The Locker Room

This episode is the first in a new series titled “The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like…”, where we celebrate organic stories of God’s Kingdom breaking out through the ordinary and mundane parts of life. This story is about how an Advent Bible study started with a simple nudge from God—and turned into something way bigger than expected.Back in 2024, Maddy felt prompted to gather a few people to walk through Advent together. It was meaningful, life-giving, and didn’t feel finished. Then, months later on a summer run, the idea came back. Melinda would write a new Advent study, and Maddy would handle the logistics—sign-ups, groups, meeting spots, and making the whole thing actually happen.Now there are 56 people, five small groups, a kickoff night, weeks of shared Scripture, a caroling and worship night, and one final gathering to close it all out.This conversation is about small beginnings, shared leadership, and how God builds community through ordinary obedience. The Kingdom of Heaven is like… people saying yes and showing up together.

In this series of 3 special year-end episodes, we celebrate the stories of God’s faithfulness across three ministries that embody our core values.Worship: Visible Church, a new church plant led by former Young Adults Pastor Gabe Hartfield, pursuing a community wholeheartedly centered on Jesus.Community: Living Waters Ministry, walking intentionally with men coming out of incarceration through housing, employment support, discipleship, and true belonging.Mission: Amiina Ministries in Uganda, where Kevin and Marcy Smith are restoring hope, rebuilding lives, and raising up a generation to break cycles of poverty and strengthen families.As we reflect on how God has worked this year, we invite you to prayerfully consider partnering through year-end giving so these ministries can continue to flourish.⁠⁠GIVE HERE

In this series of 3 special year-end episodes, we celebrate the stories of God’s faithfulness across three ministries that embody our core values.Worship: Visible Church, a new church plant led by former Young Adults Pastor Gabe Hartfield, pursuing a community wholeheartedly centered on Jesus.Community: Living Waters Ministry, walking intentionally with men coming out of incarceration through housing, employment support, discipleship, and true belonging.Mission: Amiina Ministries in Uganda, where Kevin and Marcy Smith are restoring hope, rebuilding lives, and raising up a generation to break cycles of poverty and strengthen families.As we reflect on how God has worked this year, we invite you to prayerfully consider partnering through year-end giving so these ministries can continue to flourish.⁠GIVE HERE

In this episode, we look at Acts 12 and the two essential dispositions that make prayer powerful: “I have need, and I am dependent,” and “God, You are powerful and the only One who can change this reality.” As Peter sits chained in a prison cell and the church gathers to pray through the night, we see a picture of prayer that is both deeply humble and boldly expectant—people admitting their helplessness while trusting completely in God’s ability to break chains, open doors, and rewrite what seems impossible. But even when God answers, they're response is refreshingly human. This story invites us to recover a posture of prayer that is desperate, confident, and alive to God’s surprising interventions.Preacher: Rod VanSolkemaText: Acts 13Sermon Link: ⁠HERE

In this series of 3 special year-end episodes, we celebrate the stories of God’s faithfulness across three ministries that embody our core values.Worship: Visible Church, a new church plant led by former Young Adults Pastor Gabe Hartfield, pursuing a community wholeheartedly centered on Jesus.Community: Living Waters Ministry, walking intentionally with men coming out of incarceration through housing, employment support, discipleship, and true belonging.Mission: Amiina Ministries in Uganda, where Kevin and Marcy Smith are restoring hope, rebuilding lives, and raising up a generation to break cycles of poverty and strengthen families.As we reflect on how God has worked this year, we invite you to prayerfully consider partnering through year-end giving so these ministries can continue to flourish.GIVE HERE

In this Advent episode, we sit down with pastor and author A.J. Sherrill to explore his reflections on Zechariah from Rediscovering Christmas. Together we talk about how Zechariah’s long season of waiting, disappointment, and unexpected silence reveals the often hidden ways God forms us. A.J. shares why God’s delays aren’t denials, how silence can become a gift rather than a punishment, and what it means to rediscover hope when prayers seem unanswered. Many of us have lived in the tension between faith and frustration, and this conversation will invite you to slow down, listen deeply, and receive Advent as a season of quiet transformation.Preacher: AJ SherrillText: Luke 1Sermon Link: HERE

In this episode, we sit down with a local Calvin College football coach Lamar Bell whose journey—from discipling athletes on campus to serving kids at Crossroads —embodies the very heart of ongoing conversion. Using Acts 10 as our backdrop, we explore how true conversion is more than moral improvement or theological precision; it is spiritual rebirth where God’s kingdom breaks into everyday life. Through the stories of Saul, Cornelius, and Peter, we see how God transforms the religious, the powerful, and even seasoned leaders with lingering blind spots. Our conversation with the coach shows how this same transforming work continues today—in locker rooms, in children’s ministry, and across diverse communities.Preacher: Rod VanSolekmaText: Acts 10-11Sermon Link: HERE

In Acts 9, Saul’s encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus marks one of the most dramatic transformations in all of Scripture — but it’s more than a story of conversion; it’s a story of being undone and remade. We explore how true conversion always begins with a personal encounter with God that shatters pride, exposes sin, and births new life.We’ll trace Saul’s journey from zealous persecutor to humbled apostle, unpacking how his blindness became a symbol of spiritual death and resurrection, and how God’s grace pursued him even in rebellion. This conversation invites you to reflect on your own story of transformation — to ask where God may be confronting, humbling, or restoring you.Preacher: Rod VanSolkemaPassage: Acts 9Sermon Link:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, we explore what it means to pursue healing — body, mind, and spirit. Like physical therapy for the soul, spiritual growth often requires intentional work, patience, and the courage to face what’s been broken.Brett Cain, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, joins us to share how the body’s journey of recovery mirrors our spiritual walk with God. Just as muscles rebuild through resistance and consistent care, so our souls grow stronger through surrender, discipline, and grace.We talk about how empathy opens the door to deeper relationships, how behavioral patterns can either hold us back or propel us toward transformation, and why sometimes the best thing you can do for your soul is retreat — to step out of the white noise of daily life and let God realign your story with His.For more information about Men's Retreats, click HERE

Why was the witness of Stephen in the face of the power brokers in Jerusalem so inspiring, and what does it mean for us today?Preacher: Rod VanSolkemaPassage: Acts 6-7Sermon Link:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠