Workshops & Speakers
Soul University: A Series of Conversations at SoulFest
Social Justice is an ongoing theme within Soul University as well as throughout SoulFest. Even though there may be several subjective interpretations of what social justice means, we cannot turn a blind eye to the injustices that exist in our world today. Soul University will feature conversations that inform, inspire, challenge and renew our individual commitments to living a life that stands up for those who cannot stand for themselves. Whether it be in our own home, neighborhood, city, or anywhere else that crosses our path, we will examine the importance of living a life that is critically concerned and actively engaged in fighting injustice wherever we find it.
If you desire and dare to grow beyond the place you've been at for years, if you desire to live the revolution Jesus started, if you desire to be a water-walker, transformed by True Love and if you desire to truly experience and express God's unconditional and transforming love throughout your day to day life, join in the conversations at Soul University and discover.
Paul Colman
Deeper Well -- 2:30pm
[each day]
Songwriting workshop.
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Ryan Groff
The Back Room -- 4:30pm
Accept or Attack?: Reflections on Teen Suicide and Faith Seeking Understanding: Bullying, mocking and social pressure have led many teens to consider, or even commit suicide. Sadly, Christians often instigate these unloving acts towards those who are different. For centuries Christians in the western world have toiled with the idea of a “faith seeking understanding” and at Gordon, we prize this pursuit. Join us in this session to discuss what it means to be merciful and gracious even in difficult topics like suicide.
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Travis Doucette
Deeper Well -- 4:50pm
Songwriting 101: Making your song a reality.
Do you love music? Do you hear tunes in your heart but have no idea how to make them a reality? Enjoy learning firsthand how to write a worship song. From the initial brainstorming to the final performance, this hands-on session will give you practical and easy-to-integrate steps for how to write a song.
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Bryan Kemper [Stand True]
Mercy St. Cafe -- 10:30am
The Back Room -- 3:45pm
Stand True exists first and foremost to glorify God. Through the grace of God, we stand for the protection of human life from the moment of fertilization to natural death. Abortion is the act of killing a human person and it is always wrong without exceptions.
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Jason Upton
Mercy St. Cafe -- 1:15 pm
Worship workshop.
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Paul Brink
Mercy St. Cafe -- 2:15pm
Just Like Jesus: Living a Big Gospel in a Big World:
Love. Mission. Justice. Salvation. Big words, big ideas, big implications. But how do all these fit together? Today, it is younger generations of Christians who are asking—and answering—this question in new, exciting, and often profound ways. In this session we’ll talk together about how biblical justice relates to the other parts of our lives, and we’ll consider the impact of justice-seeking: not only for our neighbors, but also for how we understand ourselves, experience our faith, and love our God.
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Chris MacIntosh
The Back Room -- 2:45pm
Christian Music As An Art Form
Standing at the crossroads of faith, art & culture.
Does the art that we create, whether it be music, literature or visual media actually have an impact on the culture at large around us? Or are Christians just producing a safe product catering to a small exclusive audience. Who are we trying to reach and how can we accomplish this goal.
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Ken Heffner
Mercy St. Cafe -- 3:30pm
Holy Worldliness: Making a case for loving God and loving the world at the same time. Holy is not the opposite of worldly rather it is a way of being worldly because Christ is making all things new including the earth, culture and popular culture.
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Sean Wrench
[Forsaken Generation]
The Back Room -- 4:45pm
Forsaken Generation Is A Humanitarian Organization Led By Volunteers Nationwide That Will Utilize Our Resources In Order To Locate, Stabilize, And Improve The Lives Of Homeless Children As Well As Children Impacted By Domestic Child Sex Trafficking Throughout The United States. Our Focal Point Goes Beyond Merely Providing Aid But Rather Extends To Awareness, Advocacy, Education And Prevention.
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Michael Morrison
Deeper Well -- 5:06pm
Money, Money, Money: How in the WORLD do I pay for college? Liberty is familiar with the frequent question, “How do I pay for college?” Whether you are college bound this fall or still have a few years to go, you can never plan too much for paying for higher education. This quick workshop will give you a practical and easy introduction to finding scholarships, grants, and other resources for paying for college. We strongly recommend you attend this session if you are a high school freshman through senior. (Parents encouraged to attend, too.) |
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Arwyn Jackson
[AMIRAH HOUSE]
The Back Room -- 9:45am
[& thursday]
Amirah is a non-profit organization located in the Boston area dedicated to provide whole-person care for rescued survivors of human trafficking.
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Gateway Worship
Mercy St. Cafe -- 10:30am
Worship workshop.
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rWorld Session: Dale Kuehne
The Back Room -- 10:45am
Love in the Ruins. A look at where we are in the US and Western Civilization, in terms of economics, social capital, technological impact, and political denial. How we got here, and a look at how we can move forward.
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Matt Chewning
Inside Out -- 10:45am
Matt Chewning grew up in New Jersey and became a Christian during his first year at Eastern Nazarene College. After working in the corporate world for 6 years, Matt and his family were called to plant Netcast Church on the North Shore of Greater Boston.
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Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Inside Out -- 1:00pm
[& saturday]
Dr. Emerson Eggerichs is an internationally known public speaker on the topic of male-female relationships, and author of Love & Respect.
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Sarah Cousino
Mercy St. Cafe -- 1:00pm
The challenges teens have in our culture and supports needed when they are in the depths of struggles.
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rWorld Session: Dale Kuehne
The Back Room -- 1:15pm
The Importance of Recovering Belief in Love and Hope for Enduring Relational Fulfillment. Why there is reason to believe we can live in a society in which relationship come first.
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Dr. Dorothy Boorse
Mercy St. Cafe -- 2:15pm
Loving Your Neighbor in a Warming World: Christians and Climate Change:
Have you ever wondered how climate change might affect those who are our poorest neighbors? If you are interested in missions, issues of poverty, living a life that is more sustainable, or even knowing more about climate change itself, this session is for you. Christians have an opportunity to be transformative agents in a rapidly changing world. Join us in this session to learn about how you can reflect the hope of Christ in today’s world.
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Justin McRoberts
The Back Room -- 2:45pm
Justice is not a concept. Justice is the communal manifestation of the heart of God and the kingdom of Christ. Gideon Strauss says "Justice is when all God's creatures receive what is due them and contribute, out of their uniqueness, to our common existence." I believe this vision of Justice is can only be practiced by an engaged and growing community of people.
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Gateway Worship
Mercy St. Cafe -- 3:30pm
Worship workshop.
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rWorld Session: Dale Kuehne
The Back Room -- 3:45pm
How to build the rWorld: Looking at changes we can make to strengthen families, marriage, business, government, and education.
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Ken Heffner
The Back Room -- 4:45pm
A Christian view of Popular Culture: Why we should care about artists such as Sigur Ros, The Hold Steady, Lupe Fiasco, K'Naan etc. and learn to listen to them Christianly. Ken Heffner is the director of student activities and the Festival of Faith and Music at Calvin College, a Christian college in Grand Rapids, MI. He is responsible for a weekly series of concerts and lectures such as Explosions in the Sky, Donald Miller, Iron and Wine, Dave Mathews, Ratatat, Cornel West, Fleet Foxes, Switchfoot, K'Naan, Neko Case, Sufjan Stevens, Lupe Fiasco, Andy Crouch, Joanna Newsom and others.
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Aaron Marks
Deeper Well -- 6:20pm
Living Out Your Faith During College: When you are college bound, you have lots of questions about life. One of the many questions is how to be a Christian in college? Meet Aaron Marks – surviving pastor’s kid, graduate of a state school and seminary student. Aaron loves sharing with students how they can live out their faith day in and day out during the college years – from dorms and class to parties and weekends – he will give you insight on the real life of college. This session is for high school juniors, seniors and college students.
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Justin Kendrick
Mercy St. Cafe -- 9:15am
The Back Room 10:45am
Youth Conference opening session.
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Chad Johnson
Inside Out -- 10:45am
Founder of Come&Live! -- a non-profit community dedicated to proclaiming the good news of Jesus by joining hands with artists.
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Brian 'Head' Welch
Inside Out -- 11:45am
Hear former Korn guitarist’s testimony.
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Show Hope
Mercy St. Cafe -- 12:00pm
How can you change the life of an orphan? Show Hope presents a workshop on
becoming a part of the miracle of adoption and giving an orphan a lifetime
of love. Hear from the Heidebrinck family about their journey of adoption,
ways to overcome the barriers to adoption, including finances, and what you
can do right now to join the movement to care for orphans!
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Mark Orr
The Back Room -- 12:35pm
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Nurturing a Heart to Live
Mercy St. Cafe -- 1:00pm
A panel discussion with Nickey Mullen, Scott Frost, Dan Russell, and Sarah Cousineau on the challenges and struggles teens have in our culture and supports needed when they are in the depths of struggles.
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Brian Heil
The Back Room -- 1:20pm
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Jim Trick
Deeper Well -- 1:40pm
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Josh Cousineau
The Back Room -- 2:05pm
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Professor Bob Whittet
Mercy St. Cafe -- 2:15pm
Watts up… Elements of an Energized Faith:
How can we develop a faith that is both energizing and life altering? In this session, we'll look at what it takes to renew and strengthen your Christian faith in a way that allows you to get off of the defensive and begin to change your world!
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Student & Alumni Gathering
The Back Room -- 2:45pm
Open to all Gordon Alumni. Take a few minutes to say hello to Gordon's new President, D. Michael Lindsay while you're here. |
Nate Parks
Mercy St. Cafe -- 3:45pm
Youth Conference closing session.
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Johnnie Moore
Deeper Well -- 4:55pm
Honesty: Really Living What We We Believe: Have you ever sat in church and wondered, “Is this all there is to Christianity?” So has Johnnie Moore. As a twenty-something campus pastor at the world’s largest Christian university, Johnnie is on a relentless journey to unveil hypocrisy in the church. He invites you to join in this journey as he asks this simple but profound question, “What would happen if the world’s Christians actually began to live what they say they believe?” Students and leaders alike will be challenged by Johnnie’s questions, and inspired by his authentic commitment to dispel disillusionment with Christianity. |
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This year's lineup included Switchfoot, Third Day, Skillet, Chris Tomlin, Tenth Avenue North, Sanctus Real, Thousand Foot Krutch, Manic Drive, Britt Nicole, Leeland, The Almost, Ed Kowalczyk, Paul Colman, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, Brian 'Head' Welch, Flatfoot 56, Emery, Project 86, Ascend the Hill, Gateway Worship, John Reuben, The City Harmonic, Humble Tip, and many more.
Want to play SoulFest?
Hawk Nelson with Fireflight & Superchick
Steven Curtis Chapman's Songs and Stories Tour
Third Day with Tenth Avenue North & Trevor Morgan
Gunstock offers numerous activites for all ages, including the mountain lift, skate park, and more.→Ministry Partners
Learn more about our ministry partners and organizations that are on-site. →Walk4Water
This year's Walk4Water raised over $2,000 more than our goal to help Blood:Water Mission build 2 wells in Uganda. Check back for more info on next year's walk!
SoulFest is more than just music and love, we encourage calls to action through the event and organizations we support. →Outreach Campaign
Help others experience SoulFest that may not otherwise be able to attend through our outreach program. →
Soulfest exists to celebrate and advance the love of God and love for neighbor through an annual festival of Music, Love and Action. It is our hope that all who attend are moved to answer God’s call to live relationally with God and neighbor in their communities and throughout the world and to take action against any injustice that crosses their path. True Love Essays
Writings on the SoulFest theme, 'True Love is Everywhere', from your favorite artists and speakers including Third Day, Aaron Gillespie, Andrew Schwab, Brian Welch, Trevor McNevan [TFK], and SoulFest Founder Dan Russell. →
