The Steps to a More Impactful Lent!

The Rev. Charlie Holt is the president of Bible Study Media.  Fr. Holt’s passion is to see the worldwide Church reconciled, reformed and renewed for vital Gospel mission to the lost. To that end, he has served as an ordained pastor and priest for over 20 years. He is the author of The Christian Life Trilogy and the Director of the Hearts Alive children’s curriculum project. He currently serves as the Associate Rector of Teaching and Formation at the Church of St. John the Divine in Houston, TX. He and his wife, Brooke, have three children.

You can follow him on his teaching blog: Engaging Truth: www.revcharlieholt.com

Joni Tapp is the Executive Assistant at Bible Study Media and the Project Manager for the Hearts Alive Curriculum project. Joni has taught all ages of children’s Sunday School and Children’s Church for more than a decade. She also has worked as a copy editor and contributor for several other popular children’s curricula. Joni is detail-oriented and loves organizing things. She is a world traveler who loves trotting the globe with her husband and son.

Ginny Mooney is the General Editor of the Hearts Alive Curriculum project. Ginny is an Emmy award-winning television producer and writer, focusing on topics of faith and culture. She is a regular contributor to Breakpoint.org and speaks on Christian Apologetics. She authored The Cross Walk Children’s Curriculum, also published by Bible Study Media. Ginny lives in Port St. Lucie, FL, and loves to hike, bike, and kayak with her two favorite people–her two children, Azalea and Asher.

Theresa serves Bible Study Media as the Director of Church Relations.  She comes to us with tons of business development and church relations experience.  Theresa has a passion for small group ministry and has led a variety of different types of groups over the years.  Theresa is also currently growing a  chapter of The National Association of Christian Women Leaders in the Atlanta area. She is a member of Woodstock City Church which is part of the North Point Church family and lives in Woodstock, Georgia.

Jackie Zurinaga has worked in the fields of marketing, healthcare administration, and teaching. She has an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing as well as an M Ed. in Spanish. She has taught at Kennesaw State University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Central Florida. However, one of her favorite groups to teach is Middle School Sunday school. Whether building a model of the Holy of Holies from Dollar Store items or talking about what mercy looks like in 6^th grade, she delights in bringing Jesus to children, right where they are. Like teaching, she is passionate about marketing and helping enterprises use social media to get their message out to the world. When she’s not telling a story on social media, she’s telling it on the stage- her other happy place.

Dalas L. Davis is a Director/Actor/Producer and creative/story consultant, bringing in-depth experience and expertise in motion picture production. Dalas is the founder and President of Fishers of Men Entertainment Global ,the production company that produced the feature film A Measure of Faith. Dalas created the story, directed, produced and was lead actor on the picture. He is working with Bible Study Media on the Undivided film project.

Nancy Beise is a Bible Background writer for the Hearts Alive project. Nancy is an artist and former home educator to three lovely young ladies, now each in college. Nancy is currently teaching English and Art to fourth through sixth grades at a local Christian School. Having lived in South Florida for over twenty years, she is now back home in central Indiana, close to one daughter at Wheaton College and delighted that the youngest is still at home with her while working on her degree. Having grown up a preacher’s kid, Nancy has a deep love for the Word of God and can think of nothing more wonderful than sharing that love with others through exploring that Word in her writing.

Sara Buffington is a Sunday School writer for the Hearts Alive project. She has been a professional writer since 2003, specializing in educational curricula. She has co-authored three books: The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading (Well-Trained Mind Press, 2004) and First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, Levels 3 and 4 (Well-Trained Mind Press, 2007 & 2008). She has also worked as a contributor on several series, including all four activity books for The Story of the World series by Susan Wise Bauer (Well-Trained Mind Press, 2004, 2005, 2007 & 2008), the activity books for Years 1 and 2 of Telling God’s Story by Peter Enns (Olive Branch Books, 2011 & 2013), and First Language Lessons Levels 1 and 2 by Jessie Wise (Well-Trained Mind Press, 2001 & 2003).

Fr. Christopher Caudle is a Sunday School writer and Bible Background consultant on the Hearts Alive project. Fr. Christopher is the Associate Rector at the Church of the New Covenant in Winter Springs, FL. He is in charge of Christian Education. From their website: Christopher is someone I hasten to describe as one in whom there is no guile. While he has an authentic sense of humor, loving bad jokes as well good ones, he’ll not be heard using it inappropriately. He is for sure, a man after our Lord’s own heart. He has an acute sense of propriety as well, what needs to be done and when and how, most of the time anyway. Anyone who has sat at his feet knows him to be a learned student and studied teacher. Most folks into books as he is, are not so much into people, not so with Fr. Christopher, he has a pastor’s heart. While doing and being all of this he somehow manages to keep his family as a keen priority. And well he should as precious as they are. He keeps things in very good order with his Lord, his family, and his ministry. Of course one look into his inner sanctum and his sins are right before your eyes, his addiction to Coke and books are there for all to see. Nothing is hidden, as I said, one without guile. Education: BA in History from the University of North Carolina MA in Biblical Studies from Reformed Theology Seminary Ordination: Deacon in 2006 Priest in 2009.

– Nicole Evans is a Children’s Church writer for the Hearts Alive project. Nicole was the Director Christian Education at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. She writes: I have a strong passion for children’s ministry. I want children to intimately know our amazing God. As a child, I only knew “of Him,” per se. He seemed so distant, so far away. This definitely didn’t help when my parents’ marriage went south and church had simply become a distant memory. My house was built upon the proverbial sand, not upon the rocks. When the storms raged, my house couldn’t withstand the winds and rain. It simply crumbled into a million pieces. It took many years to rebuild. My goal is for as many kids as possible to be in a personal relationship with Jesus. Unlike myself at a young age, I want them to be equipped with the full armor of God when things get tough. Theory vs application – they must know how to apply His Word to their daily lives. My contribution to this project will truly be my greatest accomplishment yet.

Pam has been involved in Children’s Ministry for over twenty years and has taught numerous Christian ministries, Sunday school, VBS, girls’ retreats, or Bible studies for adults and children and has a heart for children to grow closer to God. She also homeschooled her children for several years. Pam has edited, proofread, or beta-read Christian nonfiction books, devotionals, sermons, Bible studies, homeschool curriculum, children’s books, and Christian fiction. Although Pam works on a variety of projects, her specialties are Christian nonfiction, homeschool curriculum, and children’s materials. She has asked God to use her behind the scenes to bring people closer to Him. She considers it a privilege to be a part of Hearts Alive to touch the hearts of their readers. Pam is a Silver Member of the Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network.

Julia Phillips is a Children’s Church writer for the Hearts Alive project. Julia and her family were recently called to move from their beloved mountain home to Florida, where her husband, Tom, now runs the Emmaus School of Biblical Studies. She grew up with a love for writing and fostered it by earning an English degree from the University of Virginia. She went on to work as a Literacy Specialist at a children’s museum, where she developed and implemented an emergent literacy curriculum for young children in a county suffering from a high rate of illiteracy. Julia currently teaches at Twin Rivers Montessori Academy after years of home schooling her own two young children. She is excited about the opportunity to help create a gospel-centered curriculum that combines her heart for children with her dedication to biblical literacy.

Caryn Rivadeneira is the author of seven books, for children and adults, including her most recent: Grit and Grace: Heroic Women of the Bible (Sparkhouse Family, 2017). Caryn is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and a founding member of Ink: A Creative Collective. She lives in the near-west suburbs of Chicago with her husband, three kids, and rescued pit bull.

Lisa Salerno has a degree in Elementary Education and has home schooled her children and taught elementary and middle school at international schools in South America. She also served as a children’s ministry director and a worked as a school librarian and currently teaches Sunday School. Lisa and her husband of 29 years have 4 daughters and 1 son and are blessed with 3 granddaughters.

David Sanford’s speaking engagements have ranged everywhere from The Billy Graham Center at the Cove to the University of California Berkeley. His book and Bible projects have been published by Zondervan, Tyndale House, Thomas Nelson, Doubleday, and Amazon. His professional biography is summarized at www.linkedin.com/in/drsanford. His personal biography features his wife of 35 years, Renée, their five children, and their twelve grandchildren (including one in heaven).