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ALICIA LLEWELLYN is co-founder of Quite Uncommon, a technology firm that helps organizations build, test, and launch new and innovative ideas. She is also a strategist and collaboration leader at NASA, currently directing the 1958 Coworking Space at the Johnson Space Center. She has more than two decades of cross-sector experience in growing effective teams and building engaged communities with resiliency and foresight--including for some of the largest hackathons in the world. Ali has served as a teacher, a team trainer, a youth pastor, and the Director of Ministries at Antioch Community Church in Houston, TX. This background in education, communication, and theology provides the clarity and articulation necessary to help organizations and communities take their mission to the next level.
Read MoreBARNABAS 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.
Read MoreJOHN MACARTHUR is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California; president of The Master's College and Seminary; and featured teacher for the Grace to You media ministry. Weekly telecasts and daily radio broadcasts of "Grace to You" are seen and heard by millions worldwide. John has also written several bestselling books, including The MacArthur Study Bible, The Gospel According to Jesus, The New Testament Commentary series, Twelve Ordinary Men, and The Truth War. He and his wife, Patricia, have four married children and fifteen grandchildren.
Read MoreCHARLES F. PFEIFFER (Moody Bible Institute; B.A., Temple University; B.D., Reformed Episcopal Theological Seminary; Th.M., Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary; Ph.D., Dropsie College) was professor of ancient literatures at Central Michigan University. He also studied at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute and New York University. He served on the faculties of Gordon Divinity School, King's College, Lancaster School of the Bible, and Moody Bible Institute. Dr. Pfeiffer, as author, co-author, or editor, participated in the production of many works including Hebrews for the Everyman’s Bible Commentary Series, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, and The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia.
Read MoreWHITNEY K. PIPKIN lives with her husband, three children, and a dog named Honeybun in Northern Virginia, where where she works as a journalist. She has worked as a journalist for over 13 years, with articles appearing in The Washington Post, National Geographic and NPR alongside her regular work at the Chesapeake Bay Journal. She also has written for Christian publications such as The Gospel Coalition, The ERLC and Gospel-Centered Discipleship and serves as the Written Content Coordinator for the ministry Women & Work. She loves studying the Bible with her local church and reading on Sunday afternoons while her kids play (quietly?) nearby. You can find her on social media @whitneykpipkin and sign up for her newsletter at whitneykpipkin.com.
Read MoreTHOMAS A’KEMPIS (1380-1471) was a Dutch priest, monk, and writer born in Kempen, Germany. He attended a school near Deventer in Holland. Thomas of Kempen, as he was known at school, was so impressed by his teachers that he decided to live his own life according to their ideals. When he was 19, he entered the monastery of Mount St. Agnes and spent the rest of his long life behind the walls of that monastery. Thomas wrote a number of sermons, letters, hymns, and lives of the saints. The most famous of his works, by far, is The Imitation of Christ, a charming instruction on how to love God. The Imitation of Christ has come to be, after the Bible, the most widely translated book in Christian literature.
Read MoreMATT MARKINS serves as the President and CEO of Awana, a global leader in child discipleship. As a researcher in child discipleship and children’s ministry, Matt has commissioned eleven research projects since 2013, including a study conducted by Barna Group called Children’s Ministry in a New Reality. He’s a board member at large for the National Association of Evangelicals and is the author or coauthor of four books, most notably The Faith of Our Children: Eight Timely Research Insights for Discipling the Next Generation and RESILIENT: Child Discipleship and the Fearless Future of the Church. He’s also the cofounder of the Child Discipleship Forum and D6 Conference. Matt and his wife, Katie, have been involved in children’s ministry for more than 25 years and spend their time in Nashville with their two sons. For more information go to www.ChildDiscipleship.com and www.Awana.org.
Read MoreRICK OSBORNE is a bestselling, award-winning author of both parenting and children’s books. One of Rick’s main goals is to create resources that help families develop loving relationships and peaceful, happy homes. Among the many children’s books he’s written and coauthored are, ‘The Legend of the Christmas Tree,’ ‘The Legend of the Christmas Stocking,’ and the ‘101 Questions Kids Ask About God’ series. These have sold millions of copies and have been translated into many languages. Rick has coauthored books with Dr. John Trent, Josh McDowell, Larry Burkett, and Dr. Gary Chapman. He helped write and produce the booklet ‘The Most Important Story Ever Told’ which has had over 50 million copies distributed around the world. Find out more by visiting www.rick-osborne.com.
Read MoreGLENN 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.
Read MoreAlbert Benjamin Simpson author, hymn writer, conference speaker, was an evangelist to the urban masses of New York City and a missionary statesman. Among his enduring achievements was the founding of The Christian and Missionary Alliance and what is now Nyack College.
Read MoreDR. FREDERICK HOWARD TAYLOR (1862-1946) was a British missionary to China and the son, James Hudson Taylor, the founder of China Inland Mission. He completed his diploma at the Royal London Hospital in 1888 Howard and his wife, Geraldine, wrote several books about his father’s ministry and their own experiences in China.
Read MoreTRACY SUMNER is a graduate of the University of Oregon. He is an editor and writer, with a background in newspaper sports writing. Tracy is the writer of seven books, including Karsten's Way -The Remarkable Story of Karsten Solheim, three of which have been Gold Medallion finalists. Tracy currently resides in Portland, Oregon.
Read MoreJODY ZAPPIA is the wife of Pastor Ron Zappia. After a successful career in corporate America she left to become fully engaged in ministry at HighPoint Church, leading the Women's Ministry for many years. Jody brings wisdom, humor, and much needed transparency into the conversation of marriage.
Read MoreROBERT BELL was the son of missionary Ethel Bell. At age 11, he experienced first-hand a life-threatening 20 days at sea and a test of his dependence on God—the story told in his book In Peril on the Sea.
Read MoreDR. ADAM DOOLEY serves as the senior pastor of Sunnyvale First Baptist Church on the northeast side of Dallas. He is a two-time graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he has also served as an adjunct professor. He is married to Heather, and they have three sons and one daughter.
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