Danny Parmelee grew up in a small town in North Central Wisconsin. With weekends filled with hockey games and tournaments there wasn’t much time for church. Like many teenagers do, he was sucked into a life of drinking, drugs, and self indulgence. His freshman year at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh he surrendered his life to Christ through the ministry of Cru. He became the Cru student President and saw many reached for Christ.
His sophomore year in college Danny got involved at Oshkosh Community Church which was a church plant that planted churches. At the age of 19 God called him to ministry, and specifically to church planting. He met his wife Emili at college and they got engaged while Danny was studying Biblical Hebrew at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. They got married right after they both graduated from college.
They then moved to St. Paul, MN where Danny completed his M.Div from Bethel Seminary. After completing Seminary they moved to Milwaukee, WI in 2004 to plant what would become epikos Church. The church grew from a small group of 10 guys meeting in their living room to a multisite, multiethnic, congregation with over 2,000 in weekly attendance. He also had the privilege of being the chaplain of the Milwaukee Admirals (affiliate team of the Nashville Predators). In 2017 Danny accepted his current role as Vice President of Church Planting for Converge MidAmerica. He is located in Nashville, TN but the region he recruits, trains, and coaches church planters include MI, IL, IN, MO, KY, TN, and AR.
Chris Highfill
Chris and his wife Sarah planted Grace River Church in 2014. What started with a small gathering in their living room, the church has since grown and is a thriving church in Saint Louis. Chris has been instrumental in the launch of dozens of churches and loves teaching planters and pastors on how to engage in their local communities!
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