Enjoying the Journey

In episode 16 of "Enjoying the Journey", we were so excited to be able to travel to Sioux City to talk IN PERSON (that seems rare these days, doesn't it?😊) with the lead pastor of Sunnybrook Community Church, Jeff Moes. He has previously served churches in Mississippi and the Chicagoland area, and since 2002 has called Sunnybrook home. Under his leadership, Outreach Magazine named Sunnybrook one of the fastest growing churches in America in 2014, and then again in 2016! Sunnybrook’s mission is "SEEKING those who don’t know Jesus, GROWING those who do, and SENDING those who will". Jeff loves being a part of that mission and is passionate about seeing people transformed by the Word of God. He has been married to his wife Beth for 35 years, and they have 4 children and 5 grandchildren. On today's episode, Rob is able to ask Jeff to give insight into being a pastor for such a large church like Sunnybrook, and what it was like to be its leader during periods of change and growth. From talk about children and family joining in their ministries, to the challenges that Jeff encounters in the everyday life of a lead pastor, this was such a fun and encouraging episode to make, and we can't wait for you to listen!!!

On episode 15 of "Enjoying the Journey", we had such an amazing time catching up with professional skateboarder and friend of RISE Ministries, Tim Byrne! Tim is an Urban Missionary/ Pastor and Itinerant Evangelist under the leadership of the original Skatechurch in Portland, Oregon. As a Pro Skateboarder since the early 2000's, Tim has used his skating to reach hundreds of thousands with the Gospel. His mission is one that speaks to us so much: sharing the good news of Jesus, and discipling those that are often overlooked in our culture. Tim does this each week through his role at Skatechurch, and by partnering with numerous ministries all over the globe. It was so amazing not only for Rob and Tim to recall their time traveling together, but to learn more about Tim's passion and outreach in the Portland area. Tim explains what "Skatechurch" is and its role in the community, what it's like to preach the gospel in tough neighborhoods that are often overlooked, and explains how he reaches out to a population that often feels excluded by the church. We hope you enjoy today's episode, and are so glad you are here!!!

In this weeks episode, we had the honor of talking to Paul Ten Haken, current mayor of Sioux Falls, South Dakota! After holding various marketing and executive roles in Sioux Falls and earning his MBA from the University of Sioux Falls, Paul founded the marketing technology agency Click Rain in 2008, where he served as CEO until 2017. While CEO, Click Rain was the only South Dakota company included on the Inc. 5000 list as one of America’s fastest growing private companies for the five consecutive years. The agency has won numerous awards for its unique workplace culture, including the prestigious “Entrepreneur 360” award in 2016 and the Embee Tribute to Women “Embeliever” award. Paul was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Ten Emerging Entrepreneurs as well as South Dakota Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Paul’s primary passion, however, lies in the leading and development of people. He is the co-founder of the Dispatch Project, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that creates international service trip opportunities and philanthropic outlets for business leaders. Paul also travels to Haiti annually to work with organizations serving the people of Haiti. He also is a frequent speaker on the topics of empowerment, workplace culture, and leadership. He credits the blessings/success in his life to his faith, and it was awesome to chat with him about keeping that faith while being in such a large leadership role, and using a relationship with Christ to overcome outside influences and stressors. Thanks so much for listening!!!

This second season of the podcast has started off with a bang, and two incredible interviews! Today we were so honored that Bob Lenz was willing to be extremely open and honest with us, and share about his faith and story. Since founding Life Promotions in 1982, Bob has spoken to youth in all 50 states and across the globe. He is infinitely passionate about sharing the love of Jesus, which gives teens hope for this life and the next. Whether he is partnering with local churches or touring with national recording artists, he is committed to sharing a respectful and relevant message to the next generation. It was so amazing to talk to Bob about how he has stayed strong in his faith through tremendous amounts of adversity in his life, about how much we all matter and are loved and valued as individuals, and about ways we can all find a little more joy in our daily lives. Thanks so much for listening, we love you!

In the first episode of season 2 of "Enjoying the Journey", we had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Pastor Adam Weber, lead pastor and founder of the multi-site Embrace church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Adam started Embrace in 2006 when he was 24 years-old, and didn't always plan on being a pastor. However, like occurs in many of our lives, God had a different plan. Adam has been recognized as one of the youngest pastors on the list of fastest-growing churches in the country, speaks at national conferences, has a blog, hosts his own podcast (The Conversation), and wrote the books "Talking With God" and "Love Has a Name". Adam is married to his beautiful wife, Becky, and has four kids: Hudson, Wilson, Grayson, and Anderson. In today's episode, Rob and Adam talk about Adam's path into ministry and the church, what ministry and a relationship with Christ mean to him, and the way we can find more joy in our journeys by looking to serve others first. This is one of our favorite episodes, and we can't wait for you to listen!

In this episode, we had an amazing time sitting down and doing a recording session with our RISE Ministries office team! Rob, Ellie (our creative director), and Parker (our office intern) take time to laugh and chat about what our office has worked on and accomplished during this crazy year! From creating new content areas to producing virtual festivals, 2020 has offered both challenges and blessings, and there are things we are both thankful for, and ready to leave behind as we look forward to and prepare for an even better 2021! Rob also shares some lyrics from a favorite Christmas song, and how it relates to our ministry throughout the year! We love you all, and thank you so much for listening!

In this week's episode of the podcast, we are so blessed to be joined by the CEO of PULSE Outreach, Nick Hall!!! Nick Hall is an evangelist, international speaker, and founder of PULSE, a movement that seeks to empower the Church and awaken the culture to the reality of Jesus. He sits on the leadership teams for the US Lausanne Committee, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the student advisory team for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Nick is regularly featured as a speaker for pastor gatherings, student conferences, training events, and festivals around the world. He has been featured on major media outlets including the US News & World Report, Fox News, Christianity Today, Moody Radio, and Christian Broadcasting Network, and is the author of Reset: Jesus Changes Everything. Nick talks with Rob this week about where his focus is at this point in his ministry, what his journey has been like as such an influential person at a young age, what overcoming tragedy has looked like in his life, and about how special Christmas is, especially in 2020. We're so happy you're joining us, and we appreciate each and every one of you!

On Episode 9 of "Enjoying the Journey", we are so excited to have Pizza Ranch founder and CEO Adrie Groeneweg for our first IN PERSON interview! Adrie started Pizza Ranch in Hull, Iowa at the age of 19, giving locals the ability to have a great dining experience without leaving their town. With a mission of glorifying God at the center of the franchise, and every individual restaurant, Pizza Ranch now has over 220 locations across 13 different states! Adrie gives us great insight in this episode about the challenges that have come with a life in the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, what it's like to have your children involved in your business, how he handles stress so well, and what has been most rewarding to him throughout his Pizza Ranch journey. We're so blessed to have him join us, and we hope this episode brightens your day!

We are so blessed in episode 8 to be joined by speaker, mental health advocate, and former football player (University of Colorado, signed by Seattle Seahawks) Patrick Devenny! Specifically, Patrick specializes in talking about eating disorders, as a recovering bulimic. He cuts through the "BS" of what sounds good and the stereotypes of society, and normalizes the topic of eating disorders for males, speaking in terms men can actually relate to. Eating Disorders are commonly associated with women, but Patrick pushed through stigmas and learned that they affect everyone, including him: a 245 pound former professional football player. We're living in a world the surrounds us with examples of unrealistic expectations: magazines in the store, pictures on social media, movie stars on tv, etc. However, like we've talked about at RISE, we are all made in God's image, unique in our own ways, and our individual talents are used for the glory of God, to bring others closer to him. Things like eating disorders control our minds to the point we lose focus on the other relationships in our lives, and even change our personalities, to the point where our God-given talents get pushed to the back-burner. Patrick is incredible at pushing through the lies that society throws at us, and is an example of someone who has tried to create a lifestyle that gave him a "perfect body", but realized that giving up control and focusing on the more important relationships and experiences in our lives can be so much sweeter. He, like us, wants to help you "enjoy your journey", and we're so blessed to have him today!!!!

On episode 7 of the podcast, we are so blessed to be able to sit down with Wendy Palau! Wendy is an amazing speaker and evangelist herself, is married to Andrew Palau (another incredible evangelist), and is the daughter in law of Luis Palau, one of the greatest evangelists we know! In her own words, Wendy aims to help the lost, after living apart from Jesus for the first 24 years of her life. Born and raised in Jamaica, Wendy found Christ at 25, and she and her husband Andrew have since dedicated their lives since to serving churches around the world through city-wide evangelistic outreaches. Under Wendy's compassionate direction, mission teams join each effort; whether in Africa, Haiti, or her beautiful homeland of Jamaica. Wendy and Andrew have been married 19 years, and her primary job is raising their three children: Christopher, Jonathan, and Sadie.