The Seacoast Podcast: Things You Won't Hear On Sunday

It's the "most wonderful time of the year" for many of us.  For others, it's a brutal reminder of a loved one's absence in the "most difficult time of the year."

Today's guest, Kathy Yokeley, wrote Not My Plans: When God Allows a Parent’s Worst Fear to Come True.  When she gave birth to her daughter Natalie, the perfect family she’d dreamed of was complete—a loving husband, beautiful little boy and girl, even the family dog.  That future was bright.

At the age of 12 Natalie was diagnosed with inoperable spinal cord cancer and Kathy’s picture-perfect world came crashing down. Nine nightmare months later, her precious daughter was gone.

Christmas was Natalie's favorite time of year, and every time the Holidays come back around, Kathy is painfully reminded of Nov 24th. 2008, when her daughter passed away.  On this episode, listeners will hear about this extraordinary little girl and learn about grief from a mom who has walked in the shoes of every parents' worst nightmare. 

Kathy Yokeley gives some guidance for those with loved ones and/or friends who are suffering this year, sharing what people said and did during times of deep grief, that were (and are) helpful to her.  She also reflects on God's goodness and faithfulness in the most painful of trials, giving practical and spiritual insight for those grieving. 

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page  

In this episode
Kathy Yokeley / Website / Amazon / Pics of Natalie 
Josh Surratt, co-host / Instagram
Lisa Surratt, co-host / Instagram
Joey Svendsen, introduction narration / Instagram

Griefshare at Seacoast Church
Give online to help needs around the world. 

Christmas Music by Seacoast Worship
Christmas Collective / Apple Music / Spotify
Christmas Collective II / Apple Music / Spotify

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez

Theme Song: Joel T. Hamilton Music

This episode is dedicated to Natalie Yokeley (11/1/95 - 11/24/08), Kathy, Tom, and Will.  

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver

Continuing where we left off from Episode 12, “The Rescue of Our Daughter Part 1.”

As the impactful reality of what took place settled into their lives, the extensive recovery process for the Todd family started initially in the hospital and continues on to this day.  

Just shy of 5 years since that dreadful night, Brittney catches us up to speed on her and the Todd family's current progress in adapting to the new life they never asked for.  From her urgent facial reconstructive surgeries to ongoing mental health therapy for the whole family, she also reflects on her spiritual resolve during the toilsome aftermath and how God’s presence was experienced through the loving embrace of community, fashioned only in a way that God could orchestrate.  

Brittney gives a “good report” on her mental health, she shares her current processing of the attacker, and explains why she sometimes minimizes the pain he caused her and how anger and bitterness hasn’t played a significant role in her journey.   

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page  

In this episode
Brittany Todd / Facebook
Joey Svendsen, co-host / Instagram

Contributors for introduction montage:
Diego Gomez
Shannon Link
Keenan Schriver
Emily Reyna

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez

Music Composed by:
Joel T. Hamilton Music 

We'd love for you to share your story for us to possibly share it on this podcast.  

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver

Seacoast Summerville Campus Pastor Roy Jacques opens up about personal struggles with his weight. In High School, he was a State Champion Baseball player for the James Island Trojans.  As an adult, he has struggled with his physical health. His main foe? A food addiction. 

With two of his close friends, pastors Jeff Leinberger and Joey Svendsen, the three discuss whether Roy is "living in sin," given his lack of self-care. Roy lets us in on his up-and-down journey of finding healthier life habits and losing weight, then giving way to complacency. He talks about the impact his weight has on his confidence, his lack of success with accountability, and whether he considers this struggle "his Thorn" (2 Corinthians 12:17). In turn, Jeff shares his lifestyle of being physically in great shape, but for all the wrong reasons.

At the top of the episode, founding Pastor Greg Surratt shares his thoughts on various topics, including his wish for palmetto bugs and Carolinians to "live together peacefully."  Lastly, Seacoast's HR Director Jenna Young stops by to discuss her delicate role of needing to know the good, bad, and ugly of the staff who are a part of the church she deeply loves.

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page  

In this episode
Roy Jacques / Facebook
Jeff Leinberger / Instagram
Jenny Mayer, co-host / Instagram
Greg Surratt / Instagram
Jenna Young / Facebook
Joey Svendsen, co-host / Instagram

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez

Music Composed by:
Joel T. Hamilton Music (including theme song) and
Seacoast Church Music

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver

Is a heart posture of thanksgiving only possible when life is good?  How is it that often in the toughest of circumstances, profound love and community rises to the surface, leaving one with deep gratefulness in the unlikeliest of circumstances.

In the context of three stories from the Seacoast family, we look at the gift of thanksgiving. Seacoast Ashville Campus Pastor Teddy Winter shares a story of high expectations squashed by unfortunate events that his family is still processing. 

Lead Pastor Josh Surratt opens up about the gifts of thanksgiving he found during a low point when he literally fought for his life in a close call with COVID-19.

Lastly, Ragina Scott is the founder of the North Charleston non-profit  Destiny Cafe, a pay what you can cafe that serves healthy and delicious meals. Ragina shares how the city came together to support the cafe and it's mission, when a major hurdle presented potentially stifling impact to operations.   

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page  

In this episode
Joey Svendsen, host / Instagram
Teddy Winter / Instagram
Josh Surratt / Instagram
Ragina Scott Saunders / Bio / News Story Article and Video

Destiny Cafe, the "Pay What You Can" food truck

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez

Music Composed by:
Joel T. Hamilton Music (including theme song) and
Seacoast Church Music

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver

The existence of spiritual warfare is an accepted reality for most Christians.  "We battle not against flesh and blood," Paul says to the church in Ephesus.  Is it safe to say that many Christians don't take this warfare serious enough?  Equally, many  Christians appear to be a bit too focussed on the "evil team," while not lending enough credence to other "foes" we have our hands full with (i.e. our personal health, our wrongdoings that harmfully affect us, and sins against us by others, just to name a few). 

Julie Hiott, Jack Hoey III, Joey Svendsen and Chip Judd share candidly their thoughts on this matter, many of which is speculation because we simply can not know everything about this realm. 

As a Christian, is it okay to “opt out” of the warfare and leave this fight to God and angels?  Are certain people in the church called to be more cognizant of the spiritual realm while others are not?   Are inanimate objects effective in battling evil spirits?  Jude 1:6 seems to point to some demons being in prison. Why doesn’t God just lock them all up?   

We ponder these and many more questions about these principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page  

In this episode
Joey Svendsen, co-host / Instagram
Julie Hiott / Instagram
Jack Hoey III / Twitter
Chip Judd, co-host / Instagram / Website

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez

Music Composed by:
Joel T. Hamilton Music (including theme song) and
Seacoast Church Music

// Diagram referred to is on our Facebook Discussion Page
// Life Course and Retreat

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver

February 13th, 2018 started just like any other day for the Todd family who at the time were part of the Seacoast community in John's Island SC.  Mother of 5, Brittany Todd, with her husband Kevin deployed out of state (U.S. Coast Guard), had just dropped her two oldest kids off at school, arriving home with plans of making breakfast for two of her younger kids while the baby was still comfortably nestled in her carseat from the ride home. 

Seconds later, the Todd family would enter into a nightmare that would forever change the course of their lives when an intruder brutally attacked Brittany before fleeing to Alabama with one of Brittany's precious gifts: their 4-year old daughter, Heidi.  The attack and kidnapping would sweep national news networks; and despite slim odds, this nightmare would have a happy ending.

Hear the grim details of this story and the seemingly miraculous events that led to Heidi's homecoming.   Brittany shares her current processing of these traumatic events, where she's currently at in the recovery process, and how she feels about the perpetrator.  This conversation will be continued in an upcoming episode as there is much more to tell in this story of perseverance that the Todd family continue demonstrating to this day. 

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page  

In this episode
Brittany Todd / Facebook
Joey Svendsen, co-host / Instagram
Terri Stuckey, co-host / Instagram
Courtney Suggs, co-host / Instagram

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez

Music Composed by:
Joel T. Hamilton Music (including theme song) and
Seacoast Church Music

We'd love for you to share your story for us to possibly share it on this podcast.  

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver

Many Christians grew up going to "Hallelujah Nights" and "Harvest Fest" celebrations on October 31st; but dressing up, going "trick or treating" and celebrating Halloween?  That's for #TeamSatan's biggest party of the year, where Christians have no business being.

But what about Christians who merely enjoy a night of dressing up, getting candy and having a little fun?  Is Halloween's questionable roots significant enough to merit a Christian boycott?  Jack Hoey rejects this notion and sees Halloween as an innocent night of fun for the kids.

Cheryl Brown, fellow "Seacoaster," has vastly differing convictions.  Refraining from Halloween celebrations, according to her, falls in line with God's desire for Christians to be "set apart." 

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page  

In this episode
Jack Hoey /Linked In
Cheryl Brown / Facebook
Joey Svendsen, host / Instagram
Sparkle Anderson, narrator / Instagram

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez

Music Composed by:
Joel T. Hamilton Music (including theme song) and
Seacoast Church Music

We'd love for you to share your story for us to possibly share it on this podcast.  

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver

Jenny Mayer alongside her husband and mother (Ben Mayer and Debbie Surratt), sit down to talk about Jenny’s battle with breast cancer in 2019-20, a long season that turned their worlds upside down, including their children.  Life simply does not play fair.

In this episode, listeners get a glimpse of the havoc a diagnosis like this can have on one's [family, marriage, finances, mental health] as well as the ups and downs of trying to keep the faith in the most challenging and painful of circumstances.

[This episode is dedicated to the strong  overcomers who are breast cancer survivors, their loved ones who fought alongside them, and the loved ones of those who fought and lost their battle with breast cancer, on this side of heaven. ]

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page  

In this episode
Jenny Mayer / Instagram
Ben Mayer / Instagram / Rusty Bull Brewery
Debbie Surratt / Instagram
Joey Svendsen, host / Instagram

Our poem readers were Rylan Hope Mayer and Sadie Joy Mayer, daughters of our main guests, Jenny and Ben.  ("One Soldier" by Sheri Tharp)

Breast Cancer Survivors and other contributors
Julie Hiott, Greenville Campus of Seacoast / Facebook
Trudy Eyrich, North Charleston Campus / Instagram
Jessica Reger, Online Campus / Instagram
Sherrell Smith, Islands Campus / Facebook
Rebecca Stinson, Islands Campus / Instagram
Roz Page, Mount Pleasant Campus /  Instagram
Desiree Clement, West Campus, narration / Instagram

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez
Music Composed by Joel T. Hamilton Music

Episodes released every Monday.

Chapter Markers for your convenience.

We'd love for you to share your story for us to possibly share it on this podcast.  

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver

On top of the world, Brian Welch was being listened to by millions of heavy music listeners which meant millions of dollars in the bank.  Fast-pace living, always on tour, but always high on meth.  

As a new dad, Brian wanted off his cycle and walked away from a $25 million record contract; but to get off the drugs, he would need a miracle.  

Joey and Brian talk a lot about “the rock star life,” both of their struggles with mental illness, contentment, and some theology in light of miracles and prayer.  Lastly, Brian’s cousin Scott Box wrote a book called “Heroic Disgrace,” a true story and reflections from a worship leader who struggles with bipolar disorder.  

At top of episode, Josh and Jeanne Mitchum, from the Summerville Seacoast Campus, drop by to talk music, metal and the influence of Brian Welch’s band, Korn.

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page  

In this episode
Brian Welch / Instagram / Website
Josh Mitchum / Facebook
Jeanne Mitchum / Instagram / Photography   
Joey Svendsen, host / Instagram

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez
Music Composed by Joel T. Hamilton Music

Episodes released every Monday.

Chapter Markers for your convenience. 

We'd love for you to share your story for us to possibly share it on this podcast.  

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver

It's hardly ever simple.  People who cheat on their spouses are usually good, decent and normal folks who have greatly lost their way.

Most people who have an extra-marital affair say later "I never thought this would happen to me."  And hardly no one can anticipates the painful journey of working through this depth of betrayal.  Fred and Terry Reed, both part of the Seacoast Family, walked this road after Fred was unfaithful for 25 years.

In the course of telling their story, Fred shares how he justified his multiple affairs for so long, he describes the relational power shift once he was caught and tells why complete devastation was the only path that could have led to his healing.  He also marvels at the grace he received from God and Terry.

Terry explains how she coped with an unhappy marriage for so long and shares whether she accepts any blame in the affair.  She describes how "trusting God" was the only way she could hang on long enough to see if "blue skies" with Fred was ever possible again. 

They are now happily married and now use their experiences to help other struggling couples.  Both found much of their healing through the love, support and guidance from their church family.

e-mail Jeremy Black for information on Re Engage (ministry for married couples discussed here)

Stay Connected.
Website | Facebook Discussion Page

In this episode
The Reed's / Facebook

Roy Jacques, co-host / Facebook
Kathy Roseborough, co-host / Instagram
Joey Svendsen, co-host / Instagram
Narrator: Diego Gomez

Executive Producer: Josh Surratt
Producer/Editor: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: JT Price
Sound Engineer: Diego Gomez
Music Composed by Joel T. Hamilton Music

Episodes released every Monday.

Chapter Markers for your convenience.  

Seacoast Podcast is now on Instagram

Be a Patron of the podcast 

We have a YouTube Channel for videos of all episodes since Jan. 2024. 

We'd love to hear from you.  E-mail Joey HERE. 

Producer/Editor/host: Joey Svendsen
Sound Engineer/Editor: Katelyn Vandiver