Transforming Lives

Dr Dennis Kilama is a Council member of The Gospel Coalition Africa. He has served as a lecturer and the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Africa Renewal University in Uganda, an evangelical University equipping leaders to transform society. Dennis is an ordained minister under the Baptist Union of Uganda and has served as senior pastor of Lugogo Baptist Church in Kampala. He is currently on sabbatical leave as he pursues his PhD in Philanthropy at Indiana University in Indianapolis.

Dennis has written and researched on cross-cultural missions and contextualization. He also serves on several boards engaged in missions mobilization and training in Uganda. Dennis is married to Yvonne and God has blessed them with three children.

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Dr. Jeff Myers is the president of Summit Ministries and a respected authority on youth leadership development in America. He is an educator and entrepreneur who captures audiences with humor and insight from a Christian worldview through his speaking engagements and media appearances. 

Dr. Myers has authored 18 books, including "Understanding the Faith," "Understanding the Times," and "Understanding the Culture," which tens of thousands of students study. 

In addition to his writing, Dr. Myers engages college students through an exclusive series called the Signature Leadership Course, offered in partnership with Unbound, a project-based education company that prepares high school and college students to become leaders for Christ in the real world. 

He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Washburn University and a Master of Arts from Baylor University before completing his Ph.D. at the University of Denver. Dr. Myers resides in Colorado with his wife, Stephanie, and their family.

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Rob was born and raised in South Florida, experiencing a tumultuous childhood after his father was killed in an armed robbery when he was four. Raised by a single mother and later supported by an uncle, Rob struggled with anger until a friend introduced him to a youth group. There, he connected with Youth Minister Nate, who helped him draw closer to Jesus. After his baptism, Rob enrolled in Bible College, later transferring to Florida Christian College, where he met his wife, Sarah. 

Rob and Sarah served in youth ministry together in St. Cloud, Florida, before moving to Lincoln, Illinois, for further education at Lincoln Christian University. In 2009, they answered a call to serve as Youth Minister at New Hope, where Rob now serves as Lead Minister. Rob is also pursuing a doctorate in Church Leadership and Spiritual Formation at Lipscomb University.

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Dr. Russell Dawn currently serves as the twelfth president of Concordia University Chicago, a position he has held since his appointment in 2019.

From 2012 to 2019, Dr. Dawn was part of the faculty in the Department of History and Political Thought at Concordia University Irvine in California. During his time there, he took on several administrative roles, including director of the Vision-Mission-Vocation program, member of the academic council, chair of the education policies committee, and director of the pre-law program. Before that, between 2010 and 2012, he was a faculty member at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.

Dr. Dawn earned a B.S. in Finance from Arizona State University, as well as a J.D. and an MBA from the University of Colorado Boulder. He began his career in law and finance in Colorado, working as an associate attorney for Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP from 1994 to 2000, as an associate investment banker for Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. from 2000 to 2001, and as assistant general counsel for Cenveo, Inc. from 2001 to 2003.

Afterward, Dr. Dawn returned to academia, attending Oxford University, where he received a B.A. in Theology, a Master of Studies in Church History, and a D.Phil. focused on the history of theology and politics in 17th-century England.

He and his wife, Sharon, are proud parents of two daughters.

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Danny Smith has dedicated most of his life to ministry. He served as a youth pastor for 10 years and as a small group and discipleship pastor for 14 years at three different churches. While at Covenant, he taught Bible for 7 years and also coached girls' basketball and boys' and girls' golf. Currently, he is the Director of Lifeline Christian Mission at the Indianapolis location.

Danny earned a B.S. in Bible and Christian Education from St. Louis Christian College, and an M.A. in Global Leadership from Fuller Seminary.
Danny and his wife, Maria, have been married for 32 years. Maria taught at Kingsway Christian School for many years and now teaches in Zionsville Community Schools. Their two daughters, Halle and Emilee, graduated from Covenant in 2015 and 2016 respectively. 

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David Hoag, Ph.D., is the president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), which is the leading voice for Christian higher education. He has served as a board member of the CCCU and was most recently the president of Warner University, a CCCU institution in Florida, from 2016 to 2024.

Dr. Hoag has shown his lifelong dedication to Christian higher education through decades of leadership in Christ-centered universities, where he held various advancement and executive roles. His successful track record in accreditation, fundraising, and grant management has significantly supported the vision and mission of the institutions he served, as well as the broader Christian higher education community.

Throughout his career, Dr. Hoag has worked at four different CCCU institutions: Warner University, Trinity International University, Greenville University, and Asbury University. He holds a bachelor's degree in education from Asbury University, a master's degree in education from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. in higher education from St. Louis University. He has also served on the executive committee of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF) and on the Council of Presidents for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Dr. Hoag is married to Joanna, his wife of 38 years, and they have two married daughters, both of whom are graduates of CCCU institutions.

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Blair Milo is the Founding Director of the Center for Talent & Opportunity at Sagamore Institute and focuses her work on growing entrepreneurialism, local government and community innovation, and civic leadership. Projects at the Center build off the momentum Blair produced while serving as the first Secretary of Career Connections and Talent, a cabinet position for Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb. Before joining state government, Blair was elected Mayor of La Porte, Indiana in 2011 and re-elected in 2015 – serving throughout as the youngest female mayor in Indiana.

Prior to and during her roles in public service, Blair served 13 years with the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer. A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Global War on Terror, she served multiple overseas deployments aboard the USS Mason (DDG 87) and on the command staff of Destroyer Squadron 50 in Bahrain and Iraq before joining the Chief of Naval Operations staff at the Pentagon.

Blair earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Purdue University and a Master’s degree in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University. She is currently in residence at Wycliffe Hall at the University of Oxford studying theology.

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Dr. Glenn Slater is originally from Dallas, Texas. He has been married for 45 years and has one daughter.

He received his Bachelor of Arts in History, a Master of Arts in History, and a Master of Education in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University, Commerce. At the age of 46, he went back to school and earned a PhD in History from the University of Tennessee, a journey that took him nine years.

Dr. Slater has published several articles and a book titled "A Christian America Restored: The Rise of the Evangelical Christian School Movement in America, 1920-1952," which focuses on the history of the Christian school movement. In 2023, he won the ACSI Advocacy Award.

He has worked in three Christian schools:
- Greenville Christian School in Greenville, Texas, from 1981 to 2002
- Maryville Christian School in Maryville, Tennessee, from 2002 to 2015
- Covenant Christian School in Conroe, Texas, from 2015 to the present.

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Matt and Melanie Reffeitt have built a strong life together, focusing on family, faith, and their careers. Matt is a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty, while Melanie is a registered nurse at IU Health. 

Matt grew up in Indiana, spending much of his childhood in music ministry, and Melanie, originally from Canada, moved to Indiana as a teenager. 

The Reffeitts have been members of Connection Pointe Christian Church in Brownsburg for nearly 20 years, where Matt is actively involved in the worship ministry. They have four children: Brooke, Morgan, Gunnar, and Logan (the youngest, graduating in 2024). Brooke graduated from Purdue and earned a Master’s in Speech Therapy, while Morgan has a Bachelor’s in Tourism/Event/Sports Management from IU Indianapolis. Gunnar attended Olivet Nazarene for basketball before transferring to Purdue for a Business degree. 

Three of their children are active in youth groups and sports, while Brooke focuses on music and leads worship at Church. Brooke and Gunnar recently got married. Logan, a standout in middle school sports and academics, chose Covenant for high school after shadowing there. He graduated from CCHS in 2024 and is now a Finance major at Taylor University, where he serves as a student assistant coach for the football program after a knee injury changed his playing path.

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