John O. Gooch is a free-lance writer and editor. He is a veteran of more than 40 years in youth ministry, at the local church, district, conference, jurisdictional and national levels. A native of Missouri, John is a retired pastor who currently is a youth ministry consultant, a youth Sunday school teacher, a Stephens Ministry leader and a frequent writer of United Methodist curriculum resources, both for youth and for adults. Dr. Gooch earned a BA in history, the Mdiv and a PhD in Historical Theology from St. Louis University. He is the author of *Claiming the Name: A Theological and Practical Overview of Confirmation** (Abingdon, 2000), *365 Meditations for Families** (Abingdon, 2001), *Jesus and Prayer** (co-author with Safiyah Fosua) (Abingdon, 2002), and *Guidance for Discipleship: A Study of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus** (Abingdon, 2003).