Today on the Be the Difference Podcast, Chris and Sammy are joined by a beloved coworker and advocate for vulnerable youth and families. Brandy Pendleton is a wife, mom to four boys, well-versed in football and teenagers, and a licensed social worker with Back2Back Cincinnati. Brandy is passionate about ensuring people around her feel seen, known, celebrated, loved, and encouraged. Today, listen in as she sits down with our co-hosts to discuss life, lessons, and why having safe adults in your corner as a child matters.

In this week’s episode, hear what 10-year-old Brandy would think about her current life and what still shocks Brandy today about her day-to-day. Hear about who Brandy saw as a safe, consistent adult in her own childhood, how God often uses fear, as well as our passions, to guide our steps, and how she got started with Back2Back and her heart for Middletown and what that means for her today. 

Links to learn more:

Interested in opportunities to get involved in Middletown? Email [email protected] 

Learn more about Back2Back Ministries.

Follow Back2Back Ministries on Social Media:

Instagram | Facebook

Have you ever wrestled with knowing when to jump into a problem and when to step back? Felt overwhelmed by the weight of an issue and the anxiety swirling around it? Wondered how to find some relief without falling into apathy? Today, Chris and Sammy share a conversation about these very questions. In this episode, Chris and Sammy talk about the concept of benevolent detachment and how they process their own experiences of learning to lean in or let go. 

Links to learn more:

Learn more about Back2Back Ministries

Learn more about Benevolent Detachment and the Pause App

Brent Billingsley is an artist and an empowering voice behind young disenfranchised youth.  He is also a Behavioral Health Specialist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center/Psychiatry. Other endeavors include Independent Contracting Therapeutic Mentoring and the co-founder of two nonprofits geared toward the utilization of therapeutic artistic engagement and the performance arts. 

His intention is to help all he comes in contact with to realize they are part of something bigger than themselves and their part matters. Brent believes that the world can be changed through art 1 PIECE at a TIME!

In this week’s episode, Brent joins Chris and Sammy to discuss art and what about creating it inspires healing in each of us and where in the world Brent is taking his love of art and how it’s providing healing to youth and families globally. Hear about a personal experience Mr. B recently went through and how, instead of despair, he chose hope, and continues to, as he serves others in similar situations, using creativity to change the narrative and galvanize healing.

Links to learn more:

Support Brent in his cancer journey. 

Follow Brent on Instagram and Facebook

Learn more about ARTE

Learn more about Back2Back Ministries.

Follow Back2Back Ministries on Social Media:
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How do some people who face adversity overcome and make it to the other side? Is there a secret factor at play and if so can we somehow tap into it? Today, Chris and Sammy share a conversation about these very questions. In this episode, Chris and Sammy discuss what it means to build resilience and the ways in which art and creativity and can change the ways we face adversity and challenge.

Links to learn more:

Learn more about⁠Back2Back Ministries

Antonio and Priscilla are parents, husband and wife, and co-laborers with Back2Back Ministries. For 17 ½ years, they have faithfully stepped into new roles, learned new skills, and grown with the ministry in Monterrey, Mexico. Today, they sit down with Chris and Sammy to reflect on all they’ve done, all that’s changed, and why they still feel called by God to this work.

In today’s episode, Priscilla and Tonio reflect on the many roles they’ve filled with Back2Back and why saying yes was just part of what God called them to do. Hear how teenagers are the group they feel most called to serve and why, how God has, and continues to, surprise them, and what keeps them in this fight of serving vulnerable populations in the city they call home.

Learn more about Back2Back at back2back.org

Have you ever wrestled with the desire to go or stay? Wished for a character or personality quality that doesn’t come naturally? Wondered if it’s possible to be a missionary right where you are? Today, Chris and Sammy share a conversation about these very questions. In this episode, Chris and Sammy share their own experiences “going” to the mission field and finding the mission field right where they already are. 

Links to learn more:

Learn more about Back2Back Ministries

In the final episode of this year, Chris and Sammy reflect on the 2024 and the lessons they’ve each learned along the way. 

In this episode, our co-hosts share their favorite books, quotes and episodes of 2024. Hear how Chris supported a friend simply by reading alongside him, what practice Sammy is planning in 2025 and how they’ve each been shaped by the conversations they’ve had this year. 

Links to learn more and resources mentioned: 

Learn more about Back2Back Ministries

The Way of the Warrior 

Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools 

Revenge of the Tipping Point
The Pause App

‘Tis the season! Today, Chris and Sammy discuss being fully present in the final weeks of 2024, even as the time passes quickly. 

In this episode, our co-hosts share 12 ways you can be the difference this holiday season! Hear how Chris and his family created a holiday tradition that facilitates story and connection and how Sammy likes bringing a smile to someone’s face through thoughtful gift giving. 

Links to learn more:

Learn more about Back2Back Ministries

Chris and Sammy are joined today by Marie Edwards. Marie is the daughter to two parents described as “servant-hearted to their core” by most who know them. Marie is the Out of School Program Director for Community Building Institute in Middletown, Ohio. Marie recalls her childhood and adolescence fondly in this episode, sharing that they were always giving and serving as a family, and she never knew any other way.

In this episode, Marie shares what it was like growing up with parents who were missionally minded and incredibly generous. She shares about being deeply embedded in her community and what it means to be in community and to see one another. Hear about how she discusses generational impacts of gratitude and giving, how her own journey of self awareness has grown, teaching her she has to fill her own cup in order to offer to others, and listen for a special thank you at the end from a fellow Back2Back staff member.

Learn more about The Community Building Institute

Learn more about Back2Back Ministries

Follow Back2Back Ministries on Social Media:

Instagram | Facebook

Do you know what your next meal will be? Even if you don’t know exactly what you’ll have, do you know there will be food available for you? For your family? Today, Chris and Sammy share a conversation about food insecurity and discuss the ways we can step into this story and honor those we’re serving as we near seasons of giving and gratitude. 

In this episode, Sammy shares a staggering and alarming statistic about food insecurity in the United States and why it is a systematic problem so many don’t fully understand. Hear how food scarcity affects our ability to learn and absorb information, why those experiencing this insecurity might be hesitant to ask for or accept help, and how you can step into solutions within your own communities. 

Links to learn more:

Learn more about Back2Back Ministries