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 Federal Agents continue to pour into Minnesota. Department of Homeland Security says thousands have been arrested in the seven weeks of “Operation Metro Surge”. As the federal crackdown continues – immigrant churches are on high alert. Sergio Amezcua is pastor of Dios Habla Hoy (DDH Church) in South Minneapolis, an evangelical, Spanish speaking church of 500 members. Last month – his church put out a call to the community – offering grocery deliveries. As of this week, more than 20,000 families have requested help across Minnesota – and 4,000 people have signed up to volunteer. Pastor Amezcua joins Bigger Than Belief to talk about these efforts, but also to comment on how faith has taken center stage in Minnesota in recent days – as protestors disrupted a church service in St. Paul Sunday, and a man’s promise to burn the Quran Saturday resulted in a massive counterprotest that featured clashes and violence.

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Before he was even 18, Matt Moeller found himself behind bars. Facing nearly 20 years in prison, he was grappling with what felt like a life ruined. Then, just one week after arriving in prison he was invited to a church service. That service would send him on a completely new journey. After doing his time he found work as a restorative justice pastor for

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Simon Osamoh’s journey reads almost like a novel. Born in the UK, he spent years working as a detective for the British police as he launched a career in public safety. While serving as a detective, he came face to face with organized criminals and terrorism plots. Eventually, his journey took him to Minnesota, where he served as head of counterterrorism at the Mall of America. In 2013, an unexpected call came through – asking him to help build a safety plan at a place of worship. In the decade since, he’s built a security consulting firm that’s expanded across multiple states – all with the goal of securing places of worship. In this episode, he shares stories of forgiving a criminal who’d threatened him and his family, making peace with the lifelong absence of his father, and how church security has taken on a new dynamic in the last ten years.

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Today is Christmas Day, when Millions of Americans will celebrate the birth of Jesus in churches across the country. In Minnesota, perhaps no service will be busier than Eagle Brook Church. Across 14 campuses in the Twin Cities, Eagle Brook expects to have more than 100,000 people experience their Christmas message this year. So how do you craft the message? And how relevant is the Christmas story in the year 2025? Executive Director of Creative Arts John Alexander joins Bigger Than Belief to explain.

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Founded in 1949 by Northwestern College President Billy Graham, KTIS has been a Twin Cities radio staple for the past 76 years. With an FM and AM station, it has also grown into something no other faith-based radio station in the country has – a mega-station that competes with and beats out secular stations for market share. By 2019, KTIS had grown its operation to 23 stations in 10 states – with 400,000 weekly listeners. On this episode, Station Manager Matt Deane sits down with Adam Duxter to talk about KTIS – their sustained success, and their goals for the next 76 years.

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This week, Rabbis Rachel and Marcus Rubenstein join Bigger Than Belief. In 2021,
the couple became a rarity nationally – when they joined Temple of Aaron in St.
Paul as married co-rabbis. On this weeks episode, Rabbis Rachel and Marcus
discuss everything from their love story, their move to Minnesota, difference in
theological beliefs in the Midwest/the coast, and how they leaned on their own
podcast to connect with their community.

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On this week's episode of Bigger Than Belief, we meet Bill Butters. A White Bear Lake Native, Bill played collegiate hockey for Coach Herb Brooks at the University of Minnesota - before embarking on a professional career that took him across the country, eventually finishing with a stint as a Minnesota North Star. An enforcer through and through, Bill's life on the ice was rough - and his off the ice life mirrored it. In 1980, just as the US Men's National Team experienced the Miracle on Ice, Bill experienced his own miracle. 45 years later, his faith continues to shine. Today, he mentors players from the Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Golden Gophers, and University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

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Bigger Than Belief is a weekly podcast exploring faith, belief, and religion – all through the stories of believers. With an emphasis on understanding belief through personal experience, we aim to create a conversation about faith that is fair, honest, and easy to understand - regardless of what you do (or don't) believe. We'll also take a journalistic approach to concepts and questions that are difficult to understand, while helping to make sense of current events impacting believers in our communities.

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