Gilbert Peterson

John Phillips

JOHN L. PHILLIPS is currently a Bible conference speaker through the Moody Bible Institute Extension Department. He was born in Great Britain, where he received much of his Bible teaching under the instruction of Stephen Olford. He spent two years in Israel during the last years of the Moody Bible Institute Correspondence School. He later served as director of the Emmaus Correspondence School. He is author of many books including 100 Sermon Outlines and Exploring Genesis.

John Smed

JOHN SMED is the founding director of Prayer Current, an organization that helps leaders make multiplying disciples through prayer and evangelism. Since 2000 John and his team have developed prayer training materials and conferences for church planters, pastors, and network teams in North America, Cuba, India, China, and Russia. His book 7 Days of Prayer with Jesus has been translated into ten languages. His conviction for prayer was born out of thirty years of experience in church planting and urban mission.John and his wife Caron have 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and live in Lake Country, British Columbia, Canada.

Cary Schmidt

CARY SCHMIDT (MMin, DMin) serves as the senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newington, Connecticut. He and his wife, Dana, have been blessed with three children, their spouses, and four grandchildren, and they have enjoyed over thirty years of marriage and ministry together. Cary is the author of more than a dozen books, and his passion is to point people to Jesus Christ through leading, teaching, and writing. You can connect with Cary at www.caryschmidt.com.

Bill Mowry

BILL MOWRY (M.A., Ohio State University) has a passion for creating ministry cultures where relational disciplemaking is the norm. Bill and wife Peggy serve on staff with The Navigators Church Ministries in Columbus, Ohio. Both are avid "yardeners" and Peggy is a certified Master Gardener. Bill and Peggy have two adult children, two special grandchildren, and a coon hound named Ginger. They live on "Above and Beyond Acres" where they want to create a little place of beauty in a fallen world where people can reflect on the goodness of God. Bill is a published author in culture building, evangelism, and disciplemaking. You can contact Bill at his website: www.alongsider.com.

Rita A. Schulte, LPC

RITA A. SCHULTE is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in the treatment of mental health disorders. In 2011, she created Heartline Radio, a broadcast show that addresses cutting-edge mental health issues and provides content to educate and equip listeners in how mental health affects our culture. Rita is frequent contributor to many publications and is the author of Shattered: Finding Hope and Healing through the Losses of Life; Imposter: Gain Confidence, Eradicate Shame and Become Who God Made You to Be, and Think This Not That: Rewiring Your Brain to Eliminate Toxic Thinking. She speaks around the country on mental health-related issues. She received her B.S. in psychology and her master's degree in counseling from Liberty University. Rita is no stranger to loss and suffering. In 2013, she lost her beloved husband to suicide and her world was decimated. She speaks candidly about this loss at her national workshops in the hope of helping others heal. Rita makes her home in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Eric Demeter

ERIC DEMETER (B.S., Purdue University; M.A., Bethel University) is a relationship and conflict resolution specialist with advanced studies in mediation, peacemaking and negotiation from the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and Peacemaker Ministries. He is currently a missionary with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) based in Athens, Greece where he disciples young people from the Middle East, and teaches conflict resolution and healthy relationships to YWAM staff and missionary students. His experiences growing up listening to heavy metal, working alongside ex-convicts, and being raised in the Roman Catholic tradition give him the ability to connect well with people of diverse belief systems. He considers every reader a friend and challenges everyone to become more like Christ in everything they do.

Renaut van der Riet

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."

The Voice of the Martyrs

THE VOICE OF THE MARTYRS is a nonprofit, interdenominational missions organization dedicated to serving the persecuted church worldwide through practical and spiritual assistance and leading other members of the body of Christ into fellowship with them. Voice of the Martyrs was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned for fourteen years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ; his wife, Sabrina, was imprisoned for three years. In 1965 they were ransomed out of Romania, and soon thereafter they established the global network of missions of which Voice of the Martyrs is a part. They based these missions on Hebrews 13:3, "Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." (NIV)

Jessica Thompson

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.

Danita Jenae

DANITA JENAE is a young mom and recent military widow learning to carry both joy and sorrow in the same breath. As an author, speaker, poet, and artist, she walks alongside the broken-hearted, offering practical and creative ways to lead a Spirit-led life at danitajenae.com and @CompanioninSorrow. To help you find your footing in sorrow, Danita invites you to grab your free copy of The Grief Guide at WhenMountainsCrumble.com.

Jill Garner

JILL GARNER is an accomplished speaker, advocate, and founder of Manners of the Heart, a non-profit reawakening respect in our society for the sake of the next generation. She is the author of the award-winning Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World, Raising Unselfish Children in a Self-Absorbed World and Manners of the Heart, an elementary school curriculum that helps children see beyond themselves to become all God created them to be. Her work is endorsed by Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, Dr. Kevin Leman and many others.When Jill is not writing, you will find her digging into in-depth word studies in scripture, baking a batch of her famous Double Delight Chocolate Chip Cookies, counting down to Christmas, planning the next great adventure and occasionally casting a fly rod. Her greatest joy is time spent with her husband, grown children, and seven beloved grandchildren.

Jason Davis

JASON DAVIS is excited to be co-authoring his first book with his wife, Erin. Jason and Erin live an adventurous life in the rural Midwest with their four growing boys. By profession, Jason works as a Marketing Manager. At heart, he is an artisan, farmer, and loves spending time with his family in the outdoors or in his small workshop.

Kat Shultis

KAT SHULTIS lives in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, with her husband, Casey, and their son. Their company, HeWouldLoveFirst.com, answers the question What Would Jesus Do? She leads a ministry called Be a Blessing to help girls with body image and disordered eating habits and shares encouragement online for women with various struggles she has walked through as well.

September A. McCarthy

As a homeschooling mom to ten children, SEPTEMBER MCCARTHY has encouraged and equipped families across the country on the Mom to Mom Podcast, the Dear Mom Podcast, at national conferences, and in her book Why Motherhood Matters. She can be found directing a large hybrid homeschool program, and creating homeschooling resources for her business, September and Co. September loves spending time with her grandchildren and ministering to all demographics of women in her community and around the world.

Tim Grissom

TIM GRISSOM is a freelance writer living in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he also serves as senior editor for FamilyLife. He has served on the elder team of The Summit Church, which he helped start in 1998, and remains active in the teaching ministry there. Tim served on the staff of Life Action Ministries for fourteen years. He and his wife, Janiece (who is now with the Lord) have four children. His ministry passion is to help people understand how deeply the Bible speaks to the issues of life, both big and small. You can read more from Tim through his blog, www.HurtingForward.com.