Take Root

Sally Leist, a native of the Pacific Northwest, has worked in various career paths, including roles in business and with Young Life International and World Vision.

Alongside her husband, Scott, she is currently based in Kampala, Uganda, dedicated to pursuing justice where it has been absent.

In this episode, Sally delves into her most recent work, sharing both the challenges and the joy encountered in addressing the brokenness of our world.

Valeriy G. Valeriy serves as the Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Washington and Oregon, and is vice president of VS Foods and president of Goel Payment Solutions. Growing up in communist-controlled Ukraine, any discussion of God was unsafe. But God intervened in miraculous ways to introduce Valeriy and his family to His great love, and that changed everything. Valeriy lives in Bellevue, Washington with his wife and 5 children and he continues to serve an ever-growing Ukrainian population.

Levi Davenport is the president of C3 Leaders, a ministry committed to empowering business leaders to make a positive difference in the world through community, commerce, and culture- all rooted in their faith in Christ.

In this interview, he shares vulnerably from his own life story, and how God has led him to this opportunity to guide business leaders in the greater Seattle area to a deeper walk of faith.

Millie Voigtlander is the founder of Adoration House, a house of worship and prayer in the University District of Seattle. In this episode, Millie shares the story of the clear calling she received to move to Seattle for the purpose of gathering people to pray, and how God provided everything needed to make that happen. Woven throughout this story is a hopeful vision for the future of Seattle- a beautiful picture of God's desire for healing and reconciliation.

Kendra VanderMeulen is currently serving as the CEO of the National Christian Foundation, the largest Christian grant maker in the world. The team at NCF mobilizes resources and inspires Biblical generosity, serving thousands of families, advisors and ministries nationwide.

Kendra is a veteran of the wireless telecommunications industry, having served as an Executive Vice-President at InfoSpace and as the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of the Wireless Data Division of AT&T Wireless.

Her story is one of trusting God for each step of her life, and discovering His generous love for her as He guides her into an ever deeper walk with Him.

Keith Carpenter and his wife made the difficult decision to leave their cherished home in Minnesota and embark on a mission to establish a church in one of the most challenging neighborhoods in Seattle back in 2009.

The inception of Epic Life Church marked the beginning of a remarkable transformation within the community, as miracles started to unfold in abundance. In this particular episode, Keith takes us on a profound journey of faith, emphasizing the importance of trust and love. Furthermore, he sheds light on how an even grander vision materialized, giving rise to additional initiatives such as Pilgrim Coffeehouse, a food bank, and a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting the community and replacing darkness with hope and joy.

Dr. Gregg Glenn has had a remarkable career in the field of vaccine development and bio-technology. As the recently retired President of Research and Development at Novavax, he is a recognized innovator and leader in the fields of vaccine delivery, discovery, and translation to development.

In this interview, Dr. Glenn shares incredible insight about his lifetime of work, and about how his faith has always been a guiding light.

Katie Mathews was paralyzed in a car crash at age 16, and is now a life coach for other women healing from life's traumas. She is author of the book Unparalyzed and has much to teach about what that word can mean for each of us as we release our fears to God.

Amber Cantu is the 6th generation granddaughter of Chief Seattle, and is part of the Colville confederation of 12 tribes.

She is a warrior for women and children, and for her people. Amber and her husband have 5 adult children, 7 grandchildren, and are currently fostering 7 Native American children. She is working to break generational trauma and addiction by raising up the next generation to know “who” they are and “whose” they are- children of God with value and purpose. 

But her vision is even bigger. She is determined to create real and lasting change for her people in this generation, trusting in God for his wisdom and direction. 

Barry Rowan is a Harvard Business school graduate who has held a range of C-suite roles and has been instrumental in building and transforming eight businesses, primarily in the technology and communications space. 

After spending nearly 40 years thinking about the integration of faith and work, Barry has authored a book entitled The Spiritual Art of Business (Connecting the Daily With the Divine). In this interview, he shares with vulnerability and wisdom what he has learned.

Evans Kaame is a graduate student at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington. A student advocate, who is serving with passionate student leaders and multiple community organizations, he seeks to improve the wellbeing of students in our institutions of higher education across the state of Washington. In this podcast, he shares the incredible story of how he came from the streets of Lodwar, Kenya to the halls of a great university.

Rita Nussli is a Spiritual Director with the ministry of SoulFormation, and teaches at their Academy of Spiritual Formation and School of Spiritual Direction. Prior to this, she was the Executive Director of New Horizons for 22 years- an organization that serves homeless and street involved youth in Seattle. It was here that Rita learned the importance of personal closeness to God rather than just relying on her own skills and strength. Rita has a Masters in Social Work form the University of Washington and is an ordained pastor with the Methodist Church. In this episode, she shares her own journey of listening for God's direction and learning to grow in deeper intimacy with Him each day.

David Bluhm has spent the last 39 years starting and growing technology companies and has been involved in over 20 start-ups that have achieved a combined high water equity value of over 36 billion dollars. Above all, the most impressive thing about David is his love for the Lord and how he shares that with young people through mentorship in business. Listen in and be encouraged!

Norma Smith has lived a life of public service. For 13 years, she served in policy as a Washington State Representative sponsoring legislation that impacted privacy, government transparency, the environment, education, behavioral health, and much more. 

In this episode, Norma shares how her faith in Jesus informs every aspect of life and work, even through losing the love of her life. Norma lives on Whidbey Island and is the mother of 4, and grandmother of 11. 

Rick Newell is the founder of M.U.S.T.  (Mentoring Urban Students and Teens), and the owner of  Fairway Studios. In this episode, he describes God's leading to hand over the leadership of M.U.S.T. and begin a new ministry, called ROUTE 21.  This ministry uses the same mentoring model to support teens as they are aging out of the foster care system, preventing these kids from falling through the cracks.  Starting in high school, ROUTE 21 steps in to provide an "onramp to adulthood"  through 7 years of mentoring, and the very real possibility of effecting generations to come.

Rick is also the incredibly creative author of Life in the Trap (a golf comic strip), and he is passionate in his role as husband to Rebecca and dad to their 4 boys.

(Note: ROUTE 21 is a branding refresh of the current name, Hope Herd.  More information can be found at hopherd.org)  

Questions?  Contact rick@hopeherd.org

Jesse Peone III is the youngest school board member ever elected in the State of Oregon. He owns 2 newspapers, a magazine, and a real estate business, is a full time MBA student at Willamette University... and he is only 27 years old.  Here he shares how God intervened in his life when he was living on the streets at age 17, a hopeless soul who had lived in 50 different foster homes. 

Listen in to an amazing story of a life redeemed.

JJ Breilh is the Collegiate Director at the University of Washington with Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  HIs passion for discipleship, love of sports, and pursuit of meaningful relationships makes him the perfect guy for this job. JJ and his wife Krista have literally moved in with the athletes they serve- living in an old sorority house in the U. District, and creating opportunities for fellowship. Just think of the ripple effects on this large campus!  

https://www.fcaseattle.org   

Vision: To see the world transformed by Jesus through the influence of coaches and athletes. 

Melissa Gehrig is the Executive Director at Vision House, a Christian social service agency in Renton and Shoreline, Washington that helps break the cycle of homelessness for families by offering transitional housing, and moving them from crisis to stability. Melissa holds a BFA from the University of California and an MA in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on servant leadership from Gonzaga University. In her own story, one can easily see how God guided her path to be in this position for such a time as this. 

https://visionhouse.org

Jeannet Charles is Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of DADS (Divine Alternatives for Dads Services). Marvin and Jeannet Charles founded DADS over 23 years ago, and the impact of this ministry on the Puget Sound area continues to be profound.

Jeannet's story of trauma, drug abuse, homelessness, and the loss of her children to the state might leave one feeling hopeless. But she was fortunate to have both a Father in heaven and an earthy father who never gave up on her. Jeannet's story of overcoming life's challenges is truly inspiring!  

Deborah Herlax Enos, CN, is a global speaker, Healthy Living Expert, TV personality, and recent cancer survivor. As a nutritionist and healthy living expert,she took great joy in her amazing career, offering excellent advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle.  And then came the shock of a cancer diagnosis in the fall of 2020. This rocked her world, and sent her on a journey to ask the question "why"? In this podcast, Deborah shares about this journey, and about the podcast she has started recently called "Why Did I Get Cancer?" 

Brandon Heath is a singer- songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee where he lives with his wife and two little girls. He has received an Emmy Award, five Grammy nominations and and an American Music Award nomination. He has been honored as a six-time GMA Dove Award recipient, including back to back Male Vocalist of the Year awards for Give Me Your Eyes and Love Neve Fails. His music continues to reveal his deep faith, and powerfully tells the story that God is writing in his life and the lives of others.

https://brandonheathmusic.com

Heather Tuininga is a Principal at 10/10 Strategies where she offers Philanthropic advising. She has a heart of generosity, and a deep desire to live her life by abiding in Christ. She and her husband Eric are parents to an adorable little girl named Kate, and live in Issaquah, Washington.

Rick Newell is the founder of M.U.S.T.  (Mentoring Urban Students and Teens), the owner of  Fairway Studios, and founder of Hope Herd, a new ministry focused on caring for foster children.  In 2012, Rick took a huge leap of faith out of a successful career in technology to follow God's calling to to start M.U.S.T., a mentoring program designed to help youth graduate from high school on time and go to college.   Rick has recently founded a new ministry called Hope Heard, using a similar model of mentoring to support foster families.  He is also the incredibly creative author of Life in the Trap (a golf comic strip), and he is passionate in his role as husband to Rebecca and dad to their four boys.  

https://mentoringisamust.org

https://hopeherd.org

https://lifeinthetrap.com

rick@hopeherd.org

Tim Mackie is the Co-founder/ Chief Education Officer of the Bible Project who has a deep passion for helping people to understand how the overall biblical story works together and leads us to Jesus.  With a degree in theology, and a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies, Tim has the unique ability to explain scripture and make the stories come alive (along with the artistry of dear friend and colleague Jonathan Collins).

 https://bibleproject.com  

Tim also hosts a podcast called "Exploring My Strange Bible" -   https://bibleproject.com/tim-mackie/

Kathy Lambert  has served on the King County Council of Washington State for twenty years.  She  represents the 3rd district, which is the largest, covering nearly half the land mass of the county.  Prior to this, she represented the 45th district in Washington's legislature for seven years.   She cherishes her role in tirelessly serving the people who have elected her to represent them, and her roles as wife, mother, and Grandma.  Her story is one of deep faith, a legacy of lifelong service, and wisdom gained in learning to trust God through the most painful times in her own life. 

Rachael Mitchell is a freelance copy writer, an author, mother and wife. On approaching a milestone birthday, she decided to revisit the people and stories that have shaped her life.  Rachael's creative journey of love and learning might just inspire you to do the same!    

Martha Newsome, President and CEO of Medical Teams International, has dreamed of traveling the world to bring healing to the suffering since she was a child. As Martha learned to listen for God's leading in her life, this dream has taken shape in some amazing ways. You will be blessed as you listen to her walk of faith.  

Christine Soule is the founder and CEO of Providence Heights, a non-profit that empowers women in need through housing, employment opportunities, and personal development. She is also the author of Broken and Beautiful, which shares the story of her own healing from the trauma of her childhood.  Listen in as this amazing woman of faith gives us all new reasons for hope.   

Dr. Edyth Phillips worked as a psychiatrist for 52 years and is a pioneer.  As one of three women in a graduating class of 120 at Loma Linda Medical School, she broke all kinds of barriers. And as a woman of deep faith, she has a lifetime of wisdom to share.  Listen in . . . you will be blessed.

Katie Robertson is the founder of The Anchor, a welcoming place for women to gather and hear of the hope that there is in Jesus. After losing her daughter to cancer, Katie knew that she needed to share "the Anchor of her soul" with other women who were facing life's storms, so she launched The Anchor in 2012. Today it has spread to 45 states!  

Check it out at  https://theanchorgathering.com.