Speakers

Immaculée Ilibagiza

Immaculée Ilibagiza was born and raised in a small village in Rwanda, Africa. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, a pastor quickly sheltered Immaculée and seven other women in a hidden 3 x 4 foot bathroom. After 91 days, Immaculée was finally liberated from her hiding place only to face a horrific reality. Immaculée emerged from that small bathroom weighing just 65 pounds, and finding her entire family brutally murdered, with the exception of one brother who was studying abroad. After the genocide, Immaculée came face-to-face with the man who killed her mother and one of her brothers. After enduring months of physical, mental and spiritual suffering, Immaculée was still able to offer the unthinkable, telling the man, "I forgive you." In 1998, Immaculée emigrated from Rwanda to the United States where she continued her work for peace through the United Nations. Immaculée's first of seven books, Left to Tell; Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust (Hay House) was released in March of 2006. Left to Tell quickly became a New York Times Best Seller. To date, it has been translated into seventeen languages and has sold over two million copies. Today, Immaculée is regarded as one of world's leading speakers on faith, hope and forgiveness. A major motion picture about her story is scheduled for production in 2019 with an international release in theaters scheduled for 2020.

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JT Olson

After being orphaned as a child alongside his four siblings, JT Olson went on to start Both Hands -- a faith-based non-profit serving orphans and widows. Olson’s personal tragedy gave him an overwhelming understanding of the need to find loving homes for the world’s orphaned and vulnerable children. His new book follows his powerful journey towards spiritual restoration by recounting significant moments in his life, including his family’s life-altering decision to adopt a little girl from China.

With over 153 million orphans worldwide and the costs of adoption on the rise, his non-profit’s goal is to fulfill the call in James 1:27 to care for orphans and widows by alleviating the financial burden facing families considering adoption. JT is a sensational speaker and an avid proponent of adoption, the pro-life movement and orphan care. He has given talks on God’s transformation of his pain into passion, the sanctity of life, growing a healthy marriage, encouraging dreamers and entrepreneurs to pursue their calling, and coaching leaders on building a stronger organization. Learn more about having JT speak to your group. JT and his wife Sara have been married for over 30 years and have five children (four bio and one chosen): Jeff, Daley, Nick, Max & Grace. They now reside in Brentwood, TN, just south of Nashville.

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David Williams

At the age of 19, David encouraged his first girlfriend to have an abortion thinking that this was best for their futures. David knows the pain that men experience who have suffered the loss of fatherhood due to a past abortion. Yet he also knows the forgiveness, grace, healing, and transforming power of Jesus Christ available to men suffering from abortion. At the age of 26, David’s life was radically transformed by God’s amazing grace. God has worked in David’s life and ministry experiences to give him a heart and passion to be a part of reaching, building, and sending this generation of youth, college students, and young adults with the glorious gospel of Christ; exhorting the body of Christ to live out her unity among her ethnically and culturally diverse members; being a voice for the unborn while extending the compassion of Christ to their parents.

David serves as an itinerant preacher and evangelist as he partners with various ministries locally and nationally. David and his wife, Terea, and their six children live in Orlando. David also has an adult son who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By God's grace, David is a champion for the unborn, a minister of compassion to men and women in crisis due to an unplanned pregnancy, and an instrument of healing and grace to those, men in particular, who are hurting from a past abortion.

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Sara Olson

Sara Olson is the Chief Advancement Officer for Concerned Women for America. Sara spears efforts to forge new national partnerships for CWA and also stewards some of CWA’s most treasured relationships. Her role involves increasing awareness and deepening relationships with key members across the country. Previously, Sara worked in sales training and management with The Southwestern Company. While she excelled in sales, she stepped into her role as a full-time mom when her first of five children was born. While fulfilling her role as a mother, Sara co-founded and oversaw Haystack Associates, an executive search firm serving national clients. In 2008, Sara joined Belmont University overseeing visits in the Office of Admissions and planning major events. In 2012, she was promoted to Director of Parent Engagement. Sara is a member of The Republic Women of Williamson County, National Federation of Republican Women, and volunteers with Both Hands Foundation to help families raise money for adoption by doing work projects on widows’ homes. Sara and her husband JT of 33 years live in Brentwood, Tennessee with the youngest of their five children.

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Mike Sylvester

Mike Sylvester is the Dir. of YM & Formation at St. Gregory the Great in SC. He has served in youth ministry for 16 years at both the parish and diocese. Mike earned an M.A. in both Theology and Catechetics from Franciscan along with his Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies from the Center for Ministry Development (CMD).

The speakers cover a variety of subjects. The music puts you in the spiritual mode where you can absorb and understand the meaning.
—  John Meyer

Previous Speakers

The Flourish Conference has hosted a number of engaging evangelist, musicians, and speakers sharing the love of Jesus Christ. 

It’s amazing to have these speakers bring such wisdom, knowledge, and understanding into our lives. It inspire us to know that Christ is always with us and that he’s guiding and directing us.
—  Tewannah Aman,   Executive Director Broward Right To Life

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