Let's Talk with Sanctuary

Send a text

Today we celebrate Let's Talk with Sanctuary's 100th EPISODE!!! As we launch into a brand-new year, we see that there are some challenges before the Church, and understandably so. Scripturally, we know it’s slated to get a little tougher, the closer we get to the coming of our Lord and Savior. Spiritual leaders must prepare themselves, and rally others, to be ready for Christ's return. So, what does it take to sustain until the end? And how does the minister of the Gospel prepare the way, cultivate an environment where the Spirit of God can do what He desires, and remain steadfast in our convictions, belief systems, and daily living in a way that pleases God? Let’s talk about it all! In this episode, host Bridgette Tomlin welcomes her husband, Chresten Tomlin, back to the podcast to talk about a variety of things—subject matter that makes up the couple's conversations on the back patio, hot tea and coffee in hand, solving all the world's problems.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with today's featured guest, Chresten Tomlin:

Website: www.ctministries.com
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: @chresten.tomlin
Facebook: @tomlinministries

Featured:

• Earn a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card by giving Let’s Talk with Sanctuary a Rating + Review on Apple podcasts!
• Launch or attend a Let’s Connect gathering in 2025!
• Join Sanctuary’s private Facebook group for ministry wives.
• Follow Sanctuary on Instagram @sanctuarym2mw

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!

Send a text

Today we welcome guest Kelly Preston of True Horizons to kick off the new year with a fresh set of opportunities to reboot! Kelly shares from her recent experience of running the NYC marathon to raise money for a grief camp, as well as her ministry family's grief journey through the loss of their oldest son and a cancer diagnosis for their youngest son. You'll grow from Kelly's expertise in naming and facing your core fears and personal growth coaching that's actually "user-friendly". Bonus, you'll find out about some incredible virtual coaching that's accessible and affordable for women in ministry.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With over 25 years of dedicated experience, Kelly Preston is a certified life coach specializing in various areas of expertise. Her extensive journey in leadership and counseling has encompassed a wide spectrum of roles, from guiding marriages to assisting parents, leaders, and individuals who are eager to embark on a transformative journey toward discovering and nurturing their full potential.

Kelly's unwavering passion lies in helping individuals unlock their hidden potential, enabling them to step into the best version of themselves. Her commitment to personal growth and empowerment is reflected in her work as a certified life coach and mental health coach.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with today's featured guest, Kelly Preston:

Email: [email protected]
IG: @lifecoach.kellypreston
FB: Kelly Rowles Preston
Website: www.truehorizons.net
Phone: 435.840.3872

Featured:

• Earn a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card by giving Let’s Talk with Sanctuary a Rating + Review on Apple podcasts!
• Join Sanctuary’s private Facebook group for ministry wives.
• Follow Sanctuary on Instagram @sanctuarym2mw
• FREE Core Fears Assessment

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!

Send a text

It's commonly known that today's children and adolescents are riddled with anxiety, far more than previous generations, but why? What drives the anxiety? How can parents and spiritual leaders guide and shape today's generation as they face an onslaught of unfiltered information and content they are not hardwired to process at such young ages? Youth ministry veteran Kevin Norwood joins LTS host Bridgette Tomlin in this episode to discuss why mental health matters and how a message of Hope can change a student's life.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Kevin Norwood is a seasoned youth ministry leader with over 37 years of experience focused on empowering teenagers and guiding the Next Generation toward realizing their potential. His ministry journey began in 1987 at Lakeside Assembly in Oklahoma City, where he worked alongside veteran youth pastor Paul Abner to establish a foundation for lifelong youth mentorship. Over his career, Dr. Norwood has served in multiple locations, including a decade in Owasso, Oklahoma, a period at Fort Myers First Assembly in Florida, and a further 20 years back in Owasso. He holds a Doctorate in Global Leadership from George Fox University, with his dissertation and accompanying work centered on “Discipleship for the Next Generation” which explores engaging and mentoring the emerging generation. Dr. Norwood also earned a master’s degree in Theology from Oral Roberts University and a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Southwestern Christian University.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with today's featured guest, Kevin Norwood:

Email: [email protected]
Web: wiredinc.org
Web: curatehope.com
Web: kevinnorwood.com
Instagram:  knxtreme
X:  @knxtreme
Meta:  knxtrem

Featured:

• Earn a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card by giving Let’s Talk with Sanctuary a Rating + Review on Apple podcasts!
• Join Sanctuary’s private Facebook group for ministry wives.
• Follow Sanctuary on Instagram @sanctuarym2mw
• The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!

Send a text

In 11 short years of marriage, Kaitlyn McKinney and husband Jared have experienced more tragedies, challenges, and heartbreaks than many married couples do in a lifetime together. Two cancer diagnoses, a myriad of lifesaving surgeries, four failed adoptions, and a host of disappointments would have broken many down, but have proven to only strengthen this church-planting couple. In this episode of Let's Talk with Sanctuary, hear the heartfelt worship pour out from Kaitlyn's heart as she recounts the countless blessings she and Jared have discovered when faith in Jesus is what is holding you together.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaitlyn McKinney, her husband Jared, their sweet daughter Wrenley, and two doodle pups live in Billings, Montana where they pastor Canvas Church. The couple moved to Montana in 2017 from Seattle Washington where they served as youth pastors for several years. Kaitlynn is passionate about the local church and loves what they get to do. Kaitlyn adds, “I don’t feel complete unless my nails are done, my eyebrows are presentable, I’m wearing something cozy and have coffee in hand.” She’s an avid shopper, which makes living in Montana somewhat of a challenge, so traveling is also a must. Kaitlyn currently serves as the worship director at Canvas Church and often sings her sentences or breaks out in a good song when it seems necessary. The last five years have included her husband battling leukemia twice, as well as four adoption disruptions. But through it all, The Lord has been teaching her to rely on Him more than ever. “I don’t know how to make it through a day without Jesus, and my hope is to teach people that even in your lowest valley God is still good,” Kaitlyn adds. She reminds us the biggest thing she’s learned is not to blame God, but to lean into Him further.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with today's featured guest, Kaitlyn McKinney:

Facebook: @KaitlynMcKinney
Instagram: @kaitlynmckinney7

Featured:

• Earn a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card by giving Let’s Talk with Sanctuary a Rating + Review on Apple podcasts!
• Join Sanctuary’s private Facebook group for ministry wives.
• Follow Sanctuary on Instagram @sanctuarym2mw

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!

Send a text

Today’s subject is one you’ll probably need to reference multiple times over the course of your life and ministry journey as transition is unavoidable for every single human. And the unfortunate thing about transition—whether it’s personally, ministerially, relationally—is that often we are ill-prepared for it when it comes upon us. But there is a way to prepare your heart, to anticipate when it’s time to make a change, and some practical steps you can take to make the journey a little smoother. Take a listen as guest Mike Buie shares from his four decades of ministerial and marketplace experiences with transition.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike and Pam Buie have lived in Oklahoma, serving in a lead pastor role, for nearly 30 years at CrossPoint Church in Sand Springs, just outside Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prior to moving to Oklahoma, Mike served two different churches in Texas as an associate pastor, through which he met his wife Pam. Shortly after marrying, Mike and Pam moved to the Tulsa area upon hearing a word from the Lord that He had ministry for them in Oklahoma. After a short few years serving under pastoral leadership at Christian Chapel in Tulsa, 1989 brought an opportunity to pastor what was then known as Cathedral of Praise, now CrossPoint. The church had gone through some dark days, and the future was uncertain. When Mike came to serve the church, he said, “If we are willing to take care of God’s business, then He will take care of the church’s business.” Out of that statement a vision for a strong mission program was born. Today the church continues with its strong mission emphasis, locally and globally. In 2019, after retiring from CrossPoint, Mike and Pam returned to Christian Chapel. They started hosting and leading home groups and teaching various discipleship classes on Wednesday night, which prompted lead pastor Chris Dow’s invitation for Mike to join his staff as a part-time associate pastor. As an associate pastor, Mike is doing work often associated with a connections pastor. He now has 65 people serving on the guest service team for all three services, follows up with new families, and teaches the membership class.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with today's guest, Mike Buie:

• Email: [email protected]

Featured: 

• Learn about Let’s Retreat
• Fight the Holiday Hype Blog

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!

Send a text

Throughout their multi-decade tenure in vocational ministry, predominantly as lead pastors, Bryan and Haley Jarrett have come to the conclusion: Haley prefers the shadows to the spotlight. She's uncomfortable with platform ministry and, despite her many efforts to "grow into the part", has come to recognize that she is called to her husband, and not quite as much to the traditional roles with which the title of "pastor's wife" has often been culturally linked. Cultural expectations, Bryan reminds us, are not Scriptural expectations. In this episode both Bryan and Haley join host Bridgette Tomlin to discuss unhealthy demands, the conversations ministry couples should be having privately, and how to promote women in leadership roles without demeaning those who thrive behind-the-scenes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abuse, abandonment, and addiction defined Bryan’s early life. After meeting Jesus, God’s grace not only dealt with his sin, but also began to heal the hurts of his past. This experience with grace forged in him a passion for broken people. Pastor Bryan serves in leadership roles in multiple universities, missions agencies, church planting networks, and global financial institutions. He has a B.A., an M.A., and an earned Doctorate. He is an author and sought-after speaker, both in the U.S. and internationally. In 2015, he and Haley founded Lonesome Dove Ranch, a place of healing for abused children and a place of rest and resourcing for America’s small-town pastors.

According to Bryan, his most honorable professional title is being called “Pastor” by the great people of Northplace Church. Pastor Bryan is married to his high school sweetheart, Haley. They have three young adult children. In August, Bryan and Haley became grandparents for the first time to grandson, Lincoln James Jarrett.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with today's guests, Bryan and Haley:

• Haley IG: @hjarrett
• Bryan: @drbryanjarrett

Featured: 

• Learn about Let’s Retreat
• Listen to Pastor Bryan’s message at the CMN Conference.
• Learn about Lonesome Dove Ranch

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!

Send a text

It's been studied, researched, and proven: technology has sped things up when it comes to parenting, teaching, and pastoring today's children. Topics that once were saved for later are now required topics to address, both in the home and through the local church. In today's episode we welcome Kids Min expert Brian Dollar, whose tenure in children's ministries and Next Gen ministries overall speaks for itself. The breadth of his insights on how to train up this generation to be lifelong followers of Christ should be valued by every church ministry leader and parent. Take a listen as host Bridgette Tomlin opens up a myriad of topics such as what to do with tech, the gender identity crises this generation is facing, Biblical illiteracy, AI, and so much more!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian Dollar is a pastor, author, and speaker who has been in ministry since 1992.  He currently serves as Associate Pastor at First NLR in North Little Rock, Arkansas where he leads over 500 volunteers in nearly a dozen ministries. In 1998, he founded High Voltage Kids Ministry Resources, which creates cutting-edge, multi-media Elementary and Preschool Kids Church Curriculum. These resources have been used in more than 20,000 churches around the world. He is also the author of Talk Now and Later: How to Lead Kids Through Life’s Tough Topics.

Brian and his wife, Cherith, have two amazing children – Ashton (son-in-law, Nick) and Jordan. They currently reside in Sherwood, Arkansas.

Connect with today's guest, Brian Dollar:

X:  @briandollar1
Facebook: facebook.com/brian.dollar

Featured:

• Let’s Connect Facebook Group | Special Needs Mommas
• Sanctuary Blog Archives
• Holiday Hustle Blog from Ashley Earwood
• Episode 66 with Pastor Brian Dollar
• High Voltage Kids Curriculum

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!

Send a text

Parenting children while simultaneously fulfilling all the weighty duties of work, the extracurricular activities, and meeting needs of extended family can be quite challenging, to say the least. Adding the layer of special needs, and the list of variations as diverse as the children who wrestle with them, can produce stress, fear, worry, and so much more on the parents who are just trying to fulfill the call of God on their lives. This episode features a panel of Special Needs Mommas, including Kayla Bates, Chelsea Brummett, and Barbie Harris, and LTS host Bridgette Tomlin, as they discuss the rigors, highs, lows, and joys of parenting children with special needs. We talk about what it looks like to minister to families with special needs children within our communities and through the local church. They also highlight the unique challenges that being in ministry brings into the mix!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with today's guests:
Kayla Bates
FB: @kaylabates
IG: @kaylasbliss

Chelsea Brummett
FB: @chelseabrummett
IG: @reneebrummett

Barbie Harris
FB: @barbieharris
IG: @barbieharris777

Featured:

• Let’s Connect Facebook Group | Special Needs Mommas
• Sanctuary Blog Archives
• Holiday Hustle Blog from Ashley Earwood

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!

Send a text

In today's episode we welcome author Kristen Strong to share about her most recent book--a book you're going to love to receive, and love to give away. Friends Are Family We Choose provides the perfect introduction to a conversation we keep unpacking at Let's Talk with Sanctuary--the value and importance of healthy friendships. Kristen shares about her "baptism by fire" training in friendship when she went from her childhood on "O'Neil Lane" to moving every few years with her husband's military career. She also talks about how to find friendship even in your busiest seasons, why it's important and Christ-like to make the effort, and so much more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kristen Strong, whose authored books include Girl Meets Change and When Change Finds You, also compiled the 90-day devotional, Praying Through Loneliness. She writes as the friend wanting to help you be the friend you want to have. She loves sharing laughs, long talks, and meaningful stories with family and friends while holding a cup of strong black tea. She and her US Air Force veteran husband, David, have three beloved adult children. Together this military family zigzagged across the country (and one ocean) several times before settling in Colorado Springs, Colorado. You can find her at kristenstrong.com, DaySpring’s (in)courage, and on Instagram @kristenstrong.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with today's guest, Kristen Strong:

Instagram: @kristenstrong

Facebook: @chasingblueskies

www.kristenstrong.com

Learn more about Friends Are Family We Choose here.

Featured:

• Greene and Raley
• What’s your favorite episode or featured guest on Let’s Talk with Sanctuary’s first four seasons?

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!

Send a text

What do you do when you've done everything right? You've raised your child in the ways of the Lord. You've modeled the heart of Christ. You've instructed them in right and wrong. Yet, the unthinkable happens--your once obedient and faith-filled child has become a prodigal. The pain is unbearable, and the walk of faith is long and hard.

If you are the parent of a prodigal, you need hope--and lots of it! Today we are blessed to have author Jelly Valimont on the podcast to share her most recent book. The book’s title, Pathways of a Prodigal. It’s an easy read, but oh-so-valuable to all parents and grandparents, and particularly for those in our listening audience who are raising preachers’ kids in your home. Take a listen as Jelly shares about her life as a PK, parenting her own prodigals, and the principles that guided her and her late husband, Dr. Randy Valimont, as they saw the return of each of their daughters.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jelly Valimont is the widow of Dr. Randy Valimont, former pastor of Griffin First Assembly (GFA), an Encounter Life Network church. She was born in McMinnville, Tennessee into the home of a pastor and spent her PK life growing up in a Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia. While attending Southeastern University, she met and married the love of her life, Randy Valimont. The couple served in various ministerial roles in Arkansas and Georgia. In 1993, Randy and Jelly relocated to Griffin, Georgia, where Jelly continues to live. During their time in Griffin, Jelly has been involved in the local church in women's ministry, Celebration Choir, worship teams, and the ministry of costumes. She was also an administrative consultant for GFA during Dr. Valimont’s tenure.

Jelly has been used by God to speak in the local church and at conferences throughout the United States and internationally. She has written two books: I Have Issues and Tapestry: a Story of Adoption, Acceptance, and Destiny. Jelly’s heart’s cry is to do the will of the Father, wherever and whatever that might be, to bring souls into the Kingdom, and to facilitate spiritual health and well-being to the Body of Christ. If she can do it while laughing, so much the better!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with today's guest, Jelly Valimont:

IG: @jellyvalimont
Facebook: @jelly.jordan.valimont
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.valimontministries.org

Featured:

• Episode 72, featuring Jelly Valimont
• 5th Avenue Resources
• What’s your favorite episode on Let’s Talk with Sanctuary’s first four seasons?

Many thanks to our host, Bridgette Tomlin, and engineer Justin Lynn of Justin Lynn Music. Learn how you can capitalize on all Justin can do for your small business, church, or ministry by clicking here!