Valerie Bell

STEVE and VALERIE BELL have been married and in ministry together for over 30 years. Steve is currently an executive vice-president of the Willow Creek Association. Valerie travels widely as a conference speaker, making frequent guest appearances on radio and television. Valerie is the author of seven books, and co-author with her husband of three books: Made to be Loved and Faith-Shaped Kids, and Real Survivors. Steve and Valerie live in Wheaton, Illinois; they have two grown sons.

John Fuder

JOHN 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.

Jackie M. Johnson

JACKIE M. JOHNSON (Trinity International University) is an author and freelance writer. Her first book, Power Prayers for Women has sold nearly 200,000 copies. She has also written articles, poetry, and hundreds of devotionals for Focus on the Family’s Renewing the Heart website, and was a contributor to A Cup of Comfort, co-authored by James Stuart Bell and Carol McLean Wilde. A native of Milwaukee, Jackie lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Visit her encouragement blog, A New Day Café, at anewdaycafe.blogspot.com or her website, www.jackiejohnsoncreative.com.

Anita Lustrea

ANITA 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.

Felicia Middlebrooks

FELICIA MIDDLEBROOKS (B.A., Purdue University) is one of the top media personalities in Chicago, anchoring the award-winning Morning Drive program on CBS Radio/WBBM Newsradio 780. She is the first woman and first African American to co-anchor Morning Drive. She is co-author of Called: "Hello, My Name is Mrs. Jefferson, I Understand Your Plane is Being Hijacked?" She also contributed to Our Voices. Felicia lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Jonathan Pearson

JONATHAN PEARSON is the Orangeburg Campus Pastor at Cornerstone Community Church and Assistant Director of The Sticks, an organization that empowers small town leaders. Jonathan is also co-host of the Next Up Podcast and author of Next Up: 8 Shifts Great Young Leaders Make and The Productive Pastor Handbook. He is married to Melissa and has a son named Riley. They live in Orangeburg, S.C. Find Jonathan online at www.JonathanPearson.net.

Paul White

PAUL 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.

Chris Fabry

CHRIS FABRY is an award-winning author and radio personality who hosts the daily program Chris Fabry Live on Moody Radio. He has written more than seventy books for children and adults. His latest is War Room, a novelization of the film by the Kendrick Brothers. He has also written the adult novels Dogwood, June Bug, Almost Heaven, Not in the Heart, Borders of the Heart, Every Waking Moment, and The Song. He has won three Christy Awards and an ECPA Christian Book Award. He has also written two books with NY Times bestselling author, Dr. Gary Chapman, A Marriage Carol and Extraordinary Grace. He and his wife Andrea have been married for more than thirty years and have nine children. They live in Tucson, AZ. Chris is a graduate of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, and Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

Quina Aragon

QUINA ARAGON is an author, editor, and spoken word artist residing in Orlando, FL, with her husband and daughter. They are members of New Creation Fellowship. She is the author of the children's book trilogy, Love Made, Love Gave, and Love Can, which poetically retells Scripture's story through a Trinitarian lens of love. She is also the author of Love Has a Story: 100 Meditations on the Enduring Love of God, which invites you to explore God’s love as it has existed and moved throughout (and before) time, and how it intends to transform your own life story. This book, which can be read as one story or in 100 bite-sized pieces, features over 40 of Quina's personal poems, tracing God's love through her own life story. It is biblical theology, meets personal story work, meets your local coffee shop poet. Love Has a Story is available wherever books are sold. You can find Quina at her website QuinaAragon.com.

Charles Leach

CHARLES LEACH was born in England on March 1, 1847 and started from humble beginnings, having to begin work at the age of eight. He worked hard and eventually went to Ranmoor Theological College. In 1873 he took up a pastorate in Sheffield, and for the next thirty years, preached, ministered, and lectured all around England. He also took several trips to the Middle East and the United States. While he was successful in his professional life, he was not as fortunate in his personal life as only two of his six children were alive at his death. In 1908 he joined the Liberal Party to run for Parliament. Although initially thought to be a weak candidate, he won his seat in 1910. While in Parliament he introduced several bills and was fairly influential. Because of this and his ministry background he was named Chaplain to the Armed Forces at outset of World War I. After this, he began to step back from public life because of physical and mental deterioration. He died in England on November 24, 1919 at the age of seventy-two.

Christiana Tsai

Cai Sujuan, also known in the West as Christiana Tsai, was born the 18th of 24 children in Nanjing, China. Sujuan grew up in a fortunate setting, but she was often sad and a very serious child—she even considered becoming a Buddhist nun. She was fascinated by the English language and was initially introduced to the Gospel at a missionary school. Soon after, though she was inclined to disbelieve, the message of Jesus Christ struck Sujuan’s heart and she became a Christian.Sujuan grew in love and faith, and upon graduation decided to return home to bring her family to Christ. In all, 55 members of her family eventually followed the Lord.Later in life, Sujuan contracted malaria and spent much of the rest of her life bedridden. But her ministry only grew! From her bedside, Sujuan was able to comfort lost and broken souls more effectively than she ever had before.After many decades of faithful service to the Lord, never losing her love for her homeland, Sujuan went to be with Jesus on August 25th, 1984.

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.

Charles Sheldon

Shelly Beach

SHELLY BEACH has invested her life in the field of communication as an educator, administrator, writer, and writing consultant for the past thirty years. Her writing has been published in both the secular and religious markets in a wide variety of genres including poetry, short stories, feature articles, and interviews. Shelly speaks at writers’ conference, seminars, retreats, schools, and women’s conferences through the Midwest. In the editorial field, Shelly has also served as managing editor of specialty Bibles for Zondervan and was a contributing feature writer for the Stewardship Bible (Crossway Books).Shelly is a graduate of Oakland University and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. She and her husband Dan reside in Rockford, Michigan, where they attend Blythefield Hills Church. They have two adult children who reside in Iowa and Washington State.

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10.15.2021

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04.01.2024