
Plenary Speakers 2027
We are honored to welcome an exceptional group of faithful Christian scholars, educators, and leaders who are thoughtfully engaging the challenges of our time while serving Christ through teaching, scholarship, ministry, and public witness.
Plenary speaker
Rosaria Butterfield
(PhD, Ohio State University, English literature)
Author; Former professor of English and women’s studies, Syracuse University, 1992-2002. Taught at Ohio State University, 1992-2002, earning tenure in 1999. Primary academic field: critical theory, specializing in query theory. Former lesbian.
Began following Jesus in 1999. Author of Five Lies of our Anti-Christian Age (Crossway, 2024), The Gospel Comes with a House Key (Crossway, 2018), Openness Unhindered (Crown and Covenant, 2015), and The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Crown and Covenant, 2012). Her husband, Kent, is a Reformed Presbyterian pastor in North Carolina. She and Kent have four children and one grandson.
Plenary speaker
Päivi Räsänen
(MD, University of Helsinki)
Medical doctor; Member of Parliament, Finland, 1995-present; Minister of the Interior, Finland, 2011-2015; Chair, Finnish Christian Democrats, 2004-2015. Author, Male and Female He Created Them; What About Abortion?; What About Euthanasia?; Depth and Embrace: A Doctor’s Thoughts on Depression; Euthanasia: An Answer to the Problem of Suffering?; God Created Woman; Victims of the New Medicine; and other books. Co-author with her husband, What About Marriage?
Convicted in 2026 of hate speech by the Supreme Court of Finland for her booklet on a biblical view of homosexuality.
Bible teacher
Niilo Räsänen
(ThD, University of Helsinki, systematic theology)
Director, Finnish Lutheran Mission College, 1996-present. Pastor 1985-1986. Served with Finnish Luthern Mission, 1986-1996. Co-author with his wife, What About Marriage?
Ordained minister, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. He and his wife, Päivi, have five children and twelve grandchildren.
Worship Leaders
Ruben&Oxana Mureșan
​Ruben Mureșan
(M. A. National University of Music Bucharest, Vocal Performance)
Worship leader, choir director, and counselor, Betel Baptist Church, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2007-present. Professor, vocal performance, Emanuel University, Romania, 1997-2001, and Gordon College, Boston, 2004-2007. Founding member, Jubilate Foundation, 2001-present. Performing and recording artist. Presenter for History of a Hymn TV Series, Credo TV. Married to Oxana and they have two children.
Oxana Mureșan
(BA, Piano Performance and Theological Studies, Emanuel University)
Collaboration, Music Camp International. Musical therapist, Autism Transylvania Association. Accompaniment, Con Spirito Choir and Jubilate Foundation oratorios. Piano teacher, 2007-present. Founder and director, Joy Children’s Choir, 2016-present. Married to Ruben MureÈ™an and they have two children.
Come join us!
Registration will open January 18th, 2027
Got any questions?
Email us at: conference@leadershipanvil.org
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