Vermon Pierre

VERMON PIERRE (BA, Princeton University; MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the lead pastor at Roosevelt Community Church, a diverse multiethnic congregation in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. He is the author of Gospel Shaped Living and a contributor to The New City Catechism Devotional, 15 Things Seminary Couldn't Teach Me, and Revisiting 'Faithful Presence': To Change the World Five Years Later. He and his wife, Dennae, live in downtown Phoenix and have five children.

Mike Handler

MIKE HANDLER serves as the Chief Innovation Officer for Awana. Prior to Awana, Mike was a pastor, a church planter as well as the principle of a creative agency. Mike is a coauthor of Resilient and the cofounder of the Child Discipleship Forum. Now in the Nashville area, Mike and his family are originally from Chicagoland and miss the food there.

Chris Pappalardo

CHRIS PAPPALARDO, PhD, is the author and cofounder of GoodKind, the makers of Advent Blocks, an organization that helps people cultivate the good kind of habits and holiday celebrations. Chris is a pastor, editor, and writer at The Summit Church in the Raleigh-Durham, NC, area. He is married to Jenn and is the proud dad of Lottie (who wants to save the planet) and Teddy (who wants you to read him another book).

Kyle DiRoberts

KYLE DIROBERTS (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the department chair and associate professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Arizona Christian University in Glendale, Arizona, adjunct professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, and pastor of the Minister-in-Residence program at Scottsdale Bible Church. Kyle is the author of The Secret to Prayer. He and his wife, Lolly, live in Scottsdale and have three boys.

Jed Coppenger

JED COPPENGER is the lead pastor of First Baptist Church Cumming, GA. He earned his MDiv from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his PhD from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of 21 Days to Childlike Prayer: Changing Your World One Specific Prayer at a Time. He and his wife, Melanie, have three kids. Connect with him at jedcoppenger.com.

Jeanette Lockerbie

JEANETTE LOCKERBIE (1916-1998) homemaker, writing consultant, lecturer, and author of nearly forty books, was born in Scotland and spent her adult years in Canada and the United States. Jeanette was author of numerous books including Morning Glories and Salt in my Kitchen. In addition to her responsibilities as a pastor’s and missionary’s wife, she also served as staff editor for Psychology for Living. She was the mother of two children.

Donald Sweeting

DONALD SWEETING is currently the president of Reformed Theological Seminary-Orlando and James Woodrow Hassell professor of church history. He earned a Ph.D. degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and has 22 years of experience pastoring two churches. He has authored The Acts of God and Lessons from the Life of Moody. He and his wife, Christina, have four children.

Paul Smith

PAUL SMITH (Wheaton College, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Theological Seminary) has served as senior pastor of West Side Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington for more than 18 years and has also been active in renewal ministries with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Paul is the author of several books, including Enjoying God Forever and God’s Plan for Our Good. He and his wife, Careen, have one son and three daughters.

Colin S. Smith

COLIN SMITH is President of Open the Bible and Pastor Emeritus of The Orchard church in northwest suburban Chicago. He can be heard daily on the radio broadcast, Open the Bible, and at openthebible.org. Colin is the author of many books, including: Fly Through the Bible, Heaven, How I Got Here, and Momentum: Pursuing God’s Blessings Through the Beatitudes. He is married to Karen, and they have two married sons and five granddaughters.

William Evans

WILLIAM EVANS, (1870-1950) a noted American Bible teacher, was born in Liverpool, England, in 1870. Following several years in various pastorates, he was appointed director of the Department of Bible at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. Evans devoted his life to directing Bible conferences throughout the United States and Canada, and was the author of more than forty volumes on biblical interpretation including Great Doctrines of the Bible and How to Prepare Sermons.

Kevin DeYoung

KEVIN DEYOUNG (PhD, University of Leicester) is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, and associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte. He has written books for children, adults, and academics, including Just Do Something, Impossible Christianity, and The Biggest Story Bible Storybook. Kevin’s work can be found on clearlyreformed.org. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children.

J Merle D'Aubigne

J.H. MERLE D'AUBIGNE was born in Geneva in 1794. He prepared himself for the ministry at the University of Geneva. While visiting Germany in 1817, he was moved to write his immortal History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century. During his life he served as a pastor, a court preacher, and a seminary president.

James L. Snyder

JAMES L. SNYDER is the pastor of the Family of God Fellowship in Ocala, FL, a Christian and Missionary Alliance church. He is recognized as an authority on the life and ministry of A. W. Tozer, and has written a number of books as well as numerous essays in Christian periodicals about Tozer. Snyder has a weekly radio ministry and writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column: "Out to Pastor." In Pursuit of God: The Life of A. W. Tozer, Snyder's first book, won the Reader's Choice Award in 1992 by Christianity Today. He has authored and edited 27 books. Through more than 40 years of ministry, he and his wife, Martha, have been involved in three church-planting projects prior to their current ministry. They have three children and nine grandchildren.

Curt Hamner

CURT HAMNER is a pastor and cofounder along with his wife, Rhonda of Between Two Trees (betweentwotrees.org), a marriage ministry designed to resource couples and communities with tools to pursue God's design for marriage. Curt is also the founder of Bed and Breakfast with Purpose Retreats, and is a mentor with The Master's Program (a three-year marketplace leadership coaching ministry). Together Curt and Rhonda speak throughout the US and around the world helping couples enrich their marriages. They host DreamMaster Retreats for second half couples working together on vision and strategic plans for the years after career and family. Curt is a graduate of Dallas Seminary and served with Chuck Swindoll at the church they pastored in Fullerton, CA. The Hamners have three adult children and five grandchildren. They live in the mountains of southern California.

Karl Vaters

R. A. Torrey

RUBEN ARCHER TORREY (1856-1928), educated at Yale University and Divinity School, was renowned as an educator, a pastor, a world evangelist and an author. He pastored Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, was the superintendent of Moody Bible Institute for nineteen years, and served as the dean of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles from 1911 to 1924, when he retired to embark upon full time evangelistic campaigns around the world. Mr. Torrey wrote more than forty books including How to Pray and How to Promote and Conduct a Successful Revival. Mr. Torrey was married to Clara and together they had five children.