Week 7 | April 13: Matt and Arlene Heard
Matt and Arlene Heard
AUTHOR | SPEAKER
Matt and Arlene Heard are the privileged parents of three amazing adult sons and two incredible daughters-in-law — Andrew and Jenna, Joel and Mary Rachel, and Stephen.
Matt Heard is the Founder and Principal of THRIVE, a teaching, speaking, and coaching ministry that engages people to flourish as fully alive human beings to God’s glory in every arena of their life, journey, and culture. The seeds for Matt’s vision were planted when he studied at L’Abri in Huémoz, Switzerland with Francis Schaeffer, who introduced him to the writings of the late Hans Rookmaaker, an art historian known for proclaiming, “Jesus didn’t come to make us Christian; Jesus came to make us fully human.”
A graduate of Wheaton College and Reformed Theological Seminary, Matt is the author of “Life with a Capital L: Embracing Your God-Given Humanity”. He and his wife, Arlene, are the grateful parents of three adult sons and two daughters-in-law and they divide their time between Colorado Springs and Orlando. He can be contacted through his websites, www.mattheard.org and www.thrivefullyalive.com.
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The angle of these Prayer Times isn't 'what's happening out there'. The real angle of these prayer times is what's happening in the church.
Right now, we have to do a lot of recalibration. We have to recalibrate who we are in the culture and what it means to ground ourselves in the Truth.
- John Stonestreet
Week 1 | March 2: Tony Souder
Tony Souder
Founder | The Pray for Me Campaign
Executive Director | Chattanooga Youth Network
Tony Souder is the founder of the Pray for Me Campaign and Executive Director of the Chattanooga Youth Network. His driving passion is helping every generation flourish in bringing the greatness of God to the next generation. For over two decades he served the Chattanooga and North Georgia regions by connecting, coaching, and caring for youth ministry leaders across denominational and racial lines. Author of four books including the Grandparent Legacy Edition of the Pray for Me Prayer Guide. Tony and his bride, Rhonda live in Chattanooga Tennessee, and have twin adult daughters.
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Week 2 | March 9: Brett and Erin Kunkle
BRETT AND ERIN KUNKLE
Founder | Maven
Brett is the founder and president of MAVEN. He has more than 25 years of experience working with junior high, high school, and college students, as a youth pastor and as the Student Impact Director at Stand to Reason. Brett was an associate editor for the Apologetics Study Bible for Students, wrote the Ambassadors Guide to Mormonism and co-authored A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today’s World. He received his bachelors degree in Christian education from Biola University and his masters degree in philosophy of religion and ethics from Talbot School of Theology.
Erin is a full-time stay-at-home homeschooling mom of five. She has a bachelors degree in sociology with an emphasis in political science from Biola University. She has served in a variety of church ministry positions, from junior high and high school ministry to women’s ministry and children’s ministry leadership.
Brett and Erin live in Southern California with their five children and recently welcomed their very first grandchild. They have been married for 20 amazing years.
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Week 3 | March 16: Josh and Sean McDowell
JOSH AND SEAN McDOWELL
Apologists
Josh McDowell joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ International in 1961. Not long after, he started the Josh McDowell Ministry* to reach young people worldwide with the truth and love of Jesus.
Well known as an articulate speaker, Josh has addressed more than 46 million people, giving over 27,200 talks in 139 countries.
As he traveled to other countries, Josh quickly realized that where people were sick, homeless, and hungry, words were not enough. In 1991, Josh founded Operation Carelift to meet the physical and spiritual needs he discovered in orphanages, hospitals, schools, and prisons in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Since that time, Operation Carelift has delivered humanitarian aid (food, clothing, and medical supplies) worth more than $46,000,000. That is the equivalent of 278 forty-ton containers. Nearly one million children have received school supplies, food items, hygiene items, and toys from the volunteers that traveled twice a year to share God’s love with them.
Josh has received two significant honors from the Russian people because of these efforts. He is the only non-Russian to receive an honorary doctor of pediatrics degree from the Russian Academy of Medicine — in recognition of his work among the children of Russia. Also, Josh is the only foreigner to become a member of the prestigious Russian Club of Scientists. Operation Carelift, which has grown into one of the largest humanitarian aid organizations based in the United States, is now a part of UNTO (formerly known as Global Aid Network).
In the United States, Josh and his team have created many cutting-edge live events to help young people stand strong and firm in their faith in the face of a rapidly-changing culture. These have often developed into full-blown campaigns, such as:
Six Hours with Josh
Why Wait?
Counter the Culture
Right From Wrong
True Foundations
Since 1960, Josh has written or co-authored 151 books in 128 languages including:
More Than a Carpenter — over 27 million copies distributed
Evidence That Demands a Verdict — named one the twentieth century’s top 40 books and one of the thirteen most influential books of the last 50 years on Christian thought by World Magazine.
In addition to many other awards, Josh has been nominated 36 times for the Gold Medallion Award and has received that award on four occasions.
In spite of all the honors and awards he has received, Josh will tell anyone that his greatest joys and pleasures come from his family. He and his wife Dottie have been married 48 years. They have four children and ten grandchildren.
Dr. Sean McDowell is a gifted communicator with a passion for equipping the church, and in particular young people, to make the case for the Christian faith. He connects with audiences in a tangible way through humor and stories while imparting hard evidence and logical support for viewing all areas of life through a Biblical worldview.
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The devotional will post on Thursday morning.
Week 4 | March 23: Sarah Stonestreet and Wendy Smith
SARAH STONESTREET & WENDY SMITH
Podcast Host & Parent/Grandparent
Sarah Stonestreet is the co-host of The Strong Women Podcast and the Colorado Springs Colson Fellows Cohort Director. Sarah delights in the wonder of learning. She particularly enjoys the stories of history, classic literature, global Christianity, and theology. As Director of Community Outreach at Saint George’s Anglican Church, she looks for ways to touch the community of Colorado Springs through the local church. Her main job in this season of life, is to love and serve her family, which consists of her husband John and their four children.
Wendy Smith is a committed grandmother and praying parent who has supported prison ministries and ministries to young women caught in human trafficking. Wendy is Sarah Stonestreet's mother and is actively involved in supporting her church and encouraging believers to join the Colson Fellows program.
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Week 5 | March 30: Dr. Bill Brown
Dr. Bill Brown
SENIOR FELLOW OF WORLDVIEW & CULTURE | DEAN, COLSON FELLOWS PROGRAM
Dr. Bill Brown led two Christian universities as President. He is the Senior Fellow of Worldview and Culture at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He also serves as Dean of the Colson Fellows Program, an international Fellowship program equipping professionals to engage their culture for Christ.
A nationally recognized speaker and expert in culture and worldview, Dr. Brown has written several books and more than a hundred articles for journals, magazines, encyclopedias, and newspapers. He is the author of Making Sense of Your Faith, Where Have All the Dreamers Gone? Observations from a Biblical Worldview, and Making Sense of Your World (with Gary Phillips and John Stonestreet), a book used by many colleges and universities as an introductory text to worldview/philosophical thinking.
Dr. Brown is the Executive Producer and speaker for the multiple award-winning DVD series, re:View worldview study. re:View equips Christians to discern and engage contemporary culture from a Christ-centered perspective.
Dr. Brown and his wife, Lynne, have been married since 1976. They have two children – April and Alex, and four grandchildren. They live in Mars Hill, North Carolina.
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Week 6 | April 6: Dr. Christopher Yuan
Dr. Christopher Yuan
AUTHOR | SPEAKER
Dr. Christopher Yuan is an author and teacher, whose recent book, Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God’s Grand Story, was named 2020 Book of the Year for Social Issues by Outreach Magazine. He also co-authored a memoir with his mother, Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God, A Broken Mother’s Search for Hope, which has sold over 100,000 copies and is now in eight languages.
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