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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.
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JON BLOOM serves as cofounder and teacher at Desiring God. He has authored and contributed to numerous books, as well as hundreds of articles, all of which can be accessed at www.desiringgod.org. Jon and his wife, Pam, have five children and three grandchildren and make their home in the Twin Cities.
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RYAN LISTER is a professor of theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of The Presence of God: Its Place in the Story of Scripture and the Story of Our Lives and serves as Director of Doctrine & Discipleship for Humble Beast, where he helped start the Canvas Conference. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Chase, and their four children.
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VERMON PIERRE (BA, Princeton University; MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the lead pastor at Roosevelt Community Church, a diverse multiethnic congregation in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. He is the author of Gospel Shaped Living and a contributor to The New City Catechism Devotional, 15 Things Seminary Couldn't Teach Me, and Revisiting 'Faithful Presence': To Change the World Five Years Later. He and his wife, Dennae, live in downtown Phoenix and have five children.
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REV. RAY WOOLRIDGE (M.Div., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Master of Strategic Studies, U.S. Army War College) is the Executive Director of Life Model Works. He is thrilled to serve in a role that combines his pastoral and leadership experience with his calling, giftings, and walk with God. Ray is a skilled public communicator and a leadership coach who enjoys helping leaders discover their uniqueness and unleash their potential. He is a retired U.S. Army Brigadier General with forty-three years of military and civilian service with the Department of Defense.Ray has been blessed by thirty-five years of marriage to the love of his life, Deborah. They enjoy life in Colorado and their five children and four grandchildren. A disabled veteran, he is a malignant melanoma cancer survivor, avid skier, coffee aficionado, and mentor to young leaders.
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JOHN FONVILLE serves as the Rector (Pastor in charge of a self-supporting parish) and is the Founder and Church Planter of Paramount Church in Jacksonville, FL. He is an ordained presbyter in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and serves in the Gulf Atlantic Diocese (GAD). John is from Charlotte, North Carolina. He graduated from Gardner-Webb University (B.A.) and then earned his Master of Divinity at The Master's Seminary, and later earned his Doctor of Ministry at Ligonier Academy. John can be heard daily on his radio program, Him We Proclaim, as well as the Him We Proclaim Podcast. John and his wife, Kathryn, have six children and two dogs ("Binky", a Cavapoo and a real dog, "Laker", a Vizsla).
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CATHERINE PARKS is the author of several books, including two middle grade biography collections, Strong and Empowered. She also serves as an acquisitions editor for Moody Publishers. Catherine and her husband, Erik, live outside of Nashville, TN, with their children, Sophie and Micah. In her free time, she loves hiking, playing volleyball, and serving on her church's worship team.
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REBECCA MCLAUGHLIN holds a PhD in Renaissance Literature from Cambridge University and a theology degree from Oak Hill College in London. Her first book, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion, was named book of the year by Christianity Today. Her subsequent books include Exploring the Earliest Gospel, The Secular Creed: Engaging 5 Contemporary Claims, 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity, and Is Christmas Unbelievable?: Four Questions Everyone Should Ask about the World’s Most Famous Story. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband, three children, and church family.
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DR. NATALIE FORD (B.A., Mercer University; M.A., Reformed Theological Seminary; Ph.D., Liberty University) is a licensed professional counselor at Northeast Georgia Christian Counseling and is also the International Member Care Coordinator at Helen First Baptist Church. Previously she taught at the Leonhard Schiemer School of Psychology and Biblical Counseling at Truett McConnell University, was the director of Catalyst Christian Learning Center, and a missionary with the North American Mission Board. She wrote Seeking Answers, Finding Peace: Loving and Losing Someone with Mental Illness. She lives in the North Georgia Mountains with her husband, Jeff.
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SARAH J. HAUSER is a writer and speaker living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and four kids. She shares biblical truth to nourish the soul—and the occasional recipe to nourish the body. She loves cooking but rarely follows a recipe exactly, and you can almost always find her with a cup of coffee in hand. Sarah completed her BA and MA at Wheaton College. She's a member of the Redbud Writers Guild and has written for Coffee + Crumbs, Risen Motherhood, The Rabbit Room, The Gospel Coalition, (in)courage, and more. Find her at sarahjhauser.com, on Instagram (@sarah.j.hauser), or check out her monthly newsletter at sarahjhauser.com/subscribe.com.
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ADAM GRIFFIN (DEdMin, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the lead pastor of Eastside Community Church in Dallas, Texas. He is the coauthor of Family Discipleship with Matt Chandler. He previously served as an elder and spiritual formation pastor at the Village Church. Adam lives in Dallas with his wife Chelsea, and their three sons Oscar, Gus, and Theodore.
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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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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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DAVID KING has been in pastoral ministry for over 20 years, serving as senior pastor at Concord Baptist in Chattanooga, TN since 2001. He has degrees from Carson-Newman College, Beeson Divinity School, and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Natalie, have three children, Casey, Ethan, and Amelia. He enjoys reading, running, and spending time with his family.
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SHAI LINNE is a recording artist who has released numerous acclaimed Christian hip-hop albums, including The Atonement and The Attributes of God. After completing a pastoral internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and serving as an elder at Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA, Shai co-founded Risen Christ Fellowship, an inner-city church in his hometown of Philadelphia, PA. Previously, Shai wrote God Made Me and You and co-authored It Was Good: Making Music to the Glory of God. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife Blair and their three children, Sage, Maya, and Ezra.
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JESSICA THOMPSON is an author of several books including Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Christ and frequent conference speaker. She is part of the podcast Front Porch with the Fitzes, and is the director of church life at RISEN Church in San Diego, California.
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