Sarah Raymond Cunningham

From living in a Chicago homeless shelter to leading a disaster relief team at Ground Zero, Sarah sunk her early twenties into whirlwind attempts to save the world.

After earning a degree in Urban Studies, she convinced Westwinds Community Church to create a new position for her: "Director of Outreach" (it sounded better than "Overzealous Social Activist" on business cards).

Three years later, Sarah married Chuck Cunningham and joined her new husband teaching area high schoolers and living in an an unfortunately pink house on the south side of Prison City (nicknamed such because it houses the state prison). These experiences combined to inspire Sarah's first book, Dear Church: Letters From a Disillusioned Generation.

Sarah went on to publish Picking Dandelions, a memoir-style collection of writings on spiritual change. She also contributed to the Mosaic Bible (Tyndale 2009), unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity and Why It Matters by David Kinnaman (Baker Books, October 2007) and Out of the Ooze (NavPress, November 2007). In 2012, she released The Donkey in the Living Room, a 28-page illustrated children's book inviting families to unwrap manger scene figures and read each figure's story together in the days leading up to Christmas. She also has two upcoming releases, Portable Faith (Abingdon) and the Well Balanced World Changer (Moody) in 2013. Zondervan also plans to release a new, expanded edition of Dear Church in early 2014.

Amidst all the writing, Sarah became an idea junkie and freelance consultant to several mainstream Christian events. She also earned her Masters in Educational Leadership, none of which resulted in additional respect from her manic Jack Russell terrier, Wrigley. She and her husband currently live in southeast Michigan where Sarah serves as chief servant to the Emperor Justus (her 3 year old) and his chief of staff, Malachi (their 3 month old).

Sarah has contributed to Christian resources such as Relevant Magazine, Catalyst Publications and q ideas. She and her faith writings have been featured in a wide range of media, including the Dallas Morning News, the Wichita Eagle, the USA Today and Christianity Today's Leadership Journal.