Julie Sparkman co-founded Restore Counseling Ministries with Jennifer Ervin in 2012. She is a frequent speaker and author of two video teaching series, “Idol Addiction: Finding Freedom in the Gospel You Thought You Knew” and “Unhitching From the Crazy Train: Finding Rest In a World You Can’t Control”. In 2018, New Hope Publishing will release the book version of “Unhitching from the Crazy Train”, co-authored with Jennifer Phillips. Julie received her B.S. degree from University of Florida and her Masters degree in Counseling and Psychology from Troy University.
Julie has been in private practice as a pastoral counselor since 1999. She works with adult individuals and couples facing a variety of issues such as codependence, infidelity, disillusionment with God, depression, spiritual, emotional, physical and verbal abuse, and parenting through the various seasons of life. It is her desire that the teaching and counseling of Restore Ministries would be used to help men, women and children come to understand the radical and restorative impact of the gospel in their everyday lives and relationships.
Julie and her husband Wes have been married over 30 years and have three children and one grandchild.
Julie Sparkman
Timothy Keller
Timothy Keller will open Rooted 2020 with a video greeting. He is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For 28 years he led a diverse congregation of young professionals that grew to a weekly attendance of over 5,000. He is also the Chairman & Co-Founder of Redeemer City to City (CTC), which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for ministry in an urban environment. In 2017 Dr. Keller transitioned to CTC full time to teach and mentor church planters and seminary students through a joint venture with Reformed Theological Seminary’s (RTS), the City Ministry Program. He also works with CTC’s global affiliates to launch church planting movements. Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 2 million copies and been translated into 25 languages. A frequent speaker at conferences, she has been married for over 40 years and has three adult children and six really adorable grandchildren. Along with her husband, Phil, Elyse is a member of Valley Center Community Church , a reformed congregation in the community of Valley Center.
Christina Edmondson
Blessed by an array of academic, professional and lived experiences, Christina is committed to bringing diverse people together to promote personal and team flourishing. Christina holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Tennessee State University, a MS degree from the University of Rochester in Family Therapy, and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Hampton University. Currently, Christina serves as the Dean for Intercultural Student Development at Calvin College. The Intercultural Student Development Center (ISDC) is committed to inspiring, challenging, and equipping Domestic and International students to engage in meaningful and intentional intercultural interactions within a global society. Additionally, a Certified Cultural Intelligence facilitator, public speaker, and mental health therapist, Christina is often contacted by churches to consult about both diversity and mental health issues. Her writing has been seen and referenced in a variety of outlets including http://essence.com, http://yourblackworld.com, and Gospel Today magazine. She is also one of the co-hosts of the Truth’s Table podcast.
Cameron Cole
Cameron Cole has been the Director of Youth Ministries at the Cathedral Church of the Advent since December of 2005, and in January of 2016 his duties expanded to include Children, Youth, and Families. He is the founding chairman of Rooted Ministry, an organization that promotes gospel-centered youth ministry. He is the co-editor of “Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practice Guide” (Crossway, 2016). Cameron is the author of Therefore, I Have Hope: 12 Truths that Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy (Crossway, 2018), which won World Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year (Accessible Theology) and was runner up for The Gospel Coalition’s Book of the Year (First-Time Author). Cameron has a B.A. in Latin and English and an M.A. in Education, all from Wake Forest; he nearly done with his Masters in Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary.