Kairos Church Planting Names New Executive Director
Press Release January 8, 2020
Kairos Church Planting has named Ron Clark, DMin, of Portland, OR, as its new executive director. Clark brings over 30 years of ministry experience, including 13 years as a lead church planter.
Ron Clark has served as the lead minister at Agape Church of Christ since planting it in 2006. In that role, he built a church that partners well with community agencies, mentors people from their first encounter with faith to becoming church leaders, and, most importantly, unleashes the power of Jesus to heal and transform lives. He also serves as an adjunct instructor and dissertation advisor for Portland Seminary and co-chairs the New Testament section of the Society of Biblical Literature’s Northwest region.
Clark brings a strong academic background to the table, with both an MDiv and a DMin from the Harding School of Theology. In 2019, Ron Clark received the Midori Hamilton Award for addressing domestic and sexual violence and the Multnomah County Rotary Award for addressing homelessness. He is a multi-published author with countless articles and presentations in his areas of expertise. His latest books include Reflections from the Marriage Table: Our Experience of Love in Marriage, Ministry, and Family (which he co-wrote with his wife Lori in 2016), The Spirit of Jesus Unleashed on the Church: Acts of the Early Christians in a Changing Culture (2013), and Jesus Unleashed: Luke’s Gospel for Emerging Christians (2013).
Stan Granberg, founding director of Kairos, says, “Ten years ago Gena and I were letting our minds wander, thinking about how great it would be if, one day, one of our church planters took my place as the executive director of Kairos. Today, Ron Clark is doing just that! Ron and Lori were one of the early, pioneer planters who accepted God's call to plant Agape in downtown Portland. Ron is a dynamic kingdom veteran. I am utterly excited and completely confident that Ron is God's man for Kairos.”
Ron and Lori Clark have been married 32 years. Lori teaches Pre-K at Tree of Knowledge, is the women’s minister at Agape, and has been an advocate for women in abuse for over 20 years. Their oldest son works for the Multnomah County Commissioner and their younger sons are both in high school and active in JROTC, football, wrestling, and track. The Clarks enjoy smoking meat and BBQing, opening their home for many diverse guests, cheering the Seahawks, Chiefs, and Ducks, and being active in their schools, neighborhood, and community.
The Clarks have a long appreciation for the work of Kairos. Ron says, “Kairos, and Stan and Gena, gave us our second wind in ministry. The hard training, testing, and preparation from the Kairos labs provided us a chance to not only lead new people closer to Jesus, but develop an aggressive theology of outreach and love to our changing culture.”
Regarding the future of Kairos, Clark says, “My hope is to see 100 new churches planted during my service and leadership and to see us develop Christian leaders who engage our culture, practice hands on ministry, and proclaim a Gospel that transforms others into disciples of Jesus. I also hope that through this ministry we can provide hard evidence that Jesus truly saves and offers hope of transformation and healing.”
You can email Ron Clark at rclark@kairoschurchplanting.org
Ron Clark has served as the lead minister at Agape Church of Christ since planting it in 2006. In that role, he built a church that partners well with community agencies, mentors people from their first encounter with faith to becoming church leaders, and, most importantly, unleashes the power of Jesus to heal and transform lives. He also serves as an adjunct instructor and dissertation advisor for Portland Seminary and co-chairs the New Testament section of the Society of Biblical Literature’s Northwest region.
Clark brings a strong academic background to the table, with both an MDiv and a DMin from the Harding School of Theology. In 2019, Ron Clark received the Midori Hamilton Award for addressing domestic and sexual violence and the Multnomah County Rotary Award for addressing homelessness. He is a multi-published author with countless articles and presentations in his areas of expertise. His latest books include Reflections from the Marriage Table: Our Experience of Love in Marriage, Ministry, and Family (which he co-wrote with his wife Lori in 2016), The Spirit of Jesus Unleashed on the Church: Acts of the Early Christians in a Changing Culture (2013), and Jesus Unleashed: Luke’s Gospel for Emerging Christians (2013).
Stan Granberg, founding director of Kairos, says, “Ten years ago Gena and I were letting our minds wander, thinking about how great it would be if, one day, one of our church planters took my place as the executive director of Kairos. Today, Ron Clark is doing just that! Ron and Lori were one of the early, pioneer planters who accepted God's call to plant Agape in downtown Portland. Ron is a dynamic kingdom veteran. I am utterly excited and completely confident that Ron is God's man for Kairos.”
Ron and Lori Clark have been married 32 years. Lori teaches Pre-K at Tree of Knowledge, is the women’s minister at Agape, and has been an advocate for women in abuse for over 20 years. Their oldest son works for the Multnomah County Commissioner and their younger sons are both in high school and active in JROTC, football, wrestling, and track. The Clarks enjoy smoking meat and BBQing, opening their home for many diverse guests, cheering the Seahawks, Chiefs, and Ducks, and being active in their schools, neighborhood, and community.
The Clarks have a long appreciation for the work of Kairos. Ron says, “Kairos, and Stan and Gena, gave us our second wind in ministry. The hard training, testing, and preparation from the Kairos labs provided us a chance to not only lead new people closer to Jesus, but develop an aggressive theology of outreach and love to our changing culture.”
Regarding the future of Kairos, Clark says, “My hope is to see 100 new churches planted during my service and leadership and to see us develop Christian leaders who engage our culture, practice hands on ministry, and proclaim a Gospel that transforms others into disciples of Jesus. I also hope that through this ministry we can provide hard evidence that Jesus truly saves and offers hope of transformation and healing.”
You can email Ron Clark at rclark@kairoschurchplanting.org