Maggie Paulus

MAGGIE PAULUS is a beauty seeker. She looks for God each day not only in His Word, but in creation, in her family, in the pain of life, in the humdrum—at the kitchen sink—everywhere. Maggie lives in Buchanan, MI, with her bearded husband, three precocious children, and one cat. When Maggie's not capturing life in words and photos, you'll find her digging in the dirt, deep-fat-frying anything within reach, prank calling, and garage sale-ing. Maggie loves God and people, and wants to love them more.

Jada Edwards

JADA EDWARDS is an experienced speaker, Bible teacher, and mentor and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas. She currently serves as the Creative Arts Architect for her church, One, where she seeks to serve the evolving communities of Collin County through creative expression and cultural relevance. She also works in new business development, partner relations and marketing for Caribbean Choice for Christ. Jada and her husband, Conway, have co-authored two books: When Love’s in View: Finding Focus in Dating and Relationships and The Undercover Woman: A Guide for Single Women and Their Spiritual Fathers. Jada lives in Allen, Texas with her husband.

Arlene Pellicane

ARLENE PELLICANE is a speaker, host of the Happy Home podcast, and author of several books, including Parents Rising, Making Marriage Easier, and Screen Kids (coauthored with Dr. Gary Chapman). Arlene has been featured on popular media outlets including The Today Show, Fox & Friends, Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Today, The 700 Club, and the Wall Street Journal. She is the spokesperson for National Marriage Week and has been happily married to her husband, James, for more than 25 years. Arlene earned her BA from Biola University and her master’s in journalism from Regent University. Arlene inspires parents to raise children who are ready for life (not just playing video games). As an advocate of delaying smartphones and social media, her three children are living a revolutionary digital life and thriving. Arlene lives with her family in San Diego. To learn more, visit ArlenePellicane.com.

Vicki Rose

VICKI 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.

Rita A. Schulte, LPC

RITA A. SCHULTE is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in the treatment of mental health disorders. In 2011, she created Heartline Radio, a broadcast show that addresses cutting-edge mental health issues and provides content to educate and equip listeners in how mental health affects our culture. Rita is frequent contributor to many publications and is the author of Shattered: Finding Hope and Healing through the Losses of Life; Imposter: Gain Confidence, Eradicate Shame and Become Who God Made You to Be, and Think This Not That: Rewiring Your Brain to Eliminate Toxic Thinking. She speaks around the country on mental health-related issues. She received her B.S. in psychology and her master's degree in counseling from Liberty University. Rita is no stranger to loss and suffering. In 2013, she lost her beloved husband to suicide and her world was decimated. She speaks candidly about this loss at her national workshops in the hope of helping others heal. Rita makes her home in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.

J. Brian Tucker

Allison Vesterfelt

ALLISON VESTERFELT is a reader, writer, thinker dreamer and the author of Packing Light, a book about learning to live life with less. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband Darrell. You can follow her daily on Twitter or Facebook.

Jena Morrow

JENA MORROW chronicles her journey with an eating disorder in her debut book, Hollow (May 2010). She studied music education at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, and currently makes her home in Crest Hill, Illinois with her son. For more information, visit jenamorrow.blogspot.com.

Arthur E. Smith

ARTHUR E. SMITH, father of five, was born in London, England. Smith received the diploma of Fellow College of Violinists (F.C.V.) of London and after he moved to Canada, became a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, serving as violinist with the organization for ten years. Most of his time has been spent in Bible teaching in Canada and U.S. His 40 years of evangelism include work among the men of lumber camps and gold and silver mines of northern Ontario.

Brittany Salmon

BRITTANY SALMON is a professor, writer, and Bible teacher. She has a MA in Intercultural Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, a MA in Teaching from North Carolina State University, and is currently pursuing her doctorate from Southeastern Seminary where she is doing research on racial representation in Christian children's literature. Brittany is passionate about taking theology and applying it to everyday lives. And yet the people closest to her think of her as the friend who loves oversized sweatpants and a great conversation over coffee. She lives in Abilene, Texas with her best friend, Ben, and their four children. You can connect with Brittany on Instagram @brittanynsalmon.

Chelsea Patterson Sobolik

CHELSEA 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.

Hannah Whitall Smith

HANNAH WHITALL SMITH (1832-1911) was born in Philadelphia to a Quaker family. Her life expressed the joy that is found in complete surrender to the Lord. The secret to a happy life, according to Whitall Smith, is to trust implicitly in the promises of the Bible. Her goal was not to impress the scholar, but to elevate the simple man or woman who longed for a more consecrated way of living. Deeply practical, her writings deal directly with the day-to-day struggles of ordinary people. She is author of The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life and The God of All Comfort.

Priscilla Shirer

PRISCILLA SHIRER (Dallas Theological Seminary) is an internationally-recognized Bible teacher who focuses her ministry on the expository teaching of the Word of God to women. She desires to see women both understand the uncompromising truths of Scripture intellectually and experience them practically. Priscilla is the author of A Jewel in His Crown, And We Are Changed, He Speaks to Me, and Discerning the Voice of God. She is also an accomplished vocalist. Priscilla and her husband, Jerry, are the founders of Going Beyond Ministries and live in Dallas, Texas with their three sons.

Carl Trueman

CARL R. TRUEMAN studied at the Universities of Cambridge and Aberdeen in the United Kingdom. Prior to emigrating to the United States, he was on faculty at the University of Nottingham and King's College, University of Aberdeen. He is currently Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Historical Theology and Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary (PA). His scholarly publications focus on the development of Reformed Orthodoxy in sixteenth and seventeenth century Britain. He is also a Council Member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. His latest books are Republocrat: Confessions of a Liberal Conservative (Presbyterian and Reformed) and, Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History (Crossway).

John Thornton

DR. JOHN THORNTON is a CPA with a Ph.D. in Accounting from Washington State University. He is the L.P. and Bobbi Leung Chair of Accounting Ethics at Azusa Pacific University, a Christian university with over 10,000 students near Los Angeles, CA where he directs the School of Accounting. He is a nationally recognized author and speaker on accounting ethics and has served as Chair of the American Accounting Association's Public Interest Section. His scholarship has been published in several top academic journals, winning multiple best paper awards from the AAA. He is married to Alyssa with three sons, Joshua, Benjamin, and Jacob.

Penny Thrasher

PENNY THRASHER- Penny Thrasher was raised in a home given to hospitality and feels privileged to carry on that tradition, especially in hosting large holiday celebrations. She contributed to her husband's book, Believing God for His Best -- How to Marry Contentment and Singleness. Penny is in her 17th year of home schooling and enjoys serving in their church, being part of a prayer group which supports missionaries, and mentoring younger women. Bill and Penny have three sons, Will, Michael, and David.