Can Your Church Thrive in Exile? A Conversation with Randy Gariss

Randy Gariss, along with his wife Julie, co-directs the Life and Ministry Preparation Center, (LAMP) at Ozark Christian College, in Joplin, Mo. He spent 40 years in local church ministry, 33 of those as the Preaching Minister of the College Heights Christian Church in Joplin. In this present season, he coaches and mentors college students and emerging leaders toward wholeness, healthy relationships, and ministry. He and his wife both speak to the pleasure and delight of having 18-22 year olds as some of their closest and dearest friends. He has been married 44 years with 3 children and 9 grandchildren. As a hobby, Randy builds custom furniture. Randy is frequently speaking to churches on leadership, and college campuses on relationships and personal maturity.

Daniel McCoy is happily married to Susanna, and they have 3 daughters and 2 sons. He is the editorial director for Renew.org as well as a part-time professor of philosophy for Ozark Christian College. He has a bachelor’s in theology (Ozark Christian College), master of arts in apologetics (Veritas International University), and PhD in theology (North-West University, South Africa). Among his books are the Popular Handbook of World Religions (general editor), Real Life Theology Handbook (with Andrew Jit), Mirage: 5 Things People Want From God That Don’t Exist, and The Atheist’s Fatal Flaw (co-authored with Norman Geisler).