Craig Groeschel is the founder and lead pastor of Life.Church, a ministry which began in Groeschel’s garage in 1996 and which grew to include several dozen locations over the following decades. As a multisite church connected by video feeds of its services, it pioneered the incorporation of technology with the community life of a church. It developed the YouVersion app, which at the time of Winning the War’s publication was the most downloaded Bible app in history. During Groeschel’s tenure at Life.Church, the ministry won awards from Christian publications and secular workplace reviews for its innovative practices and its healthy work culture. Prior to his work at Life.Church, Groeschel had served in the ministry as an associate pastor in the United Methodist denomination. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing (Oklahoma City University) and a Master of Divinity (Phillips Theological Seminary).

Groeschel is widely known for his writing and podcasting. His books, some of which have become bestsellers, focus on Christian living and self-help. He writes nonfiction books for a generalized Christian audience, dealing with issues such as marriage, money, personal identity, dating, devotional life, and church culture. In his podcasting, he devotes attention to issues of organizational leadership and is involved with the Global Leadership Summit.