Freda McKissic Bush, MD

FREDA MCKISSIC BUSH, M.D., is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and a partner in private practice with East Lakeland OB-GYN Associates in Jackson, Mississippi. She currently serves as Medical Director of the Center for Pregnancy Choices Metro Jackson and the Henry M. Johnson Women's Resource Crisis Pregnancy Center. Freda spends much of her time speaking on sexuality and social behavior education. Her passion is to help women "raise a standard" to become who they were created to be. To that end, she teaches and encourages a lifestyle of abstinence until marriage and fidelity within marriage. She co-authored her first book, Hooked, with Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney, in 2008.

Joseph M. Stowell

DR. JOSEPH M. STOWELL has a distinguished career in higher education and church leadership. He has served as President of Moody Bible Institute and Cornerstone University and has had the honor of pastoring several churches in the Midwest. An internationally recognized conference speaker, Joe has written devotionals for Our Daily Bread and authored several books, including Strength for the Journey, The Trouble with Jesus, Simply Jesus, and Redefining Leadership: Character-Driven Habits of Effective Leaders. He and his wife, Martie, enjoy the pleasure of three children and ten grandchildren.

Gary J. Bredfeldt

GARY J. BREDFELDT (M.A., Denver Seminary; Ph.D., Trinity International University) has been married to Marlene for nearly forty years and is the father of four adult children: Lynne, Stephen, Michael, and Amy. He is a resident of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where he serves as Vice President for Global Impact at Lancaster Bible College. Gary has also served as an administrator and faculty member at four prominent theological institutions: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Wake Forest, NC), Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), Moody Bible Institute (Chicago, IL) and Tyndale College and Seminary (Toronto, ON). He is the author of four books, three of those with Moody Publishers: Great Leader, Great Teacher; Caring for Souls: Counseling Under the Authority of Scripture, and Creative Bible Teaching.

Crawford W. Loritts Jr.

DR. CRAWFORD LORITTS' ministry has given him the opportunity to travel throughout the United States and much of the world, speaking in churches, evangelistic outreaches, conferences, colleges, and seminaries. He has been a church planter, served for over twenty-seven years on the staff of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) and for over fifteen years as Senior Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Georgia. He is the author of nine books including Your Marriage Today...and Tomorrow, co-authored with his wife, Karen; and the host of two national radio programs, Living a Legacy and Legacy Moments. As President and Founder of Beyond Our Generation.com, Crawford is committed to encouraging, mentoring, and helping to shape the next generation of Christian leaders.

Gleason L Archer Jr.

GLEASON L. ARCHER, JR. (1916-2004), (B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Harvard University; B.D., Princeton Theological Seminary; L.L.B., Suffolk Law School) was a biblical scholar, theologian, educator, and author. He authored numerous books, including In the Shadow of the Cross, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Study Manual, and Survey of Old Testament Introduction. His instrumental work in the preparation of the Old Testament portion of the New American Standard Bible has gained wide acclaim and positioned him as a world-renowned scholar.

Kenneth N. Taylor

KENNETH N. TAYLOR was the founder of Tyndale House Publishers and the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA). With 10 children and more than 25 grandchildren, he had ample experience in teaching children about the Bible. Kenneth is the author of The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes, Devotions for the Childrens House, and Big Thoughts for Little People, as well as the best-selling Living Bible paraphrase. His desire was to see more and more easy-to-read, understandable, contemporary versions of the Bible in hundreds of languages overseas.

Jerry Vines

DR. JERRY VINES (B.A., Mercer University; Th.D., Luther Rice Seminary; PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) retired as pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida in 2006, where he served for 40 years. He served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Jerry is author of a number of books including Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons, and A Practical Guide to Sermon Preparation. He and his wife, Janet, have four adult children and five grandchildren.

Suzy Weibel

SUZY WEIBEL is a graduate of Wheaton College and Northern Kentucky University. She spent six years as a middle school English teacher, two teaching high school English and logic, and five as a Director of Christian Education, yet she has found the past six years as a speaker and worship leader with Pure Freedom, a national sexual purity ministry for teens, to be her most fulfilling work. Suzy is author of Secret Diary Unlocked: My Struggle to Like Me and co-author of T is for Antonia and Crossroads: The Teenage Girl's Guide to Emotional Wounds. She lives with her husband, Jonathan, and their two daughters.

Edward G. Shaw

EDWARD G. SHAW, MD, MA, is dually trained as a physician and a mental health counselor. He is the primary care partner for his wife, Rebecca, who was diagnosed with eary-onset Alzheimer's disease at age 54. He was a practicing radiation oncologist for 23 years. In 2010, inspired by Rebecca's journey, his medical interest shifted to dementia diagnosis and treatment, and with his additional training in mental health counseling, he founded the Memory Counseling Program that is now part of Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His moving personal story of caring for his wife, coupled with his innovative use of the five love languages in dementia counseling, inspired the central message of Keeping Love Alive as Memories Fade.

Dr Issam Smeir

DR. ISSAM SMEIR is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who specializes in trauma treatment for refugees, victims of torture, and severely abused and neglected children. He holds a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College and a Doctoral Degree in Counseling and Clinical Supervision from Northern Illinois University, and has done post doctorate training in trauma and refugee issues at Harvard University. He has worked for World Relief since 2001, serving refugees and other immigrants from dozens of countries of origin. Prior to joining World Relief, Issam worked with several missions and relief organizations. Originally from the country of Jordan, Issam now lives in Suburban Chicago with his wife and four sons.

Charles Sell

John Smed

JOHN 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.

Chris Swain

CHRISTOPHER 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.