Meet the Team
Invite is a ministry of St. Andrew United Methodist Church.
From lay leaders to staff, many of the champions for Invite are found on the St. Andrew site: click here to visit.
Here are those of us who spend much of our time developing Invite:
As Invite Publisher, Len seeks to create a culture of ideation, where content makers have the opportunity to share their God-given gifts. In addition, Len is Director of Innovation and Strategy at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas, a worshipping congregation of over 7000 active constituents. Prior to St. Andrew, Len was Creative and Communications Director at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA, the largest Presbyterian (PCUSA) congregation in America. Prior to Peachtree, Len was Senior Leadership Editor at Abingdon Press, the main imprint of the United Methodist Publishing House. ... click the dots on the right to read more... Expand
A pioneer in the use of visual media and storytelling in church life, Len first practiced his calling as a 24-year old Media Minister, leading the creative arts ministry of Ginghamsburg Church, one of the great stories of late 20th century United Methodism in America. From 1995 to 2000, he oversaw the growth of a fledgling volunteer ministry into a nationally recognized program of innovation and effectiveness during a period in which weekly church attendance tripled to over 4000. Working with a high-powered team of staff and volunteers, Len produced effective communication of deep theological concepts in ways that informed, inspired, and entertained.
Since 1996, he has led thousands of churches to more innovative ways of doing ministry through speaking, writing, coaching, and through two parachurch companies he co-founded and led. His second company, Midnight Oil Productions, served a client database of 20,000 churches. He has keynoted and led workshops at over 200 events including the National Worship Leader Conference, Worship Facilities Expo, the United Methodist Association of Communicators, Church of the Resurrection Leadership Institute, Festival of Homiletics, Disney Creativity Conference, National Association of Broadcasters, ShowBiz Expo, and many more. His professional experience has created exposure and friendships in a wide variety of church social locations, including the mainline worlds of United Methodism and Presbyterianism, the evangelical world, and the megachurch world. For five years, Len served as Adjunct Professor at Northwest Nazarene University and has been a guest lecturer in several seminaries and graduate schools. He is a friend and influencer of church leaders.
Len has written and co-written ten books on church, creativity, and communication, including Think Like a Five Year Old: Reclaim Your Wonder and Create Great Things, Taking Flight with Creativity, and The Wired Church. He has written and been featured in dozens of articles and podcasts for major religious periodicals, and has maintained a professional blog since 2008. As a producer and director of dozens of short films, Len has won Silver and Bronze Telly Awards, and interned at CBS Television City in Hollywood, CA. Since 1996, Len has consulted and coached church staffs on creativity and communications throughout the United States. Len’s professional blog at lenwilson.us receives over 7000 unique visitors per month and he maintains an active, strong social network. His annual list of the fastest growing congregations is known throughout Methodism. Len has served as member and advisor to several denominational and parachurch boards and agencies.
A summa cum laude graduate of McMurry University, Len earned his Master of Arts degree in the innovative Religious Communication program at United Theological Seminary and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in Semiotics and Future Studies from Portland Seminary. In addition, Len did master’s course study work at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, prior to pursuing a call to ministry.
Len has been married since 1991 and is father to four creative children.
Stephen Graham-Ching
Business Manager
Jennifer Kilpatrick
Research Assistant
Jennifer was born and raised in Dallas, Texas and graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee where she received a B.A. in history in 1996. She then attended Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana and graduated cum laude in 1999. Jennifer practiced law as an associate and as a partner with a few firms in New Orleans before moving to the Chicago suburbs in 2013. While there, she worked as a partner in a law firm in the city before moving back home to Dallas in 2016. Jennifer has counseled and advised clients for over 20 years on a variety of issues and has litigated cases throughout the country. She has extensive leadership experience through her work in the American Bar Association, and she continues to practice law part-time while she pursues ordination.
Since she returned to Dallas, Jennifer has been active in ministry, including serving as a liturgist in worship and as a small group leader, serving on the leadership team of women’s retreats, leading worship at the South Central Jurisdiction Clergywomen’s gathering in 2019, and serving as a lay leader leading worship at Brookdale Assisted Living Facility in Dallas, Texas. She is astonished by the transformative power of God in her life and in the world and she seeks to show that to people every day. She is a single mother to a 13-year old son named Jack and together they live in Dallas, Texas with their dog, Scout.
Marcy currently runs her own consulting firm in Atlanta and is an award-winning communications and marketing leader. Her work has been recognized by the United Methodist Association of Communicators, and also has several Peabodys and is an Emmy award-winning journalist.
Her experience in marketing, broadcasting, print, and communications have been honed while working within the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Central Oklahoma.
Dr. Lori Wagner
Content Editor
She has taught research, writing, composition, public speaking, and critical thinking adjunctly at various prestigious universities for over 30 years.
She is an experienced writer and editor in both the secular and Christian markets. Lori is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles and reviews and has written a novel, poetry, short stories, and over 300 published sermons. She has done freelance editing, including copy and content editing for both companies and nonprofits, has served as a dissertation editor for doctoral students and as an independent book content editor for several well-known Christian authors.
Lori holds a Master of Divinity from Drew University and a Doctor of Ministry from Portland Seminary and has studied fiction at Temple University. She has served as a weekly contributor and site content editor for preachthestory.com for five years and is currently a weekly contributor and occasional editor for sermons.com. She is ordained in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church and currently serves as senior pastor at Quakertown UMC.
Lori is proud to be part of the Invite team and looks forward to serving as Content Editor for their new group of innovative Christian writers.