Lois Walfrid Johnson

LOIS WALFRID JOHNSON is a speaker, teacher of writing, and former instructor for Writer's Digest School. She is the author of 38 books, including Girl Talk, the Gold Medallion Book Award winning Let's-Talk-About-It Stories for Kids series, the bestselling Adventures of the Northwoods mysteries, and the much-loved Riverboat Adventures. In her exciting Viking Quest series Lois' characters travel from Ireland to Norway, Iceland, and Greenland, then sail with Leif Erickson to what is now America. Lois' husband, Roy, is a gifted teacher and idea person for her writing. They enjoy time with their family, friends, and readers who have written from more than 40 countries to say, "I love your books. I can't put them down."

Laura Dingman

LAURA DINGMAN spends most of her time creating and leading worship experiences that help connect people with the story of God. She has served in vocational ministry as the Creative Arts Director at The Creek, a large church in Indianapolis, for over a decade. She loves to show people where their story intersects with God's story. She enjoys belting Broadway, laughing hysterically, reading great books, and living life with her favorite two people in the whole world, her husband, Matt, and her spunky daughter, Abigail. She is the author of Life Rhythms: Learning to Live in God-Centered Time and I Am Found: Quitting the Game of Hide and Seek with God, Ourselves, and Others. You can learn more about her journey and connect with her at www.lauradingman.com.

Stephan Bauman

STEPHAN BAUMAN is the President and CEO of World Relief, an international relief and development organization partnering with the global Church to serve more than five million vulnerable people each year. World Relief is also the founder and convener of The Justice Conference. Stephan's pursuit of justice led him to transition from a successful career in the Fortune 100 sector to Africa where he directed relief and development programs for nearly a decade before returning to the United States to lead World Relief's global operations. He holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University, Wheaton College, and the University of Wisconsin. He is a poet, an author, an ordained minister and a strategist. He considers his African friends his most important teachers, and his wife, Belinda, his most important mentor. Stephan, Belinda, and their two sons, Joshua and Caleb, live near Washington, D.C.

Tim Downs

TIM DOWNS is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University in Graphic Design. After graduation in 1976 he created a comic strip, Downstown, which was syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate. His cartooning has appeared in more than a hundred newspapers worldwide. In 1979 he joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ, where he founded and directed the Communication Center, a communication training facility. He continues to serve as a speaker and writer. He and his wife, Joy, have spoken at FamilyLife Marriage and Parenting Conferences since 1985. He is author of First the Dead, Less Than Dead, Chop Shop, Head Game, Plague Maker, Shoo Fly Pie, and Finding Common Ground, which was awarded the Gold Medallion Award in 2000. He is also co-author of Fight Fair and The Seven Conflicts: Resolving the Most Common Disagreements in Marriage along with his wife Joy. Tim lives in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife and three children.

Robert Wolgemuth

ROBERT WOLGEMUTH grew up in a Swiss-German home where truth-telling was a big deal. Even exaggerations were verboten. Writing a book denouncing lies spoken and believed makes perfect sense. He is the bestselling author of over twenty books, including She Calls Me Daddy, The Most Important Place on Earth, Like the Shepherd, Gun Lap, Finish Line, and You Can Trust God to Write Your Story, cowritten with his wife, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, founder of Revive Our Hearts. Robert is the General Editor of the Men’s Daily Bible. He is a 1969 graduate of Taylor University, where he received an honorary doctorate in May 2005. Dr. Wolgemuth has two grown daughters, two sons-in-law, one grandson-in-law, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren named Ezra and Ruby. Robert is a dogguy, but doesn’t currently own one.

Karl Vaters

Mark Jones

MARK JONES (PhD, Leiden Universiteit) is the Senior Minister at Faith Vancouver Presbyterian Church (PCA). He is the author and editor of many books and speaks all over the world on topics related to the Christian life.

Renaut van der Riet

RENAUT VAN DER RIET loves to go zip-lining with his eight kids through the adventure course they built together. He walks quickly. He talks with his hands and arms. And if you find him at home, you're likely to see him tilling soil because Brooke, his wife of 25 years, loves gardening. In 2002, Renault founded Mosaic Church in Winter Garden, FL. It has become a nationwide pacemaker for fostering and adoption and a model for trauma care. He is also the founder of Axum Coffee Company, named after the Ethiopian city from which he and Brooke adopted four of their children. Renault is developing The ReStory, a project aimed at providing Gospel clarity to followers of Christ and inviting them to consider how their lives might be different if they dared to believe Galatians 5:1: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."

Walker Hayes

WALKER HAYES is a Grammy nominated singer/songwriter originally from Mobile, Alabama, signed to Monument Records. Throughout his career, he has released multi-Platinum singles "Fancy Like" and "You Broke Up With Me," performed on national television with Good Morning America, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The TODAY Show, and has been written about in the LA Times, Esquire, Billboard and Rolling Stone. His single "Craig" -- a song about a neighbor who reached out to Hayes in a time of need -- was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2018 AIMP Nashville Awards and prompted Hayes to start the Be a Craig Fund to help other families during their own times of need. A new version of the track featuring MercyMe is on Hayes' forthcoming album Country Stuff the Album. The song inspired this book.

Becky Wilson

BECKY WILSON has nearly twenty years experience in Christian publishing, having served in the retail division of Lifeway Christian Resources. She has served many years as a pastor's wife and is currently a homemaker.

D. J. Marotta

D. J. MAROTTA is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America and the founding Rector of Redeemer Anglican Church in Richmond, Virginia. His wife is gracious and his children are clever.

Margaret M. Sandberg

MARGARET M. SANDBERG was a homemaker and a freelance writer. She served as a stenographer for four years and majored in Bible at Multnomah School of the Bible in Tacoma, Washington.

Michael Gerson

MICHAEL GERSON (1964–2022), former policy advisor and chief speechwriter to President George W. Bush, wrote a nationally syndicated column that appeared in the Washington Post. He was the author of Heroic Conservatism.

Crystal Renaud

CRYSTAL RENAUD DAY is a pastoral counselor, certified coach, author, and speaker with over a decade of experience working with women, couples, and teen girls. She holds a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling: Life Coaching from Liberty University and eight certifications in counseling and coaching specialties from the American Association of Christian Counselors. Crystal owns and operates Living on Purpose Coaching & Pastoral Counseling and is the founding director of Dirty Girls Ministries, a non-profit organization helping women overcome porn and sexual addiction. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, ABC News, CNN, Christianity Today, The 700 Club, Outreach Magazine, and more. Her books include Dirty Girls Come Clean, 90 Days to Wholeness, and Dating Done Right (releasing December 2019). Crystal resides in the Kansas City area with her husband Tim.

Kate McCord

KATE MCCORD worked in Afghanistan for nine years after the fall of the Taliban. During her years in country, she worked as a humanitarian aid worker, delivering projects to benefit the people of Afghanistan. She also learned the local language and developed deep and lasting friendships with local Afghans. After evacuating from her home in Afghanistan, Ms. McCord transitioned into a mentoring, training, consulting and coaching role to other workers serving in the region. Prior to moving to Afghanistan, Ms. McCord worked in the international corporate community as a business process and strategy consultant.Currently, she serves Christ through writing, speaking, mentoring, and conducting workshops and seminars. She is the author of In the Land of Blue Burqas and Farewell Four Waters, both published by Moody Publishers.

Ramon Presson

RAMON PRESSON, PhD, a licensed marriage & family therapist, has been in practice for 30 years and is the founder of LifeChange Counseling and Marriage Center of Franklin. He is a newspaper columnist; and with a dozen books in print he is the most published practicing therapist in Tennessee. He is a charter member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. From 1989 to 2004 Presson served as an assistant pastor in large churches in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. Ramon has had the unique privilege to serve on staff with and later co-author several books with Dr. Gary Chapman. He is currently co-authoring the teen edition of When Will My Life Not Suck? Authentic Hope for the Disillusioned with his 17-year-old son, Cameron. Ramon and his wife, Dorne, have been married for 28 years, have two sons, and live outside Nashville. He can be reached at ramonpresson@gmail.com.