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Soong-Chan Rah is Milton B. Engebretson Associate Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. He is the author of The Next Evangelicalism (IVP Books, 2009). Prior to coming to North Park, Soong-Chan was the founding and senior pastor of Cambridge Community Fellowship Church, a multi-ethnic, urban church in Cambridge, MA. Soong-Chan has a B.A. from Columbia University, a M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from Harvard University, and a D.Min. from Gordon-Conwell. Soong-Chan serves on the boards of Sojourners, the Christian Community Development Association, World Vision, and the Catalyst Leadership Center. He lives in Chicago with his wife Sue, a special educator and his two children, Annah and Elijah.
Read MoreANDREW SCOTT is the President and CEO of OM USA, part of a global mission movement working in 118 nations. He grew up in Northern Ireland where he married his childhood sweetheart and now lives with his family in Tyrone, GA. A former butcher, turned pastor he has travelled to over eighty countries. He plays soccer, shows dogs and loves to scuba dive.
Read MoreJOE THORN is the founding and Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in St. Charles, IL. He is the author of Note to Self: the Discipline of Preaching to Yourself and Experiencing the Trinity: The Grace of God for the People of God, and has contributed articles to Tabletalk Magazine, the ESV Men's Devotion Bible, The ESV Story Bible, and The Mission of God Study Bible.
Read MoreDAN WHITE JR. coplanted Axiom, an Intentional Christian Community in Syracuse, New York. He is also a strategist with the V3 Movement, coaching cohorts from around the country through a 9-month missional system. Dan is the author of Subterranean and coauthor of the award-winning The Church as Movement. He is married to Tonya, dad to Daniel and Ari, and can be found enjoying conversations at Salt City Coffee. Connect at danwhitejr.com.
Read MoreTREVIN WAX is the editor of TGM - Theology, Gospel, Mission, a gospel-centered small group curriculum developed by LifeWay Christian Resources. He blogs at www.trevinwax.com and is also the author of Holy Subversion: Allegiance to Christ in an Age of Rivals. He has served in pastoral roles in churches in the United States and in Romania. His wife is Corina and they have two children.
Read MoreISOBEL KUHN (1901-1957) (Moody Bible Institute) was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She and her husband, John, served with the China Inland Mission (now Overseas Missionary Fellowship) from 1928 to 1954. She is author of numerous books including Second Mile People, In the Arena, Green Leaf in Drought, and By Searching: My Journey through Doubt into Faith.
Read MoreBRIAN 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.
Read MoreCHRISTMAS CAROL KAUFMAN received her unique name in honor of her Christmas morning birth in 1901 in Elkhart, Indiana. She was raised in a Mennonite home and spent some time as a student at Goshen College. When she was 22, she married Norman Hostetler. However, tragedy struck when two months after their second anniversary, Norman was killed in an electrical accident. She worked in a sewing shop following the wake of her loss, but in 1928, her bishop recommended that she get away for a while and enroll as a Bible student at Hesston College. It was there that she met the man who would be her life partner—Nelson Kaufman. The two were married in 1929. Five years later they were commissioned by the Mennonite General Mission Board to start a mission church in Hannibal, Missouri. It was in their 22-year ministry in Missouri that she found the inspiration to write her many novels. In 1956, they returned to Elkhart where Kaufman wrote her last several books. She died in Elkhart on January 30, 1969.
Read MoreAVI SNYDER was raised in a conservative Jewish home in New York City and came to a saving faith in Jesus in 1977 with the help of a Jews for Jesus tract and the forthright witness of Christian friends. He graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary, the School of World Mission, with a Masters degree in missiology. Avi has served with Jews for Jesus since 1978 and has provided leadership for branch offices in the US, the UK, the former USSR, Germany, and Hungary. He currently lives with his wife Ruth in Budapest where he serves as the ministry director for Europe and the former USSR. He and Ruth have three grown children.
Read MoreCHRISTOPHER SWAIN is the Disciplemaking Pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church and the CEO of Replicate Ministries. After four years of service in the United States Marine Corps, Chris served in full-time ministry for two decades in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee leading ministries ranging from students to collegiate to spiritual formation. He also served as the Director of Student Ministry Publishing at Lifeway Christian Resources, serving the church in its mission of making disciples. Chris has been with Replicate Ministries and Long Hollow Baptist Church since 2016, with a heart to expand the Gospel through disciplemaking in the local church. Along with his wife, two children, and Boston Terrier, Chris resides in the Nashville, Tennessee area.
Read MoreJOHN SMED is the founding director of Prayer Current, an organization that helps leaders make multiplying disciples through prayer and evangelism. Since 2000 John and his team have developed prayer training materials and conferences for church planters, pastors, and network teams in North America, Cuba, India, China, and Russia. His book 7 Days of Prayer with Jesus has been translated into ten languages. His conviction for prayer was born out of thirty years of experience in church planting and urban mission.John and his wife Caron have 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and live in Lake Country, British Columbia, Canada.
Read MoreCATHERINE WALKER (B.A., Wheaton College; M.A., Columbia Bible College; M.R.E. and D.R.E., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) previously served as an instructor at the Indonesian Baptist Theological Seminary in Semarang for 26 years. Upon retirement she served as special assistant for intercessory prayer at Foreign Mission Board headquarters. She is author of Bible Workbook Volumes I and II and six theological textbooks in the Indonesian language. She also co-authored Disciples and Prayer Life.
Read MoreDARCY WILEY is a storyteller who digs below the surface to find the transforming work of the Lord in unexpected places. As a youth, she took part in praying for the gateway cities of the 10/40 Window, and then traveled extensively, observing movements of God and serving on mission in various regions of the world. Even as family life has turned her from a world traveler into a stay-at-home mom, God continues to cross her path with the nations through international ministries or casual conversations in the grocery store. Darcy lives in the Indianapolis area with her husband and their three exuberant children. She writes about faith, family, and adventure at www.DarcyWiley.com.
Read MoreMIKE AND KRISTIN BERRY have been married for more than twenty years and are the parents of eight adopted children. In 2015 they launched the blog website Confessions of an Adoptive Parent. Their mission is simple - to offer hope to adoptive, foster, and special needs parents who feel weary, overwhelmed and frustrated, and to let them know they're not alone. They recently co-wrote the book, The Adoptive Parent Toolbox and travel extensively speaking at churches, camps, and conferences.
Read MoreMIKE AND KRISTIN BERRY have been married for more than twenty years and are the parents of eight adopted children. In 2015 they launched the blog website Confessions of an Adoptive Parent. Their mission is simple - to offer hope to adoptive, foster, and special needs parents who feel weary, overwhelmed and frustrated, and to let them know they're not alone. They recently co-wrote the book, The Adoptive Parent Toolbox and travel extensively speaking at churches, camps, and conferences.
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