Skip to main content

Business Leadership Summit

Business Leadership Summit

Business Leadership Summit

by
830 830 people viewed this event.

SAVE THE DATE: Faith Baptist Bible College is excited to host the Business Leadership Summit on Friday-Saturday, October 17-18, 2025, under the theme Walk Worthy: Your Business is Your Ministry.

Are you a Christian business owner or manager? Don’t miss this unique opportunity to connect with fellow Christian professionals from a wide range of industries. Be encouraged and challenged as you grow spiritually and professionally alongside like-minded leaders.

Designed to strengthen and equip current business leaders, this two-day event features keynote speakers, engaging breakout sessions, panel and table discussions, and plenty of time for informal networking. Come ready to be inspired and refreshed as you explore how your business can be a powerful platform for ministry.

Space is limited, so we encourage you to register early!

Early Registration Discount: Register by September 5 and save $50 per registration!

 

 

Conference
Topics

Protecting Culture While Growing Your Business

Getting Employees Involved in Ministry

Selling God’s Way

Hiring Employees with Needs

Conflict Resolution

Hiring Next Gen and How They Think

Is your church run like a business…should it be

Keynote Speakers

David Hoffeld

CEO & Chief Sales Trainer
Hoffeld Group

 

David Hoffeld is a leading authority on behavioral science, human decision-making, and performance improvement. As CEO and chief behavioral strategist at Hoffeld Group, he translates cutting-edge research from neuroscience, behavioral economics, and social psychology into actionable strategies that enable individuals and organizations to unlock greater levels of success.

He is the best-selling author of The Science of Selling and Sell More With Science, which revolutionized sales training by aligning sales behaviors with how the brain actually forms buying decisions. Today, David’s mission has expanded to help individuals and organizations upgrade their thinking and adopt deliberate mental models that enhance decision-making, elevate performance and fuel growth.

David has lectured at Harvard Business School and his insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, U.S. News & World Report, Investor’s Business Daily, Fox News Radio, CBS Radio, and more.

Jim Stefoff

Owner
Entire Image

 

Jim is the owner of Entire Image, a commercial embroidery company servicing the corporate, athletic and golf apparel needs for customers such as Adidas, TaylorMade, Peter Millar, Cintas…

Jim and his wife Rose Ann also founded Christ Freedom Home, a nonprofit ministry that assists men and women transitioning from substance abuse, life dominating sins to productive, God honoring, fruit bearing lives by the grace of God.

Jim and Rose Ann live in Greenville, SC along with their two married children and six grandchildren.

Holly Stratton

Bio coming soon

Richard Stratton

Former Dean of the School of Business
Bob Jones University

 

Richard Stratton holds a BS in accounting from Bob Jones University (BJU), and a PhD in business administration from the University of Georgia.

He began his career at Deloitte and then returned to BJU as an accounting instructor in 1983 before serving as dean of the School of Business from 1998-2002. He left BJU to become president of Clearwater Christian College where he served until 2012. Following Clearwater, he returned to Greenville as executive pastor of Heritage Bible Church.

In 2014, he joined Jackson Dawson and participated in the founding of the subsidiary, Health XL, which creates custom, outsourced Chronic Care Management solutions for physician practices. He served as both director of operations and director of administration.

In 2022, Richard rejoined the BJU family as the dean of the School of Business. His heartbeat is Christian higher education, and he was excited to engage with students, faculty, and alumni. His focus was on the mission of providing excellent business education infused with a biblical worldview that prepares students to serve the Lord through the Ministry of Business.

In July, 2025, he resigned from his position as Dean of the School of Business at Bob Jones University and is now looking forward to promoting Christian higher education throughout the country.

Thomas Bates

Chief Revenue Officer
Correct Craft

 

Thomas Bates is Chief Revenue Officer at Correct Craft, a 100-year-old company with global operations. Correct Craft’s subsidiaries include eight boat brands, four engine brands, three water sports parks and entities devoted solely to vertical integration and innovation. The company has manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and distributes into about 70 countries.

As the Chief Revenue Officer, Thomas oversees all Correct Craft brands’ sales, marketing, and product development, as well as overseeing Correct Craft’s boat brand portfolio. With a relentless focus on optimizing future market-driving product development, he actively seeks opportunities to enhance revenue generation and expand the company’s global footprint.

With Correct Craft, Thomas has held various key positions, including Director of International Sales, Director of Sales and Marketing, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and his current role as Chief Revenue Officer. Throughout his tenure, he has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership and a deep understanding of the industry.

Thomas brings a strong academic background to his executive role. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in church ministries from Clearwater Christian College and holds a master of business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. Committed to continuous learning and personal growth, he has also attended prestigious institutions such as Harvard Business School, Wharton School of Business, Villanova University, Singularity University, and Stanford University for Executive Education programs in areas such as behavioral economics, negotiation, pricing strategies, disruptive innovation, and design thinking. Thomas is Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and is also certified in both Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and DISC.

Additionally, in 2021 Thomas was recognized by Boating Industry Magazine as one of the industry’s “40 Under 40” leaders.

Beyond his professional achievements, Thomas actively contributes to his community and serves on several boards. He served on the Clearwater Christian College board from 2013 to 2016 and is currently on the board for the Clearwater Christian College Foundation and Freeway Ministries Orlando.

Thomas is married to Mindy; they have two children, Ella and Owen. They reside in Orlando, Florida.

Michael Blackstone

Co-Founder
Thompson & Blackstone, Inc

 

Michael has flourished in the business community analyzing new markets and establishing start-up businesses with his partner Roland Thompson. He spent 10 years in marketing and advertising for financial organizations, and his background includes a unique mix of financial, marketing, sales, customer service, and business analysis.

Michael co-founded and currently serves with Thompson & Blackstone, Inc., a business think-tank located in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

In 1998, Michael Blackstone co-founded Frontline Education, best known for Aesop, an automated substitute placement and absence management system for K-12 school districts.

Michael also co-founded CF InFlight, LLP, a specialty camera sports broadcasting company (best known for the Skycam camera) that was sold in 2004.

In 2010, Michael, along with Roland Thompson, started a charitable foundation called SEED (Stewards Equipping Evangelism and Discipleship) and currently serves as a board member.

He also sits on the board for Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa.

Michael lives in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Julie, and has three children and three grandchildren. Michael is active in his church, Bible Baptist Church of West Chester, and he has served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.

Curtis Bostic

President

While he has had a successful career as an attorney representing individuals, families, and businesses in court for over 30 years, Curtis Bostic has chosen to make his main focus an ambassador for the kingdom of God whether as an attorney, businessman, board member, or lay leader.

During his years in legal practice, Mr. Bostic began investing in real estate as a side business. He eventually diversified his entrepreneurial skills into a variety of industries including auto-repair facilities, dental practices, shipping container sales and modification, and Bitcoin mining.

Experience in both law and business led to Mr. Bostic’s position as CEO of a consortium of oil and gas companies in Appalachia which manages production for 2,000 natural gas wells and thousands of miles of pipeline in Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. His focus on acquisitions, arbitrage, and lowering transportation costs has significantly grown the companies
and increased profitability despite recent volatile commodity prices in the region.

In 2005, Mr. Bostic founded “Remember” an international humanitarian aid organization that assists widows and orphans of martyrs and others suffering religious persecution in six countries hostile to Christianity. Recent travels through the Middle East and Israel have encouraged Curtis’ love of studying and teaching the Bible in its historical, cultural, and geographical context. He now leads private tours of Israel; often taking his groups on the “road less traveled” in order to make the Bible come alive in impactful ways.

Mr. Bostic is a former U.S. Marine. He earned a Meritorious Mast for his actions during the ground campaign of Operation Desert Storm. His current hobbies include shooting, raising beef cows, and flying planes and helicopters.

Curtis and his late wife raised five children together and have one grandchild. However, after her death from cancer he remarried. He and his wife, Danielle, homeschool their two adopted daughters on their family farm.

Chris Pearson

President
Purina Animal Nutrition

 

Chris Pearson grew up on a farm in southwest Iowa. His upbringing fueled a passion for agriculture that led him to spend his career building and running farmer-owned cooperatives in Iowa and the Dakotas. He has served in senior executive and board roles spanning the Grain, Agronomy, Precision Ag, Feed, Energy, and Ag Services sectors since 2002. </em>

In 2017, he led the merger of two of the largest agricultural supply cooperatives in the United States. The result of the successful merger vote by the cooperative members was the formation of Agtegra Cooperative, based in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He served as CEO of that organization for nearly 5 years.

Agtegra’s purpose is “To do something great for farms and farm families that nobody else will do.” That mission is executed by 850 fulltime employees that work at over 70 locations across a large portion of the production areas of North and South Dakota. Total revenue when Agtegra formed in 2017 was projected to be $1.8 billion and in 2021 revenue had grown to $2.5 billion. Agtegra is currently the largest locally owned agriculture supply cooperative in the nation.

In 2022, Chris became Vice President of Crop Nutrition and Cooperative Alliances for Winfield United, the crop inputs and insights business of Land O’Lakes, inc., which is also an agricultural cooperative. In this role he operates the fertilizer business for the United States and Canada and also serves a role with local cooperatives, assisting them with Mergers and Acquisitions, strategic planning, CEO and Board advisement, and promotion of the farmer-owned cooperative business model.

In 2024, Chris became President of Purina Animal Nutrition, another division of Land O’Lakes which delivers $5 billion a year in top-line revenue. The animal nutrition team distributes a full line of nutritional solutions for farmers, ranchers, backyard hobbyists, zoos, and labs through a national distribution channel that is made up of independent Purina dealers, large farm and ranch stores, and cooperatives as well as maintaining on online presence.

Chris accepted Christ as his savior at a young age and was fortunate to be raised in a Christian home. While working at the Iowa Regular Baptist Camp, Chris met Rachel Holub and they were married the following year after attending one year at Faith Baptist Bible College. The Lord has blessed them with 5 children and 6 grandchildren.

Ed Cone

Founder and President
CF Captial

 

As a young man, Ed began working for his father and brother in the family business known as Graco Children’s Products. He completed his B.A. from the University of Miami in 1967. Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, Ed served in various capacities within the company. In 1982, through a variety of challenging circumstances, he assumed the role of CEO. He and his executive team led the company through significant growth over the next 10-plus years.

In 1996 Graco was sold, and Ed began CF Capital. As a private equity firm, CF Capital specializes in helping Christian entrepreneurs with financial and leadership advice as they build businesses using Biblical principles. Ed has also served on several for-profit and nonprofit boards, including Christian educational institutions.

Ed accepted Christ as his personal Savior at age 11, having been raised in a Christian home with a godly father to mentor him. Ed and his wife, Jane, have been married for 52 years and have five children. One of his greatest joys is spending time with his 22 grandchildren, with all but nine residing near his home. The Cones met at High Point Baptist Chapel, and both have actively served within the church for many years. They have recently moved to a different church and are enjoying meeting many new Christian friends. Ed served as an adult Sunday school teacher for many years, and Jane has taught two-year-olds for over 40 years. They have lived in the Elverson, Pennsylvania area since 1959.

Roland Thompson

Co-Founder
Thompson & Blackstone, Inc

Roland has spent his career applying Biblical principles of leadership and decision-making to business. His experience spans from startups to Fortune 500 companies operating in the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Roland currently co-operates Thompson & Blackstone, Inc., a business think tank and investment evaluation platform. His background includes a mix of entrepreneurism, business analysis, engineering, and design. He was also the co-founder of both Frontline Education and CF InFlight, LLP. Frontline Education is an Ed-Tech platform used by most school districts in America, and CF Inflight engineered and introduced the Emmy award-winning Skycam (www.skycam.tv) to the sports broadcasting world (Skycam is used all over the world and is featured on almost all major market American football broadcasts, including Monday Night Football). He has a tremendous amount of experience analyzing new markets and establishing and growing businesses. Prior to these ventures, he spent 10 years building an IT services organization focused on delivering services and software for stock and currency trading applications, as well as developing mobile technology solutions for Fortune 500 companies.

Roland lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Lisa, and has three children: Christopher, Stephen, and Alicia. Roland is active in his church, Bible Baptist Church of West Chester, and has served as deacon, the chair of deacons, a Sunday school teacher, and a youth worker.

Roland also sits on various foundation, and educational institution boards. He also enjoys mentoring young Christian entrepreneurs as well as flying.

Jim Tillotson

President
Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary

Dr. Jim Tillotson holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Ministry degrees from Northland Baptist Bible College, and received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Bob Jones University in 2016.

Prior to coming to Iowa, Dr. Tillotson helped plant Meadowlands Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta where he served as the senior pastor for 18 years. During that time, he led the church in planting three new churches and revitalizing a church as well as starting a Christian School and helping start a Bible Institute.

In 2015, God called Dr. Tillotson to serve as the President of Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa. During his time as President God has blessed Faith in providing growth both numerically and financially. He also has led the school through two building projects and the celebration of Faith’s 100 year anniversary.

He and his wife Joan have three children and three sweet grandchildren.

SUMMIT HOST

Terry Wild

Terry has experienced leadership in both business and academia. For 25 years he was involved in automotive marketing in Michigan, servicing companies like Volkswagen, Volvo GM Heavy Truck, and predominantly Ford Motor Company. He completed his marketing career as Vice President in one of the largest marketing communications firm in the country. While serving on the board of directors of Clearwater Christian College, God began leading and ultimately moving him and his family to Florida to become Vice President of Institutional Advancement. He served there for 11 years, the last two as Senior Vice President. Over the last nine years, he has been the Director of Cornerstone Foundation and part of the team at CF Capital, a private equity firm. A majority of his time is spent helping ministries with management issues while evaluating their needs for the Foundation. In his role at CF Capital, he continues to look for business opportunities while personally investing in Christian business leaders.

He is married to Jill, who faithfully serves with him in his role at Cornerstone Foundation. They are both actively involved and committed to serving in their local church. When not traveling, they make time visiting their two sons and their families, finding great joy investing in their four grandchildren.

SCHEDULE

Friday, October 17

3:45 PM | Campus Tour (optional)

4:30 PM | Reception

5:00 PM | Dinner

6:00 PM | General Session

7:00 PM | Dessert and Round Table Discussion

7:30 PM | General Session

Saturday, October 18

8:00 AM | Continental Breakfast (Coffee Shop open)

8:30 AM | General Session

9:45 AM | Break

10:00 AM | Breakout Sessions

10:45 AM | Break

11:00 AM | Breakout Sessions

12:00 PM | Lunch in Dining Hall (included with registration)

1:30 PM | General Session

2:30 PM | Break

2:45 PM | Panel Discussion

4:00 PM | Dismissal

Do you enjoy golfing?

Plan to arrive early to join us for our Golf Tournament Fundraiser on the morning of
Friday, October 17!
More details coming soon!

By September 5

$250 per person

$300 per couple

After September 5

$300 per person

$350 per couple

Questions?

We would love to help! For more information, contact Bri Harrier.

 

Date And Time

October 17, 2025 to
October 18, 2025
 

Registration End Date

October 3, 2025
 

Event Category

Share With Friends

Skip to content