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CHRISTMAS 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 MoreHELEN LEE is an award-winning freelance writer and editor with nearly two decades of experience publishing in the Christian market. She is the co-editor of and contributor to Growing Healthy Asian-American Churches (IVP, 2006) and co-founder of the Best Christian Workplaces Institute, which runs the annual “Best Christian Places to Work” survey. Helen has written numerous articles for publications such as Christianity Today, Today’s Christian Woman, re:generation quarterly and Leadership Journal (LJ). In both 2008 and 2009, her articles for LJ earned Higher Goals awards in reporting from the Evangelical Press Association. As a former editor and writer with Christianity Today, she has worked with or interviewed a wide range of evangelical luminaries, such as Michael Card, J.I. Packer, and Chuck Colson. She is married to classical pianist and Moody Bible Institute professor Brian Lee; together they have three young sons. Helen is also a homeschooling mom and seeks to provide her sons with a classical Christian education; she and her family reside in Chicagoland.
Read MoreHALLIE DYE is a wife of 13 years and mom to 3 spirited children in Monroe, Louisiana. Hallie is the host of The Saltworks podcast and founder of the Saltworks Ministries. Encouraging everyday people to share their stories of incredible faith one Tuesday at a time, the Saltworks is a place where we can both connect from all walks of life and be encouraged to live boldly for Christ no matter our occupation or situation.Hallie and her husband teach a life group for 20-40s at their local church, and she loves speaking at events when able. When she’s not studying, recording, or writing, you can find her with friends and family, eating Louisiana soul food, or reading a fiction novel before bed.
Read MoreGORDON HOLMES FRASER was born in Quebec, Canada. He moved to Detroit, Michigan, at the age of ten, and came to a personal knowledge of Christ when he was seventeen years of age. After majoring in business administration, he spent several years in executive and sales work. The call then came to enter full-time Christian work. His mentor in spiritual things was the late Dr. H.A. Ironside. Under private tutorship he studied Chinese while engaged for five years in Christian work in Chinese communities such as are found in Oakland and Sacramento, California. His entry into full-time missionary work under the American Sunday School Union was in 1932. He is the founder of the Southwestern School of Missions in Flagstaff, Arizona.
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 MoreAARON 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.
Read MoreCARL 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).
Read MoreEDWARD MCKENDREE BOUNDS (1835-1913) was born in Missouri. He studied deeply in the Scriptures and was greatly inspired by the writings of John Wesley. At the age of 24, he felt called to be a preacher and became a Methodist Pastor around the time of the American Civil War. At the age of 58, and for the next nineteen years (until he went home to be with the Lord at age 77), he began to write books. It is said that he prayed daily, from 4 A.M. to 7 A.M., before he would begin work on his writings. Bounds is author of many books, including Purpose in Prayer, The Weapon of Prayer, and The Reality of Prayer.
Read MoreFAITH COXE BAILEY (1924–1972) was a writer and pastor’s wife who lived in Syracuse, New York. Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, she graduated from the Simmons College school of publications in Boston, studied writing at Boston University, and took courses at Andover Newton Seminary. During her long writing career she worked as a commercial copywriter, wrote for many magazines, and developed Sunday school curriculum. She also wrote for Moody Radio’s Stories of Great Christians and Moody Monthly magazine. She died of ovarian cancer at 48.
Read MoreKENNETH O. GANGEL (B.A., Taylor University; M.A., Fuller Summer Seminary; M.Div., Grace Theological Seminary; S.T.M., Concordia Seminary; Ph.D., University of Missouri) is a Scholar-in-Residence at Toccoa Falls College in Georgia and the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Christian Education at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of a number of books including Team Leadership in Ministry and The Christian Educator’s Handbook series. He now resides in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Read MoreTRICIA GOYER is a speaker, podcast host, and USA Today bestselling author of over 90 books. She writes in various genres, including fiction, parenting, marriage, and books for children and teens. Tricia is a wife, a homeschooling mom of ten, and enjoys mentoring writers through WriteThatBook.Club. She lives near Little Rock, AR.
Read MoreBILL THRASHER serves as the lead faculty member in the Master's Program in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship at Moody Theological Seminary. He is a frequent speaker for churches and retreats across the country. His ministry interests include campus discipleship, singles ministry, and evangelism. He is author of Believing God for His Best, A Journey to Victorious Praying, Principles of Christian Living from Romans 5-8, The Attributes of God in Pauline Theology, Living the Life God Has Planned, Putting God Back into the Holidays, and God As He Wants You to Know Him. Bill and his wife, Penny, live in the Chicago area and have three sons—Will, Michael, and David. His website is www.victoriouspraying.com.
Read MoreJAMES STUART BELL is the owner of Whitestone Communications, a literary development agency. James has past editorial leadership experience with a number of publishers. He has received inside and cover credit for over one hundred print and audio volumes which he has compiled. He currently lives in West Chicago with his wife, Margaret.
Read MorePAUL WHITE, PHD, is a psychologist, author, and speaker who "makes work relationships work." He has consulted with a wide variety of organizations, including Microsoft, the US Air Force, the Million Dollar Round Table, and Princeton University. He and Gary Chapman coauthored The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.
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