Byron Paulus

BYRON PAULUS serve as Executive Director of Life Action Ministries, the largest organization in North America dedicated solely to the mission of revival. For more than four decades he has inspired thousands of believers to seek the Lord for widespread spiritual awakening through his writing, speaking, and leadership roles. Life Action Ministries focuses on igniting movements of authentic Christianity and is the parent organization of One Cry, Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and a variety of additional Life Action outreaches. The One Cry movement was birthed in Byron's heart, and he currently provides strategic leadership to this expanding initiative. The One Cry prayer summit, hosted by Moody Radio on the National Day of Prayer, has been used of God to lead others in praying for another great awakening in our nation. Byron and his wife Sue live in Niles, Michigan and have three children and twelve grandchildren. To learn more about his personal revival journey, visit www.OneCryBook.com.

Candy McVicar

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.

Carol Barnier

CAROL BARNIER is a humorist and speaker, frequent radio guest and author, Pastor's kid, Christian. . .and former atheist. These days she admits she takes her God, her faith and her theology very seriously, but herself. . .not so much. To every task she brings along her slightly irreverent humor, whether tackling the issues of being very ADHD, the discomfort at being asked to be the older woman in a Titus program (after all, Titus rhymes with phlebitis--proceed with caution), or how to love today's "woman at the well." But in her latest project--bringing tools and hope to the parents of prodigals, Carol rolls up her sleeves and shares ideas and stories from the heart and from her own journey. In every talk, every article, every interview and every book, it is her objective to not only inspire people, but to give them something they can take home and use immediately. She lives in Connecticut with her husband of 25 years and her three kids.

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.

Courtney Reissig

COURTNEY REISSIG is a writer and Bible teacher living in Little Rock, AR. She loves teaching the Bible, writing about the Bible, or talking about the Bible in any context she finds herself in. She and her husband are the proud parents of four sons, and together they serve at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, AR, where she is the Discipleship Content Director.

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 Goldmann

DAVID GOLDMANN (B.S., University of Wisconsin; M.Div., Columbia International University) is an ordained minister with 24 years of experience living in North Africa and making disciples. He spent eight years as a missions specialist with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, and is presently a missions consultant and recruiter for Frontiers. He is author of Islam and the Bible: Why Two Faiths Collide. In addition, he conducts the seminars entitled “Understanding and Reaching Muslims”. He and his wife, Mary Lou, are the parents of four married children and five grandchildren and reside in Dublin, Ohio.

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.

Dean Merrill

Dewey Wilson, PhD

DEWEY WILSON, Ph.D. is founder and CEO of Strong Marriages. He has contributed to Focus on the Family's book, The Best Advice on Parenting, with Jim Daly and has written books and workbooks for Strong Marriages, including Devoted and Doing Life Together.

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.