Cedarville University
October 22–23, 2025

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Courageous Leadership: Faithful Influence in a Changing World

Today’s leaders are facing unprecedented challenges — cultural shifts, moral confusion, and mounting pressure to compromise biblical convictions. Now more than ever, Christian leaders are called to rise with clarity, compassion, and courage.

Join us at Impact 2025, presented by Cedarville University’s Robert W. Plaster School of Business, where you’ll come together with business professionals and pastors to revolutionize the way you view your work and harness its potential for Kingdom purposes.

Courageous Leadership: Faithful Influence in a Changing World invites you to step into your God-given leadership calling. Rooted in God’s unchanging truth, this powerful gathering will equip you to lead with integrity, speak with boldness, and influence your world for Christ — right where He has placed you.

Through inspiring keynote messages, interactive breakout sessions, and Christ-centered community, you’ll discover how to:

  • Remain faithful in the face of cultural and spiritual opposition
  • Lead with both wisdom and conviction in every sphere of life
  • Cultivate lasting Gospel impact in your workplace, ministry, and beyond

Whether you lead in businessministryeducation, or the public square, this conference will encourage and empower you for such a time as this.

Come ready to be encouraged. Come ready to be equipped. Come ready to lead with courage.

Watch the highlights of the 2024 Impact Conference!

Impact Conference 2024

Event Schedule

All sessions are held in the newly opened Scharnberg Business and Communication Center.

Select an event from the calendar to see the details below the event list.

Wednesday
1:00pm - 5:00pmRegistration
1:00pm - 5:00pmSponsor Equipping Sessions
5:30pm - 6:30pmVIP Dinner
7:00pm - 8:30pmKeynote One
8:30pm - 9:00pmCookie Reception

2025 Keynote Speakers

Jack Phillips and Jake Warner
Jack Phillips and Jake Warner

Owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop | Senior Counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom’s Appellate Team

Keynote #1

Session title: The Cost of My Faith

Jack Phillips is a Colorado cake artist and owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, known for being at the center of one of 2018’s most talked-about U.S. Supreme Court decisions. When Jack started Masterpiece Cakeshop in 1993, it was to honor God through his work every day. In 2012, he declined to create a custom cake for a same-sex wedding due to his religious beliefs, leading to over twelve years of legal battles to defend his freedom to express what he believes without fear of government punishment. After three wins — including one at the U.S. Supreme Court — Jack’s rights have been vindicated again and again.

Website


Jake Warner serves as senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom’s Appellate Team. Warner focuses primarily on protecting the freedom of Christians to freely exercise their faith in the marketplace without fear of government punishment, serving on the litigation teams arguing cases such as Masterpiece Cakeshop Inc. v. Elenis and Telescope Media Group v. Lucero. He has also defended religious freedom more broadly in a case where he successfully represented a Christian high school student, ensuring that the student could access a publicly-funded educational program on the same terms as her peers. 

Website

Rob Wynalda, Jr.
Rob Wynalda, Jr.

President and CEO, The Wynalda Group

Keynote #3

Robert Wynalda, Jr. is a business owner, inventor, and elder in his local church in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area. Wynalda has around 50 patents related to business ventures that he launched, including Wyndscent, Fourth Arrow, and Final Rest. Rob’s contributions to the business community and his ongoing involvement in real estate highlight his entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to the local economy. He loves the Lord and his family and seeks to advance the Gospel and the Kingdom of God.

Deborah Dishong
Deborah Dishong

Chief Financial Officer, Vinmar Group

Keynote #4

Session title: Countercultural Leadership: Living Your Faith in a Secular Market

Deborah Dishong is the Chief Financial Officer of the Vinmar Group, a global plastics and chemicals distribution and marketing company with $4+ billion revenue. She leads an international team of 200 finance professionals including accounting, financial reporting, treasury, credit, tax, and internal audit. Deborah has spent over 25 years accumulating finance leadership experience, but her unique leadership style comes from emulating Christ’s example based in Biblical principles.
Thomas White
Dr. Thomas White

President of Cedarville University

Keynote #5

Thomas White became the 10th president of Cedarville University on July 1, 2013. Serving in a variety of leadership roles and responsibilities, White has more than a decade of administrative, teaching, and research experience and combines strong leadership with a pastoral heart for ministry while standing for biblical truth. 

Keynote #2: AI Expert Panel

Kary Oberbrunner
Kary Oberbrunner

Berry Chair of Entrepreneurship, Cedarville University

Panel Moderator

Session title: Ethical Leadership With AI

Kary Oberbrunner is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen books. As CEO of Igniting Souls and Blockchain Life, he helps authors, entrepreneurs, and influencers publish, protect, and promote their Intellectual Property and turn it into 18 streams of income. He’s been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, CBS, Fox News, Yahoo, and many other major media outlets.

Kary has several earned degrees, including a Bachelor of Arts, Masters in Divinity, and Doctorate in Transformational Leadership. He also serves as the Berry Chair of Entrepreneurship at Cedarville University, where he teaches on the topics of Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing. He lives in Ohio with his wife Kelly and three children: Keegan, Isabel, and Addison. 

Elijah Low
Elijah Low

AI Transformation Specialist

Panelist

Session title: Ethical Leadership With AI

Elijah Low is a dynamic leader in the fields of AI and economics, renowned for his comprehensive insights on the integration of AI in driving economic growth and societal benefits. A passionate advocate for social improvement, Elijah is dedicated to using AI to enhance the quality of life for impoverished communities.

As an AI consultant, Elijah is actively developing AI roadmaps to help companies integrate and leverage AI technologies. His work focuses on lowering costs, improving productivity, and building new competitive advantages for businesses. Elijah has also authored two influential books on AI, titled "Navigating AI with Faith" and "Built for AI," contributing significantly to the field's body of knowledge.

Elijah Low graduated with a triple major in Business Administration, including degrees in Finance, Investment, Banking; Marketing; and Management and Human Resources. He also holds a master's and doctorate in Theology.

Daniel Ormsbee
Daniel Ormsbee

Cedarville Student

Panelist

Session title: Ethical Leadership With AI

Daniel Ormsbee is an entrepreneurial engineer, specializing in biomanufacturing and industrial biotechnology. He's an avid integrator of AI, using it to build websites, write documents, perform research, and automate workflows. Currently he's exploring the intersection of business and industrial biotechnology through his company Nutrafuel Bioworks, the winning pitch in Cedarville's 2025 competition. He's an active contributor to the business development working group at ValleyDAO, a Web3 enabled platform that funds synthetic biology research and incubates new ventures. In his spare time he enjoys being involved in church and exploring the world through philosophy, music, literature, and novel science. Daniel's core passion is leveraging the gifts given to him for the benefit of others, in engineering, in business, and in discipleship.

Other Speakers

Tunji Adebayo
Tunji Adebayo

FEE in the Classroom Speaker, Foundation for Economic Education

Breakout

Session title: Communication that Leads to Global Change

Tunji is the founder and vision alignment officer for RHYME LLC, a holistic health company. He earned a BS in Dietetics at the University of Georgia and a Master of Arts in Education at Loyola Marymount University. Tunji has worked throughout Los Angeles and Georgia as a middle/high school science teacher. During his time as an educator, Tunji also worked with Educators for Excellence to write and advocate for new education policies to the state board. Tunji has worked as a NASM certified personal trainer since 2013 and received his Plant-Based Nutrition Certification from T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies in 2019. Tunji delivers keynote speeches and workshops throughout the United States leveraging all these different backgrounds and skill sets. Tunji is based in Atlanta.
Chuck Proudfit
Chuck Proudfit

President, At Work on Purpose

Breakout

Session title: Frontiers: Building the Future for Faith at Work

Chuck Proudfit, a Harvard-trained organizational developer and former executive at Procter & Gamble, founded At Work on Purpose in 2003 after coming to Christ in 1997 and wrestling with how to integrate faith and work. His research revealed the common spiritual struggles of working Christians and Biblical solutions that now guide a 12,000-member citywide workplace ministry in Greater Cincinnati. He also leads SKILLSOURCE, a consultancy rooted in Biblical principles, which has received multiple awards for ethics and business excellence. Chuck is an advisor to national and international ministries, an elder at Grace Chapel, and a published author on faith-driven enterprise. He and his wife Jeryl have two children adopted from South Korea, and Chuck holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. 
Jena Powell
Jena Powell

Co-Founder of Huntington Outdoor, Former Ohio State Representative

Breakout

Jena Powell is a former Ohio State Representative for the 80th District, serving from 2019 to 2024. She co-founded Huntington Outdoor, an outdoor marketing company, and was recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30 for law and policy. During her tenure, she focused on business growth, economic development, and conservative policy initiatives. Powell was known for advocating limited government, pro-business legislation, and policies related to education and public health mandates.
Chad Jenkins
Chad Jenkins

CEO/President, Seedspark

Breakout

Session title: Collaboration: How businesses can leverage collaboration to create global impact

Chad Jenkins has spent decades helping businesses uncover opportunities, solve challenges, and achieve extraordinary growth. As the author of Friction Fuel and Just Add Zero, and the creator of innovative frameworks like the ICM and icVCR, Chad transforms how entrepreneurs think about collaboration and growth. 

His approachable leadership and proven methodologies have guided 300+ collaborations, empowering visionaries to break past limits and achieve success. 
Renee Vidor
Renee Vidor

Founder and CEO of Simply Enrich, LLC.

Breakout

Renee Vidor is an author, speaker, and coach dedicated to helping individuals overcome comparison and discover their true potential. She is the founder of Simply Enrich, LLC, and the author of Measuring Up: How to WIN in a World of Comparison. With a background in psychology from The Ohio State University, she empowers people through coaching, speaking, and community-building. Renee lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and is passionate about faith, authentic connections, and personal growth.
Jeremy Kimble
Jeremy Kimble

Professor of Systematic and Applied Theology, Director of The Synergy Initiative, Cedarville University

Breakout

Session title: Developing Disciple-Makers and Launching Leaders in the Workplace

Jeremy Kimble is Professor of Theology and director of the Synergy Initiative at Cedarville University. He is passionate about teaching college and graduate students the truths of the Word of God. His hope is that through his courses, mentoring, and preaching opportunities that church members would be equipped for ministry and church leaders would minister to others out of the overflow of their love for God. Dr. Kimble’s research interests include the doctrine of the church, preaching, and discipleship. He is a member of University Baptist Church. 
Lamarr Lark
Lamarr Lark

Co-Founding Pastor of Connection Church

Breakout

Lamarr Lark is a co-founding pastor of Connection Church in Libertyville, IL. He is a visionary who loves turning vision into practical leadership strategies. He has been recognized by many local and national organizations for his leadership contributions to work-life balance, diversity, and strategic human resource planning and is an acknowledged advisor, author, and speaker on human resource strategies, diversity/inclusion, and human equity. Lamarr and his wife, Brenda, have been married for over 35 years. They are the proud parents of three adult children.
Gary Harpst.
Gary Harpst

CEO of LeadFirst

Breakout

Session title: Built to Beat Chaos — Your Purpose is Not What You Think

Gary Harpst, CEO of LeadFirst, is known for his fusion of faith and work, fostering agile organizations. With four decades of experience, he founded three successful businesses, one of which merged and was sold to Microsoft. He has authored three impactful books and educated on business-faith intersections. 

As a veteran Christian CEO, Harpst's journey encompasses business trials and growth. His latest book, "Built to Beat Chaos," makes the biblical case that we are all created to overcome chaos. In fact, the biblical definition of leadership involves bringing order out of chaos. Chaos is not our problem but our purpose. 

LeadFirst, under Harpst's guidance, provides a faith-driven leadership operating system that equips leaders to integrate faith, business management, and leadership development. 

Pricing and Perks

General Attendee

  • Early Bird (through Aug. 22): $199
  • Standard (after Aug. 22): $249

VIP Attendee

Exclusive perks. Limited quantity!

  • Early Bird (through Aug. 22): $299
  • Standard (after Aug. 22): $349

Special Attendee

Pastors and Cedarville Graduate Students

  • Early Bird (through Aug. 22): $49
  • Standard (after Aug. 22): $59

All orders are non-refundable but transferable.

VIP Perks

  • VIP dinner on Wednesday, which includes meeting the speakers
  • VIP seating at Thursday lunch
  • VIP lounge (beverages and snacks included)
  • Leader’s Library: selection of books from our speakers

Cedarville Graduate Student VIP Perks

  • Cedarville graduate student special session
  • VIP lounge (beverages and snacks included)
  • Leader’s Library: selection of books from our speakers

Register for Impact

Are you ready to energize your company for Gospel impact? Register now to sharpen your business skills, deepen your missional mindset, and advance your Kingdom impact.

*Please note that all orders are non-refundable but transferable.

Sponsorship Information

Sponsor Impact 2025 to elevate your brand and connect with an audience passionate about glorifying God through business. Your $2,000 investment unlocks benefits like VIP tickets, prime logo placement, advertising opportunities, and the chance to lead a pre-conference session. More details about becoming a sponsor will be available soon. Stay tuned for updates!

Travel Information

2024 Impact Highlights

Keynote Speakers

Earl Seals

Session title: A Radical Life, Romans 11:36

Earl Seals is the president and co-founder of N2 Publishing. His company has 700 locations across the U.S. and breaks $140 million in advertising revenue annually. He is also the founder of Christian Business Fellowship and executive producer of The Chosen series.

Dallas Jenkins

Session title: A Radical Life, Romans 11:36

Dallas is the writer/director of over a dozen feature films and TV projects, most notably The Chosen, the first-ever multi-season series about the life of Christ. The Chosen has been seen by over 100 million people in 200 countries. He is also a speaker and commentator on faith and media topics. His books include the best-selling The Chosen devotionals and The Chosen Bible Studies, each of which corresponds to each season of The Chosen.

Thomas White
Dr. Thomas White

Session title: Bridging the Sacred/Secular Divide: Practical Steps for Gospel Impact Through Business Excellence

Thomas White became the 10th president of Cedarville University on July 1, 2013. Serving in a variety of leadership roles and responsibilities, White has more than a decade of administrative, teaching, and research experience. He combines strong leadership with a pastoral heart for ministry while standing for biblical truth.

Missed Impact or Want to Revisit the Powerful Sessions?

Now’s your chance to experience the inspiring keynotes and dynamic breakout sessions that challenge you to dream God-sized dreams for your business. Whether you're a business professional or pastor, these sessions provide the tools and insights you need to revolutionize your work and maximize your Kingdom impact. Purchase access to the session recordings now for just $99!

 

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