Charles Sell

Steve Stroope

STEVE STROOPE (B.A., Hardin Simmons University; M.Div., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) served as the Lead Pastor for 40 years at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, Texas. He is now the Founding Pastor. Church attendance under his leadership grew from 53 at its inception to over 11,000 today. Steve also provides coaching to partnership churches and missionaries in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, China, Cuba, Russia, Mexico, France, South Africa, and North America. He is a sought-after speaker, both nationally and internationally, and is co-author of Money Matters in the Church. He and his wife, Marsha, have two grown daughters and five grandchildren.

Gil Mertz

GIL MERTZ is Assistant to the President at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. He has been involved with full-time Christian service for nearly forty years and draws from a vast background of ministry with international missions, humanitarian causes, public policy, and consulting. He is a former pastor and radio talk show host. His daily commentaries on forgiveness have been broadcast on more than 300 stations across America. Gil and his wife Patricia reside in southern California and have three children and three grandchildren.

Dan Stanford

DAN STANFORD is not a comic book superhero. The glasses make you do a double take but under his shirt is not a cool costume and cape. He doesn't have a catch phrase like "Up, Up and Yahweh!" and there's no blockbuster movie about his heroic deeds. He's an ordinary, decaf drinking, nap taking, Jesus loving citizen. But in spite of being ordinary, he married his true love, Suzanne and they have three dynamic boys: Caleb, Connor and Colton. Dan holds a Masters degree from Trinity International University and started The Well Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. To learn more visit www.danstanford.net.

Doug Logan

DOUG LOGAN serves as Lead Pastor of Epiphany Camden. Doug and his wife Angel have been married since 1996 and have been blessed with three sons, Bernie, Aharon, and Avery. He is ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Doug served at both 10th Presbyterian and Epiphany Fellowship in a 2-year Church Plant Residency program before planting EFC. He also served as Vice President of Relational Connectivity and is a Board Member of Thriving, a Urban Church Planting Network. Doug has served in the inner city for nearly a decade as a pastor of Calvary Bible Church of Kensington and at Epiphany Fellowship in North Philly. He is currently completing his Masters at Capital Seminary.

Sharon E Jaynes

SHARON JAYNES is a popular conference speaker and author of nineteen books including The Power of a Woman's Words, and Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe. She served as Vice-President of Proverbs 31 Ministries and co-host of their daily radio feature for ten years. She is the co-founder of Girlfriends in God, Inc. that reaches over 500,000 subscribers with their daily on-line devotions. Sharon and her husband, Steve, have one grown son. They call North Carolina home.

Natalie Ford, PhD

DR. NATALIE FORD is a licensed professional counselor, author, and speaker passionate about helping others navigate grief, mental illness, and suffering. After experiencing suicide loss, she committed her life to prevention and postvention efforts, working to break the stigma associated with mental illness. She holds a PhD in Professional Counseling and teaches at Liberty University. Dr Ford also counsels in North Georgia and serves in ministry at her local church. Her story is one of faith, healing, and resilience—shared to bring hope to others. She has written multiple books, including Grace-Based Counseling and Seeking Answers, Finding Peace: Loving and Losing Someone to Mental Illness. You can learn more at www.drfordwrites.com.

John Smed

JOHN SMED is the founding director of Prayer Current, an organization that helps leaders make multiplying disciples through prayer and evangelism. Since 2000 John and his team have developed prayer training materials and conferences for church planters, pastors, and network teams in North America, Cuba, India, China, and Russia. His book 7 Days of Prayer with Jesus has been translated into ten languages. His conviction for prayer was born out of thirty years of experience in church planting and urban mission.John and his wife Caron have 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and live in Lake Country, British Columbia, Canada.

Robert L. Hubbard

ROBERT L. HUBBARD (A.B, Wheaton College; B.D., Fuller Theological Seminary; M.A., Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School) is Professor of Biblical Literature at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. He also taught at Denver Seminary and served as a chaplain on active duty in the United States Navy and in the United States Naval Reserve. Dr. Hubbard is author of The Book of Ruth: New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Eerdmans, 1988), which received the Christianity Today Critics Choice Award as the best commentary of 1989.

Ted Esler

TED ESLER is the President of Missio Nexus, an association of agencies and churches representing about 30,000 Great Commission workers worldwide. He worked in the computer industry before becoming a church planter in Sarajevo, Bosnia, during the 1990's. Ted is the author of Overwhelming Minority, which tells the story of their family's ministry in Bosnia. In 2000, Ted became the Canadian director of Pioneers, and three years later moved to Orlando to join Pioneers USA's leadership team. He was appointed as President of Missio Nexus in 2015. Ted holds a PhD in Intercultural Studies (Fuller Theological Seminary, 2012).

C. Hassell Bullock

C. HASSELL BULLOCK (B.A., Samford University; B.D., Columbia Theological Seminary; University Ph.D., Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion) is professor of Old Testament studies at Wheaton College. Since the completion of his formal education, Dr. Bullock has served as both a professor and as a pastor in 10 different churches.He is the author of An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books, Encountering the Book of Psalms, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books, and An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books.Dr. Bullock resides in Wheaton, Illinois.

Erin Davis

ERIN DAVIS is passionately committed to getting women of all ages to the deep well of God’s Word. She is the author of more than twenty books and Bible studies, including The Story of Joseph, 7 Feasts, Lies Boys Believe, and Fasting & Feasting. When she’s not writing, you can find Erin chasing chickens and children on her small farm in the Midwest. Hear her teach on The Deep Well podcast.

Matthew Cork

MATTHEW CORK has served in a number of key roles over his many years at Friends Church, including: WorshipPastor, Executive Pastor and the position he currently holds, Lead Pastor. Matthew’s focus since 2003 has been on therenewal of Friends Church. He has a strong pastor’s heart that has led him to be a key part of transitioning a church incrisis. On a trip to India in 2007, Matthew saw firsthand the plight of the Dalit people and the impact education canhave on improving their lives. Since then, Friends Church has launched a new vision called Global Freedom and hasbeen instrumental in building a large number of Education Centers throughout India. Matthew lives in Yorba Lindawith his wife Mardi and their three children: Nolan, Sophie and Ella.

Aaron Coe

AARON COE serves as the Vice President of Mobilization and Marketing of the North American Mission Board, providing leadership in mobilizing churches and missionaries to plant churches.Aaron, a native of Louisville, KY., served from 2003 to 2010 as a church planting missionary where he worked with New Hope New York, an organization that planted 38 churches in the years after 9/11. From this experience, he became the lead pastor/church planter at Gallery Church in 2006. He also has played a role in raising leaders, partners and resources for many new churches, including the Gallery Church.In 2009, he became executive director of “SendNYC,” the impetus for what has become Send North America – NAMB’s church planting initiative.Aaron has a Bachelor of Science from Middle Tennessee State University and a Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Carmen, have four children, Ezra James, Danielle, Joshua, and Harper.

Paul Angone

PAUL ANGONE is one of the leading voices in the nation to, and for, the Millennial generation. He is the best-selling author of two books, a sought after national speaker, and an organizational consultant who specializes in helping companies attract, retain, and develop Millennials. With over 10+ years writing, speaking, and engaging with Millennials, plus a master's degree in Organizational Leadership, Paul has created a cutting-edge process to help organizations called Millennial Mapping. Paul is also a media spokesperson on Millennials, executive coach alongside his father, Dr. Louis Angone, and the creator of www.AllGroanUp.com, which has been read by millions of Millennials in 190 countries. Read more of Paul Angone's work at www.AllGroanUp.com. You can follow him on Twitter @PaulAngone.

Tim Shoemaker

TIM SHOEMAKER is the dad of three grown sons and author of more than 20 books. Known for his insights and passion, he’s a trusted speaker at conferences, churches, and schools around the country. Tim is driven by a desire to help young men grow in character, integrity, and to be true to God—following His plan for manhood. Tim has been a volunteer youth worker more than 25 years, and happily married for more than 40.