Welcome & Vision Casting: The Power of Partnership
Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson

Keynote: Prayer: A Unified Blessing
Rev. Rachel Pryor, SCN

Morning Reflection: Anchoring Our Purpose
Rev. Dr. Patrick Duggan

From Pulpit to Pavement: Unleashing Community Potential
Rev. Hodari Williams, Pastor, New Life Presbyterian Church

Panel: Innovators’ Showcase
Adese Church: Pioneering New Pathways
Panelists: Carla Leon, Sandra Acosta and Rev. Dr. Greg Smith
Q&A

LUNCH BREAK

WORKSHOPS
Pioneering New Pathways
Adese “Entrepreneurial” Church

Building Bridges Home: Strategies for Affordable Housing Solutions
Affordable Housing

Revitalizing Spaces, Empowering People
Community Facilities & Economic Development

WORKHSHOPS IMPACT HUB Q&A

Charge: “Go Forth and Transform”
Rev. Dr. Jamesetta Ferguson

ADJOURNMENT

Welcome & Vision Casting: Charting our Collective Future
Rev. Terrill Murff, Interim IL Conf Minister

Morning Reflection: Anchoring Our Purpose
Rev. Dr. Patrick Duggan

Prayer: A Unified Blessing
Rev. Dr. Patrick Duggan

KEYNOTES

The Dual Engine of Growth: Community Engagement & Capital Fundraising
Rev. Staci Marrese-Wheeler, Common Grace
Rev. James Pennington, Back Bay Mission

LUNCH BREAK

KEYNOTE IMPACT HUB Q&A
Rev. Staci Marrese-Wheeler, Common Grace
Rev. James Pennington, Back Bay Mission

WORKSHOPS
It’s Hard to Love Your Neighbors if You Don’t Know
Them! Using MissionInsite tools to connect with your community
MissionInsite

Engaging Transform Church Transform Community 2.0 Congregations

Engaging Community through Digital Ministry

WORKHSHOPS IMPACT HUB Q&A
Emily Reece, Jill White, Jim Keat

Charge: “Go Forth and Transform”
Rev. Dr. Jamesetta Ferguson

ADJOURNMENT

Sandra Acosta is the founder and principal of AIM Development Group, Corp., a planning and real estate development consulting firm founded in 2003 that specializes in analyzing, conceptualizing, structuring, and implementing housing and economic development policies, programs, investments, and projects.

Through AIM, Sandra applies her commitment to low- and moderate-income communities with decades of expertise working in the public, private and philanthropic sectors. AIM’s studies, strategic planning, program development and real estate development services support clients seeking to create, modify or expand housing and economic development initiatives that are stakeholder driven, feasible, sustainable and reflect each community’s unique assets. Our clients include faith-based groups, CDC’s, foundations, and government municipalities across the nation.

Ms. Acosta graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Boston, from which she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics. She holds a Master of Science in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from the New School for Social Research. She is a member of the American Planning Association (APA) and is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). She also holds a certificate as an Economic Development Finance Professionals from the National Development Council (NDC). Ms. Acosta is a former Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Congressional Fellow and currently a Board Member of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council (CHPC). She currently resides in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx. AIM is a NYS and NYC Certified Minority and Woman Owned Enterprise (MWBE).

Rev. Jim Keat wants to help progressive and mainline churches use the internet well and use the internet for good. He is the Minister of Digital Worship & Education at The Riverside Church in New York City, the Director of Online Innovation for Convergence, and a Digital Consultant for various progressive faith agencies and organizations. He is the creator and producer of original media projects at The Riverside Church, such as Bible in a Minute, The Word Made Fresh, Church of the Long Run, Be Still and Go, and more. He shares all of his digital ministry ideas on YouTube and Substack – visit JimKeat.com to learn more or follow @RevJimRuns on almost any social media platform. When the weather is warm he enjoy visiting a new state park with his wife and two kids in their Airstream and no matter what the weather he enjoys going out for a long run.

Carla Leon is an Adese Fellow from the class of 2018 and has been a spiritual entrepreneur since 2009 having started a telemarketing social enterprise that hired individuals with various abilities from rural Canada before she even knew what a social enterprise was. As part of her consulting firm she was the head of innovation with The United Church of Canada for 12 years supporting 700 communities of faith in launching social innovations.  In 2022 she performed a social acquisition of a home care franchise network with charities owning over 50% of the shares. She is currently the CEO & President of Just Like Family Home Care which has doubled in size in 3 years and continues to experience double digit growth year over year.

Staci (She/Her) is an ordained Moravian pastor serving the Common Grace congregation.  She also serves as Co-Executive Director for Programming & Partnerships at Eastmorland Community Center, a community impact, non-profit started by Common Grace.  Staci has an undergraduate degree in English, Secondary Education from Carroll University and a Masters of Divinity from Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, PA.  She has served in the Eastmorland neighborhood of Madison, Wisconsin since 2009.  Staci has often served in bi-vocational roles throughout her years in ministry, including work in public schools, the United Way, an Interfaith Volunteer Caregiver program, and a hospice care program.

Rev. James Pennington was born and raised in Booneville, MS until he moved with family to the South Side of Chicago when he was 11 years old.  James completed his education at the University of Chicago and Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois.  He Majored in Educational Psychology, Theology and Philosophy and later secured his Master of Social Work.  

• Served as Campus Pastor at University of Nebraska and University of Wisconsin.

• Spent 1.5 years in Novosibirsk, Siberia working with the emerging church. 

• Director of Pathfinders and Street Beat, a shelter and street outreach program for at risk youth experiencing homelessness. The program served homeless, throwaway and runaway youth throughout Wisconsin and beyond.

• Directed Life Care Services, Clean Needle Exchange, HIV Counseling and testing in the prison system, and Harm Reduction Model with meth addicts.

• Executive Director of the LGBTQIA Community Center in Milwaukee.  

• James received a certification from two HBCUs in Diversity, Equity, and inclusion and Black Liberation Theology.

• Served as Lead Pastor at Living Table United Church of Christ (Minneapolis, MN – 6 years) and First Church United Church of Christ (Phoenix, AZ – 7 years). 

• Finally, James was called to serve as the Executive Director of Back Bay Mission (BBM) in Biloxi, MS and started service there on February 22, 2021.  Confident that this is the opportunity to serve utilizing all of his previous experience he perceives this as “coming full circle”.    

Pastor James' constant companion is Baily, or Lady Long Dog.  She loves to offer therapeutic pets and licks for staff and the unsheltered folks we serve at BBM.   James' observations are peppered with the insights of the Deep South, the Upper Midwest and the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

Johnetta Roberts is the Founder of The 40 &1 Company, a boutique real estate development consulting firm that advances equitable community projects through tenant attraction, marketing, and community engagement strategies. Since its launch in 2017, the firm’s first major project — The Village @ West Jefferson in Louisville — has become a 30,000 SF mixed-use hub hosting local businesses, nonprofits, and a health equity institute.

Currently, her firm partners with Louisville’s award-winning Waterfront Park Development Corporation to lead community engagement efforts. In May 2025, Johnetta was selected as a FUSE Executive Fellow, where she is spearheading a project with Louisville Metro Government to build capacity among small minority developers and expand pathways to wealth creation in underserved communities.

Previously, Johnetta served on the leadership team of Community Ventures, a nationally recognized CDFI, where she deployed capital and technical assistance for small businesses.

She holds a B.S. in Business Administration, is a licensed real estate agent, and serves on the boards of Molo Village CDC, Bernheim Forest, and the Oxmoor Farm Foundation.

The Rev. Dr. Greg Smith is an ordained United Church of Christ pastor dedicated to making the world a better place for all people. For more than 25 years, he has guided churches and other non-profit organizations – ranging in annual revenue of under $1 million to over $40 million – to scale their programs, products, and services in order to multiply their impact.

Since 2021, he has served as Chief Executive Officer of White Rock Center of Hope, an ecumenical ministry in Dallas, Texas, that fosters hope by meeting basic needs and offering personalized empowerment. During his tenure, the organization has doubled its reach while expanding its services to provide more holistic support.

Previously he served 10 congregations affiliated with five denominations, taught religion to undergraduates for eight years, and helped three organizations provide quality healthcare to underserved populations.

Greg volunteers with Faith Forward Dallas, serves as a small group leader for Cathedral of Hope UCC, and is on the Board of the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ. Additionally, he serves on the Board of the Texas Association of Charitable Clinics.

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