This site uses cookies to provide you with more responsive and personalized service and to collect certain information about your use of the site. You can change your cookie settings through your browser. If you continue without changing your settings, you agree to our use of cookies. See our Privacy Policy for more information.
MATT MARKINS serves as the President and CEO of Awana, a global leader in child discipleship. As a researcher in child discipleship and children’s ministry, Matt has commissioned eleven research projects since 2013, including a study conducted by Barna Group called Children’s Ministry in a New Reality. He’s a board member at large for the National Association of Evangelicals and is the author or coauthor of four books, most notably The Faith of Our Children: Eight Timely Research Insights for Discipling the Next Generation and RESILIENT: Child Discipleship and the Fearless Future of the Church. He’s also the cofounder of the Child Discipleship Forum and D6 Conference. Matt and his wife, Katie, have been involved in children’s ministry for more than 25 years and spend their time in Nashville with their two sons. For more information go to www.ChildDiscipleship.com and www.Awana.org.
Read MoreRICHARD A. ROBINSON serves as Senior Researcher at Jews for Jesus in San Francisco and is a Jewish believer in Jesus who came to faith in 1973. He has served with Jews for Jesus since 1978, beginning with the mobile evangelistic music team, The Liberated Wailing Wall, and subsequently as a missionary at the Los Angeles, New York, and Boston branches. He holds an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (1978) and a Ph.D. from Westminster Theological Seminary (1993).Rich is the author of The Messianic Movement and Christ in the Sabbath. He edited God, Torah, Messiah: The Messianic Jewish Theology of Dr. Louis Goldberg and co-authored Christ in the Feast of Pentecost with David Brickner. He has contributed chapters to various scholarly books, conferences papers (Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism--North America, Evangelical Theological Society), and is a frequent contributor to the journal Mishkan. Rich also edits Havurah, a publication for Jewish believers in Jesus.
Read MoreFREDA MCKISSIC BUSH, M.D., is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and a partner in private practice with East Lakeland OB-GYN Associates in Jackson, Mississippi. She currently serves as Medical Director of the Center for Pregnancy Choices Metro Jackson and the Henry M. Johnson Women's Resource Crisis Pregnancy Center. Freda spends much of her time speaking on sexuality and social behavior education. Her passion is to help women "raise a standard" to become who they were created to be. To that end, she teaches and encourages a lifestyle of abstinence until marriage and fidelity within marriage. She co-authored her first book, Hooked, with Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney, in 2008.
Read MoreDANIEL DARLING is an author, pastor, and leader. He was recently appointed as the director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dan is a bestselling author of several books, including The Original Jesus, The Dignity Revolution, The Characters of Christmas, The Characters of Easter, and A Way With Words. He is the general editor, along with Trillia Newbell, of a small group study on racial reconciliation, The Church and the Racial Divide and is a contributor to The Worldview Study Bible. Dan is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications. He is a columnist for World Magazine, and a regular contributor to USA Today. His work is often featured in Christianity Today and The Gospel Coalition and his op-eds have appeared in The Washington Post, CNN, Washington Times, Time, Huffington Post, National Review, First Things, and other leading outlets. Publisher's Weekly called his writing style "substantive and punchy."Dan speaks and preaches around the country and is regularly interviewed on radio and television, including MSNBC's Morning Joe, CNN, and Fox. He is the host of a popular weekly podcast The Way Home where he interviews Christian leaders, politicians, and journalists. He holds a bachelor's degree in pastoral ministry from Dayspring Bible College, has studied at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and is a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served churches in Illinois and Tennessee. He and his wife Angela have four children.
Read MoreDR. GEORGE SWEETING (1924-2024) was the former president and chancellor of the Moody Bible Institute (1971-1999). As a world-renowned evangelist, pastor, teacher, and writer, few were better equipped to explain how to grow in your salvation. How to Begin the Christian Life is a modern classic with more than a million copies in print in English and other languages.
Read MoreMELINDA SCHMIDT graduated from Moody Bible Institute and holds a B.S. in Broadcasting-Bible from Calvary Bible College. She has served with Moody Radio since 1980 in various hosting capacities. She is now a co-host of the radio talk show for women, Midday Connection (www.middayconnection.org) . Melinda has served as an editor and contributing author to Come to Our Table: A Midday Connection Cookbook, Daily Seeds from Women who Walk in Faith, and Tending the Soul. Married to Dave, they are parents of two young adults, Kelly and Kevin.
Read MoreTESSA AFSHAR’s books have been on Publishers Weekly, CBA, and ECPA bestseller lists and have been translated into many languages. Her Bible study, The Way Home: God’s Invitation to New Beginnings, won the ECPA Christian Book of the Year in the Bible Study category. Tessa’s novels have been the recipient of the ECPA’s Bronze Milestone, Christy, and INSPY Awards. She holds a master of divinity from Yale, where she was elected to serve as co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship for one year. Tessa is a devoted wife, a mediocre gardener, and an enthusiastic cook of biblical recipes. Learn more at TessaAfshar.com.
Read MoreTHABITI ANYABWILE is the full-time husband to a loving wife, Kristie, and father to three adorable children. He currently serves as a pastor of Anacostia River Church in Washington, D.C. Previously he served as senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and as an assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Thabiti holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in psychology from North Carolina State University. A former high school basketball coach and bookstore owner, Thabiti loves reading, sports, and watching sci-fi films. He is the author of Reviving the Black Church, The Decline of African-American Theology, What Is a Healthy Church Member?, and The Faithful Preacher.
Read MoreLOUIS A. BARBIERI, (B.A., Westmont College; Th.M., Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is Chair of the Department of Theology at the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. He is the author of a number of books, including the Everyman’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Peter, The Moody Gospel Commentary: Mark, and The Life of Christ: Matthew. Dr. Barbieri and his wife of over forty years, Carol, reside in the Chicago area. They are the parents of three and grandparents of seven.
Read MoreJOHN FUDER (PH.D., Biola University) is Director of Justice and Compassion Ministries of re:source global as well as a part time grad school and adjunct professor for Moody Bible Institute. In 1993, after 15 years of serving in urban ministry in California, Dr. Fuder brought his passion of equipping students for effective urban ministry to Chicago. As the Professor of Urban Studies at Moody Theological Seminary, Dr. Fuder taught ministry practitioners and students for 17 years. Dr. Fuder has authored many publications including A Heart for the Community, A Heart for the City, and Training Students for Urban Ministry. Dr. Fuder and his wife, Nellie, have three children and a granddaughter.
Read MoreGWYNNE JOHNSON (M.A., Dallas Theological Seminary), a popular conference and retreat speaker, demonstrates in her writing strong communication skills and extensive practical ministry to women. She is the author of So You’re Moving, Women Mentoring Women: Ways to Start, Maintain, and Expand a Biblical Women's Ministry, and contributed to More Than Conquerors. Gwynne lives in Dallas, Texas, with her husband, Don. They have one daughter and two grandchildren.
Read MoreANITA LUSTREA has been with Moody Radio for nearly 30 years. The past 14 as executive producer and host of Midday Connection, an NRB award winning radio program. Besides speaking and writing, Anita's other loves include her husband Mike and college aged son John. Anita has co-edited and contributed to Tending the Soul: 90Days of Spiritual Nourishment (Moody Publishers 2011) and authored What Women Tell Me: Finding Freedom From the Secrets We Keep (Zondervan 2010). If you want to start a conversation with Anita that might go on for a long while, ask her about her beloved Maine! Anita hails from the coastal town of Blue Hill, but soon after headed to The County, Aroostook County, that is, and with Shades of Mercy, she hopes to put Aroostook County on the map.
Read MoreJANET POPE is a 2012 graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary with a Masters in Theology. Teaching the Bible is her passion, and her distinct speaking ministry inspires others to run to God’s Word first. Her solid foundation comes from memorizing entire books of the Bible—15 books and counting. Janet and her husband Ethan live in Dallas, Texas.
Read MoreLINCOLN BRUNNER has been a journalist for 22 years. After cutting his teeth as a sportswriter and general assignment reporter in central Wisconsin in the early 90s, he went on to edit a small daily paper in Illinois. He then served as an editor for several trade magazines. In 2004, he felt a strong call to do full-time reporting about Christian missions work and went on to report on missionaries around the world for two different missions organizations. These days, he works as managing editor for a Bible translation organization. Lincoln and his wonderful wife, Ann, have three daughters and live in Texas.
Read MoreKARA DURBIN has enjoyed continually serving in various roles of children's ministries. She has a degree in elementary education from Texas A&M University and homeschools her children part time. Kara's inspiration for the book was her mother, who blessed her life by parenting her with Scripture. When thinking about how to best parent her own children, Kara looked for a reference book that would have Scriptures to use for specific parenting moments. Not finding one, she began work on Parenting with Scripture. Kara and her husband and two children make their home near Dallas, Texas.
Read MoreVICKI ROSE is a strong Bible teacher with a relevant, life-changing message. She was born and raised in New York City and upon graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1975, Vicki began her retail career at Saks Fifth Ave and went on to marry Bill Rose in 1977.After almost 10 years of marriage, Vicki found herself the single mother of a 1 ½ and 4 year old, separated from her husband who was addicted to cocaine, woman and work. 1 ½ years later, Vicki accepted Christ through an outreach dinner at age 35 and became a passionate follower of Jesus Christ with a deep hunger for His word. As Vicki began to pray for her husband to also know Christ, her heart toward him changed and they were reconciled after he accepted Christ, entered rehab and they spent time in counseling. They had been separated for 5 ½ years. Both Vicki and Bill are Jewish believers though neither was raised in a religious Jewish home. Vicki has taught, facilitated and led many Bible Studies for women in her church as well as acted as Prayer Coordinator for the Women’s Ministry and has taught and shared her testimony all across the U.S. as well as in Nicaragua, Poland, Russia, Bulgaria and Italy.
Read More