CONFERENCE START TIMES |FRIDAY 7PM-8:30PM (EST) SATURDAY 9AM-1PM (EST)
Time Zones | Friday 4pm (PST)/ 5pm (MST)/ 6pm(CST) | Saturday 6am(PST)/ 7am ( MST)/ 8am(CST)
Conference Information
Every time you set a goal you suddenly face obstacles. Those obstacles are called constraints and their job is to keep you from fulfilling your destiny. When facing constraints people either become victims who lower their goals or transformers who use constraints as a launchpad to reach their goals. God has revealed the Secret of Success in the Presence of Constraints. This secret allows you to transform constraints into a launchpad, propel you to new heights and crush your goals! Join Stones Church for the Secret of Success Virtual Conference March 26 and 27. You will receive a comprehensive workbook, hear messages from Pastors Joel Brooks, Stan Ellis and John Knowlton as well as a panel of your peers overcoming constraints. The conference will be hosted by Shaniqua McShan and registration also includes access to recordings of the conference and an invitation to a 6-week Small Group follow up to help you activate the principles you learn in the conference.
Conference Registration
Conference Presenters
Pastor John Knowlton
Speaker
John’s life has been a three-strand cord of ministry, family and business. He started in college as a peer minister, attended seminary and was a United Methodist pastor for 6 years. At the age of 29 he left full-time ministry to start a Wealth Management business. In 2003 he and his wife Julie felt called out of their Methodist Church and into Christian Life Center, now called Stones Church. John was Ordained at Stones in 2007 and he and Julie have served as Family Care Pastors for more than a decade.
Over the course of his Wealth Management career John lead a growing team, added partners and bought and sold several businesses. After 22 years the firm managed about $1.25 Billion in client assets and John retired at age 51. The firm continues its mission of serving clients throughout the country.
John and Julie enjoy close relationships with their parents and four children, two of whom also serve Stones Church in the Video Department. They have faced constraints in every area of life where they now enjoy success and look forward to sharing the secret of success and the with-God life! A self-described exercise nut, John rides bikes all year round in Michigan!
Over the course of his Wealth Management career John lead a growing team, added partners and bought and sold several businesses. After 22 years the firm managed about $1.25 Billion in client assets and John retired at age 51. The firm continues its mission of serving clients throughout the country.
John and Julie enjoy close relationships with their parents and four children, two of whom also serve Stones Church in the Video Department. They have faced constraints in every area of life where they now enjoy success and look forward to sharing the secret of success and the with-God life! A self-described exercise nut, John rides bikes all year round in Michigan!
Pastor Stan Ellis
Speaker
Stan Ellis is known as an innovative strategist, compelling teacher, dynamic thought provoker, and inspiring motivator. He has a strong presence, high energy, and is known for his passionate and powerful delivery. Stan helps people who are seeking to advance their life, to think in new ways they've never considered so they will gain the edge that will propel them to the next level of life. He’s been studying and communicating creative strategies and solutions for the past twenty plus years. He spends most days in his State Farm Insurance & Financial Services Office helping people protect their assets and make smart decisions about their money. He enjoys his position as Teaching Pastor at Stones Church in Kalamazoo, MI. In 2016 Stan released a book called Transition—Mastering Life’s Movements, which quickly became an Amazon Top Seller. It is designed to help bring clarity and purpose to life’s contradictions and offers compelling strategies for navigating through life’s maze. Stan has been married to Evelyn for over 30 years. They have three beautiful young adult daughters and one grandson.
Senior Pastor Joel Brooks, Jr.
Speaker
Pastor Joel Brooks is a nationally known speaker, author, and the Senior Pastor of Stones Church, a dynamic, 2,100 member, multi-cultural church located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with an additional location in the Grand Rapids/Kentwood, Michigan Area. He is also the founder of Romantic Warrior Ministries.
Pastor Dianna Crawford
Speaker
Dianna Crawford is an Ordained Minister, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and Elementary School Behavior Interventionist. She specializes in providing trauma informed, solution-focused interventions that help people discover and develop their God-given strengths and abilities so they can cope more effectively with life’s challenges.
Conference Registration
CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Pastor John Knowlton
SPEAKER
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
FRIDAY NIGHT SESSION
A Godly Definition of Good Success.... – John Knowlton
Whenever we have an ambition or a goal, we are faced with a constraint: something that prevents us from hitting the goal. In the face of a constraint, some people become victims while others transform the constraint as a tool to reach their goals. The secret to becoming a transformer is to rely on God’s help. This session will also address a potential elephant in the room: Should Christians even strive for success, or is that too worldly? We will uncover a godly definition of good success.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION
The Secret of Success – John Knowlton
The Secret of Success in the Presence of Constraint is the presence of God. We will review how life with God provides us with new information, makes impossible things possible and grants us favor. There will be real life exercises and demonstrations on how to press into God and become a transformer.
FRIDAY NIGHT SESSION
A Godly Definition of Good Success.... – John Knowlton
Whenever we have an ambition or a goal, we are faced with a constraint: something that prevents us from hitting the goal. In the face of a constraint, some people become victims while others transform the constraint as a tool to reach their goals. The secret to becoming a transformer is to rely on God’s help. This session will also address a potential elephant in the room: Should Christians even strive for success, or is that too worldly? We will uncover a godly definition of good success.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION
The Secret of Success – John Knowlton
The Secret of Success in the Presence of Constraint is the presence of God. We will review how life with God provides us with new information, makes impossible things possible and grants us favor. There will be real life exercises and demonstrations on how to press into God and become a transformer.
Pastor Joel Brooks, Jr.
SPEAKER
VICTIMS & TRANSFORMERS
Victims and Transformers – Pastor Joel Brooks
When victims face constraints, they measure their own power against the obstacles and abandon their goals. Transformers rely on the presence of God and use his help to turn their constraint into a launch pad for amazing success.
Victims and Transformers – Pastor Joel Brooks
When victims face constraints, they measure their own power against the obstacles and abandon their goals. Transformers rely on the presence of God and use his help to turn their constraint into a launch pad for amazing success.
Pastor Dianna Crawford
SPEAKER
MY JOURNEY TOWARD SUCCESS
My Journey Toward Success – Dianna Crawford
Dianna Crawford will share her testimony and lessons from her life as a wife, mother, minister and professional.
My Journey Toward Success – Dianna Crawford
Dianna Crawford will share her testimony and lessons from her life as a wife, mother, minister and professional.
Pastor Stan Ellis
SPEAKER
GOALS & AMBITIONS
The Compelling Power of Goals – Stan Ellis
The minute you create a goal you give God something new to bless. A goal by its nature is something beyond where you currently stand. It produces a focus that you don’t currently have. Pastor Stan will reveal the compelling power of goals and five rules for goal setting.
The Compelling Power of Goals – Stan Ellis
The minute you create a goal you give God something new to bless. A goal by its nature is something beyond where you currently stand. It produces a focus that you don’t currently have. Pastor Stan will reveal the compelling power of goals and five rules for goal setting.
Shaniqua McShan
HOST
Shaniqua McShan is a 5 year educator who currently teaches English remotely at Roosevelt High School located in Greenbelt, Maryland. While she majored in English and has a masters in Teaching and Curriculum, she also minored in Japanese and Teaching English as a Second Language and has travelled to Japan, England, Scotland, and Paris for educational purposes as well as Botswana on a missions trip. She looks forward to future missions trips and travels and plans on going back to Botswana as well as any area of need that God calls her to. She has a huge love for role playing video games and you may find her defeating dragons using her virtual reality system on the weekends.