Shane serves as the National Next Gen Director for the North American Mission Board (NAMB). He and his wife, Kasi reside in Texas, with their five children. He has been in ministry for over 20 years as a denominational leader, church planter, lead pastor, and student pastor. Shane is also a traveling communicator, evangelist, and Bible teacher. Every year he speaks to over a hundred thousand people about the good news of Jesus Christ. He is the author of two books, 9 Common Lies Christians Believe: And Why God’s Truth Is Infinitely Better and Calling Out the Called: Discipling Those Called to Ministry Leadership, and is also one of the hosts of The Gensend Podcast.

Ben Trueblood serves as the Executive Directory of Church Ministries for Lifeway Christian Resources and has over twenty years of student ministry experience, fourteen of which were spent in the local church as a student pastor. In addition to his role at Lifeway Ben is involved in training, consulting, and speaking to student ministries throughout the U.S.

He is the author of three books: A Different College Experience, Within Reach, and Student Ministry That Matters, and is the host of The Student Ministry Podcast by Lifeway. Ben also has a YouTube channel (Student Ministry That Matters) aimed at encouraging and investing in fellow youth pastors. Ben is driven by a desire for student ministries to expand God’s Kingdom, to see the lives of students transformed by the gospel, and to develop students who shape the culture in which they live.

In his free time Ben enjoys family, hunting, is a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, and is a collector of hobbies.

Zac currently serves as the Student Ministry Specialist for Lifeway Students. Zac is also the co-founder and network lead for Youth Ministry Booster. Zac is a voracious reader, avid gamer, car-camper, folk musician, black coffee-drinker, beard aficionado. Enneagram 7 & ENFP. He loves to eat breakfast food at new places with his wife Karen and two wild boys Isaiah & Gideon.

For 15+ years, Zac has served on staff at local churches in Oklahoma and North Carolina to oversee the middle school, high school, and college-aged ministries. Zac received his undergraduate education from Oklahoma Baptist University and his Master’s of Divinity from Duke University.

Chad Higgins serves as the Parent Ministry Specialist for Lifeway. He has served in the local church since 2004. He is the co-founder of Youth Ministry Booster and is passionate about seeing spiritually healthy ministers lead families that point their children to Jesus. He lives in Stillwater, OK with his wife Martha and their daughter Malia. He loves chess, the Red Sox and sushi.