director, Ron Brown oversees the ministry of Teen Challenge Southern California and its ten ministry locations, including Kern County, Ventura/Tri-County, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Inland Empire, San Diego County, Central Valley and the Antelope Valley. Ron has been involved in ministry for 36 years, leading evangelism outreach and prevention efforts to stem the tide of addiction in Southern California communities.

Ron is also passionate about leadership development. He encourages pastors and Christian leaders through conferences nationally and internationally.

More than anything, Ron believes that the love of Jesus is stronger than the bondage of sin and addiction. Through God’s grace, no one is beyond Christ’s redemption. He and his wife, Demetra, have two daughters, two wonderful sons-in-law, and eight amazing grandchildren.