Ed Young

ED YOUNG has been the pastor of 32,000-member Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, since 1978 and is also a trustee of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Houston Baptist University. A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Ed is the author of many books including The Ten Commandments of Marriage and The Ten Commandments of Parenting, and ministers through the international television and radio broadcasts of Winning Walk. He and his wife, Jo Beth, have three adult sons and seven grandchildren and reside in Houston.

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.

Aaron Menikoff

AARON MENIKOFF is the Senior Pastor of Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. Before entering pastoral ministry, he served as a legislative assistant for the late United States Senator Mark O. Hatfield. He earned an M.Div. and a Ph.D. at Southern Seminary where he studied Christian social engagement during the Second Great Awakening. He is the author of Politics and Piety: Baptist Social Reform in America, 1770-1860 (Pickwick, 2014). Aaron has a heart for encouraging pastors. He organizes a yearly conference called Feed My Sheep, leads a monthly pastors fellowship in his area, and is Visiting Lecturer in Church History at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta. He is married to Deana and is the father of Rachel, Jonah, Natalie, and Tori.

Patricia St. John

PATRICIA ST. JOHN (1919-1993) was a nurse, missionary and author. She earned a nursing degree at St. Thomas' Hospital in London in 1946. In the early 1950s she moved to Tangier, Morocco where she served as a missionary nurse for 27 years. Throughout her life, she travelled extensively in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, as the settings of her novels reflect. In 1977, she returned to England, where she cared for elderly relatives and ministered from her home to youths, single parents, and the elderly. Patricia authored numerous books, including Treasures of the Snow, The Tanglewoods' Secret, The Secret at Pheasant Cottage, and Star of Light.

John Bunyan

JOHN BUNYAN (1628-1688) was a Puritan preacher and writer in England. Bunyan had very little schooling. He followed his father in the tinker's trade, and served in the parliamentary army from 1644 to 1647. In 1655, Bunyan became a deacon and began preaching. He experienced marked success from the start and was the pastor of the Bedford church.Bunyan is the author of The Pilgrim's Progress which he wrote in 1676 while imprisoned for preaching without a license. His numerous other titles include Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and Holy War.

Barnabas Mam

BARNABAS MAM has been AFCI’s Regional Director for Asia since 2007 and is one of only 200 Christians to survive the Killing Fields of Pol Pot. He joined the Communist party as a teenager and was converted to Christ while spying on a Christian evangelistic meeting in the early 1970's. He was later arrested and sent to the Killing Fields where he spent four years in captivity. After his release Barnabas was forced to flee the country where he spent another eight years in a refugee camp in Thailand where he began the ministry of church-planting. After returning to Cambodia, Barnabas helped rebuild the church in his native land, and over 400 churches have been planted since 1998.

Hans Finzel

HANS FINZEL (D.Miss., Fuller School of World Missions; Th. M., Dallas Theological Seminary) is the president of HDLeaders. He served for 20 years as president of WorldVenture (formerly CBInternational). He and his wife, Donna, spent ten years as missionaries in Eastern Europe, working with WorldVenture to train pastors behind the Iron Curtain. Hans is the author of ten books, including Change is Like a Slinky, Launch Your Encore, The Power of Passion in Leadership, Unlocking the Scriptures, and his bestseller The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make. He co-authored The Top Ten Ways to Love Your Wife with his wife. He is the host of the Leadership Podcast, The Leadership Answer Man and is a widely sought-after speaker as an expert in leadership development, change management and international studies. The Finzels make their home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado and have four children.

Steve Vandegriff

STEVE VANDEGRIFF (Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary) is a professor of youth ministries at Liberty University in Virginia. A former youth pastor, Steve enjoys ministering and speaking to young people and their parents. He previously spent thirteen years as the executive director of Youth for Christ in Alberta, Canada. He is co-author of Timeless Youth Ministry, Disturbing Behavior, and Protecting Your Teen from Disturbing Behaviors. The parents of three children, Steve and his wife, Pamela Jo, reside in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Charles Sheldon

Glenn T. Stanton

GLENN T. STANTON is the director of Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs and a research fellow at the Institute of Marriage amd Family in Ottawa. He debates and lectures extensively on the issues of gender, sexuality, marriage and parenting at universities and churches around the world. Stanton served the George W. Bush administration for many years as a consultant on increasing fatherhood involvement in the Head Start program. Glenn is an author and contributor to many books and is quoted as a leading spokesperson on marriage and family issues. His latest book, Loving My (LGBT) Neighbor: Being Friends in Grace and Truth, explores how Christians should interact with gay or lesbian neighbors in a Christ-honoring way. He is also the author of The Ring Makes All the Difference and Secure Daughters, Confident Sons: How Parents Guide Their Children into Authentic Masculinity and Femininity. Stanton is a graduate of the University of West Florida with graduate degrees in philosophy and history. He now makes his home in Colorado Springs with his wife and five children.

S. Craig Glickman

S. CRAIG GLICKMAN (BA, Southern Methodist University; ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) earned a doctorate in biblical studies and philosophy at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Southern Methodist University School of Law. He was an instructor at Dallas Theological Seminary from 1974 to 1978 and is the author of Solomon’s Song of Love.

Eric L. Johnson

ERIC L. JOHNSON (PhD, Michigan State University) trained as an academic psychologist and is the Lawrence and Charlotte Hoover Professor of Pastoral Care at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of Foundations for Soul Care; coeditor of God Under Fire and Christianity and Psychology: Four Views; and associate editor of the Journal of Psychology and Theology. He serves on the executive board at the Institute for Christian Psychology.

Manny Mill

MANNY MILL is chief executive officer of Koinonia House® National Ministries (KHNM)m whose mission is to bridge the gap between the Christian inmate and the local church. For almost 25 years, KHNM has been facilitating the integration of the former inmate into the church, workplace, and society through biblical discipleship. Manny graduated from Wheaton College (B.A., M.A.) and has been privileged to proclaim the Gospel in churches, schools, conferences, and especially behind prison walls in the United States and abroad. The father of five adult children and grandfather of six, Manny resides with his wife, Barbara, in Wheaton, IL.

T. DeWitt Talmage

David Finkbeiner

DAVID B. FINKBEINER is Professor of Theology at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL, where he has taught since 1998. He served as Chair of the Theology Department for several years and he ministers in Chicago-area churches through preaching, teaching, and serving as an elder. David earned his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife, Kathy, have three daughters, Katie, Emily, and Rebecca.

Charles W. Shepson

CHARLES W. SHEPSON has served for more than sixty years as pastor, educator and counselor. He is the founder of Fairhaven Ministries, a counseling and retreat center in Tennessee and has served for more than three decades as its president. He is also the founder of the Canadian-based Fairhaven Ministries in British Columbia. He has ministered in thirty-seven countries and has authored fifteen books.