Affirming Christian Fellowship 38th Annual Conference

Pastor David Thomas

Pastor's Retreat 

Saturday Morning/ACF Tag Team

Pastor of Abundant Grace Church in N. Carolina Pastor David has been president of ACF since 2023. As president of ACF Pastor David reaches out to our Affiliates supporting the work they do in their areas, offering encouragement and praying for the needs that arise with each ministry. His message to our community on the Affirming Christian Fellowship Facebook pages invite us to grow in Christ together.

Pastor Paul Turner

Friday Evening Message

Rev. Paul Turner is the Editor-in-Chief of Whosoever.org and Founding and Senior Pastor of Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta, Rev. Paul M. Turner (he/him) grew up in suburban Chicago and was ordained in 1989. He was profiled by Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters in 2014 for their Spiritual Journey series, where he discussed his longtime ministry to LGBTQ+ people and others who have been neglected and turned away from the traditional church, along with his journey to the ministry and the challenges and joys of being a pastor and openly gay.

He was also profiled in 2008 in the first video interview for the “Questing Parson” blog of Rev. Guy Kent, former pastor of Epworth United Methodist Church in Atlanta’s Candler Park.

He and his husband, Bill,  celebrated their 44th anniversary in June 2026, the same month that the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land, and they legally tied the knot on November 21, 2015. 

He and his husband Bill have lived in metro Atlanta since 1994.

Pastor Jack McConnell

Our Host Pastor

Saturday Morning/ACF Tag Team

Jack McConnell is a man of vision who has founded 21 churches and established a day homeless ministry as well as an LGBTQ+ resource center for his city. When he saw the discrimination and isolation among many in the local trans community, Pastor Jack formed the first transgender support group in the foothills of North Carolina. He holds an A.S. in Mental Health, a B.S. in Religious Studies from Barry University, and an M.S. in Psychology from New York Institute of Technology. Pastor Jack presently serves as Senior Pastor of our host church, St Jude Community Church in Winston-Salem NC, the Associate Pastor of Abundant Grace Church in Granite Falls NC, the Director of the LGBTQ+ Resource Center of Greater Hickory and has a private counseling practice in Catawba County NC.

Rev. Mike Whited

Saturday Evening Message

Some 10 years after coming out and leaving 30 years in ministry Mike would meet the man who he would marry and they began a search for an affirming, Spirit-filled church. In their journey they eventually found themselves at New Covenant Atlanta where Mike would receive confirmation of his call to return to ministry. Mike preached his first sermon at New Covenant Atlanta shortly after that and would be ordained an apostle later that same year at the next Immersed Conference.

After ordination Mike and his spouse Dan, who was ordained a five-fold teacher in 2025, spent the next 11+ years traveling to most of the network churches preaching and teaching. He supports a number of the network pastors and spends much of his week in conversation with them. Mike has also developed a three year curriculum for leadership development and has conducted this with several of the network churches. The two have a shared vision of a retreat and teaching center that will serve the network and the LGBTQIA+ community. He and Dan look forward to many years to come in serving the kingdom and LGBTQIA revival.