Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris And Karin Conlee.
Hi Chris and Karin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Chris and I met in a grocery store in Memphis. We joke that love was ignited at Kroger, where the flower and the bread aisles intersect. Chris’s family owned a food distribution company, so he had worked delivering bread and cakes to grocery stores and restaurants since he was a child. I worked in the floral department during a summer job before my senior year of high school.
As a golfer at the University of Memphis, Chris pursued his goal of playing on the PGA tour, while I was at Rhodes College, bent on becoming a CEO. Somewhere along that journey, God intervened and shifted both of our desires to spend our lives making a difference for Christ in Memphis. While our hearts for the Lord and His church are strong, the brokenness in Chris’s family and the fact that he did not grow up in church have created a unique passion in us to create a place that removes the stereotypes and barriers that often keep people from entering a church.
Together in 2001, we planted our first church. Chris served as the Lead Pastor, and I served as the founding Director of Women’s Ministry for eighteen years. It lived out its mission to prove that love works in the city of Memphis and grew into the twenty-fifth-fastest-growing church in America.
Fast-forwarding to 2020, while many churches and businesses closed due to the pandemic, Chris and I returned to Memphis after two years living outside the 901 and planted a second church, One City Church. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, One City secured $8 million in funding for a facility and renovations while simultaneously launching Unite Memphis, an education nonprofit focused on bringing healing to a city known for racial division.
In addition to full-time roles with One City Church and Unite Memphis, the Conlees are excited to see their dream of Breadie’s Cafe come into reality. Scheduled to open in late 2026 within the One City property near Walnut Grove and 240, Breadie’s Cafe, named after Chris’s father, is committed to becoming a premier artisan bakery known for its inspiring environments, exceptional quality, and proving love works to the community.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Very few people have a smooth road, but we have definitely seen God’s faithfulness along the way! The very fact that our new cafe is being named after Chris’s dad is a testament to God taking something painful and bringing healing and hope. One of the things we often say is that hurting people accidentally hurt people. Chris grew up with a very painful relationship with his dad. Further hurt came when his brother was tragically killed in a car accident during his senior year of high school. In 2024, Redeemed TV retold the story of healing between Chris and his dad in the final years before Breadie’s passing in a documentary called Love Works: A Story of Healing and Hope.
In recent years, we have also faced adversity and found ourselves stepping outside Memphis for a season before returning to launch Unite Memphis, One City, and Breadie’s Cafe. Whether it is broken relationships within a family or unexpected turns beyond your control, we hope our story encourages everyone that God is always at work redeeming and restoring.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
It may sound weird, but we have a huge heart to see our city flourish. The common thread across all our initiatives is that we want to create incredible environments where people can find hope and step into the best versions of themselves.
Every inch of our One City building is intentionally designed to help people get a glimpse of themselves and the city of Memphis through a lens of hope. Chris’s journey as a child and our journey in ministry for thirty years make us acutely aware that most people have experienced hardships but have not healed from them. That is true on an individual level, but it is also true on a city level. We are often our own worst enemies and stay trapped in pain long after it has been inflicted.
Chris and I love using our gifts to help people see a better future and know how to take the next step toward it. Whether that is people exploring who God is, helping build bridges across racial lines in this city, or providing a fun and beautiful environment to enjoy a meal and have a meaningful conversation, our desire is to be a part of seeing people maximize the life God has given them and not be stuck in their past. Ultimately, we would say our lives are about going the extra mile to prove that love works.
While each of our stories of origin is different, Chris and I have each experienced great healing, and we have intentionally created resources so others can achieve the same levels of victory. Chris is the author of Priority Time: Addicted to God’s Word, which has helped countless people develop a consistent daily rhythm of Scripture and prayer, and LoveWorks: The Key to Making Life Work, which explores how to love well, live well, and lead well. My struggle in my early adulthood to find my worth in my accomplishments led me to write Miss Perfect: Discovering God’s Purpose Without the Pressure, a 9-week curriculum designed as both a Bible study and a mentoring resource for women.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up in a family business, Chris was working on a bread truck before and after school since he was in the fourth grade. He learned how to work hard and walk fast so he and his dad could hit all their grocery store and restaurant stops on time. As hard as they worked, sports were a constant source of motivation and an outlet for Chris. He had a competitive fire whether it was on the basketball court, the football field, or the golf course.
If Chris was the jock, I was the nerd. I loved school and leadership. Chris has spent the last 30 years helping me lighten up and have fun. University of Memphis sports have always been a part of that mix. Chris and I have no musical ability, but a huge appreciation for music of all genres, so Chris is often my DJ as we travel to visit our grown children or head out on our own adventures.
Contact Info:
- Website: onecitymemphis.org and unitememphis.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/onecitymemphis
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/onecitymemphis
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@onecitymemphis
