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PAT CIMO has led a dynamic children's ministry and coached children ministry leaders domestically and internationally for nearly twenty-nine years. She is currently the director of Marriage and Family Life at Willow Creek Community Church in the suburbs of Chicago, and for many years this included direct leadership and oversight with Willow's Children's Ministry. She has a deep passion to own the game she most wants to win: influencing and developing champions of faith. Pat and her husband Dave live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago near their two married children and four grandchildren.
Read MoreJOHN MAUCK, an attorney for 30 years, is a founding partner at Mauck & Baker, LLC in Chicago. He is an Allied Attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom and was a board member of Christian Legal Society. John received his B.A. from Yale and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago. He and his wife of 40 years have four adult children and are active church members. John also wrote Paul on Trial: The Book of Acts as a Defense of Christianity, which was a finalist for the Evangelical Book of the Year.
Read MoreJOHN TRENT, Ph.D., is the President of StrongFamilies.com, a ministry committed to building strong relationships in these stressful times. Dr. Trent's main focus includes writing and speaking at retreats, conferences, business settings, churches, and seminars across the country. In addition to building family teams, Dr. Trent regularly speaks to corporate America on team building, recruiting and retaining outstanding employees. He has authored and co-authored more than a dozen books for both adults and children, including Love For All Seasons, The Language of Love, and The Blessing. In addition to writing books, Dr. Trent has written numerous articles for both professional and popular publications. He and his wife, Cynthia, live in Scottsdale, Arizona and have two adult daughters.
Read MoreRONALD MOORE serves as Senior Pastor of The Bible Chapel, a multisite church with 4,000 people meeting at four campuses throughout the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. Before joining Back to the Bible, Ron's teaching was heard each week day on a national program called The Journey. Ron earned a Master of Theology (Th.M.) and a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He also holds a masters degree in education from Texas A&M. He has written several books including Journey Through the Bible, Journey Through the Psalms, Journey Through the Gospels and Ignite. He and his wife, Lori, have been married since 1980 and have four adult children.
Read MoreCHELSEA PATTERSON SOBOLIK is the author of Longing for Motherhood: Holding On to Hope in the Midst of Childlessness, and works in Washington, DC, as the Director of Government Relations for a nonprofit organization. Previously she’s worked for the leading evangelical child welfare organization in the country, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), and on Capitol Hill. Chelsea has been published at the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and other outlets. Chelsea was adopted as a newborn from Bucharest, Romania, grew up in North Carolina, and holds a BA in International Relations from Liberty University. She and her husband, Michael, are welcoming their son home through international adoption.
Read MoreGIL 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.
Read MoreMICAH FRIES is the Senior Pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN. Micah is married to Tracy and they have two daughters, Grace and Kessed, and a son, Haddon. Prior to serving at Brainerd, he worked for LifeWay Christian Resources, served as a Senior Pastor in Missouri, as an international church planter in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and as a Youth Director in Dothan, AL. He holds a Master of Divinity, a Bachelor of Arts, and is currently a Ph.D. student, studying North American Missiology. He is the author of a commentary on Haggai and Zephaniah in the Christ-Centered Commentary Series. Micah, along with Dr. Keith Whitfield, contributed and co-edited Islam and North America.
Read MoreRON L. DEAL is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, Director of FamilyLife Blended® for Family Life®, the author of numerous videos and books on stepfamily living including the bestselling The Smart Stepfamily, and is consulting editor for the Smart Stepfamily Series of books. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist, popular speaker, and host of the podcast FamilyLife Blended. He and his wife, Nan, have three sons and live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Find events and resources at RonDeal.org.
Read MoreROB MARTIN has been involved in Christian ministry since his conversion in 1976. He first served as the editor of a Christian publication and then for six years with the Orange County Rescue Mission, Orange County, CA, before becoming General Manager of Fieldstead & Company, a private philanthropy of Howard and Robert Ahmanson. He later served as Executive Director of First Fruit, Inc. and has been with this organization in a full time capacity since 2009, serving ministries and colleague foundations as a coach on a variety of organizational issues. Rob was educated as a journalist, and spent his formative career years in newspaper work. He and his wife, Bev, have raised three daughters and reside at Useless Bay on Whidbey Island, WA.
Read MoreLAURIE NORRIS is a Professor of Bible at Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago, having served for ten years on the faculty of Moody Bible Institute in the division of Applied Theology and Church Ministries. She has a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary and a PhD in Biblical Theology-New Testament from Wheaton College. Laurie's ministry centers on the communication of God's Word and equipping of the church through teaching, speaking, writing, and mentoring in both academic and non-academic settings. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she presently lives in West Chicago with her husband Bob, four dogs, and a cat.
Read MoreDOUGLAS GEHMAN attended Goshen College and Fuller Theological Seminary, and completed Master's and Doctorate degrees in Missions at Liberty Christian University in Pensacola, FL. Since 1994, Doug has served with Globe International, a mission-sending agency based in Pensacola, FL. He became the Director in 2001 and the President in 2004. Doug loves coaching and mentoring emerging leaders, helping them discover their giftings and life direction. Doug and Beth have ministered in neary sixty nations. They have four married children and eleven grandchildren. Doug is the author of three books. The most recent is their family's story, called White Picket Fences. He loves writing, surfing, cycling, walking, and spending time with his family.
Read MoreJIMMY DODD (B.A. Wheaton College; M.Div., Gordon-Conwell Seminary) is the founder and CEO of PastorServe. This organization works across denominational lines to strengthen the church by serving pastors. He is the author of Survive or Thrive, 6 Relationships Every Pastor Needs, and Pastors Are People Too, co-authored with Larry Magnuson. Jimmy and his wife Sally have five children and three grandchildren. He enjoys reading, taking walks with his wife Sally and dog Finn, and cheering on his beloved Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS.
Read MoreCHARLES CAUSEY is a recipient of the Bronze Star for his military service in Iraq. He is the author of several books including Words and Deeds and Unbreakable: Forging a Marriage of Contentment and Delight. Married with four children, Charles graduated from the University of Colorado and holds several advanced degrees. He formerly served at the Pentagon as a senior army chaplain for the chief of chaplains in Washington, D.C., and is currently serving as a command chaplain in Honolulu, Hawaii. His website is www.causeybooks.com.
Read MoreOriginally from South Africa, RIAN ROUX spent his adolescence in a small fishing and farming community in the far north of Australia. Intrigued by the stories that shape our lives, he travelled widely and pursued studies in Applied Science, Education, and Theology. After a year at Oxford University, he commenced a PhD in Australia with a focus on transformative learning and student leadership development in higher education. Rian has experience in pastoral ministry, teaching, and business and currently lives and works in Toowoomba with his wife, Sally, and their three children.
Read MoreJEANETTE HAGEN PIFER (B.A., Biola University, M.A. Talbot School of Theology, Ph.D., University of Durham) is Professor of New Testament at Biola University, where she has taught since 2016. Her focus in research and teaching is on the New Testament, especially the Pauline literature. She has served in a variety of ministry capacities including evangelistic and humanitarian work with orphans in the former Soviet Union, and helping to facilitate theological and ministry training around the world. Jeanette has been married to Nick since 2017. Together they enjoy long walks on the beach, summer road trips, and drumming up spontaneous adventure whenever they can.
Read MoreDR. HOWARD G. HENDRICKS remains a legendary figure in the memory of countless Christians worldwide. In sixty years at Dallas Theological Seminary, "Prof" Hendricks is estimated to have taught more than 30,000 students, and through them now impacts tens of millions throughout the world. He ministered in more than eighty countries through speaking engagements, radio, books, and recordings (including the DVD series, Living By The Book). For a period of time he was also a Bible teacher and chaplain for the Dallas Cowboys football team. Dr. Hendricks and his wife Jeanne were married for sixty-five years, and he was the father of four children, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
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