A native of Cambridge, Illinois, Roger has served as a pastor in Texas, the British Channel Island of Guernsey, and Illinois. While in Illinois, he led teams that planted a new church that grew to 800 in attendance while planting another church that grew to 300. He also served for 10 years as senior pastor of First UMC of Springfield, the then largest United Methodist Church in Illinois. Before coming into his current role as a SLI executive coach and specialist, it was his privilege to serve as the Director of Congregational Excellence in the Missouri Conference where he led a team that encouraged the start of over 3,100 new places for new people and fostered the transformation of dozens of existing churches.

Some of his passions include SCUBA diving in warm blue water, playing board games with family and friends, and teaching evangelism and church planting as an adjunct professor at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. He also has a weakness for golf. Roger is the author of three books, “Meet The Goodpeople: Wesley’s 7 Ways to Share Faith,” “Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For,” and “Come Back Participant Guide,” all through Abingdon Press. Roger is married to Leanne Klein Ross, and they have two adult children, Zach and Jane (who’s married to Sam). Roger blogs at www.rogerross.online and shares a weekly Monday Manna devotion on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/roger.ross.566