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CHRISTOPHER SWAIN is the Disciplemaking Pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church and the CEO of Replicate Ministries. After four years of service in the United States Marine Corps, Chris served in full-time ministry for two decades in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee leading ministries ranging from students to collegiate to spiritual formation. He also served as the Director of Student Ministry Publishing at Lifeway Christian Resources, serving the church in its mission of making disciples. Chris has been with Replicate Ministries and Long Hollow Baptist Church since 2016, with a heart to expand the Gospel through disciplemaking in the local church. Along with his wife, two children, and Boston Terrier, Chris resides in the Nashville, Tennessee area.
Read MoreDR. RICHARD R. DUNN (M.A., Ed.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the lead pastor at Fellowship Evangelical Free Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, where his responsibilities include directing a large student ministries program. He was formerly chair of educational ministries at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is a fifteen-year veteran of church, campus, and camping youth ministries. Dr. Dunn is the author of Shaping the Spiritual Life of Students and Can’t Fight the Feeling and the co-editor of Reaching a Generation for Christ. Dr. Dunn and his wife, Teresa, have two children and live in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Read MoreJOHN FUDER (PH.D., Biola University) is Director of Justice and Compassion Ministries of re:source global as well as a part time grad school and adjunct professor for Moody Bible Institute. In 1993, after 15 years of serving in urban ministry in California, Dr. Fuder brought his passion of equipping students for effective urban ministry to Chicago. As the Professor of Urban Studies at Moody Theological Seminary, Dr. Fuder taught ministry practitioners and students for 17 years. Dr. Fuder has authored many publications including A Heart for the Community, A Heart for the City, and Training Students for Urban Ministry. Dr. Fuder and his wife, Nellie, have three children and a granddaughter.
Read MoreLIANNA DAVIS is a student of the Word with a B.A. in Ministry to Women from Moody Bible Institute. She and her husband, Tyler, reside outside of Dallas, Texas and have two dear daughters, one who lives in heaven and one who lives on earth. More of her writing can be found at www.liannabdavis.com.
Read MoreMORGAN KRUEGER is a speaker and writer who found her voice connecting with women over the struggles of shame and the beauty of freedom in Christ. Passionate about the redemption found in following Jesus, Morgan aims to keep that at the center of all she does. On top of that, Morgan enjoys the significance of the mundane, including chasing around her one year old son and leading college students alongside her husband through their local church in Franklin, TN.
Read MoreHANNAH FARVER is a college student, writer, website blogger, speech and debate coach, and she has even been interviewed on ABC. She also embarked on a national conference tour for young women. Like most people her age she doesn’t know exactly what the future holds, but for now she is planning on a career in media—and more writing, of course. She lives outside Dallas, Texas.
Read MoreKYLE TENNANT is the Director of Student Ministries at the Village Church of Bartlett in Bartlett, IL. He is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Christian Formation and Ministry from Wheaton Graduate School. Kyle lives in Chicago's west suburbs, and enjoys reading, writing, preaching, eating, cooking, and good conversation.
Read MoreDEANNA CONRAD studied both education and special education at Indiana University in Bloomington. Now her classroom is right in her own house—where she homeschools her five energetic boys. Deanna also teaches at the local community college and in her local homeschool co-op. All of her writing is fully tested among the large audience of students she engages. Home remains in Bloomington where she enjoys her community of family and friends, and on occasion sleeping out under the stars.
Read MoreJERRY DUNN was a recognized authority on alcoholism and alcoholics. He had lectured extensively on this subject at special conferences for pastors, medical students, and doctors. Pastor Dunn was executive director of People's City Mission Home in Lincoln, Nebraska and also served as president of the International Union of Gospel Missions. Pastor Dunn is author of Alcoholics Victorious and God is for the Alcoholic. He passed away in August 2001.
Read MoreDR. HEATHER HOLLEMAN is an associate teaching professor at Penn State, speaker, and author. She designs advanced writing curriculum for the English department and loves helping students thrive professionally. She has written eight books, including the bestseller Seated With Christ: Living Freely in a Culture of Comparison; and an award-winning book on evangelism (co-written with her husband Ashley Holleman) called Sent: Living a Life that Invites Others to Jesus. Her forthcoming book The Six Conversations: Pathways to Connecting in an Age of Isolation and Incivility (Fall 2022) helps fight the loneliness epidemic by inviting readers to enjoy better conversations. Heather also serves with Faculty Commons in the professor and graduate student ministry of Cru. She has two daughters and three cats, and she blogs daily at www.heatherholleman.com. Her podcast is "The Verb with Heather Holleman." When she's not writing or teaching, Heather is growing a plum orchard, looking for turtles in the woods, or gathering with friends for dinner and a movie.
Read MoreCHRISTMAS CAROL KAUFMAN received her unique name in honor of her Christmas morning birth in 1901 in Elkhart, Indiana. She was raised in a Mennonite home and spent some time as a student at Goshen College. When she was 22, she married Norman Hostetler. However, tragedy struck when two months after their second anniversary, Norman was killed in an electrical accident. She worked in a sewing shop following the wake of her loss, but in 1928, her bishop recommended that she get away for a while and enroll as a Bible student at Hesston College. It was there that she met the man who would be her life partner—Nelson Kaufman. The two were married in 1929. Five years later they were commissioned by the Mennonite General Mission Board to start a mission church in Hannibal, Missouri. It was in their 22-year ministry in Missouri that she found the inspiration to write her many novels. In 1956, they returned to Elkhart where Kaufman wrote her last several books. She died in Elkhart on January 30, 1969.
Read MoreDR. W. L. SEAVER is an associate professor of statistics at the University of Tennessee. He holds a Ph.D. in Statistics, a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies. He is not only an author of more than thirty articles and four books but also a researcher and consultant whose expertise is in finding patterns in data and the Scriptures over time. He has developed discipleship ministries with athletes, students, faculty, and the local church. He and his wife, Barbara, have three grown children.
Read MoreDR. ERIK THOENNES (B.A., Central Connecticut State University, M.A., Wheaton College Graduate School, Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Professor and Chair of the Theology Department at Biola University and is a pastor at Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada, CA. He was voted Professor of the Year twice, and was awarded the Faculty Excellence Award by his colleagues at Biola University. He is the author of Life's Biggest Questions: What the Bible Says About the Things That Matter Most and Biblical and Theological Studies: A Student's Guide. Erik and his wife Donna have four children: Caroline, Paige, Samuel, and Isaac.
Read MoreDR. JOHN THORNTON is a CPA with a Ph.D. in Accounting from Washington State University. He is the L.P. and Bobbi Leung Chair of Accounting Ethics at Azusa Pacific University, a Christian university with over 10,000 students near Los Angeles, CA where he directs the School of Accounting. He is a nationally recognized author and speaker on accounting ethics and has served as Chair of the American Accounting Association's Public Interest Section. His scholarship has been published in several top academic journals, winning multiple best paper awards from the AAA. He is married to Alyssa with three sons, Joshua, Benjamin, and Jacob.
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