Speakers/Musicians

More than anything, our desire is that those who come to “Refuge” will be overwhelmed by the wisdom and insight of our greatest Guest and Speaker, God Almighty.

We are prayerfully considering those other voices who will be encouraging us through teaching, ministry, and worship.  Much of our corporate worship time will be led by our own house band, our “south Georgia” tribe.  We will be prayerfully considering those artists and speakers that God would choose to encourage us during our time of Refuge.

Please visit the site for updates as we will be adding speakers and artists throughout Summer 2012 in anticipation of the event.

Primary Speaker & Spiritual Guide for 2013:

Gary Molander

Gary Molander spent many years of his life in full-time ministry, pastoring, leading worship, and living in the trenches of ministry.   He is now the owner of Floodgate Productions, a media company specializing in visual media for ministries and churches.

Gary is the author of the book “Pursuing Christ.  Creating Art”.   This book is a series of faith-based explorations into the overlap between life as a Christ-follower, and life as an artist. If you’re an Artist (or someone with the creative spirit) who is also pursuing a life of faith in Christ, then this book will explore the insane intersection you’re living in.

Gary’s passion for worship, arts, and ministry combined with his humorous, down-to-earth approach in shepherding people and telling stories makes him a perfect fit for “Refuge”.  We so honored and grateful to have him join us as our primary speakers and spiritual guide for Refuge 2013.

Web:  www.garymo.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/gary.molander.5
Twitter:  @garymo

Trent Smith

Trent Smith from Paradise, CA will be joining us again this year at Refuge.  For those who have attended Refuge in the past you are very familiar with Trent’s music.

In addition to being an amazing violinist, Trent is a talented singer, songwriter, worship leader, and artist.  Trent will be joining our tribe again this year and will be ministering in music with our local “Refuge” praise team here from the Golden Isles of Georgia.

Web:  trentsmithmusic.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/trentsmithmusic

Fred McKinnon

Fred is the founder of Refuge.  He is the Worship Pastor for St. Simons Community Church, the host location of Refuge.  He is also the Founder/Publisher of TheWorshipCommunity.Com, a website community for worship and tech leaders, co-sponsoring the Refuge event.

Fred has been involved in worship ministry and church leadership for more than 25 years – from being a teenager leading the praise band at his local church to being in full-time staff ministry for nearly 20 of those years.   As a ministry leader, the founder of multiple websites and communities, a husband and father of 4 children, and the owner of several businesses, Fred knows how desperately we need to find sabbatical time to stop.

He blogs at FredMcKinnon.Com and tweets as @fmckinnon

Steve and Debby Temmer

Steve and Debby Temmer of “Centered for Life” ministries will be available at “Refuge”, serving us as counselors.  Their ministry exists to help individuals become balanced emotionally, mentally, physically, relationally and spiritually so they can be better influencers in their world.

Steve is a Life Coach & Pastoral Counselor, and his wife Debby is a Licensed Professional Counselor certified by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC). She is an honors graduate from Cincinnati Christian University & Seminary.

“Refuge” will be an environment where you can safely pull one of these leaders aside and share your struggles, dreams, frustrations, and victories.  It’s a place where you can remove the “mask” and be authentic without the fear of being judged.  As ministry staff and creative leaders, we all need a safe place to vent, to share, to confess … and a large part of “Refuge” will be creating that space.

We will be announcing other guest speakers and potential worship leaders as the event draws closer.  Ultimately, our desire is that it’s not the big-name speaker or artist that draws you to “Refuge”; rather, the leading of the Holy Spirit, drawing you to a much-needed place where you can more easily hear the Voice that matters most.