Staff
Having grown up in the mid-west and coming from an Assemblies of God upbringing, Todd Ferrell felt the call of God on his life to be involved in music ministry while attending college & attending a large charismatic church in the suburbs of St Louis. While struggling to make peace with his inter-struggles, he cried out to God while driving in his car one day and God spoke to him saying, “I Love You, Todd. And if you keep your eyes on me, one day, I will be able to use you.”
Years later, Todd has seen that message come true in his life. Todd co-founded Freedom in Christ Evangelical Church of San Francisco in 1991 in order to establish a fellowship for believers from a more Evangelical background. In 1991, he assisted in co-leading worship at the newly founded Freedom in Christ Evangelical Church of San Francisco and became the official Worship Leader of the church from 1994-2011.
In 1996 he was elected to serve on the board of directors for The Evangelical Network and then was elected to serve as the organizations President from 1997-2000. He was re-elected in 2004 & currently serves as board president of The Evangelical Network.
Franklin Sampley, Secretary (click on link for email)
Franklin grew up in the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) as a youth and then his family for many years attended an independent Apostolic Pentecostal Church. He attended Christian High School at the Apostolic Church and studied theology all four years of high school. In 1980 and 1981, he attended Christian Life College (CLC) in Stockton California. CLC is a Bible School in the UPCI. He came out in 1981 and at that time left the United Church he was then attending. He began attending Freedom in Christ Evangelical Church (FIC) in San Francisco in 1998.
A few years after beginning to attend FIC he became involved in the Building Fund Committee and in the Outreach Committee. He served as the Minister of Outreach for several years. He was later made an Elder and served in that position until 2011. Franklin conducted a Bible Study Cell Group from 2001 into 2011 as a part of ministry at FIC. Franklin has a B.S in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a State of California teaching credential in Adult Education. Franklin believes in the great need in the LGBT community to reconcile their sexuality and Christianity. He resides in Terre Haute Indiana with his partner Filomeno Fiel. Franklin has served on the Council for TEN since 2004 and served as the Secretary since 2007. He has worked since 2006 on the pastors retreat and continues to oversee this element of the conference each year.
John Grinstead - Treasurer (click on link for email)
John grew up in Terre Haute and the South Eastern area of
Indiana
. At the age of nine years old, John fell in love with the Lord while attending an Assembly of God church, but he struggled with what he was being taught there. Even as a child he felt that God loved him and others and could not believe that God would condemn him for feeling different than others. Eventually the time came when he had to choose between his church and God – John chose God! He chose to maintain his relationship with God and let his relationship with the church drift apart. John never felt that he needed to reconcile who he was and his relationship with God because he always felt that he ‘knew God loved me for who I was.’ After High School, John attended
Purdue
University
and then joined the Army. After some time away from the church, he was called back to a closer relationship with God through a
Full
Gospel
Church in
Savannah,
Georgia
. It was in this church that he began to understand the true depths of God’s love and grace. He was baptized into the Body of Christ at age 33.
John met his now husband, Jeffrey Smith, in Savannah
Georgia
. Shortly after becoming a couple they moved to
Kentucky.
In
Kentucky
they became members of the MCC Elizabethtown – here John served on the Board of Directors. They joined Open Door Community Fellowship in
Louisville
Kentucky
in May 2007. During their time with Open Door Community Fellowship, John served on the Board of Directors as the Treasurer and Jeff served as the Assistant Pastor. John also was active in several community ministries, including Faith Leaders for Fairness, Warm Blessings Soup Kitchen, and Habitat for Humanity. John and Jeff both have retired from the Military and currently reside in Hinesville
Georgia
with their four legged children Terry and Bandit.
David Thomas – Council Member
From his earliest memories, Pastor David had a desire to serve the Lord and bring others to Christ. He held his own vacation Bible school in his back yard when he was nine years old and preached his first sermon in his home church when he was 14. After graduating from Oral Roberts University with a degree in Theological and Historical Studies, he did mission work in Florida, Haiti and Jamaica and did prison ministry through a contemporary Christian music group. Over the years, Pastor David has served in a pastoral role for nine different churches, and in 2004, he founded Abundant Grace Church, a thriving congregation in Granite Falls, NC. He lives with his husband and partner in ministry, Pastor Jack McConnell in Taylorsville, NC and together they work to help others know the love and peace that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Janice LaCount – Council Member
Janice was blessed that both her parents were Born Again, Holy Ghost filled people who believed in the power of Jesus’ Name. Because of the lives they lived she was brought up to know what it means to have a personal experience with Jesus. At the age of 16 Janice began her ministry, and soon began evangelizing across the USA. Janice was part of the Jackson Mississippi Music Conference choir for Lanny Wolf. She was on the Praise and Worship team at Higher Dimensions in Tulsa, Oklahoma , her hometown, and sang with other Praise and Worship teams and preached at many churches across the country. It was at the first Midwest SpiritQuest in Indiana with her friend, Randy Duncan that she became aware that she could openly accept who God created her to be, she learned that it was never a choice. Coming to full knowledge and acceptance of who she really was, Janice began preaching in several churches in our communities. Janice was the Praise and Worship Minister for three years at Sanctuary of Love in Dallas, Texas. At present Janice and her wife Lisa Cage are traveling, spreading the Gospel (the good glad merry news that makes one dance for joy) through song and spoken word. Visit their website www.WEministries.info
Ed is a veteran broadcaster having worked as a radio news reporter, anchor, and news director. In television he was the assignment editor for an ABC affiliate in Illinois where he supervised a team of 12 reporters and photojournalists. He has worked as a corporate trainer conducting seminars on sales, problem solving, and hotel software. More recently Ed's writing has been published in the San Francisco Bay Times and the Bay Area Reporter newspapers. Currently Ed serves as the Director of Public Relations for The Evangelical Network. In 1993 Ed earned his B.A. in Radio & Television from Southern Illinois University.
Filomeno (Fil) Fiel - HIV/AIDS Coordinator (click on link for email)
Filomeno (Fil) grew up at City of Sta. Rosa, Laguna Philippines in a Catholic home. As a young man he started serving his church as an altar boy and as he grew up he continued to be very involved in church activities. During high school he taught catechism in public elementary schools. He also joined Singles for Christ (a Catholic charismatic organization) during his time with Singles for Christ he received the Holy Ghost. After he moved to the United States, he was for a period without a church, but then joined Freedom in Christ Evangelical Church in San Francisco, California. During his time at Freedom In Christ Church he served for a year as a co-minister for Young Adult Ministry. Currently, Filomeno is attending Indiana State University finishing a degree in Social Work. He resides in Terre Haute, IN with his partner, Franklin Sampley.
For nearly twenty years Kenny traveled with his dad and his brother in one of Christian music's most popular Southern Gospel trios. The Bishops garnered several industry and fan awards including the coveted Dove Award as well as numerous number one and top ten songs.
Recent feature articles in major, main-stream music publications have brought added notoriety
to Kenny's story of success and struggle in the Gospel music industry. This attention, coupled
with a new understanding of God's love, has allowed Kenny to take his message of gracebeyond-limits to many who considered themselves unwanted or neglected by God. They are learning of their worth in God's heart, and coming to the true understanding that God's grace is either for everyone, or for no one. His writings and podcasts are popular stops on the Internet.
In addition to Kenny's wonderful musical talents he brings to TEN his many years of special events coordination with the Kentucky State Senate and Kentucky House of Representatives, to name only a few.
Thom became a Follower of Christ April 18, 1977. Since that time he has been involved in church life and not a day goes by that he doesn't feel the presence and the calling of God in his life. He married at the age of 21 and enjoyed being married for 26 years. He has six children, 1 girl and 5 boys. He continues to help raise his children. His ex-wife and he are still very good friends. Because of such a great witness from brave people like Bishop Gene Robinson he came out to the people around him in late summer 2008. He now resides in Reno, NV with his husband Norm. He brings with him 6 years of military experience as well as over 35 years of ministry, administrative and management experience.
