Convention Speakers 2013
Keynote and Featured Speakers and Other Special Guests
Eric Ludy serves as the President of Ellerslie Mission Society. He is also the teaching pastor at the Church at Ellerslie and the lead instructor in the Ellerslie Leadership Training.
Eric is a best-selling author of more than a dozen books and a highly respected voice in the Church today, especially on issues of Biblical sexuality, manhood, prayer, and the deeper Christian life.
When asked about his denominational leanings, Eric very simply says, “Just stick Leonard Ravenhill, C.T. Studd, Hudson Taylor, Rees Howells, and Charles Spurgeon into a blender, and that’s pretty close to what I believe.”
For the past sixteen years, Eric has been a popular speaker at colleges, conferences and events, and has been a guest on nearly every major Christian radio platform.
Eric has a strong passion for orphan advocacy, and is in process of spearheading the development of an international orphan program that provides strong spiritual and academic training for vulnerable children around the world, with the goal of building orphans into world-impacting leaders.
Eric and his wife Leslie have a passion for adoption, and have adopted two of their four children. The Ludy family lives in Windsor, Colorado where they enjoy Rocky Mountain sunsets, evening bike rides, and the daily chuckles and adventures that four small children bring.
Leslie Ludy serves as the executive director of Set-Apart Girl - an internationally-known organization that provides books, resources, conferences, and training for Christian young women. As a speaker and best-selling author of more than a dozen books, Leslie has become a highly respected voice to her generation on issues of Biblical femininity. In addition to the many books Leslie has written along with her husband Eric, she has written multiple solo books geared for young women, including Authentic Beauty, Set-Apart Femininity, Answering the Guy Questions, Sacred Singleness and The Lost Art of True Beauty.
Authentic Beauty spent several months among the top-ten CBA’s bestseller’s list, and Set-Apart Femininity was a finalist for the 2009 Christian Retailing Reader’s Choice Award.
Leslie is widely recognized for her poignant and practical messages on purity, femininity, and set-apart living. Leslie’s online website and magazine, www.setapartgirl.com has developed a devoted following in over 170 countries around the world, and her Set Apart Girl Conference Tour annually reaches thousands of girls in churches and communities around the United States.
Leslie’s most valued ministry role is as a wife and mother of four. She and Eric share a burden for the rescue of orphan and vulnerable children worldwide, and have adopted two of their four kids. The Ludy family lives in Colorado where they enjoy an adventure-filled life together everyday.
Dr. Larry Guthrie is responsible for teaching and developing curriculum for Harvest Home Farm School. Dr. Guthrie officially transitioned to full time staff at Harvest Home Farm on July 1, 2007, from the Director of Educational Ministries at Camp Forest Springs in Westboro, Wisconsin. His primary responsibility there was the Leadership Training and Development Program. He was also involved in developing curriculum for family camps, youth camps, and follow-up ministries.
Dr. Guthrie is a former research assistant and writer for the Institute in Basic Life Principles. He has worked on such publications as “Character Sketches” volumes III and IV and the “Eagle Story.” He also wrote science and medical curriculum materials for the Institute’s home education program, The Advanced Training Institute of America. Dr. Guthrie is the former director of the Children’s Institute which offers character training and instruction in basic Biblical principles to children ages 6-12. Over the past 10 years, these week-long children’s seminars have enrolled over 175,000 children in 50 cities and 8 foreign countries. Dr. Guthrie also served as Director of Curriculum Development for Character First! Ed. a national non-profit character training program for public schools with headquarters in Oklahoma City.
Dr. Larry Guthrie is a graduate of the University of Illinois and taught seven years as a public school science teacher before becoming a Professor of Education at Indiana University Northwest.
Dr. Guthrie and his wife Lois have been married for over 40 years and have two married children and seven grandchildren.
Vicki Bentley is the Early Years Consultant for Home School Legal Defense Association. Vicki is the mother of eight daughters, foster mom of over 50, and grandma to 15 wonderful grandbabies (so far). Vicki has homeschooled 17 children since 1988, alongside her husband Jim, and led a local support group of over 250 families for 14 years. She has served on the executive board and convention committee of the Home Educators Association of Virginia and has addressed state and national conventions, university teacher organizations, and many mothers’ groups.
Vicki is the author of My Homeschool Planner, Everyday Cooking, The Everyday Family Chore System, Home Education 101: A Mentoring Program for New Homeschoolers, High School 101: Blueprint for Success, and other homeschool and homemaking helps. Vicki has a heart for moms, with strong, practical wisdom and encouraging words.