Emma Moody Powell

EMMA MOODY POWELL was born in Northfield, Massachusetts on December 16, 1895. She was the daughter of A.P. Fitt (who was an author and the personal secretary of D.L. Moody) and Emma Moody Fitt (D.L. Moody’s only daughter). She grew up in Massachusetts, and at the age of twenty-one she married Edward Merriam Powell. Emma Moody Powell is best known for the biography she wrote on the life of her grandmother Emma Charlotte Revell, the wife of D.L. Moody.

Einar Anderson

E. M. Bounds

EDWARD MCKENDREE BOUNDS (1835-1913) was born in Missouri. He studied deeply in the Scriptures and was greatly inspired by the writings of John Wesley. At the age of 24, he felt called to be a preacher and became a Methodist Pastor around the time of the American Civil War. At the age of 58, and for the next nineteen years (until he went home to be with the Lord at age 77), he began to write books. It is said that he prayed daily, from 4 A.M. to 7 A.M., before he would begin work on his writings. Bounds is author of many books, including Purpose in Prayer, The Weapon of Prayer, and The Reality of Prayer.

Diane Elliot

DIANE LYNN ELLIOT is an author, professional photographer and business administrator. With a heart for people and a passion for ministry she has worked and volunteered with children, teens, women, and short-term missions and relief projects. Diane's interest in the global orphan crisis started many years ago with a trip to a hospital for terminally ill children in Siberia, and later to an orphanage in Mexico. Seeing a small snapshot of the great need started her journey and fueled her passion for the orphaned child. For the research of the book Diane also traveled to Peru and Haiti which continued to expand your vision and passion for orphaned children. Diane has a BA in Communication from Trinity International University and an M.B.A. in Global Management from the University of Phoenix. Professionally she has co-written two youth management books, and has spent many years as a freelance meeting and events planner and business manager in both not-for-profit and corporate settings. Diane, her husband David, along with their trained Alaskan Klee Kai therapy dog named Kody, live in Wauconda, Illinois and attend Willow Creek Community Church.

Derek J. Prime

DEREK PRIME was born and brought up in London, where he received his secondary education at Westminster City School. National Service immediately followed for eighteen months, during which time he was attached as an army teacher to the Royal Scots Greys in Germany. Upon demobilisation he went to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he studied history and then theology. For the next three years he taught at a London Grammar School, prior to his ordination to become pastor of Lansdowne Evangelical Free Church in West Norwood in south London. After twelve years at Lansdowne he was called to Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh where he was pastor for eighteen years. He then devoted himself to writing and an itinerant ministry. During this time, sadly, within a few years of one another, both his younger daughter and his wife died of cancer. However, he was greatly blessed in having his other daughter and older son in Edinburgh and second son in London, giving him the joy of eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, an ever-growing family!

Deborah Alcock

DEBORAH ALCOCK (1835-1913) is best known as the author of historical fiction on religious themes. She was born in Ireland, where her father, the Venerable John Alcock, became Archdeacon of Waterford. She lived with her father, writing a memoir of him on his death, and stayed unmarried for her entire life. Her work The Spanish Brothers, published in 1870, was set in the 16th century and was a tale of Protestant martyrdom. Other works include The Czar (1882), set during the French invasion of Russia; Archie's Chances (1886); and Prisoners of Hope (1894). A biography of her life, The Author of Spanish Brothers, was written by Elisabeth Boyd Bayley.

David C. Thompson M.D.

DAVID THOMPSON was born in the U.S. but grew up in Cambodia where his parents worked for 16 years. When he was 14 he and his father tried unsuccessfully to save a Cambodian man who was seriously injured when a truck and a bus collided. God used the incident to plant in David's young heart a desire to become a doctor and help people who had limited access to healthcare. David graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1973 with a M.D. degree and eventually completed five years of residency in general surgery in southern California. In 1977 he and his wife Rebecca moved to Gabon, Africa and for the next 34 years built a 150-bed full-service hospital to provide medical services to Gabon's least served provinces. In 1966, Dr. Thompson helped establish the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), an organization that trains African surgeons at Christian hospitals throughout the continent. Since 2014, Dr. Thompson has been working as a volunteer to train Egyptian surgeons at Harpur Memorial Hospital.

David Brickner

DAVID BRICKNER, Executive Director of Jews for Jesus, heads up the largest Jewish evangelistic mission in the world. He is a fifth generation Jewish believer in Jesus and it was through the ministry of Jews for Jesus that David rededicated his life to the Lord. Brickner is a popular church and conference speaker and has authored Christ in the Feast of Pentacost and Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles with Moody Publishers as well as Future Hope: A Jewish Christian Look at the End of the World with Purple Pomegranate. He also writes a monthly online column, Jews for Jesus Real Time and has appeared on Larry King Live. Brickner resides with his wife, Patti, in San Francisco, California.

Colin S. Smith

COLIN SMITH serves as senior pastor of The Orchard with six campuses across Chicagoland. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Colin received his Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Master of Philosophy from the London School of Theology. Colin is the author of several books including The Ten Greatest Struggles of Your Life. He can be heard daily on the Open the Bible radio broadcast and at openthebible.org and openthebible.org.uk. Colin and his wife, Karen, have two sons and five granddaughters.

Cindy Easley

CINDY EASLEY was born in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and Social Rehabilitation. Author of What's Submission Got to Do with It?, Cindy is a nationally known speaker with the Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference. Cindy and her husband, Michael, former President of Moody Bible Institute and Teaching Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Nashville, Tennessee, have three daughters and one son.

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.

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.

Carrie E Gruhn

CARRIE E. GRUHN was born Carrie E. Meyers on April 3, 1907 in Clarinda, Iowa. After completing high school, she attended Iowa State Teacher’s College for a year. She married a printer named Stanley Gruhn on May 18, 1929 at the age of twenty-two. Later the family moved to Ogle County, Illinois with their two boys. She is best known as the author of several books including An Unwanted Legacy (1953), Happy is the Man (1963), and The Lost City (1969).

Carolyn Nystrom

CAROLYN NYSTROM received her BA and MA from Wheaton College and is the author of more than 80 books, about half of which are written for children. She co-authored Guard Us, Guide Us: Divine Leading in Life's Decisions and Praying: Finding Our Way through Duty to Delight with theologian J.I. Packer, and Before I Was Born (God’s Design for Sex) with Sandra Speidel. Carolyn lives in the Chicago area with her husband and they have four grown children.