Consultant Bios

Mark Killian

Mark Killian is an associate professor of sociology at Whitworth University specializing in urban religious ecology, sociology of religion and intentional communities. He describes his area as “religious vitality,” and he came to this field of study after a time of church planting and pastoring. He is a committed follower of Jesus and considers any opportunity he gets to apply his sociological lens in service to the church as an expression of his calling.

He says, "Given its grounding in rigorous social-scientific research methods, sociology offers a new way of viewing church vitality. The churches I work with know the religious landscape is changing, but they are uncertain about how to adapt. Sociology offers a fresh perspective on church resiliency by emphasizing responses to evolving social structures rather than anecdotal, formulaic church-growth programs."

David Sloan

David Sloan is an associate professor of business & economics at Whitworth University specializing in business management, organizational behavior, organization theory and marketing. Sloan is intentional about integrating his Christian faith into his vocation as both a professor and community leader. He is highly involved in the Spokane community through his work as a creative enterprise coach for arts-based businesses and as a business consultant for local small businesses and nonprofits. Sloan also is an active member of his Spokane church and loves spending his time playing drums and piano and singing on the worship team.

He says, "Churches, or any nonprofit for that matter, functionally operate as businesses with a purpose. Insights from business can help churches steward their resources effectively to support their mission."

Zach Sun

Zach Sun is an assistant professor of business & economics at Whitworth University specializing in interorganizational information systems and information technology. He holds a Ph.D. in business administration and an MBA in business analytics from Washington State University. When Sun was at WSU as an international student, he received a lot of help from churches both physically and mentally and was touched by the kindness and peaceful atmosphere he found in these churches. Because of the role the church has played in his life, Sun hopes to use his business knowledge and experience to contribute to church resilience.

Samantha Miller

Samantha Miller is an assistant professor of theology at Whitworth University where she specializes in early church history, spiritual formation, history of biblical interpretation and John Chrysostom. Not only is she a scholar and professor, but she also cares deeply for God, the church, camp ministry and her students’ formation. Miller is a part of a local church in Spokane and enjoys preaching whenever she gets the chance.

About her work in Resilient Church, she says, "Looking at the history of the church and all the different ways the church has looked expands our imaginations so we can be creative about how the church might look going into the future. Additionally, we remember that the church IS resilient. It's still here 2,000 years on!"

Boris Borisov

Boris Borisov is the lead pastor and church planter of Pacific Keep Church. Before this, Borisov served as a city planner in Spokane working on economic development and business district revitalization. Borisov led innovative public engagement efforts, worked to help stakeholders find common ground and helped craft multi-disciplinary approaches to redevelopment projects. He now uses his experience to benefit churches desiring to best follow God in their current context.