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RON ZAPPIA is the pastor and founder of Highpoint Church, a multi-site church reaching thousands in the western suburbs of Chicago. His teaching ministry, Highpoint Ministries provides comprehensive teaching from God's Word through radio broadcasts that air on over 400 stations around the United States. A graduate of Bowling Green State University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Ron and his wife Jody live in Wheaton, IL with their three daughters: Allie, Erin, and Emily.
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CANDY MCVICAR is an author, educator, speaker, and devoted advocate for parents who experience the loss of a baby or child. After the stillbirth of her daughter Grace in 2001, she committed to enhance the care bereaved families receive while in the hospital, to facilitate healing holistically, and to optimize outcomes for subsequent pregnancies. Candy is the founder of the Missing GRACE Foundation, a national nonprofit that provides support, resources, and education for families and professional care providers when there is loss of a baby, infertility, or adoption challenges. Find out more about Candy at www.candymcvicar.com.
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JEN BARRICK is an inspirational speaker who travels all over the country, with her mother Linda, sharing their miraculous story of faith, hope, and forgiveness. She suffered a traumatic brain injury over a decade ago when her family's van was struck head-on by a drunk driver going 80 miles per hour. Even though Jen still suffers from vision impairment and memory loss, she knows there is no limit to what God can accomplish through her life. She completed a diploma from the Institute of Biblical Studies at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Connect with Jen and Linda at hopeoutloud.com.
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RON L. DEAL is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, Director of FamilyLife Blended® for Family Life®, the author of numerous videos and books on stepfamily living including the bestselling The Smart Stepfamily, and is consulting editor for the Smart Stepfamily Series of books. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist, popular speaker, and host of the podcast FamilyLife Blended. He and his wife, Nan, have three sons and live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Find events and resources at RonDeal.org.
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KORI DE LEON is the founder of Adoring Christ Ministries, a teaching ministry devoted to reaching women through the local church, online resources, books, and speaking engagements. She graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological seminary with a master of arts in theology. Kori lives in Houston with her husband Bobby and daughter Jade. To find out more about her testimony and ministry, please visit www.adoringchrist.org.
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JEFF HAANEN (B.A., Valparaiso University; M.Div., Denver Seminary) is the Founder and Executive Director of Denver Institute for Faith & Work, an educational nonprofit that explores issues of faith, work, calling and culture. Jeff is a regular contributor to Christianity Today and has written numerous articles on finance, character, work, and calling. He is a nationally recognized voice on the intersection between faith and work.
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MIKE AND KRISTIN BERRY have been married for more than twenty years and are the parents of eight adopted children. In 2015 they launched the blog website Confessions of an Adoptive Parent. Their mission is simple - to offer hope to adoptive, foster, and special needs parents who feel weary, overwhelmed and frustrated, and to let them know they're not alone. They recently co-wrote the book, The Adoptive Parent Toolbox and travel extensively speaking at churches, camps, and conferences.
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BRIAN SANDERS is the founder of the Underground Network, an international coalition of churches united by the prophetic call to love the poor, reach the lost, and seek biblical justice. The Underground is a new form of church designed and empowered for mission. A serial entrepreneur, Brian has helped to start hundreds of missional enterprises, including churches, non-profits, and businesses all over the world. He holds a degree in communication from the University of Florida, a Masters Degree in Religious Studies from the University of South Florida, and a Masters Degree in Applied Theology from Spurgeon's College. Brian has lived in intentional community in the inner city for more than twenty years, embodying the ideas that drive him. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife Monica and their six children.
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CYNTHIA CAVANAUGH is an author, speaker, and leadership influencer. Her story of brokenness has propelled her to write, teach, and help others redeem their pain and heal through the pages of God's Word. She is an award-winning author of several books, and the upcoming Bible study The Godly Kings of Judah: Faithful Living for Lasting Infuence, an 8-week study about how to leave a legacy that endures (2022). Cynthia holds her MA in Leadership from Trinity Western University, where she is an adjunct professor in the Leadership degree program for international students. In addition to writing, coaching, and teaching, she is a freelance editor for new authors and is the host of the podcast, The Soul Anchor. Cynthia and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest where they enjoy bicycling and spending time with their grandkids. Connect with Cynthia at: www.cynthiacavanaugh.com.
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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.
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DAN PATERSON is a Christian thinker and the founder of Questioning Christianity, a ministry connecting the Christian story to life's deepest questions. With a personal background of wrestling through the problem of evil, he has earned several university qualifications in Theology and Apologetics in Australia and Oxford, fueled by a passion to help others process their doubts and discover the relevance and reasonableness of faith in Jesus. Speaking regularly to audiences around Australia and beyond, Dan is based in Brisbane, where together with his wife, Erin, their favorite job is raising three boys.
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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."
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TED ESLER is the President of Missio Nexus, an association of agencies and churches representing about 30,000 Great Commission workers worldwide. He worked in the computer industry before becoming a church planter in Sarajevo, Bosnia, during the 1990's. Ted is the author of Overwhelming Minority, which tells the story of their family's ministry in Bosnia. In 2000, Ted became the Canadian director of Pioneers, and three years later moved to Orlando to join Pioneers USA's leadership team. He was appointed as President of Missio Nexus in 2015. Ted holds a PhD in Intercultural Studies (Fuller Theological Seminary, 2012).
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NICHOLAS SKYTLAND is co-founder of Quite Uncommon, a technology firm that helps organizations build, test, and launch new and innovative ideas. He is also the Deputy Chief of the Exploration Technology Office at NASA. His technical and leadership experience has helped him build high-performing teams and pioneer new ways of doing business in both government and industry for over two decades. He has trained astronauts, designed next-generation spacesuits, developed open-source technology, led missional movements, and created some of the largest purpose-driven collaborations in history. Outside of work he is an experienced diver and avid triathlete, having completed more than twenty Ironman races. He lives in Houston with his wife and three kids, and serves as an elder at Clear Creek Community Church.
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JIMMY DODD (B.A. Wheaton College; M.Div., Gordon-Conwell Seminary) is the founder and CEO of PastorServe. This organization works across denominational lines to strengthen the church by serving pastors. He is the author of Survive or Thrive, 6 Relationships Every Pastor Needs, and Pastors Are People Too, co-authored with Larry Magnuson. Jimmy and his wife Sally have five children and three grandchildren. He enjoys reading, taking walks with his wife Sally and dog Finn, and cheering on his beloved Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS.
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MEGAN B. BROWN is a seasoned military spouse, mother of four, and military missionary. She is the Founder and Executive Director of MilSpo Co., a military nonprofit focused on the intentional discipleship of today's military community. Throughout Megan's journey as a military missionary, her ministry has been recognized with the Air Force Lifetime Volunteer Excellence Award and has earned her the 2016 Armed Forces Insurance Keesler Air Force Base Military Spouse of the Year Award. Her mission is to recruit, raise up, and release military-connected women to live on mission for Jesus. She lives in South Mississippi with her husband, M. Sgt. Keith Brown, and their four energetic kiddos.
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