Speaker Bios

Spring CU Fire Retreat

Matt is the founder and CEO of Christian Union, a Christian leadership development organization with the mission to bring sweeping spiritual and cultural transformation to our nation and the world by developing and networking Christian leaders to make an impact for Christ. Christian Union focuses its activity on America's most influential universities and on professionals in the nation's key cities.

A native of Houston, Texas, Matt earned BS and MBA degrees from Cornell University and holds a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He worked for Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) at Princeton University for 12 years, and developed the ministry into one of the largest in the history of the Ivy League. In 2002, he founded Christian Union. The ministry has been featured in The New York Times, PBS, NPR, Christianity Today, and World Magazine.

Matt currently resides in New York City.

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Mullery Jean-Pierre

Mullery Jean-Pierre is the Pastor of Beraca Baptist Church located in Brooklyn NY. When he was called out of corporate America, he left his management position at a Wall Street firm and never looked back. He served a small congregation of about 80 members for over two years without taking a salary but simply trusting the Lord. Under his leadership Beraca Baptist Church grew into a multicultural congregation of 1400 members in 3 locations with congregants from 20 different nationalities. As his desire to reach the community grew, He founded the Beraca Community Development Corporation (BCDC). His work in the community includes: youth development programs, food pantry, serving their local seniors adult day care center, providing employment and mentoring for youths in the church and local high schools.

His leadership has gained recognition from NY Times, PBS, NGO’s, and government agencies. As an influential Christian leader, he was invited to share the World Vision summit at the White House and to discuss advancing services to the local church with the Department of Housing and the Department of Homeland Security. 

Believing that the church is the catalyst for healing the racial divide in the United States, Pastor Jean-Pierre founded United Praise NYC to bridge the gap between cultures and ethnicities in the United States, challenging the church to lead the way toward unity, solidarity and reconciliation. His International work has received a Congressional Record from the United States House of Representatives and an International Humanitarian Award from the United Nations and the European Union.

With an active schedule, Mullery’s priority is to his wife Cacheta, six children and seven grandchildren.

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Os Guinness

Os Guinness is an author, social critic, and great-great-great grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer. Os has written or edited more than 30 books that offer valuable insight into the cultural, political, and social contexts in which we all live. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of London and his D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College, Oxford.

A witness to the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, he was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to Europe where he was educated in England. As a European visitor to this country and a great admirer but detached observer of American culture today, he stands in the long tradition of outside voices who have contributed so much to America’s ongoing discussion about the state of the union. He lives with his wife Jenny in McLean, Virginia.

Chuck Hetzler is the Vice President of Biblical Theology for Christian Union, helping to create and teach CU’s Christian leadership development curriculum for vocational Christian ministers, CU Universities’ students, and lay people across the nation. Chuck has served with CU at Princeton University as Teaching Fellow and in New York City as Director of CU New York, and has ministered in local churches in a variety of roles from senior pastor to church planter to volunteer elder in denominational and non-denominational churches. Chuck holds an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary and a ThM and PhD in New Testament from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Chuck's path in ministry took a new direction after he experienced and helped lead a dramatic work of God’s Spirit at Princeton University with Christian Union Nova from 2008 to 2012. Since that time, Chuck and his wife, Karen, have worked to promote a lifestyle of seeking God and experiencing His extraordinary grace in local churches, in New York City, and to the nation.

Chuck currently lives in Quincy, IL with Karen and their four children, and near extended family.