SEASON ONE FINALE! Mitchell Maldonado is an all-around creative and has worked in virtually every aspect of the music industry as well as with all things tech and design. After studying music production in school, Mitchell embarked upon a diverse career that includes touring with various bands (most notably the CCM band The Neverclaim), working in studios across the country, engineering live audio, and acting as owner/producer/engineer/musician at House Below Productions. He currently serves as Media Director at the Vineyard in Boise, Idaho, where he lives with his beautiful wife Lindsay and their fur baby Clyde.   On this final episode of our first season, we hear Mitchell’s journey into both faith and full-time music. Also, we take a peek “behind the curtain” to explore the rewarding behind-the-scenes work that goes into making records.

Josh Williams is Lead Pastor of the Elm City Vineyard (ECV) in New Haven, CT and serves on the Executive Board for Vineyard USA. Originally from Iowa, Josh moved to New Haven to attend Yale, and later Yale Divinity School where he earned his M.Div.  At Yale, he served as a campus minister for InterVarsity before becoming ECV’s first full-time pastor in 2014. He currently lives with his wife Tina (vocal phenom and previous Ferment podcast guest) and their daughter Zoe. In this episode, Josh and our host Adam Russell discuss Josh's reluctant journey into pastoral ministry and explore the power of ministering with your spouse, the art of preaching like a worship leader, and the concept of worship as protest.

John Elmer is a church planter and lead pastor of the Vineyard Church in Syracuse, NY. He and his wife Gwen started the church in 1991 with six people in their living room, and that church has prospered into a multi-site church with four locations and 1500+ in attendance across ten services.  John also oversees the northeast region of Vineyard churches in the US.   On this episode, John and our host Adam Russell discuss John’s journey of faith — from growing up Catholic to having a dramatic encounter with the Lord in high school, to moving to California where he crossed paths with the Vineyard.  John and Adam delve into the qualities of good leadership, the importance of risk-taking with the freedom to fail, and multi-cultural ministry.

Matt Nall is a drummer, producer, husband, and father of two. In addition to drumming for over 20 years in both live and studio settings, Matt is a key part of the Campbellsville Vineyard worship community.  He also serves as technical director for Campbellsville University’s theater department.   On this practical episode, Matt and our host Adam Russell dive into the vital role of the drummer in our worship settings, unpacking years of hard-won wisdom on a myriad of topics that will benefit every member of your worship team!

This week's guest is Josh Baldwin, worship leader and songwriter with Bethel Music.   On this week's episode, Josh recounts his childhood growing up the son of a worship pastor as well as his first worship team experience as a drummer at the age of 12.  Josh shares key insights into bringing our true selves to our worship leadership, and he and our host Adam Russell discuss Josh’s recent success as a songwriter with recent Dove-award nominations. There is also an in-depth conversation about Duke basketball and Josh's thoughts about the current NBA season. (Maybe we'll launch another podcast: Worship Leaders On Basketball).    Josh signed with Bethel Music in 2014 and moved to Redding, CA to join Bethel Church where he was featured on the Bethel Music collective release, Have It All (2016). He then released his first solo effort, The War Is Over, with the label in mid-2017 to critical acclaim, debuting in the top-three sector of the American and British Christian music charts.   As a worship leader, Josh enjoys creating space for people to feel seen, encouraged, and invited into intimacy with God where true peace and hope is found. Josh lives with his wife Sheila and their two children in Redding, CA, and continues to tour domestically and internationally.

The Ferment continues its "conversations" series with Adam & Heather Russell. On this episode, they address the topic of friendship in all its various shapes and sizes, exploring the reality that even Jesus surrounded himself with a group of friends during his time on earth.

Kathy Maskell is the leader of the Vineyard Justice Network, an organization dedicated to showcasing the work of Vineyard churches as they confront injustice. Kathy also serves as a member of the Vineyard USA Executive Team and as pastor of discipleship at Blue Route Vineyard (Media, PA) alongside her husband and frequent Ferment guest, Dr. Caleb Maskell.   A child of Buddhist immigrants from Vietnam, Kathy recounts her conversion to Christianity and discusses with host, Adam Russell, her journey into working on issues of justice, touching on the deep relationship between worship and compassion.

Our host Adam Russell sits down with Dr. Caleb Maskell, a church historian, worship pastor, and return Ferment podcast guest.  On this week's episode, they discuss the ongoing impact of the renewal of the mid-1990s, specifically the "Toronto Blessing,” and share personal stories from their own visits to the Toronto Airport Vineyard (now the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship).    Dr. Maskell leads the Society of Vineyard Scholars and is the Worship Pastor at Blue Route Vineyard Community Church outside Philadelphia, PA. He holds a PhD from Princeton University, focusing on the history of American Christianity, and has taught at Princeton Theological Seminary and Fordham University. Dr. Maskell is passionate about developing leaders and institutions that will help to produce a healthy, courageous, and hospitable future for the Church in the 21st century.  In 2007, he co-planted Elm City Vineyard Church in New Haven, CT with his wife Kathy, who is active in social justice and worked for six years as the U.S. Advocacy Director for Love146 — an international human rights organization working to end child trafficking and exploitation.  They currently live in Media, PA with their son Josiah and daughter Emmanuelle.

Costa Mitchell is a church planter, pastor, and the former National Director for the Vineyard movement in South Africa. In 1982, he was the planting pastor of the first Vineyard church outside of the US in Johannesburg. Costa came to faith in the Jesus Movement in South Africa that coincided with the movement of the same name in the US. Costa was instrumental in the early global work of the Vineyard and John Wimber.  In this episode, Costa shares his personal journey and the challenge of establishing an intentionally multi-cultural church under the shadow of apartheid. Costa then shares with us some hard-won gems of leadership wisdom. This is a rich episode!

Millennial Whoa (also Millennial Whoop) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The millennial whoa (whoop) is a melodic pattern alternating between the fifth and third notes in a major scale, typically starting on the fifth, in the rhythm of straight 8th-notes, and often using the "wa" and "oh" syllables. It has been used extensively in 2010s pop music and modern worship music. This week on the podcast Adam sits down with five millennial worship leaders and influencers to discuss calling and vocation, their hopes and aspirations, misconceptions about their generation, and many other topics.  Featured on the podcast are Alexandria Faison (Davenport, IA), Job Ang (Walnut, CA),  Sarah Emano (Fort Collins, CO), Sam Crabtree (Cañon City, CO), and Rian Emano (Overland Park, KS).