Esther Ahn Kim

ESTHER AHN KIM was a Korean Christian who spent six years (1939-1945) in Japanese prisons during WWII as a result of her faith. As she prepared to be martyred, Miss Ahn’s courageous activities in prison brought the light of the Gospel to many, and resulted in a reduction of the brutal torture Christians were subjected to. After her release she was married to Don Kim, and the couple toured Europe and the United States speaking of God’s sustaining power during those harrowing years. She is author of If I Perish. Her story was published in Korea and Japan, where it became a national sensation, reaching number three on the all-time religious bestseller list.

Bryan Litfin

BRYAN LITFIN grew up in Dallas, TX; Oxford, England; and Memphis, TN. He earned a degree in print journalism from the University of Tennessee, a master's degree in historical theology at Dallas Seminary, and a Ph.D. in the field of ancient church history at the University of Virginia. He now serves as Education Projects Editor at Moody Publishers in Chicago, IL. Bryan lives with his wife and two teenaged children in Wheaton, IL, and is a member of College Church in Wheaton. Connect with Bryan at www.bryanlitfin.com.

Andrew Montonera

ANDREW MONTONERA is the great-grandson of Cornelius Stam, younger brother to John Stam. He holds a BA in communication from Trinity International University and resides in suburban Chicago.

Art Murphy

ART MURPHY (B.S. Union University; M.Ed Memphis State University) is the founder of Children's Ministry Solutions, a ministry to parents, churches, and children’s ministry leaders. Art has served 30+ years as a children's ministry pastor, author, speaker, and consultant, including seventeen years at First Baptist Church, Orlando, Florida. He also served as president of Preschool/Children Ministers Metro, leading over sixty of the largest churches in the U.S. He is author of the book The Faith of a Child: A Step-by-Step Guide to Salvation for Your Child. For more information visit www.ChildrensMinistrySolutions.com/art-murphy.

Chris Martin

CHRIS MARTIN is editor of BibletoLife.com and a content marketing editor at Moody Publishers. You can follow him on Twitter at @ChrisMartin17

Lois Olmstead

Lois Olmstead makes inspiring others a way of life. She shares her wit, wisdom and faith at women's retreats, camps, conferences, national and civic organizations. She has also hosted a daily radio program and writes a weekly newspaper column. Lois and her husband Robert live in Livingston, Montana and have been married 54 years. She has been active in many community and church activities and volunteers for the American Cancer Society as a breast cancer survivor. You can learn more about Lois on her website www.timeoutwithlois.com.

Erik M. Peterson

ERIK M. PETERSON has been a designer and art director of book covers and interiors for over twenty years. From time to time he works on other types of design projects but always come back to books. More recently he’s worked on large-scale visual storytelling projects such as Little Pilgrim’s Progress: Illustrated Edition (in collaboration with illustrator Joe Sutphin) and The Pursuit of God: A 31-Day Experience (a thoughtful, illustrative layout of A. W. Tozer’s classic work, designed for slow, meditative reading).

Rene Pache

DR. RENE PACHE, was reared in a Christian home under the guidance of a deeply spiritual mother (his father died when the boy was ten years old). He received his doctor's degree in law at Lausanne, Switzerland. By that time he was an out-and-out unbeliever. As a lawyer he joined the business staff of the big chemical works (CIBA) at Basle, Switzerland. It was there, at the age of 24, that he was converted through reading a Bible he had purchased. He would eventually become one of the founders of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in Switzerland and France. His important works include The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit and The Return of Jesus Christ.

David C. Thompson M.D.

DAVID THOMPSON was born in the U.S. but grew up in Cambodia where his parents worked for 16 years. When he was 14 he and his father tried unsuccessfully to save a Cambodian man who was seriously injured when a truck and a bus collided. God used the incident to plant in David's young heart a desire to become a doctor and help people who had limited access to healthcare. David graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1973 with a M.D. degree and eventually completed five years of residency in general surgery in southern California. In 1977 he and his wife Rebecca moved to Gabon, Africa and for the next 34 years built a 150-bed full-service hospital to provide medical services to Gabon's least served provinces. In 1966, Dr. Thompson helped establish the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), an organization that trains African surgeons at Christian hospitals throughout the continent. Since 2014, Dr. Thompson has been working as a volunteer to train Egyptian surgeons at Harpur Memorial Hospital.

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.

Lyle W. Dorsett

DR. LYLE W. DORSETT is a prolific author and accomplished speaker and teacher. Dr. Dorsett received his B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is now retired from teaching and pastoral ministry after serving many years in a number of different roles, including universities in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Alabama. He is the author of numerous books, among them biographies of Joy Davidman (Mrs. C.S. Lewis), E.M. Bounds, Dwight L. Moody, and Billy Sunday. Keenly interested in the life and writings of C. S. Lewis, he published a volume of Lewis's Letters to Children, The Essential C. S. Lewis, and Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C. S. Lewis. His most recent book is Serving God and Country: U.S. Military Chaplains in World War II. Dr. Dorsett and his wife, Mary, have a grown son, a daughter in heaven, and four grandchildren.

Geraldine Taylor

Kevan Chandler

KEVAN CHANDLER is the founder of a nonprofit organization called We Carry Kevan, and speaks worldwide about friendship and disability. He and his wife, Katie, enjoy doing everything together, including growing vegetables and reading to each other.

Chris Nye

CHRIS NYE is a pastor, writer, and teacher living in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Allison. His writing has appeared in Books & Culture, Leadership Journal, Preaching Today, and various other publications. Currently, Chris serves as a pastor for teaching and leadership development at Willamette Christian Church, a growing community of over 2,000 people.

Eric C Redmond

ERIC C. REDMOND is Professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL and Associate Pastor of Preaching, Teaching, and Care at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL. He has a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Capital Seminary and Graduate School, and a Th.M. Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the general editor of Say It! Celebrating Expository Preaching in the African American Tradition, the Preaching Magazine 2020 Book of the Year. His teaching and research specialties are hermeneutics, interpretation of narrative and parable, interpretation of poetical literature, homiletics and Bible exposition, and the Gospels. Eric is a fellow of the St. Augustine Cohort of the Center for Pastor Theologians, a Teaching Fellow for the C. S. Lewis Institute-Chicago, and previously served as a church-planting senior pastor.

Brian Sanders

BRIAN SANDERS is the founder of the Underground Network, an international coalition of churches united by the prophetic call to love the poor, reach the lost, and seek biblical justice. The Underground is a new form of church designed and empowered for mission. A serial entrepreneur, Brian has helped to start hundreds of missional enterprises, including churches, non-profits, and businesses all over the world. He holds a degree in communication from the University of Florida, a Masters Degree in Religious Studies from the University of South Florida, and a Masters Degree in Applied Theology from Spurgeon's College. Brian has lived in intentional community in the inner city for more than twenty years, embodying the ideas that drive him. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife Monica and their six children.