Meet the Team

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Ben Forsberg, SoChurch’s Chief Executive Officer, puts—and keeps–all the pieces together.

The skinny

As SoChurch’s CEO, Ben Forsberg is tasked with a great number of things—daily operational oversight, financial planning, business development, and general business operations, to name but a few—but they all boil down to creating order and cutting through the chaos that normally invades even the most well thought out startup which, if left unchecked, can turn it upside down in a hurry. Ben brings to the table a wealth of business experience and accompanying acumen gathered from a variety of industries. Prior to helping launch SoChurch, Ben was partner and CEO for a manufacturing company that, thanks in part to his guidance, found success in a bleak economic climate. The son of a pastor, Ben grew up in and around the church, involving himself with both church plants and renewals. His entrepreneurial roots run deep, and Ben brings optimism and insight, a work ethic and ability to surmount obstacles that all ensure SoChurch lives up to the highest of expectations that are set for it.

Ben lives with his wife and three children in Peoria, AZ, regularly attends Sunday services, and attends a weekly small group at a local church in Phoenix, Arizona.

Coffee talk-worthy facts. Ben:

• Loves the ocean. And sushi and lobster, both of which come from the ocean.
• Mastered Spanish after studying abroad.
• Forgot Spanish after completing his study abroad.
• Vows to become fluent in Spanish once again, without having to study abroad.
• Would rather listen to an audio book than read one.
• Assigns SoChurch duties and roles.
• Focuses on SoChurch’s creation of the quintessential customer satisfaction experience.
• Oversees SoChurch investor and advisor relations.
• Picks things up quickly. Real quickly.
• Is responsible for SoChurch’s internal communication and resource management.

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As SoChurch’s Chief Strategy Officer and Chairman, Jonathan Cottrell defines both the business and product strategies that make SoChurch go. Good thing he knows just what he’s doing.

The skinny

Jonathan Cottrell, SoChurch’s Chief Strategy Officer, goes by many names—Jon, JC, Jonathan, J Man—but whatever the moniker, he brings hard-earned business savvy, an impeccable sense of style and design, and unmatched passion for the Church. All of this, plus his infectious enthusiasm and energy make him the perfect guy to drive product development and strategy, corporate branding and design, and marketing strategy and oversight. His business credentials include, most recently, a successful stint as General Manager of various products at internet behemoth Go Daddy, where the full power of his skills were brought to bear on his revitalization of that company’s application user experience. His entrepreneurial chops—honed since the tender age of 12—were never more evident than during his founding of popular media micro review site blippr that was acquired by leading internet blog, Mashable in March, 2008. Jonathan’s commitment to the Church stems from his sharing with his parents active non-vocational and vocational ministry lifestyles throughout his childhood.

Jonathan resides in Scottsdale, AZ with his wife Nicole and two young children, daughter Riley and son Tolan. He is a small group leader in his local church and actively disciples several young men.

Coffee talk-worthy facts. Jonathan:

• Can talk film with the most diehard downtown Tempe cinema geeks.
• Is attempting to single handedly bring back plain, ol’ no-accoutrements black coffee drinking.
• Heads up SoChurch’s partnership and integration collaborations.
• Sports a newly-shaved head that’s balanced out with hipster (in the good sense of the term) eye glasses.
• Possesses an (almost) eerie ability to know what people, e.g., you, want.
• Lays claim to the title of resident SoChurch product expert.
• Loves Arizona, but hates the heat, making Jonathan a geographically conflicted individual.
• Popped the question to now wife Nicole after dating for a scant six weeks.
• Leads with his heart and head, but not necessarily in that order.
• Owes neighborhood lady Mrs. Koines a debt of gratitude for responding to his first ever business flyer and becoming customer numero uno.

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Craig Van Korlaar is equal parts data geek and expert trends watcher. And data geek. As SoChurch’s Vice President of Business Intelligence, Craig Van Korlaar has the numbers to back up the company’s decisions and create distinct competitive advantages.

The skinny

Every company needs a good numbers guy. Scratch that—a great numbers guy. Intuition and gut feeling only gets you so far these days, and Craig Van Korlaar brings with him to SoChurch a passionately dispassioned approach to crunching the numbers and analyzing the data in order to glean insights the competitors miss and our customers want. As if that’s not enough—and don’t you think it ought to be—Craig watches the ever-shifting church and social change landscape, cultivates strategic partnerships, leads quality assurance and customer support, and heads up SoChurch’s business intelligence. He might not be the most visible member of the team, but he’s always available and has the answer you need (though it may not be the one you want). He serves part time at New City Church Phoenix and has significant experience in social justice movements and community initiatives, such as Branded and StreetLight, organizations dedicated to eradicating child sex slavery and prostitution. In 2008, Craig was recognized by Arizona State University for his social entrepreneurship efforts. Craig’s driven to ensure that SoChurch is doing the right thing each time, every time.

Craig and his wife Abby live in Phoenix and serve together at a downtown church plant. He regularly meets with pastors of other churches to facilitate a unified effort in addressing the needs of Metropolitan Phoenix.

Coffee talk worthy facts. Craig:

• Was born in Arizona but grew up in Africa.
• Possesses an understanding of the Church and its needs.
• Claims partial ambidextrousness by writing with his left hand and throwing with his left
• Served his country by enlisting in the Marines, where he was an aerial navigator.
• Witnessed first hand, the ineffective strategies and sometimes social harm that well-intentioned Christian ministries can leave in their wake.
• Has never been in a fight, melee, or fracas but can take care of himself just fine.
• Drives like a grandma with no particular place to go.
• Manages SoChurch’s information collection, reporting, and analysis duties.
• Monitors anything and everything about SoChurch, its markets, and competitors.

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As SoChurch’s VP of Customer Experience, Michael Alonzo champions the user experience, perfects the process, and keeps SoChurch’s customers satisfied.

The skinny on Michael

Every company needs that person who houses a ferocious and singular focus to do right by the customer. Fortunately for its customers, that person at SoChurch is Michael Alonzo, and he’s bringing his considerable powers to bear on their behalf. In his role, Michael insists on nothing but rave reviews from customer interactions that span all aspects of SoChurch’s operation, including marketing, user experience, and customer support. Michael kicked off his career at the height of the dotcom era as an interaction designer and has the piles of worthless stock options to prove it. Following that were stints at KnowledgeNet as a software designer and Director of Marketing for Data Doctors. No longer feeling professionally challenged, Michael switched directions and picked up a camera. Soon he was an in demand photographer for magazines, publications, and periodicals both local and national. Not content to answer to someone else when he could call the shots himself, Michael jumped headfirst into the inviting waters of entrepreneurship with the launch of his own magazine, PROVOKE which catered to Phoenix’s creative community and proceeded to generate interest on a global scale. When a brutal economic downturn forced him to abandon PROVOKE, Michael found himself at GoDaddy.com where his unique point of view and unabashed enthusiasm served him well in such roles as user experience architect and UX manager, and his claim to fame is refactoring the GoDaddy.com home page, product landing pages, and checkout process, the result of which was an almost one million dollar monthly increase in sales. Upon his leaving Go Daddy, Michael reunited with compatriot Jonathan Cottrell, and the rest is SoChurch history. In his new SoChurch position, Michael is the proverbial everything to his customers– shoulder to cry on, hand to high five, and calgon bath when they just want to get away from it all.

Michael and his girlfriend Amie both live in Scottsdale, AZ. He has a dog named Robin, and cat Roberto Gugliachi III (but simply calls him Bob).

Coffee talk worthy facts. Michael:

• Completely lacks any sense of smell whatsoever. None. Squat.
• Takes the cyclone of ideas that show up on the whiteboard each day and translates the best into improved customer interactions.
• Possesses an innate understanding of how customers move through the system and what they expect at all points from start to finish.
• Played professional foosball in his younger days, though not at a level that got the much coveted attention of foosball groupies.
• Is vain as evidenced by his propensity to pose and preen in front of any full-length mirror he happens to pass.
• Wants to anticipate the user’s every need so that he delivers the experience they want before they even realize they wanted it to begin with.
• Thrives on change, challenge, and the opportunity to take a risk.
• Will never challenge Donald Trump for the title of most successful real estate mogul.
• Has both the greatest and most challenging boss a guy can have—the customer.

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As SoChurch’s advisor and evangelist, John Saddington gets the word out that the web will change the Church’s world.

The skinny on John

SoChurch has a stark-raving-mad fan in John Saddington, and he’s got the public speaking and personal magnetism moxy to convince the world that he’s right. John has immersed himself in technology over the past decade and a half, where his ideas in both strategic and executive leadership roles have benefitted big boys like Johnson & Johnson, Dell, Fox, and Newscorp, to name but a few. John’s also launched a number of web products whose success caught the eye of the various organizations that acquired them. He sees the power that the web has to deliver the Church’s message and knows the best way for this power to be leveraged. Because he’s a words guy, John’s naturally drawn to blogging, serving as the Chief Editor for the largest technology-related blogging network in the evangelical and ministry world, The 8Bit Network. He’s served as the Creative Web Director at North Point Ministries, one of the largest ministries in the country where he provided vision, strategy, and product development chops. With his recognized leadership in both Church and technology, persuasive personality, and vast network of contacts, John’s the perfect person to lead SoChurch in its marketing and promotion, strategic outreach, and conference-circuit speaking.

John resides in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and daughter where he’s polishing off his Masters of Theology in Christian Education and a Masters of Biblical Studies at the Dallas Theological Seminary.

Coffee talk-worthy facts. John:

• Is an avid and enthusiastic consumer of caffeine, normally supplied by Starbucks.
• Possesses immense social computing knowledge base.
• Took the Myers-Briggs personality profile test and emerged as an INTP—The Engineer.
• Is the acknowledged expert in all things technology and the Church.
• Won’t hesitate to speak his mind, especially when the truth hurts.
• Loves taking SoChurch’s online presence and helping it explode.
• Believes that “To reach people that no one is reaching we have to do things that no one is doing.”
• Revels in the power of WordPress.
• Provides SoChurch with product development advice, strategic outreach, and marketing and promotional assistance.

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Michael Hyatt knows words like most people know breathing.

The skinny on Michael

Michael Hyatt is the Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world and the seventh-largest trade book publishing company in the U.S. He’s worked at the privately-held company for a total of fourteen years. Michael began his publishing career at Word Publishing—where he worked for a total of six years—while a student at Baylor University. He started his own publishing company, Wolgemuth & Hyatt, in 1986 and sold it to Word publishing six years later. After the sale, Michael embarked on a career as a successful literary agent from 1992 until 1998. He’s written four books, one of which landed on the New York Times bestseller list for seven months, and is currently working on two more. Michael is the former Chairman of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (2006–2010). To top things off he also has the #1 leadership blog on the entire Web. According to Alexa, his blog is in the top .2% of all blogs on the internet.

In his free time, Michael enjoys writing, reading, running, and golfing. He and his wife Gail have been married for thirty years and have five daughters and four grandchildren. They live in Nashville, Tennessee. Michael is a member of St. Ignatius Orthodox Church in Franklin, Tennessee, where he’s served as a deacon for twenty three years.

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Reggie Joiner is shaping and leading the next generation of church leaders.

The skinny on Reggie

Reggie Joiner is the founder and CEO of Orange (www.whatisorange.org), a nonprofit organization that helps churches and parents maximize their influence on the spiritual growth of the next generation. There he also heads up the Orange Conference and the Orange Tour. Reggie, along with Andy Stanley, was a founding pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, and he joined with Andy Stanley, John Maxwell and Lanny Donoho to create the Catalyst Conference. Catalyst attracts more than ten thousand young leaders each year. Reggie has co-hosted the event for the past ten years. He has also authored a number of books on the family and leadership.

Reggie and his wife Debbie live north of Atlanta and have four grown children: Reggie Paul, Hannah, Sarah, and Rebekah.

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Brad Lomenick is a passionate teacher, expert collaborator, and someday professional golfer.

The skinny on Brad

Brad Lomenick is Executive Director and key visionary of Catalyst, a church leadership event created to nurture a new generation of church leaders. Since its inception, over 90,000 leaders have made the annual trek to Atlanta to participate in the Catalyst Conference experience. This October, more than 10,000 young leaders will gather to experience Catalyst up close. More recently, Catalyst launched the first ever West Coast experience in Orange County, CA with 3,000 leaders in attendance. Prior to running Catalyst, Brad was involved in the growth of the nationally acclaimed Life@Work Magazine and was a sought-after management consultant with Cornerstone Group. Over the last 15 years, Brad has built a well-deserved reputation as a key networker and convener of leaders.

Brad loves Oklahoma football and considers himself a strong candidate for the PGA Senior’s gold tour.

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Chance Manson is a new media maven.

The skinny on Chance

Chance Mason is an internationally recognized entrepreneur in new media and has directed the strategic launch and delivery of two of the largest faith-based online broadcast properties, Streaming Faith (http://www.streamingfaith.com) and 316 Networks (http://www.316networks.com). Combined, Streaming Faith and 316 Networks have served over 1000 ministry clients including Andy Stanley & North Point Community Church, Rick Warren & Saddleback Church, Joel Osteen, Max Lucado & Oak Hills Church, Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, John Maxwell & Giant Impact, Catalyst, Bishop Eddie Long, Dave Ramsey, and Ken Blanchard, to list just a few. As company president for both Streaming Faith and 316 Networks, Chance is leading a shift in the relationship between faith-based organizations and the way they use the Internet. With a dynamic spirit powered by faith, purpose, and a relentless hunger for mastering cutting-edge technology, Chance maintains his role in the industry as a reliable source and influencer in the area of ministry communication.

Chance has been featured in various media vehicles including the CBS’ The Early Show and Christianity Today Magazine. He earned a bachelor’s degree in management of information systems from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Chance is married and has two children.

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Tony Morgan is all about creating impact through his speaking, writing, and mentoring.

The skinny on Tony

Tony is the Pastor of Ministries at West Ridge Church near Atlanta. He’s also a strategist, coach, writer, speaker and consultant who equips leaders and churches to impact their communities for Christ. More important, he has a passion for the people. He’s all about helping people meet Jesus and take steps in their faith. For more than 10 years, Tony served on the senior leadership teams at NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC) and Granger Community Church (Granger, IN). With Tim Stevens, Tony has co-authored Simply Strategic Stuff, Simply Strategic Volunteers, and Simply Strategic Growth–each of which offers valuable, practical solutions for different aspects of church ministry. His newest book, Killing Cockroaches (B&H Publishing), was released in 2009. Tony has also written several articles on staffing, technology, strategic planning and leadership published by organizations like Outreach Magazine, Catalyst and Pastors.com.

Tony and his wife, Emily, reside near Atlanta, Georgia with their four children–Kayla, Jacob, Abby and Brooke.

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Ben Arment launches great things.

The skinny on Ben

Ben Arment is the founder of a wide variety of leadership, ministry, and spiritual growth events, including The Whiteboard Sessions, a one-day conference about ideas in ministry featuring seven influential leaders; STORY, two days of creative exploration for ministry; and Dream Year, a 12-month process designed to help you bring your God-given dream to life. Ben’s also an author, and his first book, Church in the Making: What Makes or Breaks a New Church Before it Starts, was recently released by B&H Publishing.

Ben and his wife Ainsley live in Virginia Beach, Virginia and have three boys: Wyatt, Dylan, and Cody.

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Cynthia Ware challenges churches to communicate more effectively.

The skinny on Cynthia

Cynthia Ware is a consultant with an in-depth expertise in two areas: online technologies and strategic church development. Equipped with two decades of pastoral ministry and a Master’s Degree in New Media, Cynthia helps Christian leaders develop online communication strategies to compliment their ministry goals and how to leverage their online presence to enrich and expand the outreach and effectiveness of their ministry. Cynthia is also an active public speaker, presenting at such diverse destinations as Biola University, the Internet Ministry Conference, Willow Creek’s Group Life Conference, the Dynamic Church Conference, Innovation3 and The Idea Camp, and Cultivate & Story, to name just a few. Her writing endeavors include a personal blog site, The Digital Sanctuary, which encourages Christian leaders to explore, embrace and employ participatory media technologies to serve the Kingdom of God and has been featured in Swerve by Craig Groeschel and Bobby Gruenewald, Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox, and several other online resource portals. Additionally, she is a co-contributor to several other online sites including Digital, the Leadership Network’s technology blog. Currently, Cynthia serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Church Communications, whose popular blog Church Marketing Sucks, provides a place for conversation on elevating the quality of church communications.

Cynthia and her husband Bob, an associate pastor, have pastored on staff in congregations throughout California.

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Tim Stevens leads by example.

The skinny on Tim

Tim Stevens is the Executive Pastor at Granger Community Church. For the past 16 years, he has blended architecture, strategy, and technology to help Granger connect with people who previously considered the church to be irrelevant. Acutely tuned into popular culture, instrumental in balancing operations, and effective in inspiring artists, Tim is an expert at message branding to sharpen the weekend church experience. An accomplished and sought-after speaker, Tim has taught more than 18,000 church leaders in person at workshops, conferences and seminars since 2002. A typical year includes 20 speaking engagements. His blog (www.leadingsmart.com) is a popular destination for church leadership, boasting 4,000+ readers. Tim also co-authored the Simply Strategic book series, using humor and practical principles to equip churches and ministry leaders.

Tim and Faith Stevens have been married since 1990. They serve in the ministry together and are raising four children: Heather, Megan, Hunter, and Taylor.

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Dan Boberg has forgotten more about search engines than you’ll ever know.

The skinny on Dan

Dan Boberg, a seasoned internet advertising executive, was most recently Vice President of advertiser and agency professional services for Yahoo! Inc, where he was responsible for driving consulting, technology integration, Right Media deployment, and custom solutions for Yahoo!’s largest advertiser and agency partners. Dan worked to drive Yahoo!’s industry leadership in key areas for years and was responsible for the launch and ongoing management of Yahoo!’s Enterprise Web Services (EWS), a commercial developer program that enables programmatic campaign management through Yahoo! ad product APIs. His efforts were recognized in 2004 when B2B Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people online. Currently, Dan runs Tallwave’s business planning division.

Dan earned his MBA with emphasis in Marketing and Technology from the University of Southern California. He recently was asked to return his Heisman Trophy.

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Kem Meyer has mastered the art of simplicity, and she’s nice enough to tell you how.

The skinny on Kem

Kem Meyer is Communications Director at Granger Community Church, where she leads creative, information, and technology teams to champion a clear, cohesive, and unified experience across departments and campuses. In her time there, Kem has evolved from skeptical guest to dedicated staff member and helped average weekend attendance explode from 400 to 6,000. Prior to her joining Granger, Kem spent 15 years in the corporate communications and internet strategy world where, among other things, she was a self-professed corporate spin doctor. Over the past 6 years, Kem has taught workshops, been a sought-after speaker at numerous conferences, and blogged about removing the barriers that keep people from connecting with Christ. Her book, Less Clutter, Less Noise, has earned rave reviews for providing simple insights into the not-so-simple art of communication for churches, business, and not-for-profits.

Kem met her husband Mark for the first time on Granger’s volunteer drama team. Less than a year later, they were married. Today, the world HQ for Meyertown includes three kids; Erin, Emmi and Easto and two cats, all who are very dramatic.

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Curtis Simmons knows church technology inside and out.

The skinny on Curtis

Curtis Simmons is the Executive VP of Customer Effectiveness for Fellowship Technologies, creator of Fellowship One web-based church management software, which helps church leaders effectively care for people, efficiently manage resources, and enable real growth. Curtis began his career as a programmer at Sprint and WilTel. Prior to joining Fellowship Technologies, Curtis served as technology and business consultant with Hitachi Consulting, Tactica Technology Group and Accenture. He has a great love for the Lord combined with a passion for technology, making his role as SoChurch advisor a perfect fit. His personal blog, Daily Concern, is a popular church resources portal. Curtis is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma.

Curtis and his wife have been married nineteen years. They have two children, and their household is rounded out by two dogs.