Available Speakers

Israel Wayne

Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker who has a passion for defending the Christian faith and promoting a Biblical worldview. The author of Education: Does God Have an Opinion?, Full-Time Parenting: A Guide to Family-Based Discipleship, Questions God Asks, Questions Jesus Asks, and Pitchin' A Fit! Overcoming Angry & Stressed-Out Parenting.

Israel, and his wife Brook, are homeschooling their nine children in SW Michigan. Since 1995, Israel has traveled the nation speaking on family, homeschooling, revival, discipleship, and cultural issues.

He is a frequent guest on national radio and television programs. Israel has been featured in national and international publications including TIME Magazine, The Arizona Republic, WORLD Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. Israel has been featured as the keynote speaker at numerous conferences, some with over 5,000 in attendance.

Israel serves as the Director of Family Renewal, LLC and is the Site Editor for ChristianWorldview.net (a Christian apologetics site).

Rick Boyer

Rick Boyer is a nationally known homeschool speaker and author. He and his wife Marilyn have taught their 14 children at home, beginning in 1980. They also own The Learning Parent ministry, selling homeschool curricula.

Rick and Marilyn have written several popular books on homeschooling, Christian parenting and national reformation. The Boyers are also creators of Character Concepts Curriculum. Rick’s books include: Home Educating with Confidence, Take Back the Land, The Socialization Trap, and The Hands-On Dad. He is known to thousands of children through his “Uncle Rick” audio recordings.

Marilyn Boyer

Marilyn Boyer and her husband Rick are true pioneers of homeschooling. Beginning in 1980, Marilyn has taught all of her 14 children from kindergarten through high school. Her passion for putting Christian character at the top of her educational priorities resulted in the creation of the Character Concepts Curriculum. Marilyn has authored several books including Parenting from the Heart, Hands-On Character Building, and For You They Signed, which inspires children and adults alike by learning of the character of our founders.

Marilyn Boyer is the descendant of a Revolutionary War soldier, and a daughter of a World War II veteran. She is the wife of an Air Force veteran, mother and home educator of fourteen sons and daughters, and grandmother of six. Deeply patriotic and passionate about America's Christian history, Marilyn has in For You They Signed brought to life the stories of the 56 noble men who pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to secure our freedom. Marilyn and her husband, Rick, were among the pioneers of the modern home education movement in the early 1980’s. Together they founded The Learning Parent ministry, have written over a dozen books, and travel around the country and abroad, speaking at home school and Christian parenting conferences to encourage, inspire and challenge the parents training the next generation of Americans. Their books have circulated around the globe and have been translated into several foreign languages.

Dr. Jason Lisle

Dr. Jason Lisle is the director of research a featured speaker and writer for the Institute for Creation Research. He holds bachelor of science degrees in physics and astronomy, as well as a master’s and PhD in astro-physics. As a creation scientist, Dr. Lisle effectively communicates a broad range of topics.

He previously served as the Planetarium Director for the Creation Museum in KY. Dr. Lisle has also authored a number of books which include: Taking Back Astronomy, The Ultimate Proof of Creation, Old-Earth Creationism on Trial, and The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky.

Dr. Lisle speaks on topics such as distant starlight, Einstein's relativity, problems with the big bang, astronomy and general science, apologetics and dinosaurs.

Colin Gunn

Colin Gunn is a documentary filmmaker and producer. He is a homeschool father of 8, originally from Scotland now residing in Waco, TX. He is the producer of Indoctrination: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity.

Colin is an award-winning writer/director/producer and accomplished animator. His previous films include Shaky Town, winner of the Best Political Film at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival (SAICFF) and The Monstrous Regiment of Women which also won the Best of Festival award there. He most recently co-directed/wrote and produced the Documentaries: IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America and Captivated: Finding Freedom in a Media Captive Culture both winning first and second place in the documentary section of the SAICFF. He also recently acted as executive producer on Act Like Men: A Titanic Lesson in Manliness. He is now working in a new feature length documentary on American healthcare called Wait Till It's Free!

Dr. Danny Faulkner

Dr. Danny R. Faulkner has a B.S. (Math), M.S. (Physics), M.A. and Ph.D. (Astronomy, Indiana University). He was the Full Professor at the University of South Carolina — Lancaster, where he taught physics and astronomy for 25 years. He has published about two dozen papers in various astronomy and astrophysics journals. In January 2013 he joined Answers in Genesis and its Creation Museum full-time.

Dr. Faulkner retired as a full professor and now holds the title of Distinguished Professor Emeritus. So far, Dr. Faulkner has published two books, Universe by Design and The New Astronomy Book.

Bodie Hodge

A speaker, writer, and researcher for Answers in Genesis, Bodie Hodge has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

His specialty was a subset of mechanical engineering based in advanced materials processing, particularly starting powders. He is the author of The Fall of Satan, The War on Christmas, co-author of Dragons: Legends & Lore of Dinosaurs and The Flood of Noah. During his years at SIUC (a secular college), he continued his personal study of biblical apologetics, and even began teaching this topic to a junior high church class. While at SIUC, he was the president of one of the few Christian RSOs (Registered Student Organizations) called Christians Unlimited, and was also an officer in the student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. After earning his master’s degree, he accepted a position of Visiting Instructor at SIUC and started in the fall semester of 1998. He was only 24 years old when he began teaching undergraduate engineering courses at the university.

After working for SIUC for a couple of years, Bodie accepted a position as a test engineer through Aerotek Engineering to work for Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, Illinois at the Peoria Proving Ground. While working at Caterpillar, he taught apologetics to junior high and high school students at his local church, which was a natural outcome considering his love for science, history, and theology. He did this until taking a position with Answers in Genesis in 2003.

Kristen Pratt

Kristen and her husband Randy were the owners of Pennywise Learning for many years, now owned by ChristianBook.com. They have been homeschooling for more than 16 years and have 9 children, including one special needs child.

Kristen worked directly with customers of Pennywise, helping to develop a personal curriculum plan for their individual families. She crafted special plans for her 9 children that included writing lesson plans and breaking the studies down into daily tasks and assignments. Now she works with Master Books as a curriculum writer and conference speaker. With years of knowledge and experience, Kristen will be a wonderful encouragement for new moms desiring to homeschool, and will provide profound insights for veteran homeschoolers.

When they began their homeschooling journey none of their friends homeschooled. They were on their own to figure out the laws and find curriculum. They researched, ordered catalogs, and joined Homefront Hall on AOL. It is there they met a local homeschooler who stumbled upon a support group that they would later lead. They attended their state’s convention as often as they could.

As the years went by they collected books, curriculum, and catalogs from every flavor of homeschooling imaginable. Of course, challenges also came with a growing family, a husband who traveled, a strong-willed child, and all of those life events that shape who we are. When they say they had their challenges, they really mean it. They are one of the few homeschooling families who has expelled a student! Randy likes to say, “Remarkable stories start with remarkable disruptions.” As they shopped curriculum for the child they had expelled, they came up with the idea of starting their own online curriculum business, Pennywise Learning. They had no idea how this little business that started in their basement was going to grow.

The Pennywise years were busy, sometimes crazy, and a whole lot of fun. They really enjoyed working with customers and helping parents pick the right materials for their children. In the meantime, the Lord had called Randy to co-pastor their church. The church began to grow and was in need of a full-time pastor. They had a big decision to make. They came to the conclusion that they could not continue to operate their business and full-time pastor at the same time. After much prayer, they made the decision to see if CBD was interested in buying Pennywise. The sale is a testimony of what God can do. Randy received his pastoral credentials the very day they signed the purchase agreement. CBD is a wonderful company.

They still had a passion for homeschooling and helping families. Master Books happened to attend their local homeschool convention. Their family had always loved their books. This “chance” meeting was the Lord working together a plan. For the past year they have been helping turn their wonderful materials into curriculum. They also had the opportunity of working with homeschool moms again at the Master Books booth in Nashville and Rochester this year.

They have graduated 3 children. Their oldest is married and they have a grandson and new little grandbaby on the way. Among the six still homeschooling is their special needs child. They discovered after his adoption that he had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Everyday life can be a challenge for him. In addition, they have a gifted child who began multiplying and dividing in Kindergarten. Talk about diversity!

Katherine Loop

Katherine Loop, a homeschool graduate, has been ministering to homeschool families since her graduation in 2003. She has written two books on teaching math from a biblical worldview, Beyond Numbers and Revealing Arithmetic, as well as various other materials; spoken for a variety of groups and conventions on both math and homeschooling topics; and ministered to homeschoolers abroad. Her heart is to point people to “Seek the Lord, and his strength” (Psalm 104:4) in everything.

Bill Foster

Bill's book, Meet The Skeptic, reached #1 in the Science & Religion category on Amazon. In it as well as in his presentations Bill has a gift for boiling down complex concepts into digestible pieces while giving them aesthetic, memorable appeal. His presentations are visually driven and use creative graphics and pop culture references as access points for the theological and philosophical topics he discusses.

Bill is a Christian apologist, author, and graphic designer and has appeared on nationally syndicated radio shows including In The Market with Janet Parshall, The Janet Mefferd Show, The Steve Deace Show, and Sound Rezn with Alex McFarland as well as national apologetics conferences such as Truth for a New Generation.

Angela O'Dell

Angela O’Dell, a second generation homeschooler, has been married to her husband, Dave, for 23 years, and together they have homeschooled their four children from the beginning. She has written over 20 books, including her history series, A Living History of Our World, and her math series, Math Lessons for a Living Education. She has studied constitutional history through Hillsdale College, and has worked to bring a curriculum that will reach deep into the heart of home educated children and their families.

Angela has served as a leader in a homeschool group, a curriculum consultant for many homeschool families, and most recently, curriculum advisor for the Royal Schools International in Uganda, Africa.