Sean McDowell

Dr. Sean McDowell is an Assistant Professor in the Christian Apologetics program at Biola University and also teaches one high school Bible class, giving him exceptional insight into the prevailing youth culture. Traveling throughout the United States and abroad, Sean speaks at camps, churches, schools, universities, and conferences. He is an author, co-author, or editor of over seventeen books. With his father, he has authored The Beauty of Intolerance, The Unshakable Truth, and More Than A Carpenter. Sean is the General Editor of Apologetics for a New Generation and The Apologetics Study Bible for Students and has also written for YouthWorker Journal, Decision Magazine, and the Christian Research Journal. He and his wife Stephanie have three children.

Josh McDowell

Josh McDowell has been at the forefront of cultural trends and groundbreaking ministry for more than 58 years, sharing the essentials of the Christian faith so that people of all ages and stages can know Christ, understand what they believe and why it is true, and learn how to live, share, and defend their faith. Josh has spoken to over 25 million people in 126 countries and has written or co-authored 151 books with some translated in 128 languages. These include More Than a Carpenter with over 27 million copies distributed. He also authored Evidence that Demands a Verdict, named by World Magazine as one of the twentieth century’s top 40 books. In 2018, in its latest edition with son Sean as co-author, the book was awarded the top prize by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in the category of Bible reference books.

Mark Jobe

Dr. Mark Jobe, President of Moody Bible Institute, is the son of missionaries to rural Spain. He came to Christ at age 15, and at 17 left his village of 200 people to attend Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. By age 21, he was pastoring a small congregation in the inner city of Chicago. For more than 30 years, Dr. Jobe has served as the lead and founding pastor of New Life Community Church, and he and his wife Dee have seen the church grow from a handful of people to approximately 7,000 meeting at 27 locations throughout the Chicago area and in 8 cities internationally. He is also founder of New Life Centers, an organization focused on helping youth in undeserved areas of Chicago, is the author of Unstuck: Out of Your Cave and Into Your Call (Moody Publishers), and is the host of Bold Steps, a weekday program heard across Moody Radio’s nation-wide network of stations. He and his wife have 3 adult children.

Josh McDowell

Josh McDowell has been at the forefront of cultural trends and groundbreaking ministry for more than 58 years, sharing the essentials of the Christian faith so that people of all ages and stages can know Christ, understand what they believe and why it is true, and learn how to live, share, and defend their faith. Josh has spoken to over 25 million people in 126 countries and has written or co-authored 151 books with some translated in 128 languages. These include More Than a Carpenter with over 27 million copies distributed. He also authored Evidence that Demands a Verdict, named by World Magazine as one of the twentieth century’s top 40 books. In 2018, in its latest edition with son Sean as co-author, the book was awarded the top prize by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in the category of Bible reference books.

Gary Chapman

Gary Chapman is a well-respected family counselor and author of several books including The 5 Love Languages, which has sold more than 12 million copies and is consistently on the New York Times Best Seller list. He hosts two nationally syndicated radio programs that air on more than 400 stations. Dr. Chapman has been directly involved in family counseling for more almost 40 years, and he also serves as senior associate pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute and holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Wheaton College and Wake Forest University, M.R.E. and Ph.D. degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has completed postgraduate work at the University of North Carolina and Duke University. Dr. Chapman and his wife Karolyn have been married for more than 45 years and have two grown children, Shelley and Derek.

Mark Yarbrough

Dr. Mark Yarbrough serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs, Academic Dean, and Associate Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary, overseeing all seminary activities related to academics and public representation. Mark’s twin passions for the local church and theological education have worked in tandem for over twenty-five years. Along with his responsibilities at DTS, he serves as an elder of Centerpoint Church in Mesquite and travels extensively leading tours and speaking at conference centers around the United States. Mark has recently authored How to Read the Bible Like a Seminary Professor. He has been married for 28 years to Jennifer, his high school sweetheart, and they have four children.

Greg Speck

Greg Speck is a youth and family communicator who travels across the United States and around the world speaking to teenagers and adults through his organization, Greg Speck Ministries. He is also on the speaker team of Family Life Today, sharing at Weekend to Remember marriage conferences around the United States. He has authored several books including Mustard Seeds on Youth Ministry, Built to Last: Faith and the Book of James, and Living for Jesus: Beyond the Spiritual High. He has also been a caseworker for emotionally disturbed and delinquent teens, a youth pastor, youth specialist for Moody Bible Institute, President of Youth Ministries International, and the youth and family communicator for Bethel University. However, Greg counts his biggest accomplishments are being a husband to his wife Bonnie, a father to his four children, and a grandfather.

Jonathon Brown

Dr. Jonathon Brown is the Lead Pastor of Pillar Church in Holland, MI. He has been the keynote speaker for the Nicaraguan Pastors Conference of Moravian Church, The Cascades Family Bible Camp, and several events at Hope College. He is also a regular writer of Words of Hope daily devotionals. Most recently, he completed a doctoral degree at Western Theological Seminary in Holland. He and his wife Kristyn have been married for eighteen years, and they are the proud parents of four daughters: Lydia, Tabitha, Mariah, and Ava. Dr. Brown enjoys reading, running, golfing, watching college football, and spending time with his daughters. He feels great joy and a keen sense of purpose in urging the Church to participate in the mission of Christ in the world.

Nicolas Ellen

Dr. Ellen is the Senior Pastor of Community of Faith Bible Church in Houston Texas and Senior Professor of Biblical Counseling at the College of Biblical Studies. Dr. Ellen has also developed a biblical counseling training center called Expository Counseling Center LLC.

He received his B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Houston, Houston, Texas, his M.A. in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas, his M.A. in Biblical Counseling from The Masters University, Santa Clarita, California and his Doctorate of Ministry with a concentration in Biblical Counseling from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Ellen is currently a PHD student in Biblical Counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dr. Ellen is a certified Biblical Counselor with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors and travels nationwide with the organization teaching biblical counseling principles. Dr. Ellen also teaches on a morning show called “Up With The Son” where he teaches various topics from God’s Word. In addition, He is also a Senior Member of the Biblical Counseling Framework Association. Nicolas and his wife Venessa have two children and four grandchildren.

Bryndan Loritts

Pastor Bryndan C. Loritts, the son of Dr. Crawford and Karen Loritts, felt the call to full-time ministry at the age of 18. After graduating from Moody Bible Institute, he became a youth pastor at Oakdale Covenant Church, leading trips to Cape Town, South Africa, as well as starting various after-school programs and services for the youth of the community. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Urban Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. After serving as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Lansing, IL, he and his wife Lucretia Renee moved to Nashville, TN, where they are involved in a church plant. Pastor Loritts’ mission is to be a man of integrity and to preach the Word with power, passion, and persuasion. He and his wife have three daughters: LeiLani, Bryana and Sinaiya.

Bill Crowder

Bill Crowder joined the staff of Our Daily Bread Ministries in 2001 after more than 20 years in the pastorate. As Vice President of Teaching Content, Bill provides biblical and theological evaluation of the ministry’s content for their various ministry efforts. Additionally, Bill spends much of his time in Bible conference ministry around the world, serving ODBM offices and providing outreach to local communities as well as offering encouragement to North American pastors. He is a contributing writer for the Our Daily Bread devotional and has also authored numerous books as well as serving as a co-host of the Discover The Word daily radio program. Bill and his wife Marlene have been married for over 40 years and have five adult children and many grandchildren.

Rob Rienow

Dr. Rob Rienow’s most important ministry is loving his wife and partnering with her to help their seven children love and follow God. He is the founder of Visionary Family Ministries, which seeks to encourage families and train church leaders. Annually, the ministry presents more than 50 conferences across the United States and the world, as well as offering podcasts, video Bible studies, and a host of other materials for churches and individuals. Rob is a pastor, a church planter, a conference speaker, and the author of several books including Visionary Parenting, Visionary Marriage, and Never Too Late. When he is not fishing for men he enjoys fishing for fish. Rob’s wife Amy is also a speaker and author, as is their daughter, Lizzie. The Rienow family resides in West Chicago, IL.

Christopher Brooks

Chris Brooks is the host of the nationally syndicated radio program, “Equipped with Chris Brooks,” heard on over 200 stations throughout the U.S. and Canada. He is also Senior Pastor of Woodside Bible Church in metropolitan Detroit and has authored numerous books on apologetics and marriage. He graduated from Michigan State University with a BA in Finance, completed his MA in Christian Apologetics at Biola University, and graduated from the Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics. He is currently completing a doctoral degree at Asbury Theological Seminary where he is studying the integration of economics and theology. He and his wife Yodit are the proud parents of Christopher, Zewditu (Zoe), Cameron, Judah and Sophia.

Michael Card

Michael Card has recorded over 37 albums, authored over 27 books, hosted a radio program, and written for a wide range of magazines. Songs like "El Shaddai,” "Love Crucified Arose,”and “Immanuel” have placed him at the top of Christian music. However, his primary goal in life is to simply and quietly teach the Bible. A graduate of Western Kentucky University, where he earned both a bachelors and master degrees in Biblical studies, Michael has honorary PhD's in music and Christian education from Whitfield Seminary and Philadelphia Biblical University. In his writing and conference speaking, Michael leads audiences on a spiritual journey through questions and meaningful discussion. He lives in Franklin, Tennessee, where, with a group of close friends, he pursues racial reconciliation and neighborhood renewal. He and his wife, Susan, have 4 children and 2 grandchildren.

Knute Larson

Knute Larson, a graduate of both Grace and Trinity seminaries, coaches’ pastors and churches, majoring on leadership, pulpit, making changes, and daily grace. He draws on 43 years as a pastor and eight as a pastoral coach. His last 26 years as a senior pastor were with The Chapel, in Akron, Ohio. He also teaches D.Min courses on church leadership for Trinity and Grace, consults for Great Lakes Evangelical Free Churches, and is the editor-host for Pastorpedia, a monthly publication and video for pastors. He is the author of three books and two commentaries. Knute and his wife Jeanine live in Sawyer, Michigan. They are parents of two married daughters in the Chicago area, and they have three grandchildren.

Erwin Lutzer

Dr. Erwin Lutzer is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church where he served as the Senior Pastor for 36 years. A clear expositor of the Bible, he is the featured speaker on three radio programs: “Running to Win,” “Moody Church Hour,” and “Songs in the Night.” He has authored several books including One Minute After You Die, When A Nation Forgets God, and the Christian Bookseller’s Gold Medallion Award winner, Hitler’s Cross. He and his wife Rebecca have co-written the books: Life-Changing Bible Verses You Should Know and Jesus, Lover Of A Woman’s Soul. A frequent Bible conference and seminar speaker, he also leads tours to Israel and the cities of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Dr. Lutzer and his wife Rebecca live in the Chicago area and have 3 children and eight grandchildren.

Mark Vroegop

Mark Vroegop (B.A., Cedarville University; M.Div., Grand Rapids Theological Seminary) has been Lead Pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis for over ten years. He previously served as Senior Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Holland, Michigan, from 1996-2008. He is a contributor to 15 Things Seminary Couldn’t Teach Me, and the author of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament. Mark is also a conference speaker, and a council member of The Gospel Coalition. Mark and his wife Sarah are parents of four living children and a stillborn daughter. Their story has been featured on Moody Radio.

Bill Oudemelon

Bill was born and raised in Holland and spent many summer vacations at Maranatha. He and his wife, Jan, pastored two churches; seven years in Wyoming, Michigan and thirty-two years in Littleton, Colorado. A graduate of Cornerstone University and GR Theological Seminary, he did additional studies at Dallas Theological Seminary and Denver Seminary. He also directed the Pastoral Department and taught at Colorado Christian University for two years. He and Jan recently moved back to Holland from Golden, Colorado.

Tom Couch

Tom Couch studied at Temple Baptist Seminary in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has been involved in ministry for 46 years, pastoring in Illinois, Florida, and Michigan. Most recently, he was pastor to senior adults at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids before accepting the pastorate position at Grandville Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan.
Pastor Tom has been married to Shelly Lynn for 47 years, and they have four grown children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Ron Zappia

In 2000, Ron Zappia was instrumental in planting a church in the western suburbs of Chicago. This congregation, Highpoint Church, has grown to be a multi-site ministry reaching thousands. “Highpoint Ministries with Ron Zappia,” the teaching arm of this ministry, was launched in 2013 to provide comprehensive teaching from God’s Word through podcasts, weekly and daily radio broadcasts, conferences, and other resources. “Highpoint Ministries” currently airs on over 500 stations around the United States. Ron and his wife Jody recently released their book The Marriage Knot, which shares their story and the choices all married couples must consider. Pastor Zappia is a graduate of Bowling Green State University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL. The Zappias live in Wheaton, IL, and have three daughters.