Dr. Conway Edwards, Lead Pastor

Dr. Conway Edwards is Lead Pastor of One ministering to the evolving communities of Plano, Allen, Frisco, McKinney and surrounding cities. Conway’s unique ability to communicate the truths of Scripture in a relevant and uncompromising manner has helped to reach a generation of men, women, singles, couples and families embedded in a culture defined by individualism, materialism and humanism. Conway formerly served as Director of Singles at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas under the leadership of Senior Pastor, Dr. Tony Evans.

Conway holds a Master of Theology, with an emphasis in Pastoral Ministry, from Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS). While at DTS, he was a Leadership Fellow with the Center for Christian Leadership under the guidance of Dr. Howard Hendricks. Conway also holds a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership from Regent University.

Conway has authored Leading a Turnaround Ministry: A Process for Exponential Growth. He and his wife, Jada, co-authored two books - When Love’s in View: Finding Focus in Dating and Relationships and The Undercover Woman: A Guide for Single Women and Their Spiritual Fathers.

In 2009, Conway and Jada recorded two broadcast interviews on Focus on the Family - Boundless (a podcast for singles), as well as a segment with Dr. Bill Maier and Dr. Juli Slattery. During both interviews, the Edwards discussed When Love’s in View, dating, relationships, marriage and God’s role for men and women.

Conway and Jada also serve together teaching, counseling and encouraging families, couples and singles. They live in Allen, Texas.

Kevin Cook, Family Pastor

Kevin “KC” Cook was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Dallas, Texas. Growing up in a single-parent home allowed him to see the value of hard work and the importance of true commitment. KC’s first church home was Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, where Dr. Tony Evans is the senior pastor. He was saved, called to full time ministry, and licensed there. He served six years working in the youth ministry, serving as the Youth Pastor for two of those years.

Shortly after graduating in 2001 from Criswell College with a BA in Biblical Studies, he and his family accepted the call to help grow a small church plant in the Seattle, Washington area. He spent the next 5 years as the Associate Pastor of Christian Education & Youth at Christ the King Bible Fellowship.

Sensing a call to do something different, KC and his family returned to Dallas in 2007. KC now serves as Family Pastor for One, where he oversees the children’s, youth and adult education ministries. His strength is his ability to communicate the deep truths of Scripture in a relevant and often humorous manner. He is passionate about communicating God's Word and seeing lives changed.

KC and his wife, Zenobia, have been married 9 years. They have 2 beautiful daughters, Kennadi and Karis.

He enjoys spending time with his family, reading, competing in triathlons and chasing golf balls.

Jada Edwards, Creative Service Architect

Jada Edwards is an experienced speaker, Bible teacher, and mentor. Jada has committed her life to equipping women of all ages, regardless of marital status, with practical, biblical truth to help them live more genuine lives.

Jada currently serves as the Creative Services Architect for One where she seeks to serve the evolving communities of Collin County through creative expression and cultural relevance.

She served in various directional capacities within the youth and singles ministries at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship a church with over 1,000 youth and 3,000 singles.

Jada holds a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Organizational Strategy and has experience in improving organizations through process improvement and technological initiatives. She works in new business development, partner relations and marketing for Caribbean Choice for Christ, a U.S. based nonprofit leadership organization, founded by her husband Conway. Their ministry focuses on developing and equipping Christian leaders throughout the United States and Jamaica.

Jada lives in Allen, Texas with her husband Conway.

Stewart Atwater, Director of Administration

Stewart was born in York, Pennsylvania. He is the second of eleven children. As the oldest son, he was given much responsibility at an early age. Upon graduation from high school, he became the first member of his family to attend college. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. During his sophomore year, a young man from Campus Crusade approached Stewart and shared the gospel.

After a few years in corporate america, Stewart returned to the same university and worked in the Minority Engineering program as the Assistant Director. Later he returned to Univ of Pitt to earn an MBA. After graduation, he worked with Westinghouse Electric, the Walt Disney Company and Alliance Data Corporation. In February 2008, he stepped out on faith and left corporate america to take the role of Church Administrator at North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship in Richardson, Texas. In 2011, Stewart moved to One Community Church as the Administration Lead. Stewart is married to Renita Lynn; and they celebrated their 23rd anniversary in November 2010. Renita and Stewart met at church in Pittsburgh. The Atwaters have two sons Marcus Edward and Kurtus Michael.

Stewart is pursuing a Masters in Biblical Studies at DTS in order to be better equipped to work in church administration and education ministries.

Kurtran Wright, Director of Outreach and Life Groups

Kurtran Wright is the Director of Outreach and Life Groups. He was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Growing up in “Sin City” encouraged Kurtran to dedicate his life to Christ at a young age and cultivated a love for the lost. His involvement in ministry began as a child, continued throughout his teen age years, and has matured into full-time ministry as an adult. Kurtran is passionate about seeing people actively living out the gospel in every area of their lives.

He is a graduate of Yale University, holds a Masters in Divinity from Biblical Theological Seminary and previously served as Site Pastor in Philadelphia for five years. Kurtran also holds a Masters degree in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

His wife, Tracey, a pediatrician at Children's Medical Center Dallas, and their two-year-old daughter, will both testify that he is a softy! In his spare time he likes buggin’ out to Holy Hip Hop and playing “ring around the rosie” with his daughter. They live in Plano, Texas.

Michael Washington, Middle School Pastor

Michael Washington is the middle school ministry youth pastor. He was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he grew up in a single-parent household along with his two older siblings. At an early age, he entered into a relationship with Christ and began a life of prayer by petitioning God to help his family through their hardships. While in his junior year of undergraduate school at Louisiana State University, as a disciple of his grandfather, he fully committed to living a Christ-centered life.

Michael has a heart for people who are hurting and considers it a privilege to serve God’s kingdom. He is passionate about teaching and shepherding the youth of Collin County. Nothing gets him more excited than seeing teenagers confess Christ and choosing to live for Him. His vision is to see a diverse group of youth in Collin County madly in love with Christ, growing spiritually, sharing their faith, and influencing their peers. In addition to the local church, Michael can be found ministering in the impoverished communities of South Dallas and various prisons throughout the state of Texas. He received a Masters in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary and served as an ER and ICU Chaplain Resident at Baylor University Medical Center in downtown Dallas for 18 months. He is currently working on a Doctorate of Ministry at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. He also holds a MBA from Amberton University.

Michael met his lovely wife, Kandice, in the college library as they were both studying for final exams. Kandice is a public school teacher for DISD. God has blessed them with six wonderful years of marriage and three growing kids: Michael Jr., Dylan, and Micah. They are currently expecting their fourth child to arrive in January of 2012.

Besides spending quality time with his family and hanging out with youth, he enjoys playing basketball with friends, traveling, reading, watching Law and Order, and cooking on the grill.

Dawn Stephens, Communications Director

Dawn has always been a life long learner.  During her early years, learning meant observing what happens when a magnifying glass focuses the sun's rays on a leaf.  After that excitement, she focused on more formal learning.  Her studies led her to get degrees in physics, electrical engineering, and law.  Now, she is a student in the Christian Education Program at Dallas Theological Seminary. The pursuit of this degree aligns the most with her ministry passion.

While the seed for Dawn's ministry passion were the many years she spent in Sunday School, her passion became more evident as she began serving in capacities aligned with her gift/skill mix.  The joy that she found in serving was inexpressible.  As a single woman living away from home, her life changed dramatically through the community that she found in ministry.  Given these, her ministry passions include creating room for people to use their gifts/skills in ministry and helping women, especially single women, grow through community.

At One, Dawn is a part of One's Core Team and leads the Communications Team.

Martha Thorpe, Executive Assistant to the Lead Pastor

Born in Vichy, Missouri, Martha was raised by her older sister after her mother died when she was 11 years old. Throughout her life, God’s covering has been evident. Many times, she has walked in faith when new challenges were presented to her. Due to her upbringing, she is passionate about making people feel valued, cared for, and loved.

She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Arizona State University, and spent 25 years as a marketing and advertising executive. She is now using her administrative gifts at One as the Office Administrator and Executive Assistant to Pastor Edwards.

She is married to Jade Thorpe and they share their home with 4 exuberant dogs. In her spare time she enjoys making jewelry.