SERF 2020 Women's Event 

SERF Disciples Women's Event - Mar 13-15, 2020 at Christmount - Black Mountain, NC. Featured speakers are the Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Hale and the Rev. Terri Hord Owens! It will be a mountaintop experience to remember! Registration fee after Feb 18th increases from $75 to $100 per person. No refunds on Registration after March 1.

Register Now! 

 Rev. Terri Hord Owens

Rev. Hord Owens was elected as the General Minister and President on July 9, 2017. A Disciple since young adulthood, Hord Owens was dean of students at the University of Chicago Divinity School and pastor of First Christian Church of Downers Grove, IL prior to her election.

Hord Owens’ resume includes more than 20 years in corporate America leading diverse teams in data management before she entered seminary. For 15 years, she served as the dean of students at the University of Chicago Divinity School, shepherding a varied student body in both background and theology.

Hord Owens is widely sought after as a preacher, speaker and workshop facilitator. Her ministry and intellectual interests include a theology of reconciliation, cultural intelligence, developing inclusive and multi-cultural congregations, and the mentoring of youth and young adults. She is married to Walter Owens, Jr., with whom she celebrated 30 years of marriage prior to her election. They are the proud parents of an adult son, W. Mitchell Owens, III.

Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale

Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Hale is the founder and Senior Pastor of the Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Georgia. A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Dr. Hale received a Bachelor of Arts in music from Hollins University; a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University; and a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary. She holds five honorary Doctorates of Divinity and an honorary Doctor of Law degree. She is also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

As a woman of vision, Dr. Hale is revered worldwide for her leadership, integrity, and compassion. Her vision and leadership led her to establish two ministries; Elah Pastoral Ministries, Inc. and the Women in Ministry Conference, Inc. Elah is a mentoring program to assist in the spiritual and practical development of pastors and para-church leaders and the Women in Ministry Conference is a premiere national conference with a focused mission to develop, coach, and mentor Christian women in ministry for the 21st Century. 

As a recipient of numerous honors and recognitions, Dr. Hale was inducted into the African American Biographies Hall of Fame, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers of Morehouse College, and the Atlanta Business League Women’s Hall of Fame. She is a recipient of the National Urban League’s “Women of Power” award, the Preston Taylor Living Legacy Award, the Balm in Gilead Keeper of the Flame Award, and she was recognized on Ebony Magazine’s “Power 100” list as one of the nation’s most influential African-American leaders. In 2009, Dr. Hale was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. She also served as a member of the 2016 Platform Committee for the Democratic National Convention and delivered the Invocation at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Dr. Hale is a contributing writer for many books and publications including, Power in the Pulpit II: How America’s Most Effective Black Preachers Prepare their Sermons and the preaching resource series, Feasting on the Gospels. In January 2010, she authored her first book entitled, I’m A Piece of Work: Sisters Shaped by God. 

Dr. Hale presently serves on the Board of Trustees at Hollins University, she is the chairperson of the Board of Directors at Beulah Heights University and the Vice President for the Hampton University Ministers’ Conference. During her 39 years of ministry, her ministerial gift has drawn thousands, young and old, to witness the anointing of a woman totally sold out for the Kingdom of God.