Eric Mason

DR. ERIC MASON is the founder and pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA. He and his wife, Yvette, have four children. After more than two decades of gospel ministry, Dr. Mason has become known for his passion to see the glory of Jesus Christ robustly and relevantly engaged in broken cities with the comprehensive gospel. He helps coach and train families to plant churches locally, nationally, and internationally. He is the founder and president of Thriving, an urban resource organization committed to developing leaders for ministry in the urban context, and is the author of three books, Manhood Restored, Beat God to the Punch, and Unleashed. He is the recipient of multiple earned degrees, including a BS in Psychology from Bowie State University, a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a Doctoral degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

John McNeill

Virginia Jacober

SARAH "VIRGINIA" JACOBER was born in Dayton, Ohio and accepted Jesus as her Savior at age eleven. The first time she heard a missionary speak, she knew this was what God wanted her do. After graduating from Nyack College, she married Edward G Jacober. They pastored a church while he attended Dallas Theological Seminary, and then were appointed by The Christian and Missionary Alliance to do evangelistic work in India. Their four children attended school in the Himalaya Mountains. Transferred to Bethlehem, Israel, they taught the Bible and visited Bedouin tents for fifteen years. Sarah’s husband died, but she continued working and speaking in churches. After retiring, she made fifteen short term mission trips to various countries around the world.More than forty of Sarah’s articles and poems, plus six books have been published. Sarah lives near family in North Carolina, has seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and continues to write for God’s glory.

Gerald W. Peterman

GERALD PETERMAN is Professor of Bible and Director of Biblical and Theological Studies at Moody Bible Institute. Before coming to Moody he taught at Palm Beach Atlantic College in West Palm Beach, FL, spent 4 1/2 years doing church planting for the Evangelical Free Church in central Florida and in south central Iowa, and also served eight years in the Air National Guard as a Chaplain. Peterman also serves part-time at his local church. For Moody Publishers he has written Joy and Tears: The Emotional Life of the Christian (2013) and Between Pain and Grace: A Biblical Theology of Suffering with Dr. Andrew Schmutzer. Research interests include New Testament Greek Language and Exegesis, Greek and Roman Background to the New Testament, and Biblical Theology. Gerald has been married to Marjory since January 1984, with two adult daughters, Bethany and Grace.

Margaret D. Pagan

MARGARET PAGAN received an A.B. in English from Morgan State University and studied writing at Johns Hopkins University. Her first published work appeared in Essence magazine, and she continued to publish many freelance articles, for the most part, dealing with African American history and genealogy. After accepting Jesus Christ as her Savior she studied at Baltimore School of the Bible, and she began to desire to write on things that glorify Christ. After writing an entry on the life of Katherine Ferguson, a pioneer in the Sunday School movement, for a biographical encyclopedia, Margaret went on to write her first work of historical fiction, More Than a Slave: The Life of Katherine Ferguson. Margaret is the wife of Carl E. Pagan, pastor of Urban Bible Fellowship Church and resides in Baltimore, Maryland.

Moody Publishers

Steve Vandegriff

STEVE VANDEGRIFF (Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary) is a professor of youth ministries at Liberty University in Virginia. A former youth pastor, Steve enjoys ministering and speaking to young people and their parents. He previously spent thirteen years as the executive director of Youth for Christ in Alberta, Canada. He is co-author of Timeless Youth Ministry, Disturbing Behavior, and Protecting Your Teen from Disturbing Behaviors. The parents of three children, Steve and his wife, Pamela Jo, reside in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Tricia Goyer

TRICIA GOYER is a speaker, podcast host, and USA Today bestselling author of over 90 books. She writes in various genres, including fiction, parenting, marriage, and books for children and teens. Tricia is a wife, a homeschooling mom of ten, and enjoys mentoring writers through WriteThatBook.Club. She lives near Little Rock, AR.

Linda Barrick

LINDA BARRICK is a wife, mother, author, Bible teacher, and founder of Hope Out Loud Ministries. Her daily radio feature, Hope Out Loud, is heard on 733 stations in the US, Canada, and overseas. A graduate of Liberty University, Linda is a dynamic speaker who has conducted a weekly Bible study for 500 women at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA, for the past ten years. Linda and her daughter Jen Barrick, travel across the country sharing their miraculous story of faith, hope and forgiveness. Jen suffered a traumatic brain injury over a decade ago when her family's van was struck head-on by a drunk driver going 80 miles per hour. Though Jen still suffers from vision impairment and memory loss, she knows there is no limit to what God can accomplish through her life. Connect with Linda and Jen at hopeoutloud.com.

Stephen B. Bell

STEVE and VALERIE BELL have been married and in ministry together for over 30 years. Steve is currently an executive vice-president of the Willow Creek Association. Valerie travels widely as a conference speaker, making frequent guest appearances on radio and television. Valerie is the author of seven books, and co-author with her husband of three books: Made to be Loved and Faith-Shaped Kids, and Real Survivors. Steve and Valerie live in Wheaton, Illinois; they have two grown sons.

Valerie Bell

STEVE and VALERIE BELL have been married and in ministry together for over 30 years. Steve is currently an executive vice-president of the Willow Creek Association. Valerie travels widely as a conference speaker, making frequent guest appearances on radio and television. Valerie is the author of seven books, and co-author with her husband of three books: Made to be Loved and Faith-Shaped Kids, and Real Survivors. Steve and Valerie live in Wheaton, Illinois; they have two grown sons.

Tim Grissom

TIM GRISSOM is a freelance writer living in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he also serves as senior editor for FamilyLife. He has served on the elder team of The Summit Church, which he helped start in 1998, and remains active in the teaching ministry there. Tim served on the staff of Life Action Ministries for fourteen years. He and his wife, Janiece (who is now with the Lord) have four children. His ministry passion is to help people understand how deeply the Bible speaks to the issues of life, both big and small. You can read more from Tim through his blog, www.HurtingForward.com.

David Augsburger

DAVID AUGSBURGER (B.A., Eastern Mennonite College; B.D., Eastern Mennonite Seminary; Ph.D., School of Theology at Claremont), who has taught at Fuller since 1990, is professor of pastoral care and counseling in the School of Theology. The author of 20 books in pastoral counseling, marriage, conflict and human relations, David's titles include Dissident Discipleship: A Spirituality of Self-Surrender, and Love of God and Love of Neighbor. David lives in California.

Nicole Braddock Bromley

NICOLE BRADDOCK BROMLEY is an international activist on issues of sexual abuse and human trafficking. She is the founder and director of OneVOICE (www.iamonevoice.org), an organization that is bringing healing change into the lives of those affected by sexual abuse, and she is the founder and executive director of OneVOICE4freedom (www.onevoice4freedom.org), a nonprofit that is stopping child sex slavery around the world and bringing hope to survivors.

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.