:: Our History

Staff Bios

Ken Janke - ken@groundworksonline.com

Ken is one of the founders of Groundworks and serves as a networking catalyst for the Groundworks community.  Before launching Groundworks, Ken worked with marketplace leaders, founded a faith community in Dallas, Texas, called Higher Ground, and has extensively been involved in global kingdom initiatives, such as church planting, leadership training, and networking globally with emerging leaders in the post-modern context. 

He currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut, home of Yale University, and helps provide leadership for an emerging post-congregational church.  Ken’s passion is to steward the dreams of emerging leaders, pioneers, and creative’s, and enjoys seeing the Kingdom realized through their collaborative efforts.  He believes that life is enhanced through quality relationships, and obsesses over seeing God’s dreams realized in the earth. 

He and his wife, Lori have been married for 19 years, and have four children. 

Mike Morris - mike@groundworksonline.com

Visit Mike's blog at www.friarmike.typepad.com

Following a Degree in History from Oxford University Mike worked for eight years with Youth for Christ as director of strategic planning. He was a founder and first CEO of Spring Harvest, an interdenominational training conference now attended by 80,000 people annually.

This was followed by 12 years providing innovation and leadership in a significant UK charity, Evangelical Alliance U.K., leading their international ministry. Here he was cofounder and first director of a global Religious Liberty Commission, for which he raised, together with his board, start up capital of US$450,000.

After this Mike established Successful Solutions, a company providing consultancy to non profit organisations and leaders in Britain and the USA. In September 2005 he was reappointed to Evangelical Alliance UK as Executive Director to develop their strategic plan and nurture organisational life. Mike, a trained mediator, works on guiding people and developing practical tools for spiritual formation. Married to Katey, he lives in an extended household, or friary, in Southsea, England.

Johnny spent the first three years of his adult life in Youth with a Mission travelling around the world. He used this time to be trained and to develop training models for missional communities, leadership and life coaching through a Christ centred paradigm.

For fourteen years he immersed himself into youth culture, spending his time experimenting with Christocentric community models and exploring spirituality through the sphere’s of society, primarily in the Arts and entertainment.

Through this time he developed unique perspectives on Christ and culture, which resulted in an extensive training series entitled Foundations for Living. He has taught these widely both in Europe and North America.

His interests lie in brokering vision, exploring the voice of God in the world and breaking ground for individuals of organizations for the future.

Johnny, his wife Lisa and their son Bruno reside in London, England, in extended household, or friary where he serves on the council of the Bliss Community. When at home he enjoys the company of good friends in the company of good food and drink. He is keen on all types of sport but most of all the art of rugby, “a thugs game played by gentlemen”.