ABOUT THE AUTHORS

AFTON PHILLIPS

Afton Phillips is the Lead Small director at Orange—which basically means she has been thinking about small groups, small group leaders, and small group strategies every single day since 2012. Before that, she spent three years working in children’s ministry at Browns Bridge Church and graduated from Johnson University with a degree in children’s ministry. But most importantly, Afton leads a small group of second graders every Sunday. If you want to be Afton’s best friend, all you need to do is buy her a black coffee and let her wear a tiara all day. She strongly believes tulle skirts should be worn every single day, and her favorite place is any giant used book store.

ADAM DUCKWORTH

Adam Duckworth is the lead communicator at Downtown Harbor Church, a forward-thinking church committed to reaching families and embracing culture in its community. He transitioned to this role after spending nearly 15 years in family ministry. Adam is the co-author of Not Normal: Seven Quirks of Incredible Volunteers and Leading Not Normal Volunteers. He leads conferences for volunteers and serves as a communicator at Orange. He and his wife, Katelyn, live near the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, along with their petite goldendoodle, Dottie.

ASHLEY BOHINC

Ashley Bohinc serves as director of Middle School Strategy at Orange. She has worked with students in public education, athletic, and ministry settings since 2005. Ashley is most passionate about resourcing the local church, communicating on stage, developing leaders, working with students, and world missions. Additionally, she is the USA Director of Carry 117, a ministry in Ethiopia, which focuses on orphan prevention and family preservation by empowering women. In her downtime, you’ll find her watching Friends, cheering on the Cleveland Cavaliers, traveling, or on one of her Fairytale Friday Adventures.

CRYSTAL CHIANG

Crystal Chiang is the director of XP3 High School Curriculum. Before joining the team at Orange, she spent 10 years as a high school Spanish teacher and student ministry leader, doing everything from small groups, to speaking, to curriculum design. She currently volunteers at her church as a leader of sophomore girls whose numbers are creating what might be deemed a not-so-small group. They keep her laughing, praying, and constantly on her toes. Crystal and her husband, Tom, live in Atlanta, Georgia, with their embarrassingly ill-tempered chihuahua, Javier.

JEREMY ZACH

Jeremy Zach, or JZ, spent 10 years as a youth pastor in the local church. He received an undergraduate degree in communication studies from the University of Minnesota and a masters of divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. Jeremy is the father of two girls, Harlow and Aria, and two calico cats. A few things that he enjoys are hot, hot sauce, YouTube cat videos, and loud EDM music.

TOM SHEFCHUNAS

Tom Shefchunas is the executive director of Student Strategy at Orange. In this role, he leads the development and strategy for XP3 Middle School and High School curriculums. Previously, Tom was North Point Ministries’ multi-campus director of Transit, their middle school ministry, for 12 years. And before that, he spent 10 years as a high school teacher, coach, and principal. Additionally, he is the co-author of Lead Small with Reggie Joiner. Tom and his wife, Julie, live near Atlanta, with their three children.

BRETT TALLEY

Brett Talley served full-time in student ministry for 11 years before joining the Student Strategy team at Orange. He and his wife have three kids. He loves baseball, golf, and making amazing turkey-melt sandwiches (if he has the time and ingredients; otherwise, they’re just average).