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FLY 2007 Speakers
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 Monty Christensen: "70 x 7 and Beyond"
Monty Christensen grew up in the Lockwood flats area of Billings, Montana. As a child he spent
time in foster homes, mental institutions, State run hospitals, and reform school. As a youth he began a life of alcohol, drug abuse, and crime which landed him in jail on several occasions. A life
certainly headed down the wrong path, until He had a life changing encounter with God. He learned God's love truly is unconditional. Monty, the author of "70x7 and Beyond" (the novel traces his journey from drug addiction, crime and prison to his new life and ministry in Christ.) is now the director of Prison Impact Ministries, based in Kalispell, MT. Monty and his wife Holly
raised four boys and currently reside in the Big Sky Country
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 Todd Friel: The Way of the Master Radio
Todd Friel studied to be a pastor for four years but neglected to actually get saved. He abandoned church ministry plans and did secular TV, radio and stand-up comedy for 6 years.
Gratefully, God saved Todd (from hell and stand-up comedy). Since then, Todd has combined his pastoral training and media skills to host a daily Christian talk show (The Way of the Master) for the last several years. Todd has one wife, three children and a dog.
Click Here to listen to a clip of Todd
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 David Witt:Voice of the Martyrs
Pastor Witt has spoken in over 1,600 churches and Christian ministries in the United States, traveled throughout Canada and Mexico, visited thirteen
countries in Europe, and spent three weeks in Israel at the Holy Land Institute for Biblical Studies.
His travels with The Voice of the Martyrs have taken him to 16 restricted nations. He has brought support and encouragement to believers in Laos,
Sudan, Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. He has preached in underground church meetings and taught in Bible schools in Vietnam, China, Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Indonesia. In China, he met with house church leaders and personally witnessed their triumphant faith and courage. Most recently, he
met with persecuted Christians in India, Egypt, Israel and Iraq. His heart has been touched, and his life changed, by their actions of love and faithfulness
to Jesus, even when facing death. Pastor Witt desires to share their stories.
David earned his Bachelor's of Arts Degree, graduating with honors from Westmont College, a Christian liberal arts college in Santa Barbara, CA.
He was ordained a Pastor and Minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1994, and spent a total of fourteen years in youth ministry.
During this time he helped start a network of Christian youth ministries in his local area of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and
participated in the Ministerial Alliance of Steamboat Springs. Pastor Witt was actively involved in Young Life, leading mission trips to
inner city Denver and the country of Mexico, and was the Area Coordinator for Concerts of Prayer and National Day of Prayer.
David's wife, Cindy, holds a Bachelor's of Arts degree from Westmont College. She, too, desires to share the overwhelming hope
and victory in Christ that she has witnessed in the lives of persecuted Christians. They have two children, Jonathan (13), and Kaitlyn (11).
Mujahid El Masih: Voice of the Martyrs
Mujahid El Masih was born and lived in Pakistan until 1997. While growing up, he studied the Koran and Islam for 14 years in
Pakistani schools. He went through Military Training in Pakistan and from the Islamic teachers and the military was taught to hate
Israel, Christians, and all non-Muslims. When he was 25 years old he gave his life over to Jesus Christ. Called me to preach the
Gospel, he attended a Bible College for three years. After college he began planting churches with the power of the Holy Spirit and
by His power he and fellow Christian planted 24 churches in different areas of Pakistan.
On February 6, 1997, Pakistani police and thousands of Muslims attacked two of their villages and burned 13 of their church
buildings, 1,500 Christian homes and thousands of Bibles. All because of a false charge that Christians had torn a Koran. In mid
-1997, he received an invitation to share in a church in South Africa. He showed video footage taken on that day the Muslims burned
their churches and homes in that church in South Africa. The pastor made copies and sent them to pastors in other cities in South
Africa. Those pastors joined together and protested against the Pakistani government in front of the Pakistani Embassy. When asked
by the Pakistani Ambassador where they had received this information his name was given to him. After that he was unable to go
back to Pakistan. Muslims in South Africa began to persecute and attempted many times to kill Mujahid and his wife. Even the South
African government told them to leave the country to avoid straining their country's relations with Pakistan. He and his wife went to
the American Embassy, but at first they would not give them a Visa for the United States. God impressed upon my wife that she
must fast for three days and three nights as Esther did for her nation in the Bible. She fasted for three days and three nights
and then God told us to go to the American Embassy again. At that time we didn't have a single cent in our pocket to pay
Visa fees or purchase plane tickets to the United States. We just believed that God was going to provide. Through God's
grace they were provided passports. When asked "How are you going to pay the big fees for plane tickets to the United States?" Mujahid replied, "We serve a big God; He is going to pay for our tickets." And God did.
God has put it upon his heart to teach Americans the truth of Islam. Not to share only about the faithfulness of God in his life, but
also to share from his studies of Islam and how we too can love Muslims to Christ.
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 Pastor John Kent: Reformation Lutheran Church El
Cajon, CA
Pastor John Kent has been serving Reformation Lutheran Church in El Cajon, CA from its very
beginning. He has a real heart for Biblical preaching and teaching, with a keen interest in seeing that the light of the reformation is not snuffed-out by the winds of superficial ecumenism. Pastor
Kent has received his education from various institutions including; Azusa Pacific University, Bethel Theological Seminary (West), Point Loma Nazarene College, Christian Heritage College,
as well as attending a continuing educational seminar each year at the Association of Free Lutheran Theological Seminary. He has a wife and two daughters and lives in Lakeside,
California. He enjoys golf, and sailing with his family in his free time.
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 Pastor Jim Johnson: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Camarillo, CA
Since 1985, Jim Johnson has been working in student ministry with college and high school students. The father of nine children and husband to Linda, Jim has a heart to reach the next
generation.
"We care about students and we care about kids," said Pastor Jim, who is planting a church with his family in southern California. "I love watching new believers grow."
Jim and Linda live in Camarillo, California, where Jim is senior pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, a new Free Lutheran plant 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Jim is 44.
A native of Minnesota, Jim served a growing church in northern Minnesota before serving in
college ministry for 10 years. He was elected dean of Association Free Lutheran Bible School in 1996. AFLBS, a college level school of the Bible in Minneapolis, enrolled 100-185 students
[yearly] during his time there. Previous to that calling he served as Pastor of Calvary Free Lutheran Church in Fosston, MN.
Jim and Linda have a heart to help people come to Jesus and to build up hurting families. They have devoted most of their ministry to
evangelism and encouraging parents to build love and Christian character into their children. The heart for family ministry came as he
served in a small town and watched Jesus do miracles in families. "In my ministry I saw that so many community problems and social
problems could be dealt with when people surrendered their lives to Christ," Jim explained. "My biggest joys were seeing people on
the brink of hopelessness, far from God and being used in significant ways to help others turn to Christ. Some of these people today
are models of love and character - even though at the time they seemed hopeless and helpless. Ever since, my wife Linda and I have devoted ourselves to helping people, couples, and families turn to Christ."
Jim grew up in Bloomington, MN, graduated form the University of Minnesota in 1987 with a degree from the School of Journalism.
Before entering full-time ministry, he studied to become a sports reporter. He has written for the Des Moines Register and the Miami
Herald and has been published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and several other newspapers.
Jim and Linda have nine children: Elizabeth (age 18), Hannah (16), Lydia (14), Benjamin (12), Grace (10), and Seth (8), Miah (6),
and Isaiah (4), and Titus (2). You can reach Jim via e-mail at: pastorjim@goodshepherd-church.net.
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 Pastor Tom Brock: Hope Lutheran Church Minneapolis, MN
Tom Brock was raised in Omaha Nebraska. He graduated from Bethel College and Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has served Hope Lutheran Church in North
Minneapolis since 1981. While he was a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America he was on the board of the Great Commission Network, a group which worked to bring Biblical
renewal to that denomination. In 2001 Pastor Brock and his congregation left the ELCA and joined the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations. Pastor Brock has a television and radio
ministry in the Twin Cities.
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 Pastor Peter Franz: Grace Free Lutheran Church Maple Grove, MN
Pastor Peter J. Franz was born on October 27, 1957 in Munising, Michigan to the late Pastor
Herbert L. and the late Sylvia E. (Lahikainen) Franz. The family moved to Cloquet, Minnesota in January of 1960. It was there that Peter spent his childhood years, graduating from Cloquet High
School in 1976. Active in baseball and basketball he earned a number of district, regional and state athletic honors.
Pastor Franz attended the University of Minnesota, Duluth on a baseball scholarship and
graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science. It was during his years in college that he sensed a call from God to full-time Christian ministry and married Judy Elaine Moan. He
attended the Association Free Lutheran Theological Seminary, graduating in 1983. During his years in seminary Peter served internships in Escanaba and Eben Junction, Michigan, as well as
Buxton and Portland, North Dakota. He was ordained in June of 1983 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Cloquet, Minnesota, where his father was pastor.
Having a heart for church planting, Franz spent eight years as pastor of mission congregations in Minot, North Dakota as well as in
St. James and Mankato, Minnesota. In September of 1991 he moved back to his hometown of Cloquet where he served as pastor
of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and Academy for the next nine years. It was there that Franz carried on a radio ministry that was
begun by his father in the early 1960s. Since July of 2000 he has been pastor of Grace Free Lutheran Church of Maple Grove,
Minnesota. He is also currently a part time instructor at the Association Free Lutheran Bible School in Plymouth, Minnesota.
Peter and his wife Judy are the parents of seven children: Sarah, David, Rachel, Lydia, Andrew, Anna and Mark.
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 Betsy O'Neil: Faith Lutheran Church Minneapolis, MN
Betsy is a 2002 graduate of AFLBS, originally from Pipestone, MN. Following Bible School, she lived as a dorm assistant at AFLBS for two years and enjoyed getting to know and
befriend the girls on campus. Betsy then moved to Sioux Falls, SD to finish her nursing degree, and worked part time at a homeless shelter for women and children. Hearing the stories and
seeing the evidence of women in broken relationships was a life-changing experience, and challenged Betsy to reach out to them with the love of Jesus. Recently, Betsy married a fellow
Bible School classmate and moved back to the Twin Cities area. She and her husband Kevin are involved in the congregation of Faith Free Lutheran in South Minneapolis.
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 Michelle Satren:
Hope Lutheran Church Minneapolis, MN
Michelle Satren grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota and now resides in the inner city of Minneapolis (this is to increase her mom's prayer life). She attended the Association Free
Lutheran Bible School and graduated from Northwestern College with a degree in Ministry and emphasis in Youth Ministry. Michelle began her youth ministry calling at Emmaus Lutheran
Church in Bloomington; now she is in her fourth year of youth ministry at Hope Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. Miss Satren enjoys long walks in the park and great conversation over coffee...
or something like that. On second thought, maybe she would rather just read a book. Michelle is looking forward to the FLY Convention 2007 and the opportunity to share from God's Word.
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 Karisa Finstrom: St. John's Lutheran Church, Duluth, MN
Karisa Finstrom grew up in Southern Minnesota. She graduated from Association Free Lutheran
Bible School in 2003 and from the third year program Mission Training Institute in 2004. She interned at the AFLC Headquarters as the Youth Ministries Missions Coordinator in 2004,
planning and leading trips to Mexico and Inner-City Minneapolis. While attending AFLBS and MTI she served as the youth leader at Living Word Free Lutheran Church in Eagan, MN. Upon
graduating from MTI she accepted a position at St. John's Free Lutheran Church in Duluth, MN as their Youth and Children's Ministry Director, where she currently serves. This summer Karisa
coordinated and led a mission trips to Mazatlan, Mexico and Inner-City Minneapolis for AFLC Youth Missions. Karisa has a heart for youth whether it is in Mexico or Minnesota she gives
unselfishly to see them come to know her personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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