Born in Chicago and living most often in states bordering the Great Lakes (Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana), my work has also taken me to both the east coast – Pennsylvania and New Jersey – and the west coast – California. (Come to think of it, Pennsylvania is also a Great Lakes state!) Interestingly, though my homes were spread 2,800 miles apart from east to west, they have all been about the same distance from the equator – all within one degree of the 40th parallel of latitude. Not that I planned it that way.

I graduated from high school in Racine, Wisconsin, and then from George Williams College (Downers Grove, Illinois) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Behavioral Science. After the first year working as Youth Director of the Marion, Ohio YMCA, I married Karen, the “Girl Next Door” from Racine, and moved her to Marion. After Marion, I worked at YMCAs in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and Princeton, New Jersey.

Later, we moved to Columbus, Indiana, where I was the Executive Director of two youth agencies, the Columbus Foundation for Youth and the Johnson County Youth Service Bureau. During that time Karen operated an in-home daycare business serving the children of school teachers. We lived in Columbus for about ten years, during which time I received God’s call to pastoral ministry and began taking seminary courses part-time from home.

In August of 1992 we quit our jobs, packed up the house and the cat, and went off to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where we lived for the next two years while I attended seminary full-time at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. I graduated in June of 1995 summa cum laude with a Master of Divinity degree, and received certification from the American Lutheran Theological Seminary (ALTS) of The American Association of Lutheran Churches (AALC).

As required both for my degree and for ordination in The AALC, I served a year of internship at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Elk Grove, California. That congregation called me as an associate pastor pending my graduation. Now that I graduated, I was ordained at St. Peter’s on July 2, 1995. I served as associate pastor until June 2003, when the congregation called me again (re-called me?) to be the senior pastor. I served in that role through December 31, 2016, when my call expired, and deciding not to request a new call, I retired and became a pastor emeritus.

I have been a baptized believer in Jesus Christ my entire life, and consider it the greatest privilege to have been allowed to serve Him as a pastor in His Church.

Dave Smith is the executive director of Illinois Family Institute (501c3) and Illinois Family Action (501c4).

Follow Dave on X: @ProFamilyIL

David has almost 35 years of experience in public policy and grass-roots activism that includes countless interviews for numerous radio, television, cable programs and newspaper articles on topics such as the sanctity of life, natural marriage, broadcast decency, sex education, marijuana, gambling, abortion, homosexuality, tax policy, drug decriminalization and pornography.

He and his wife of 30 years are blessed to be the parents of eight children, whom they homeschool. They strongly believe that their first duty before God is to disciple their children in the Christian faith, and impress a love of God on their hearts. There is a plethora of research that suggest that parents are the primary influencers in a child’s life. In an ideal world, that’s a mom and dad. Discipleship includes not only studying God’s Word but living a life of faith and walking in obedience to God. Discipleship is also necessary for sound doctrine, love of God and others. We do this in hopes of raising healthy and productive members of society who live to honor God and love their neighbors.

Dave has also served as a precinct committeeman and served as an ordained minister/elder in his local church.

Bill Muehlenberg is an American-born apologist and ethicist who currently lives in Melbourne, Australia. He has a BA with honors in philosophy (Wheaton College, Chicago), an MA with highest honors in theology (Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston). He has his own ministry called CultureWatch, which features Christian commentary on the issues of the day: billmuehlenberg.com.

He is a prolific author, and a much sought after media commentator, and has been featured on most television and radio current affairs programs. Bill teaches ethics, apologetics and theology at several Melbourne Bible Colleges. He is the author of “The Challenge of Euthanasia (Life and Death Matters)” and “The Challenge of Abortion (Life and Death Matters),” plus others.

Bill is married, with three sons.

Alyssa Sonnenburg is a dedicated Christian, wife, mother and is a 2022 graduate of Moody Bible Institute. She is a frequent guest on WPEO’s “The Good Word” program, a co-host of the Self-Evident podcast and serves as an Executive Assistant at IFI. Growing up on the southside of Chicago, she and her husband now live in the northwest suburbs.

E. Ray Moore (Chaplain, Lt. Col. USAR Ret.), has served for over forty years in pastoral ministry as a campus pastor, a congregational minister, an Army Chaplain or Director of a Christian ministry. He is a graduate of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, and Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. He is a veteran of the Gulf War I, in which he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

Additionally, he has served as a campaign consultant or staff for several major political campaigns, including former Vice-President Dan Quayle’s first Senate race in 1980, former Congressman Mark Siljander’s first Congressional race in 1981 and Pat Robertson’s Presidential Campaign in 1986 to 1988.

Lt. Col Moore is founder of Exodus Mandate, a Christian ministry to encourage and assist Christian families to leave Pharaoh’s school system (i.e. government schools) for the Promised Land of Christian schools or home schooling.

A South Carolina native, he is a graduate of The Citadel with a B.A. in political science and was graduated from Grace Theological Seminary cum laude with a M.Div. (Master of Divinity) in 1974 and with a Th.M. (Master of Theology) in 1979. He served nineteen years as an Army Reserve Chaplain, retiring as Lt. Colonel in 1999. He was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Gulf War I.

He and is wife of 55 years live in South Carolina and have four children and seven grandchildren.

In the Lord’s providential kindness, Brandon first heard the gospel of Jesus Christ from his mother and father, extended family, and many other brothers and sisters in his parent’s local church. When he was a boy, the Lord convicted Brandon of his sin and led him to repent and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness and salvation. He was baptized a few years later within the church he grew up.

Brandon is blessed to be married to Kaiti, his wonderful wife, and God has granted them two daughters and three sons. He is the Senior Pastor of Christ The King Reformed Baptist Church in Niles, Illinois. A few of Brandon’s favorite verses are Romans 5:6-11 and 1 Peter 3:18.

Dr. Scott Lively has advocated and modeled the Biblical worldview as a writer, speaker, attorney, pastor, human rights consultant, and missionary for more than 30 years on five continents. Born and raised in Massachusetts, he is a husband, father and a pro-life, pro-marriage and pro-family activist. He co-authored The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party with Kevin Abrams

You can follow him HERE on Facebook and/or HERE on Rumble.

Kathy Athearn is a correspondence writer at Family Research Council. She is passionate about applying a biblical worldview to the public sphere. She and her husband live in West Michigan with their three children.

Gabriel Syme is a Christian husband, father and outspoken street preacher from the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has a passion for evangelism and helping others go out and do the work of reaching the lost. He is also a huge fan of GK Chesterton.

David Lovi is the Pastor of Faith Fellowship Church in Oak Brook. A graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, David served for 15 years as the Secretary of the Board of the MLJTrust, which preserves the sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He is the co-producer of the film “Logic On Fire: The Life and Legacy of Martyn Lloyd-Jones,” and the Chicago Representative for The Christian Jew Foundation (CJF). David is pursuing his doctorate at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He is passionate about preaching The Gospel. His wife and children to play at the park and travel together.

 

 

Mark Elfstrand is a Christian husband, father and grandfather. A 40-year radio veteran, Mark has been a drive time air personality in Sacramento, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Chicago, including WMBI and WYLL. He has also served in various ministry leadership positions. His current endeavors can be found at elfstrandgroup.com.

Steve Goreham is an informative and engaging speaker, delivering compelling and provocative programs to businesses, universities, and diverse organizations. Steve is an independent scholar, researcher, and futurist in the fields of energy and environmental policy, as well as a former engineer and business executive with 30 years of experience at Fortune 100 and private companies. He’s Executive Director of the Climate Science Coalition of America and a policy advisor to The Heartland Institute.

Steve is author of three books on energy and climate change with over 100,000 copies in print, including “Outside the Green Box: Rethinking Sustainable Development.” He’s a freelance columnist and frequent guest on radio and TV, including Dennis Miller, Sean Hannity, and Fox Business Channel. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS/MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois.

Steve presents a fresh viewpoint on environmental, economic, energy, climate, and public policy topics in a down-to-earth style that all can understand, and with stories and humor that all will enjoy. Ask him to customize a program for the needs of your organization. Download Steve’s two-page bio here.

Mae is a freelance writer and editor, as well as a former staff member at a Washington, D.C. conservative policy group. An Illinois native, she now lives in south-central Pennsylvania with her husband and three children.

Thomas Hampson and his wife live in the suburbs of Chicago, have been married for 50 years, and have three grown children. Mr. Hampson is an Air Force veteran where he served as an Intelligence analyst in Western Europe. He also served as an Chief Investigator for the Illinois Legislative Investigating Commission and served on the Chicago Crime Commission as a board member. His work as an investigator prompted him to establish the Truth Alliance Foundation (TAF) and to dedicate the rest of his life to the protection of children. He hopes that the TAF will expand to facilitate the protection of children all over the United States and around the world.

Alyssa Josephs is a dedicated writer and co-host for the podcast Self Evident. She is currently a Junior at Moody Bible Institute and is working toward her Bachelor of Science degree in Biblical Studies. Alyssa is involved in ministry at her local church and plans to further her education for the purpose of biblical counseling.