STS Maine
On Thursday, April 30th, 2026, Small Town Summits will host a Summit at Penney Memorial UBC in Augusta, ME. Pastors and lay leaders from small places across Maine will marvel together at the sin-defeating cross and the death-conquering resurrection of Christ in order to consider what it looks like for ministry to be rooted in Christ’s cross and resurrection.
Christ Our Savior
April 30th 2026
The good news of the gospel is not simply that Christ’s redeeming work is gloriously accomplished and Christ’s person is gloriously awesome. It’s that his whole person and his entire work are ours through faith. The greatest benefit of what he’s done is that we can bask in who he is – eternally. He is ours forevermore. Throughout 2026, Small Town Summits will gather small-place New England churches, pastors, and laypeople to exult in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In our Spring Summits, we’ll focus on 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Paul summarizes the saving gospel by saying ‘Christ died for our sins’ and ‘he was raised on the third day.’ At the beginning of the letter, he says ‘I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified’ (2:2). At the end of the letter, he devotes an entire chapter to Christ’s resurrection, concluding, ‘Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain’ (15:58). 1 Corinthians shows that the cross and resurrection are the focus and fuel of gospel ministry. They give us something glorious to proclaim and the indomitable resolve to proclaim it.
8.30 – 9am - Arrival and registration
9 – 10am - Welcome, Singing, STS Vision, Introductions
10 – 10:45am - Session #1: The Cross of Christ as the Focus of Gospel Ministry and group discussion
10:45 – 11am - Coffee break
11am – Noon - Session #2: The Resurrection of Christ as the Fuel of Gospel Ministry and group discussion
Noon – 1pm - Lunch
1 – 2pm - Breakout sessions
2 – 2.15pm - Break
2.15 – 3pm - Session #3: Panel Discussion and Q&A: How Christ's Work Helps us Endure | How the finished work of Christ in the gospel is our confidence and fuel for enduring in ministry.
3 – 3.30pm - Prayer
In our first two main sessions, Zach Vaughn and David Pinckney will speak to the focus and the fuel of gospel ministry in the cross and resurrection of Christ. Our last main session will be a panel giving Summit participants opportunity to ask specific questions for discussion among the panelists and fellow Summit attendees.
Zach joined Machias Valley Baptist Church in January 2021 as the Senior Pastor. He previously served as the Associate Pastor of Students & Education at First Baptist Church of Lovington, New Mexico. He received his M.A. in Christian Studies from Criswell College. Zach and his wife, Mari, are both from New Mexico and have been married since 2014. They have three children: Jeremiah, Amelia, and Julia.
David Pinckney is the Mission Pastor at River of Grace Church in Concord, NH and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Director for Acts 29 Church Planting Network. He is a graduate of Bethel Seminary and a member of the TGC New England Steering Committee. David and his wife Sharon have raised four sons and one daughter. He enjoys traveling, history, people and bacon.
Russel Cotnoir
In a world focused on comfort and increasingly volatile to the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is critical that we remain committed to preaching the cross of Christ. In this breakout, we will meditate on the character and crucifixion of Jesus Christ and engage in serious discussion around what it means to be cross-centered in our preaching, ministries, churches, and lives.
Russ Cotnoir served as the senior pastor at Fayette Baptist Church in Fayette, Maine for 34 years. He was called to Fayette in 1988 during his junior year at New England Bible College and soon after received his BS degree (with a major in Bible). Currently, Russ serves as the Director of Pastoral Resources with the Rephidim Project. He is also the founder of First Light, a daily radio ministry since 1996. Russ’s heartfelt passion is to communicate biblical truth in a relevant way in order to effect spiritual change. Russ and his wife Denise have four adult children and seven grandchildren.
Charlene Cates
Living in New England’s small towns can feel like living in the wilderness—fewer opportunities and sometimes isolation. It’s easy to think contentment will come if life, or geography, changes, but the gospel says otherwise. True contentment isn’t about where we live or what we have; it’s about who we’re united to. This breakout will focus on overcoming discontentment by resting in our union with Christ through the finished work of His resurrection and ascension. We will explore how contentment becomes the gospel ground for loving and serving others well, especially in our small places.
Charlene Cates is passionate about equipping women to live out the gospel in every season and sphere of life. She currently works as the Chief Strategy Officer at Machias Savings Bank and serves in Women’s Ministry seasonally at both Covenant Church of Naples, Florida, and Head of the Harbor Church in Cutler, Maine. Charlene holds a BA from Cedarville University and an MBA from Bryant University. She enjoys speaking on integrating faith and work, leadership rooted in Scripture, and living missionally in small places. Charlene, and her husband Jeremy, raised three adult children in the lobster fishing community of Cutler, Maine.
Scott Conners
Counseling can be intimidating. Many pastors are quick to say “I can’t…” Some are even clear, “I don’t.” This session seeks to demonstrate how Christian ministers are more equipped than they realize—because of their understanding of the gospel! With scripture, case studies and the application of gospel principles we will explore together how the work of Christ informs and enables both counselor and counselee in the process of biblical counseling.
Scott Conners is the pastor of the United Baptist Church of Ellsworth, Maine where he has served for the past 18 years. He is a graduate of Gordon College and Trinity College of the Bible and Theological Seminary. He and his wife Elizabeth have three sons and eight grandchildren.
Meet the Team
Micah is a pastor at Redemption Hill Community in Lewiston, Maine and has a passion to see healthy, gospel-centered churches multiply and flourish in New England. He received his Master's of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Felicia are parents to three beautiful children: Ada, Judah, and Lily. He regularly writes at Gospel Matters.
Justin Frank is originally from Portland, Oregon. He came to New England in 2001 to study at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. While there he met and then married a girl from Maine, and he’s been in New England ever since. He and his wife Kellie have been married for almost 20 years and have four kids. After pastoring in Gloucester, Massachusetts, he was called to be the pastor of Penney Memorial in 2014. He lives in Augusta and is the chaplain for the Augusta Police Department.
Zach joined Machias Valley Baptist Church in January 2021 as the Senior Pastor. He previously served as the Associate Pastor of Students & Education at First Baptist Church of Lovington, New Mexico. He received his M.A. in Christian Studies from Criswell College. Zach and his wife, Mari, are both from New Mexico and have been married since 2014. They have three children: Jeremiah, Amelia, and Julia. Zach loves reading, baseball (Boston Red Sox fans!), fishing, hunting, and coaching his kids in sports. He and Mari have sensed the Lord calling them to New England for some time now, and God has sovereignly placed them here. Zach has a desire to see Christ glorified and New England reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
