In today’s episode in our Identity Series of Anchor + Waves, we hear from Sarah Thoms, a passionate wilderness adventure-taking soul! She and her husband, Brad, work with Lifelines, a college ministry that brings young adults to Christ through the outdoors.

Learn how she overcomes performance by finding her true identity in Christ, and the impact her story has in relating to students as she works to be on mission with Jesus.

We're really excited for today's episode in our Identity Series on Anchor + Waves as we have two staff members involved! Wren, whom you've been listening to, interviews our very own Katie DeClet. Whether you know Katie from her days in the youth department, the care and counseling center, or on the sports field heading up our co-ed sports and rec activities, she has an incredible passion about her. Listen in today as she and Wren talk about basketball and the development of personal faith.

On today's instalment of the Identity series here on Anchor + Waves, Wren sits down with Jess Safer from the Mission Hills Church Dove Valley Campus. Wren and Jess connected over their passion for Volleyball and connecting athletics to reaching people who might not feel comfortable setting foot inside a church. They see competitive relationship building as a comfortable way to connect with those that maybe don't necessarily want to sit down and develop a relationship face to face.

Today, Wren interviews one of her best friends she's known since childhood, a true baller, Amy Parkins. Amy grew up in a conservative Christian household in Texas, where athletics were encouraged and your personal relationship with Christ equally as important. It's like we're back in middle school and we're the third connection on the phone as they discuss which NBA jerseys were in fashion, the important decision to switch from hats to visors, and instilling Christian values to your children.

Welcome to the first episode and interview from our Identity series. We will be releasing a new episode every Monday for the coming weeks here and we hope you love listening as much as we did capturing the stories here. Today, we have Wren Pauley interviewing Emerald Holden on to start things off. Emerald grew up in Wyoming and passionately pursued running and the Lord throughout college and her adult life. She is firmly rooted in her faith and knows who she is, and where her identity lies.

We are so excited to bring to you a new series on Anchor + Waves called, "Identity". This series is all about how people have experienced sports, recreational activities, or the outdoors in a significant way and how it's played a role in their faith and identity. We will be bringing you stories from athletes, outdoors-women, coaches, and everyone in between to inspire and encourage you to really lay a strong foundation in your faith that you can stand strong on.

We are really excited to carry on with our Life on Mission Series. In this episode, we will be listening in on the team that was able to go over and serve with our partner in India in 2018. Colin McFarland, our producer, who also lead this team, talks to Jaime Meda and Olivia Schneider about their time serving in an unfamiliar area, half a world away. Listen in today as they discuss breaking down barriers and stepping out of your comfort zone.

Welcome back for our second episode in our, "Life on Mission" series. Today, we hear from Kelly McSparran, our Communications Director here at Mission Hills, on her time in Peru. Kelly and her husband Ryan lived in Peru for a bit at the beginning of their marriage and learned lessons about being public with your faith, growing closer to God to solidify your marriage, and travel do's and don'ts in an incredible part of the world.

Hebrews 12:1b states that there is a race marked out for us: "...And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." - Hebrews 12:1. Before we were even born, even when we were still in our mother's womb, it was marked out for us! Join us today as our own Sharon Sands shares with our Mission Hills Staff what it looks like to run your race with courage and power. No one can run your race for you so today we want to ask the question, "How is your race going?".

We are so excited to launch our new series, "Life on Mission". Craig Smith has charged the staff and congregation alike to live life on Mission with Jesus. It's what we're called to do! So, throughout the life of Anchor + Waves, we will be bringing you missional stories from our short term trips, our local partners, and our global partners alike! In our kick-off episode here, we will be speaking with Jacque Carlson, Emerald Holden, and Karissa Kellerstrass about their recent trip to Colombia.