The Gordon-Conwell Summit brings together guests to learn how ministry leaders
are engaging the issues of culture and society to advance Christ’s Kingdom.
2026 Gordon-Conwell Summit
God is at work. He is advancing his Kingdom through his Church. And Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary is equipping men and women to lead in this eternal task.
Join us for the 2026 Gordon-Conwell Summit on Thursday, October 1 at our Hamilton campus or Thursday, November 5 at our Charlotte campus. We’ll consider how the Church is leaning into the challenges and opportunities it faces in North America today and how Gordon-Conwell is strengthening it. You will hear from ministry leaders who are empowering their congregations to fulfill the Great Commission and serve the needs of their communities. You will also be introduced to some of the men and women who have been called to follow in their footsteps, hear why their preparation at Gordon-Conwell is relevant today, and be granted the opportunity to support them and help recruit more students like them. It will be a time of food, fellowship, worship, and learning that you will find encouraging and inspiring.
Give thanks with us “for the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:5, NIV)
2026 Hamilton Summit
The Ministry of Being a Good Neighbor
Hamilton Campus | Thursday, October 1 | 6:00-9:00 p.m.
This year’s dinner features a conversation between President Dr. Scott Sunquist, Rev. Peter Balentine, and other ministry leaders about their approach to engaging neighbors on Boston’s North Shore. It will also feature music, art, and testimonials about how Gordon-Conwell prepares men and women for neighborly ministry.
Speakers
Dr. Scott Sunquist
President, Professor of Missiology
Rev. Peter Balentine
Pastor
2026 Charlotte Summit
Jesus in the Workplace
Charlotte Campus | Thursday, November 5 | 6:00-8:30pm
This year’s dinner features a conversation between President Scott Sunquist and Mark Whitacre about offering Christian witness in the workplace. It will also feature music, art, and testimonials about how Gordon-Conwell prepares men and women for ministry in secular settings.
Speakers
Dr. Scott Sunquist
President, Professor of Missiology
Mark Whitacre
Business Executive
Sponsorships
The Gordon-Conwell Summit is a complimentary event made possible by the generosity of our sponsors. We invite you to consider the following sponsorship opportunities.
Title Sponsorship ($15,000)
- Listed in emails to prospective and registered guests
- Listed on event webpage
- Listed on event signage and dinner projection screen
- Listed in event program
Table Sponsorship ($1,000)
- Listed in event program
We would be delighted to discuss these opportunities with you. Please contact us at [email protected] or 978-646-4229 to learn more.
A Glimpse of Previous Summit Events
Mark Whitacre
Business Executive
Mark Whitacre has been engaged with the faith at work movement the past twenty years. Mark is Vice President of Culture & Care and Executive Director of the t-factor initiative at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. and Mark has worked with Coca-Cola Consolidated since 2019. Coca-Cola Consolidated is faith-friendly, publicly traded (NASDAQ) company with an official purpose statement “To honor God in all we do, to serve others, to pursue excellence, and to grow profitably”. Mark has served as National Director and then COO of Christian Business Men’s Connection (CBMC) from 2013 to 2019. Mark was the COO and Chief Science Officer from 2006 to 2013 at Cypress Systems, Inc., a California faith-based biotechnology company where Mark still serves on Cypress’ advisory council.
After completing his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Ohio State University, Mark earned his Ph.D. degree at Cornell University in biochemistry. He worked as an executive for some Fortune 500 companies, including Ralston Purina (now Nestle), Degussa (now Evonik), and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). He was recruited at ADM when he was 32 as the President of the Biotech Division and Corporate Vice President of ADM. Mark has extensive international business experience, having lived in Germany for four years working for Evonik at their world headquarters in Frankfurt.
Mark and his wife Ginger have been married for 46 years and have three adult children.
Peter Balentine
Pastor
Pete is a native of Westerly, Rhode Island and became a Christian in high school through a local youth ministry. He is a graduate of Boston University and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Pete has served churches in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. A Navy veteran he has travelled to 27 countries and taught at Bible colleges in Tanzania and Ukraine. Pete also pursues photography, exhibiting locally and in New England. Visit his website at www.peterbalentine.com. Pete lives in Lynn with his wife, Heidi. He has four grown children, Georgia, Daniel, Molly and Charlotte.
Lemuel Gonzalez, MDiv
Associate Pastor, Crossover Church
The child of bi-vocational pastors and church planters, Lemuel (MDiv, ’24) knows the challenge of discerning between vocations and saying yes to more than one. Over the years of juggling family, work and seminary, Lemuel has moved through a variety of roles as Crossover Church from starting as a youth counselor to his current role as associate pastor. Lemuel can speak to the bi-vocational reality that many pastors today face.
David Palmer, PhD
Senior Pastor, Kenwood Baptist Church
David (MDiv, ’97, ThM, ‘99) serves as Senior Pastor with primary responsibilities in preaching, shepherding, servant leadership, and prayer. Prior to Kenwood Baptist Church, he pastored in New England and taught biblical studies at Gordon College.
He currently serves as adjunct professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Ruthie Seiders, DMin
Pastor for Central Ministries, Grace Chapel
In her role as the Pastor for Central Ministries, Ruthie (MATS, ‘83, DMin, ‘14) supports and ministers to the Grace Chapel pastors of Community Care, Community Engagement, Group Life, Missional Partnerships and Multicultural Ministry and Worship.
Before coming to Grace Chapel in 2015, Ruthie pastored churches in Texas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New York.
David Brown, DMin
Lead Pastor, A Place at the Table Church
David (MDiv, MACC, ‘10) has served in pastoral and leadership roles in several churches in the Charlotte area. Recently, he earned a Doctorate in Ministry from Portland Seminary in Leadership and Spiritual Formation.
A licensed counselor, he co-founded a non-profit that provided care and support for pastors and other ministry leaders. Currently, David serves as the Associate Pastor of Care at Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, NC.
Percy Burns
Glorious Freedom
Percy Burns is Chaplain for Gordon-Conwell’s Charlotte Leadership Forum and Chairman of the Board of Derek Prince Ministries, USA, and pastor emeritus of St. Giles Evangelical Presbyterian Church. He is the author of and founder of Glorious Freedom ministry.
Rodney Cooper, PhD
Senior Professor of Ministry, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Rodney teaches at the Charlotte campus. While he previously taught at the New England campuses, he served as Associate Pastor and led the men’s ministries at historic Tremont Temple Baptist Church in downtown Boston.
He also served as the first Executive Director/President of the Houston Bible Institute, now called the College of Biblical Studies, in Houston, TX. One of the first multi-cultural institutions in the country, the Institute now has nearly 2,000 students and the same multi-cultural emphasis.
Mark Whitacre
Vice President of Culture & Care and Executive Director
Mark Whitacre has been engaged with the faith at work movement the past twenty years. Mark is Vice President of Culture & Care and Executive Director of the t-factor initiative at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. and Mark has worked with Coca-Cola Consolidated since 2019. Coca-Cola Consolidated is faith-friendly, publicly traded (NASDAQ) company with an official purpose statement “To honor God in all we do, to serve others, to pursue excellence, and to grow profitably”. Mark has served as National Director and then COO of Christian Business Men’s Connection (CBMC) from 2013 to 2019. Mark was the COO and Chief Science Officer from 2006 to 2013 at Cypress Systems, Inc., a California faith-based biotechnology company where Mark still serves on Cypress’ advisory council.
After completing his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Ohio State University, Mark earned his Ph.D. degree at Cornell University in biochemistry. He worked as an executive for some Fortune 500 companies, including Ralston Purina (now Nestle), Degussa (now Evonik), and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). He was recruited at ADM when he was 32 as the President of the Biotech Division and Corporate Vice President of ADM. Mark has extensive international business experience, having lived in Germany for four years working for Evonik at their world headquarters in Frankfurt.
Mark and his wife Ginger have been married for 46 years and have three adult children.
Dr. Scott W. Sunquist
President & Professor of Missiology
Dr. Scott W. Sunquist assumed the presidency on July 1, 2019, and was inaugurated as the seventh president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary on October 11, 2019. He also serves as professor of missiology and authors the Attentiveness blog.
Before Gordon-Conwell, Dr. Sunquist served as the Dean of Intercultural Studies and Professor of World Christianity at Fuller Seminary. Prior to this, he taught for seventeen years at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Dr. Sunquist and his wife, Nancy, served as missionaries in the Republic of Singapore from 1987–1995, where he was the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church and lecturer in church history, ecumenics, and Asian Christianity at Trinity Theological College. Before this, he was a campus staff member with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Virginia and Massachusetts.