April Newsletter

Jim Burns, Ph.D., is a renowned youth and family expert, an acclaimed author, speaker, and the founder of HomeWord. In partnership with Azusa Pacific University, he established and now provides leadership for the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family. Under Burns, the center has become the largest provider of Christian parenting and youth seminars in the United States. Burns is a three-time Gold Medallion Award-winning author and has written books for parents, youth workers, and students. Burns and his wife, Cathy, and their daughters, Christy, Rebecca, and Heidi, live in Southern California. Doug Fields, M.Div., is a leading youth pastor and speaker, founder of Simply Youth Ministry, and author of Purpose Driven Youth Ministry and more than 50 other books. His annual Student Leadership Conference is one of the most highly regarded student leader events in the nation. Fields brings more than 30 years of experience in youth ministry to APU, and he serves as an ambassador for the university and the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family. He also teaches youth ministry classes, advises on the development of youth programs, and produces a weekly podcast to answer questions about youth ministry. He formerly served at South Coast Community Church (now Mariners Church) in Newport Beach, California, for 11 years before he became the youth and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, where he was on staff with Rick Warren and a great team of leaders for 18 years. Fields believes his greatest accomplishment is being married to his incredible wife of 25 years, Cathy, and having three amazing children.