Elemental Churches builds team leadership development tools. Their “action learning” experiences are gamified based on real-life and build skills. Do & Learn… and not learn and do.
Dave Workman is president of Elemental Churches, a consulting group devoted to helping churches become healthier and more effective. He is the author of Elemental Leaders: Four Essentials Every Leader Needs…And Every Church Must Have and The Outward-Focused Life: Becoming a Servant in a Serve-Me World.
Dave was instrumental in the growth of the Vineyard Cincinnati megachurch from its inception and then served as senior pastor for thirteen years. He spearheaded such initiatives as the groundbreaking Healing Center—a multimillion-dollar facility offering forty different services to holistically meet the needs of thousands of resource-challenged people every month—and the H2O Nigeria Project, drilling over one hundred water wells in central Nigeria.
Dave regularly speaks on leadership development and building outward-focused churches nationally and internationally. He and his wife Anita have been happily married since 1978 and have two married daughters who are both involved in ministry.
Al Buchweitz is VP of Growth at Elemental Churches. His experience is a unique blend of pastoral leadership and church-planting as well as innovative entrepreneurial endeavors in the marketplace. After graduation from Wheaton, Al planted churches in Boston and Chicago and later served on the executive team at Vineyard Cincinnati Church during a time of explosive growth, overseeing the development and management of Assimilation, Communications, Outreach and Celebration Support.
In the marketplace, his roles included sales and partnerships for LexisNexis and sales and facilitation for Building Healthy Teams Curriculum, Open Mentoring & Leadership/Innovation Simulations at Triple Creek Associates. Al owns several patents, has created brands and successfully launched three unique product lines. Al’s catalytic role with Elemental Churches is shaping the organization’s growth through networking, product messaging, and marketing strategies.
Al and his wife Stephanie enjoy a full life with seven children, three sons-in-law, and Jack the dog.
Dr. Tom Thatcher is co-founder and Chief Analyst of Elemental Churches. He has served as Dean of the Russell School of Ministry and Cincinnati Bible Seminary and professor of Biblical Studies. As a teacher, Tom has spent more than 20 years in seminary and congregational classrooms leading courses and presentations on Biblical Studies and early Christianity. He has served on numerous research committees in the Society of Biblical Literature, has authored or edited 20 books on the New Testament, edits an academic series of books, and regularly writes mass-market adult curriculum materials. As an administrator, Tom has substantial experience in program review, strategic planning, organizational infrastructure, and outcomes assessment. Tom regularly speaks at academic conferences and a variety of congregational settings. Tom and his wife, Becky (a former public school teacher, children’s minister, and now intervention aid), have been married since 1987 and have two children.
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