Abide 2026

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

John Ortberg is a pastor, author, and speaker. He has served in senior leadership and senior pastor roles at influential churches in the United States. He’s been in ministry for over 40 years and teaches around a central theme of spiritual formation.

He has written many books including the award winning “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get out of the Boat” and “When the Game is Over, it All Goes Back in the Box.” John is a deep believer that the main thing God gets out of your life is the person you become. He desires for people to know God in an interactive, life-transforming way.

Presently, John leads the ministry Become New, focused on helping you grow spiritually one day at a time.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Nancy Ortberg is a respected Christian leader, speaker, leadership consultant, and author with decades of experience in pastoral ministry and organizational leadership. Known for her wisdom, clarity and pastoral depth, Nancy has been a trusted voice on leadership, spiritual formation, and leading through change.

Nancy is also the author of several books, including “Looking for God,” “Unfolding God’s Story,” and “Spirituality and Leadership.” She speaks widely to churches, conferences, and leadership gatherings, helping leaders cultivate resilient faith and healthy communities. She lives in California with her husband John Ortberg, and is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of leaders.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Strahan Coleman is a writer, teacher, pray-er, and musician with a deep passion for helping the church to know and behold Christ. The author of five books on prayer, his heart is to help individuals unearth the ancient paths of prayer that lead to deeper communion with God.

Strahan is on the teaching team for Practicing the Way and is the founder of the Centre for Communion, a ministry for leading retreats, resourcing churches, running prayer schools and training pastors and leaders in spiritual growth.

Through the Centre he also disciples and teaches people in healthy, biblical, prophetic ministry. Strahan lives in Tairua with his wife and three sons where they’re involved in a local community church plant.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dallas Harema is of Ngāpuhi and Pākehā whakapapa, and lives in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) with his wife, Lucy, and their three tamariki.

Dallas’ life and journey with Jesus have been shaped by both struggle and joy. He is deeply passionate about a faith and spiritual journey that integrates all parts - our stories, experiences, realities, and identities. At the heart of his ministry is the conviction that deep transformation occurs when we earnestly engage with both our wounds and our gifts, our limitations and our calling, our minds and our hearts, as God forms us in, through, and despite our humanity. Dallas longs to see the Church become a community of people who are being shaped by the Spirit and grounded in truth, embodying an authentic and prophetic witness of hope, freedom, and healing in the world.

Having served across a wide range of churches, denominations, ministries, and parachurch organisations, Dallas brings a holistic perspective to leadership and formation. As a coach, supervisor, facilitator, counsellor, and Director of the School of Emotionally Healthy Leadership Aotearoa, he weaves together theology, psychology, reflective practice, wisdom traditions, life in the ministry trenches, and occasionally, poetry.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Rev. Dr Maja Whitaker is Academic Dean and Senior lecturer in Practical Theology at Laidlaw College, based at the Christchurch campus, and an ordained pastor in the ACTS network of churches. Her recent publications include Pursuing Perfection: Faith and the Female Body (SCM Press: 2025) and Perfect in Weakness: Disability and Human Flourishing in the New Creation (Baylor University Press 2023). She is committed to spiritual formation and helping others understand how to follow the way of Jesus in contemporary cultural contexts.

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

Dean and Fiona have been in ministry for over 30 years, and are the Senior Leaders of C3 Church in Auckland since 2005. 
They have been involved in planting many churches and church locations across New Zealand, the Pacific and South East Asia. They are passionate about raising up the next generation, and building radical disciples that will live for the cause of Christ. 

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

Poet, community educator, and whānau advocate, Te Karere Scarborough has spent the last 15 years working in the community-wellbeing and arts sector. During this time, he was largely based at Parenting Place. He held a variety of roles there that included leading the Attitude Programme for Schools, National Young Leaders’ Day, Toolbox, Building Awesome Whānau and Space programmes. An appointed trustee of his hapū board, Whatitiri Māori Reserves Trust, he has also held governance positions at Maxim Institute, the Mihinare social service provider Te Whare Ruruhau o Meri, and the youth development organisation Zeal. Te Karere holds qualifications from Te Wānanga Takiura, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Unitec, and is concurrently completing his Masters in Chaplaincy through the University of Otago. He was the founding CEO of Te Wānanga Ihorangi and is principal alongside Anameka Paenga.

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

Miriam Jessie Fisher works at Laidlaw College as a lecturer in Theology and Education. She is a lover of the Church (capital C) and has attended and served in a variety of denominations in many places throughout Aotearoa, the UK and Australia. The Bible is the book of her life and her theological studies are always about reading it well, teaching it well, and living it well. She is interested in the stories of, and enduring honour shown to, women and those on the margins in the Bible. Her work often focuses on recovering and celebrating women in the Bible through research, poetry and textiles. This has included hand stitching every word spoken by women in the Bible. She is interested in preaching that brings us back to the Bible confident it is good news for all people, and theological expression that honours the context of Aotearoa, the richness of bicultural partnerships, Te Reo me ona tikanga Māori, and New Zealand Sign Language and Deaf culture. Miriam is a joyful extrovert. She is married to Mike and they have two sons they think are rather wonderful.

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

Sam Harvey is the lead pastor of Bay Vineyard Church and the National Coordinator for 24-7 Prayer NZ. He has been in full-time ministry since graduating from BCNZ (now Laidlaw) in 2003. He is passionate about developing strong prayer cultures in churches, and in his spare time, he is a bit of an audiophile. 

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

Dr Greg Liston is a Senior Lecturer in Theology at Laidlaw College in Auckland, New Zealand. Previous roles include being the pastor of Mt Albert Baptist Church, being senior pastor of a suburban Baptist church and business management consulting. Greg holds PhDs in quantum physics and ecclesiology. He is the author of several books including Kingdom Come: An Eschatological Third Article Ecclesiology (T&T Clark, 2022) and The Anointed Church (Fortress Press, 2015). He is married to Diane and has two adult children.

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

Amy is the Senior Pastor at The River Ōpāwaho and previously the National Director for Arrow Leadership NZ. These roles capture the key areas of leadership she feels called to and passionate about – mission, discipleship, and leadership formation.

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

Clint is the Lead Pastor of The Well Church in Ōtautahi Christchurch. He is passionate about supporting church leaders to live and lead from a deep union with Christ, enabling the Church to flourish in both ministry and mission.

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

He’s a husband to Robyn and a father to four children. Jonathan (or ‘JD’ as most of us call him) is responsible for Gracecity’s church vision, direction of sites and staff, and preaching. JD is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, where Jonathan earned a Master of Theology degree and Robyn a Master of Biblical Studies degree. Jonathan also convenes Auckland Church Network which is made up of bishops and senior leaders from mainstream denominations and large city churches, all working together for the spiritual and social flourishing of our city. Jonathan is a visionary, a gifted teacher, as well as a life-long learner. He is passionate about people coming to know Jesus and building a strong community of believers that renew people and places in the way they work, play and live.

Each summer, he loves returning to his home town in Havelock North (Hawkes Bay) and enjoys walks around his maunga at Te Mata Peak. His spare time is made up of family adventures, quality coffee, a good book, and ideally, an All Blacks game.

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

Ben is the Manager of Auckland Church Network, a movement that catalyses the Church to work together for the spiritual & social flourishing of our largest city. Ben has a missional heart. He enjoys connecting with, supporting, equipping & encouraging pastors and other Christian leaders. Ben, his wife Aimee & their 4-year-old twins live in Mangere Bridge, where they love to invest in their local community, and from which they receive so much more in return.

ELECTIVE SPEAKER

Odele Habets is the Senior Pastor of Albany Baptist Church and serves with Albany Community Action Trust, where she oversees the Trust's daily operations. She facilitates the Albany Youth Ecosystem Steering Group and is part of the North Shore Church Leaders Network, passionate about churches working together to make a greater impact than the sum of their individual efforts. Odele is also a trustee of the Global Fellowship of The Leprosy Mission. She enjoys spending time with her family; husband Myk, and teenagers, Sydney and Liam, who all love fishing on the Waitematā Harbour.