J.R. Woodward, PhD (University of Manchester UK) awakens people to join God in the renewal of all things. He has been passionately planting discipleship-fueled, movement-oriented, neighborhood-grounded churches seeking to be a foretaste of God’s coming kingdom for over 25 years. He has helped start and multiply dozens of missional-incarnational communities from Blacksburg, VA to Los Angeles, CA. He loves to experiment, take risks and would rather “fail” living out God’s calling, than “succeed” doing something else.

J.R. co-founded and currently serves on the board of the Missio Alliance, He is an active board member with Reliant Mission, which serves over 500 missionaries in North America and around the world. He also serves on the Fuller Global Mission Advisory Council, the Fuller Church Initiatives Board, as well as the KINEO board.

He currently serves as the National Director for the V3 Church Planting Movement, helping to train church planters across North America and the world in a way that values a grounded spirituality, missions theology and movement ecclesiology.

J.R. is the author of Creating a Missional Culture (IVP, 2012) and a regular contributor to newchurches.com and theV3movement.org. His upcoming book: The Scandal of Leadership: Unmasking the Powers of Domination in the Church is due out the Fall of 2022. You can find him speaking at conferences and gatherings across the country.

He loves to surf, travel, read, skateboard and meet new people. He enjoys photography and film and attends the Sundance Film Festival whenever he can.