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Halfway There episodes

  • Bonus Episode with Chris Copeland

    Hey friends!

    This month’s bonus episode is with Chris Copeland. Chris and his wife Joi appeared on Halfway There episode #98 back in July 2018. They had been raising support to go to Ireland as missionaries for four years at the time.

    Yesterday, they shared a special update that they finally reached 100 % of the funding they needed to begin the process of moving to Ireland. If you’re wondering why reaching 100% is only the beginning, well, I was too. Listen to the conversation to find out what the process is like from here.

    Once I heard they finally reached the goal, I just had to have Chris on to talk about the perseverance it takes, how that shaped their family, and what they see the Lord doing now.

    You can hear the entire conversation by supporting Halfway There on Pateron at any level starting at just $5 per month.

    Have you ever had to wait way longer than expected for something?

    The post Bonus Episode with Chris Copeland appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    21 min
  • 155: Jim Bowman and the Heart of the Father
    Jim Bowman is a missionary to people who learn orally which makes sharing the Gospel a different process than most of us in the West are used to using. Today, Jim shares the story of learning to trust God as his father because his own father was less than trustworthy (hint: he stole a diamond later worn by Elizabeth Taylor). He also shares how he and his wife discovered that written words are not always the best way to communicate the Gospel and the methods they developed to share it instead. Turns out, the Gospel is still a great story from the greatest Storyteller ever.
    Listen to Jim’s story today!
    Stories Jim shared:
    • Growing up in San Diego in a troubled background
  • Learning his father was a famous diamond thief
  • Going to a Billy Graham meeting and deciding to follow Jesus
  • Missions trips that began to foster a love for missions
  • His calling to missions in Mexico where he discovered the oral nature of learning
  • Learning how to minister to Mexican tribes
  • Discovering that many oral cultures have great memories
  • The method he developed to help oral cultures learn the Bible
  • How is wife died quickly from breast cancer
  • Dealing with God as his father
  • Great quotes from Jim:

    I was tired of the excuses my father was giving me and I wanted to obey that voice from within.

    We need to find a way to share the Gospel without using technology.

    We teach people that Jesus first was a storyteller.

    Resources we mentioned:

    • Building Bridges to Oral Cultures: Journeys Among the Least-Reached by K. Carla Bowman with Jim Bowman
  • Scriptures in Use
  • Old, boring, and long Bible studies getting you down?
    Try my brand new 8 Day Experience series designed to get you thinking about the Lord beyond quiet time.
    8 Day Experience will refresh your relationship with the Lord.

    The post Jim Bowman and the Heart of the Father appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    49 min
  • 154: Amy Jackson and Trusting God with the Questions
    Amy Jackson is founder and director of The Perch, which provides space and skills for soul care. She is a former publisher at Christianity Today and has served in pastoral ministry. Today, Amy shares how she went from kid who didn’t think God was worth it to all in on him. Her story teaches us how faithful the Lord is to lead even when we question whether or not he knows what he’s doing. If you have more questions than answers, this episode is for you.
    Listen to Amy’s story here or in your favorite podcast app now!
    Stories Amy shared:
    • Growing up in Aurora, Illinois in a family that didn’t go to church
  • Asking too many questions in her confirmation class
  • Going to testimony night at her friend’s youth group
  • Giving her life to Christ in that youth group and quickly becoming a leader
  • Quickly outgrowing formulaic expressions of her faith
  • The Christian Campus House where her discipleship deepened
  • Discovering her pastoral skills through ministry
  • Running a small group ministry at her church
  • Losing her job and looking for new ones
  • Getting an internship at Christianity Today
  • The gratitude she had to God for her heart
  • The shift that changed her trajectory
  • Venturing out to produce her first two events
  • Launching the Perch full time as her job
  • Great quotes from Amy:

    Small groups have always been part of my faith walk.

    He is more loving and more graceful than we could ever comprehend.

    Resources we mentioned:

    • The Perch
    Old, boring, and long Bible studies getting you down?
    Try my brand new 8 Day Experience series designed to get you thinking about the Lord beyond quiet time.
    8 Day Experience will refresh your relationship with the Lord.

    The post Amy Jackson and Trusting God with the Questions appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    50 min
  • 153: Wesley Ross Harris and Growing Faith and Mental Illness
    Wesley Ross Harris is an author and personal trainer. Today, he shares his story struggling with mental illness. Wes began to give up his identity as he joined the football team in high school. In time, the Lord began to reorient him toward others which slowly changed his perspective. Things really began to change when he decided to write his story and share it to help others. Now, he writes to destigmatize mental illness and assist others who suffer with it.
    Listen to Wesley’s story today!
    Stories Wesley shared:
    • Growing up as a military kid moving all over
  • Moving to Austin, TX and experiencing culture shock
  • Struggling with depression for the first time
  • Beginning to reach out to God for help
  • How helping others helped Wes to grow
  • How reading the Bible resurfaced his interest in writing
  • The discipleship relationship that helped him grow
  • Deciding to write his story
  • Why he wrote about OCD and depression
  • Practices that have helped him deal with OCD
  • Breaking the stigma of mental health in the church
  • Great quotes from Wesley:

    If I hadn’t been knocked around a bit, I don’t know if I ever would have turned to the Lord.

    I started reading the Bible and that opened my intellectual life again.

    You can follow God through it.

    Resources we mentioned:

    • Anxiety and Depression Are (Not) Always Sins by W.R. Harris
  • Obsessions: Hell and Back Again: The True Story of My Battle to Find Hope in the Midst of OCD and Depression by W.R. Harris
  • Wesley’s website Persevering Hope
  • Wesley’s personal website WRHWriting.com
  • The post Wesley Ross Harris and Growing Faith and Mental Illness appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    46 min
  • 152: Kristen Kludt and the Art of Life with God
    Kristen Leigh Kludt is co-creator of Field Guides for the Way and author of A Good Way Through: My Journey with God from Disappointment into Hope. Today, Kristen shares how art brought her closer to the Lord in a time that she didn’t understand what he was doing. Through her struggles with infertility she grew deep friendships and found a relationship with God more connected than ever before. Now, she inspires others to find their own connection with God using her experience and love for art.
    Listen to Kristen’s story today!
    Stories Kristen shared:
    • What Field Guides for the Way is about
  • Growing up in a Christian family in Wisconsin
  • What her relationship with God was like early in her life
  • Wrestling with God through infertility
  • The reflection her therapist gave her about God
  • How discovering creativity helped
  • How the Spirit works through the Bible
  • Learning to live in God’s love for her
  • Waking up and deciding to write a book
  • How Field Guides for the Way was born
  • Great quotes from Kristen:

    I was afraid of the darkness inside of me.

    For me, meditation looks a lot like art.

    Art is less about creating a product and more a language with which I can speak and listen to God.

    The beauty of God’s faithfulness was not in the fact that I got what I wanted I got what I wanted.

    Resources we shared:

    • Field Guides for the Way
  • Kristen’s website
  • A Good Way Through: My Journey with God from Disappointment into Hope by Kristen Kludt
  • Old, boring, and long Bible studies getting you down? Try my brand new 8 Day Experience series designed to get you thinking about the Lord beyond quiet time.
    8 Day Experience will refresh your relationship with the Lord.

    The post Kristen Kludt and the Art of Life with God appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    52 min
  • Chris Staron and Working Out the Knots

    This month’s special episode is with my friend and fellow podcaster Chris Staron. Chis is the creator and host of Truce Podcast, a show that uses journalistic tools to look inside the Christian church. Chris has made two Christian movies and talks about the filmmaking process. In this conversation, Chris explains the difficulty of making a Christian film, why he supports the industry, and we talk about his podcast Truce.

    This episode is only part of the story. To hear the entire conversation, support Halfway There on Patreon. It’s only $5 per month for more thought-provoking ideas.

    Stories we shared:

    • Why he started Truce
  • Why he wants to use journalistic tools in the church
  • The kinds of issues he likes to address
  • The Christian film industry
  • What it takes to make a film
  • The difficulty of getting a message across in a movie
  • The question of whether a Christian film has to be clean
  • Why audiences have to invest in order to have better films
  • Strategies Christian filmmakers are using to create more lucrative movies
  • How God uses many things to reach people
  • Why subjective opinions are okay when it comes to art
  • Great quotes from Chris:

    It’s a tough calling to love your enemy.

    I got into Christian films because in film school, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make movies or be a pastor.

    Resources we mentioned:

    • Bringing Up Bobby
  • Truce Podcast
  • Donate to Chris if you can
  • The post Chris Staron and Working Out the Knots appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    20 min
  • 151: Leonard Olivares and the Large Community of Faith
    Leonard Olivares is a podcaster, father and Christian man living for Jesus. After getting involved in gangs and drugs from a young age, Leonard saw no hope for his future but when he called out to God he realised that while he may have given up on himself, God never gave up on him. God brought him back from the edge and showed him the community and goodness in his people. God turned his life around and now works through him to help others in the community through his work uniting Christians in the singular name of God.
    Listen to Leonard’s story now!
    Stories Leonard shared:
    • Growing up the child of immigrants
  • His mother’s pentecostal roots
  • Being molested as a child and the behavior that followed
  • Getting into a gang
  • Hearing the voice of God all his life
  • Forming his identity in lock up
  • Going to boarding school and washing his mind of the world
  • The prayer when he called out to God for salvation
  • How hard it was to find a church looking like a gangster
  • The dream that convinced him to leave the Mormon church
  • Deciding he needed to be more authentic
  • Learning the Bible for the first time
  • Becoming himself in Christ and studying on his own
  • Getting custody of his children
  • How he started his podcast
  • Great quotes from Leonard:

    I always used to say, “All my friends either kill, steal, or deal.”

    The only people who would open their doors to me was the Mormons.

    If your truth can’t handle the questions you need to question your truth.

    You don’t have to be filled with the Holy Spirit to have a motivational speech.

    Resources we mentioned:

    • Leonard’s podcast
  • Connect with Leonard on Facebook
  • Refresh your relationship with Jesus by changing your relationship with the Bible.

    Try my brand new Bible experience, Jesus is Willing: An 8 Day Experience.

    The post Leonard Olivares and the Large Community of Faith appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    1 hr 13 min
  • 150: Lisa Kohut and Clarity Through Surrender

    Lisa Kohut is a faith-based counselor/psychologist. Today Lisa shares her story of learning to surrender herself to God in order to truly experience all that he is. After a dream that changed her life she decided to take both her degree and her connection to the Holy Spirit into the world to bring others closer to God and all that he wants for them. God showed Lisa how close he really is all the time and wants use her to spread his love. Lisa’s story pushes us to give more of ourselves in order to receive more of God.

    Listen to Lisa’s story today!

    Stories Lisa shared:

    • Growing up in a non-christian family
  • Meeting a friend who operated in her gifts
  • Asking God to experience him fully
  • Having a dream and receiving an interpretation from her friend
  • Speaking in tongues for the first time
  • Learning to interpret dreams for people
  • How to know interpretations are from God
  • How she learned to yield to God constantly
  • Moving from Ohio to Chicago during a divorce and how that affected her relationship with God
  • Starting her own practice and the trust it took
  • Great quotes from Lisa:

    Once I realized that there is more, I was not settling for the crumbs.

    The question I’m always asking the Holy Spirit is “What does the heart of God want to reveal to this person?”

    Healing is in the connections.

    Let love be the foundation.

    Resources we mentioned:

    • Healing Connections: Reconciling a Broken World to a Holy and Loving God
  • Lisa’s website
  • Holy Spirit Camps
  • Old, boring, and long Bible studies getting you down? Try my brand new 8 Day Experience series designed to get you thinking about the Lord beyond quiet time. It will refresh your relationship with the Lord. 8 Day Experience

    The post Lisa Kohut and Clarity Through Surrender appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    54 min
  • 149: David Jacob and Seeking After God

    David Jacob serves as the missionary in residence and chair of the intercultural studies department at Trinity Bible College and Graduate School in Ellendale, ND. He is also the author of It’s Your Call: To a Missional or Missionary Life. Today, David shares his calling to the mission field, wrestling with God’s silence, and the burning desire that led him to the classroom. Along the way, we discuss why our mission is to pursue the Lord not merely the next step he wants us to take. David’s story reminds us that if we will trust the Lord, he will make the path straight.

    Listen to David’s story now!

    Stories David shared:

    • What it’s like being a missionary in residence
  • Growing up in a nominal Christian family going to church on the bus
  • Rededicated his life at a Wednesday night group
  • Discipleship with his youth pastor
  • Becoming the midwest director of Operation Christmas Child
  • Wrestling with God’s silence while he sensed a call for more
  • The vision he had of Jesus in the car with him
  • Starting to sense God’s call to Asia
  • Fundraising as ministry for missionaries
  • Learning to depend on the Lord in a foreign culture
  • The desire to teach introduction to missions
  • Why he wrote It’s Your Call: To a Missional or Missionary Life
  • Great quotes from David:

    God, I don’t understand why you’re not speaking.

    I have been seeking God’s will instead of God himself.

    Fundraising and speaking to other Christians…is an incredible privilege to promote the cause of missions and God’s Kingdom.

    Every believer has a role to play in the Great Commission.

    Resources we mentioned:

    • It’s Your Call: To a Missional or Missionary Call (Snapshot Series Book 2) by David Jacob
  • Center for Missionary Mobilization and Retention
  • Old, boring, and long Bible studies getting you down? Try my brand new 8 Day Experience series designed to get you thinking about the Lord beyond quiet time.
    8 Day Experience will refresh your relationship with the Lord.

    The post David Jacob and Seeking After God appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    46 min
  • 148: Deanna Won and the Confidence of Providence

    Deanna Won is the Founder of Keynotes to Life, international bestselling author, speaker, leadership consultant, and holistic health coach who inspires people to reach their highest potential through integrating faith and leadership principles with purposeful and healthy living. Deanna shares the story of how she overcame adversity in the Air Force Academy, cancer through holistic practices, and learned confidence in herself and God through suffering. Time and time again, Deanna found God working on her behalf even before she knew it. Her story reminds us that God is truly a loving father and working for our good.

    Listen to Deanna’s story now!

    Stories Deanna shared:

    • Becoming a holistic health professional
  • Growing up in a Christian family believing in Jesus
  • Getting into the Air Force Academy with God’s help
  • The conflict between creativity and “solid” careers
  • Learning to draw strength from the Lord in the Air Force Academy while facing opposition
  • Developing ovarian cancer
  • Deciding she would treat cancer holistically
  • The first time she was able to sleep after her diagnosis
  • Deciding to not do chemotherapy and how the Lord spoke her
  • How God provided a medical missionary when she needed it
  • Learning confidence through her suffering
  • Deciding to become a health coach to share what she learned
  • How to get a free chapter of Deanna’s book
  • Great quotes from Deanna:

    I saw during this time that God is a provider.

    I have learned through the experience I’ve gone through to always trust God no matter what it looks like, no matter what the situation is no matter how difficult or challenging it may be.

    God can really take what seems like a really horrible situation and just bring so much good out of it.

    Resources we mentioned:

    • Connect with Deanna on her website
  • Deanna on Facebook
  • Free chapter of Deanna’s book
  • The Hallelujah Diet : Experience the Optimal Health You Were Meant to Have
  • The post Deanna Won and the Confidence of Providence appeared first on Eric Nevins.

    51 min

About Halfway There

From the publisher's feed

Each episode of Halfway There features an ordinary Christian sharing their story of spiritual formation on the journey of life with God. Go beyond the classic Christian testimony into the ups and…