Wayne Rice (Founder)

Wayne has been active in youth and family ministry for over 50 years. He is the co-founder of Youth Specialties, creator of Understanding Your Teenager seminars, former Pastor to Generations at College Avenue Baptist Church in San Diego, and currently serves as Confeence Director for the Legacy Coalition.

Wayne has authored more than thirty books including Junior High Ministry (Zondervan), Reinventing Youth Ministry [Again] (InterVarsity Press), Generation to Generation (Standard), and Engaging Parents as Allies in Youth Ministry (Standard). He received the Gold Medallion award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) for his book Up Close and Personal: Building Community in Youth Groups (Zondervan). His most recent book is Long Distance Grandparenting (Bethany House).

Wayne is also a musician. He plays the banjo and guitar and was a founding member of the group Brush Arbor, voted Vocal Group of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 1974. He has a weekly radio program on KSON-FM in San Diego featuring bluegrass music.

Wayne and his wife Marci live in Alpine, California. They have three grown children and five grandchildren. He also plays the banjo.