Harold Smith

Chris Nye

CHRIS NYE is a pastor, writer, and teacher living in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Allison. His writing has appeared in Books & Culture, Leadership Journal, Preaching Today, and various other publications. Currently, Chris serves as a pastor for teaching and leadership development at Willamette Christian Church, a growing community of over 2,000 people.

Pat Cimo

PAT CIMO has led a dynamic children's ministry and coached children ministry leaders domestically and internationally for nearly twenty-nine years. She is currently the director of Marriage and Family Life at Willow Creek Community Church in the suburbs of Chicago, and for many years this included direct leadership and oversight with Willow's Children's Ministry. She has a deep passion to own the game she most wants to win: influencing and developing champions of faith. Pat and her husband Dave live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago near their two married children and four grandchildren.

Laura Dingman

LAURA DINGMAN spends most of her time creating and leading worship experiences that help connect people with the story of God. She has served in vocational ministry as the Creative Arts Director at The Creek, a large church in Indianapolis, for over a decade. She loves to show people where their story intersects with God's story. She enjoys belting Broadway, laughing hysterically, reading great books, and living life with her favorite two people in the whole world, her husband, Matt, and her spunky daughter, Abigail. She is the author of Life Rhythms: Learning to Live in God-Centered Time and I Am Found: Quitting the Game of Hide and Seek with God, Ourselves, and Others. You can learn more about her journey and connect with her at www.lauradingman.com.

Kim Erickson

KIM ERICKSON began following Christ after the death of her three-year-old son in 2008. Kim began a writing and teaching ministry to help other women, which can be found at www.KimAErickson.com. She is the author of His Last Words: What Jesus Taught and Prayed in His Final Hours and Surviving Sorrow, as well as a contributor to Hopelifter: Creative Ways to Spread Hope When Life Hurts. Kim is an attorney and practices immigration law. She lives in Florida with her husband, Devin, and son, Ethan.

John Trent

JOHN TRENT, Ph.D., is the President of StrongFamilies.com, a ministry committed to building strong relationships in these stressful times. Dr. Trent's main focus includes writing and speaking at retreats, conferences, business settings, churches, and seminars across the country. In addition to building family teams, Dr. Trent regularly speaks to corporate America on team building, recruiting and retaining outstanding employees. He has authored and co-authored more than a dozen books for both adults and children, including Love For All Seasons, The Language of Love, and The Blessing. In addition to writing books, Dr. Trent has written numerous articles for both professional and popular publications. He and his wife, Cynthia, live in Scottsdale, Arizona and have two adult daughters.

Marcus Warner

MARCUS WARNER (MDiv, ThM, and Min Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the president of Deeper Walk International. A former pastor and professor, he has written on topics ranging from how to study the Bible to spiritual warfare, emotional healing, and leadership. Marcus travels the world equipping people on the front lines of ministry with practical tools for dealing with root issues that keep people stuck and unable to go deeper into what God has for them.

Michelle Lynn Senters

MICHELLE LYNN SENTERS (B.A. Education; M.Ed. Integrated Teaching Through the Arts) raised two daughters on her own and experienced many issues common to single mothers: financial crisis, emotional trauma in children, pursuit of education, isolation from church, feelings of guilt/shame, consequences of fatherlessness, and the challenges of relationships and remarriage. Her message has been forged in her own journey as a single mom and has deepened through her years of mentoring single moms and launching ministries geared to them in the local church. She founded the Arise Ministry for Single Moms at her local church in Colorado Springs and this ministry is being considered by other area churches. She is a sought-after speaker at women's events, Bible studies, and writer's conferences.

Matt Markins

MATT MARKINS serves on the Global Leadership Team at Awana as the Vice President of Ministry Resources as well as the Vice President of Marketing and Strategy. Prior to joining the Awana executive leadership team, Matt served in leadership roles with Thomas Nelson Publishers, Randall House Publishers and was the cofounder of the D6 Conference (a discipleship and family ministry community). Matt's ministry in organizational leadership has been marked by leading and influencing change from within by casting vision, forging strategic partnerships, nurturing healthy culture, developing organizational alignment and implementing sustainable plans toward ministry effectiveness, health and growth. He and his wife Katie have been volunteering and growing in children's ministry for more than twenty years. As Nashville transplants, they live and play in the Chicago suburbs with their two sons tolerating dreadful winters, but soaking up refreshingly mild weather the other seven months of the year.

Erica Wiggenhorn

ERICA WIGGENHORN is the founder of Every Life Ministries, bringing the truths of Scripture to transform lives. She teaches in various local and national venues and serves on the women's ministry leadership team for her church. She's also taught women in the Arizona State Prison system, and overseas. She loves to bring God's Word through Bible teaching, conferences, seminars and retreats. A graduate of Azusa Pacific University, Erica lives in Phoenix with her husband, Jonathan, and their two children, Eliana and Nathan. For more information about Erica, her Bible studies, and writing/speaking ministry, visit www.EricaWiggenhorn.com.

Mark Savage

MARK AND JILL SAVAGE are passionate about encouraging, educating, and equipping families. After serving in church ministry for twenty years, the Savage's are meeting the needs of families as authors and speakers through Hearts at Home, a ministry to moms. The parents of five young adult children, and grandparents of three, the Savage's make their home in Central Illinois.

Jason K. Allen

DR. JASON ALLEN is the fifth and youngest president of Midwestern Baptist Seminary. He has served as pastor and interim pastor of Southern Baptist churches in Alabama and Kentucky over the past fifteen years. He currently serves the church more broadly through writing and preaching ministries, including his own website www.jasonkallen.com, where he writes on various topics including higher education, theology, preaching, and cultural and local church issues. He and his wife, Karen, have five children: Anne-Marie, Caroline, William, Alden, and Elizabeth.

Curt Hamner

CURT HAMNER is a pastor and cofounder along with his wife, Rhonda of Between Two Trees (betweentwotrees.org), a marriage ministry designed to resource couples and communities with tools to pursue God's design for marriage. Curt is also the founder of Bed and Breakfast with Purpose Retreats, and is a mentor with The Master's Program (a three-year marketplace leadership coaching ministry). Together Curt and Rhonda speak throughout the US and around the world helping couples enrich their marriages. They host DreamMaster Retreats for second half couples working together on vision and strategic plans for the years after career and family. Curt is a graduate of Dallas Seminary and served with Chuck Swindoll at the church they pastored in Fullerton, CA. The Hamners have three adult children and five grandchildren. They live in the mountains of southern California.

Jayme Hull

JAYME HULL is an author, speaker, and ministry leader who motivates audiences to invest in mentoring. Shaped by countless mentors over the past thirty-five years, Jayme now has the privilege of mentoring millennial women. Through her mentoring, teaching, blogging and devotionals, Jayme has no greater joy than to pour into women's lives -- whether over a cup of coffee or through the written word. Jayme resides in Tennessee, with her husband, John. They have three married children and are the proud grandparents of four grandchildren.

Elizabeth Koenig

Philip Nation

DR. PHILIP NATION is the Director of Content Development with the Resources Division of LifeWay Christian Resources. He is also the Teaching Pastor for The Fellowship and Assistant Professor of Leadership and Biblical Studies for Houston Baptist University. He holds a Master of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School and Doctor of Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Philip is a frequent speaker in churches and conferences. From 2010 to 2012 he served as the national spokesperson for the "National Back to Church Sunday" campaign for Outreach, Inc. Philip and his wife, Angie, make their home in Tennessee with their two sons, Andrew and Chris.