Gladys Aylward

GLADYS AYLWARD (1902-1970) served as a missionary to China for many years. She partnered with an older missionary to run an inn where they entertained guests with Bible stories. Gladys also began an orphanage that cared for hundreds of children. While in England on furlough, she frequently stayed at the home of Christine Hunter, who wrote down the stories Gladys told. Her life was also told in a 1958 Hollywood film, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, a somewhat fictional account that Gladys disliked. She viewed her book with Christine Hunter as the authorized account of her life.

James Ingles

Thabiti Anyabwile

THABITI ANYABWILE is the full-time husband to a loving wife, Kristie, and father to three adorable children. He currently serves as a pastor of Anacostia River Church in Washington, D.C. Previously he served as senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and as an assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Thabiti holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in psychology from North Carolina State University. A former high school basketball coach and bookstore owner, Thabiti loves reading, sports, and watching sci-fi films. He is the author of Reviving the Black Church, The Decline of African-American Theology, What Is a Healthy Church Member?, and The Faithful Preacher.

A. W. Tozer

A. W. TOZER began his lifelong pursuit of God at the age of seventeen after hearing a street preacher. He never attended high school or seminary—his spiritual understanding came from the power of the Word and the power of the Spirit. While serving as a pastor and magazine editor, he wrote prolifically about basic spiritual disciplines and their relationship to contemporary life. His powerful use of words continues to grip the intellect and stir the soul of today's reader.

James L. Snyder

JAMES L. SNYDER is the pastor of the Family of God Fellowship in Ocala, FL, a Christian and Missionary Alliance church. He is recognized as an authority on the life and ministry of A. W. Tozer, and has written a number of books as well as numerous essays in Christian periodicals about Tozer. Snyder has a weekly radio ministry and writes a nationally syndicated newspaper column: "Out to Pastor." In Pursuit of God: The Life of A. W. Tozer, Snyder's first book, won the Reader's Choice Award in 1992 by Christianity Today. He has authored and edited 27 books. Through more than 40 years of ministry, he and his wife, Martha, have been involved in three church-planting projects prior to their current ministry. They have three children and nine grandchildren.

Michelle Lynn Senters

MICHELLE LYNN SENTERS (B.A. Education; M.Ed. Integrated Teaching Through the Arts) raised two daughters on her own and experienced many issues common to single mothers: financial crisis, emotional trauma in children, pursuit of education, isolation from church, feelings of guilt/shame, consequences of fatherlessness, and the challenges of relationships and remarriage. Her message has been forged in her own journey as a single mom and has deepened through her years of mentoring single moms and launching ministries geared to them in the local church. She founded the Arise Ministry for Single Moms at her local church in Colorado Springs and this ministry is being considered by other area churches. She is a sought-after speaker at women's events, Bible studies, and writer's conferences.

Virginia Jacober

SARAH "VIRGINIA" JACOBER was born in Dayton, Ohio and accepted Jesus as her Savior at age eleven. The first time she heard a missionary speak, she knew this was what God wanted her do. After graduating from Nyack College, she married Edward G Jacober. They pastored a church while he attended Dallas Theological Seminary, and then were appointed by The Christian and Missionary Alliance to do evangelistic work in India. Their four children attended school in the Himalaya Mountains. Transferred to Bethlehem, Israel, they taught the Bible and visited Bedouin tents for fifteen years. Sarah’s husband died, but she continued working and speaking in churches. After retiring, she made fifteen short term mission trips to various countries around the world.More than forty of Sarah’s articles and poems, plus six books have been published. Sarah lives near family in North Carolina, has seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and continues to write for God’s glory.

Rita A. Schulte, LPC

RITA A. SCHULTE is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in the treatment of mental health disorders. In 2011, she created Heartline Radio, a broadcast show that addresses cutting-edge mental health issues and provides content to educate and equip listeners in how mental health affects our culture. Rita is frequent contributor to many publications and is the author of Shattered: Finding Hope and Healing through the Losses of Life; Imposter: Gain Confidence, Eradicate Shame and Become Who God Made You to Be, and Think This Not That: Rewiring Your Brain to Eliminate Toxic Thinking. She speaks around the country on mental health-related issues. She received her B.S. in psychology and her master's degree in counseling from Liberty University. Rita is no stranger to loss and suffering. In 2013, she lost her beloved husband to suicide and her world was decimated. She speaks candidly about this loss at her national workshops in the hope of helping others heal. Rita makes her home in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.

David Wiersbe

DAVID W. WIERSBE (Moody Bible Institute; North Park College; Northern Illinois University) has pastored four churches and currently serves at Calvary Evangelical Free Church of Spring Grove, Minnesota. He is the author or co-author of Ministering to the Mourning, Comforting the Bereaved, Making Sense of the Ministry, and Gone but Not Lost: Grieving the Death of a Child. He has also served as chaplain for a community fire/rescue unit and as facilitator of support groups for bereaved parents. David and his wife, Susan, have one son and reside in Caledonia, Minnesota.

Joshua Sherif

JOSHUA SHERIF was born in Egypt to a Muslim family and immigrated to the United States, where he later came to faith in Jesus. For the past decade, he has planted and pastored in Albany Park, Chicago, IL, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country. His congregation represents more than thirty nationalities, speaking twenty languages. Josh has enjoyed his years equipping and coaching other missionaries and pastors around the world. His story was featured in Love Costs Everything, a documentary produced by CIY and Voice of the Martyrs, concerning Christian persecution.

Patricia St. John

PATRICIA ST. JOHN (1919-1993) was a nurse, missionary and author. She earned a nursing degree at St. Thomas' Hospital in London in 1946. In the early 1950s she moved to Tangier, Morocco where she served as a missionary nurse for 27 years. Throughout her life, she travelled extensively in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, as the settings of her novels reflect. In 1977, she returned to England, where she cared for elderly relatives and ministered from her home to youths, single parents, and the elderly. Patricia authored numerous books, including Treasures of the Snow, The Tanglewoods' Secret, The Secret at Pheasant Cottage, and Star of Light.

John Bunyan

JOHN BUNYAN (1628-1688) was a Puritan preacher and writer in England. Bunyan had very little schooling. He followed his father in the tinker's trade, and served in the parliamentary army from 1644 to 1647. In 1655, Bunyan became a deacon and began preaching. He experienced marked success from the start and was the pastor of the Bedford church.Bunyan is the author of The Pilgrim's Progress which he wrote in 1676 while imprisoned for preaching without a license. His numerous other titles include Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and Holy War.

Mac Brunson

MAC BRUNSON (D.Min., M.Div., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida and also serves as Chancellor of Criswell College. Mac co-authored The New Guidebook for Pastors, and is the author of The God You've Been Searching For and The Miracle You’ve Been Searching For. A well-known speaker and experienced minister, Mac was appointed president of the Southern Baptist Convention Pastor’s Conference in 2003. He and his wife, Debbie, are the parents of three children.

David E Clarke, PhD

DAVID E. CLARKE, PH.D., is a Christian psychologist, speaker, and the author of fifteen books, including I Don't Want a Divorce, My Spouse Wants Out, and I Don't Love You Anymore. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and Western Conservative Baptist Seminary. He has been in private practice for more than thirty years, focusing on marriages in crisis. He and his blonde wife, Sandy, live in Tampa, Florida. They have four children and four grandchildren (so far; they have asked for more grandkids).