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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.
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Connect with today's featured guest, Chresten Tomlin:

Website: www.ctministries.com
Email: ctministries98@gmail.com
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 us 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.
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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.
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Connect with today's featured guest, Kelly Preston:

Email: kelly@truehorizons.net
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 us 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.
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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.
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Connect with today's featured guest, Kevin Norwood:

Email: knxtreme@gmail.com
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 us 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.
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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.
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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 us 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.
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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.
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Connect with today's guest, Mike Buie:

• Email: mike@christianchapel.com

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 us 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.
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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.
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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 us 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!
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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 us 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!
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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 us 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.
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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.
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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 us 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.
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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!
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Connect with today's guest, Jelly Valimont:

IG: @jellyvalimont
Facebook: @jelly.jordan.valimont
Email: jelly@valimontministries.org
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!

Send us a text

Eternity in heaven, with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is the ultimate goal for every believer. Unfortunately, many professing followers of Christ, including ministers of the Gospel, will give themselves far too much latitude as they age, letting go of the simple spiritual disciplines and convictions that have grounded them through decades of following Christ, only to be sidelined by the enemy just before they cross the finish line. Faithfulness, not just in ministry service, but in surrendered submission to the work of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives each day is the focus for our conversation today. Our featured guests Pastors Billy and Bettye Nickell recently celebrated 50 years of marriage and faithful ministerial service. They join us to share what they've learned is "the secret sauce" of living with integrity all the days of your life.
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Billy and Bettye Nickell were elected as Lead Pastors of Amarillo’s First Family Church, First Assembly of God, in March 2002. He served as the Presbyter of the of the North Plains Section from 1983-2010 and as an Executive Presbyter for twenty-three of those years. In April of 2010, Billy was elected to be the Secretary/Treasurer of the West Texas District, as well as one of three General Presbyters. He and Bettye traveled as evangelists for six-years prior to their 22-year pastorate at First Assembly of God in Canyon, Texas. He currently serves on the board of Pleasant Hills Children’s Home in Fairfield, TX, and as a member of the board of regents at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie. They have two daughters who live in Amarillo with their husbands and eight beautiful grandchildren. Billy’s passion is sharing God’s Word for the exclusive purposes of bringing glory to Christ and seeing lives eternally changed.
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Connect with today's guests, Billy & Bettye Nickell:

Website:  www.firstfamilychurch.org

YouTube: Amarillo First Family Church

Email: fantastic1316@gmail.com

Featured:

• Give Let’s Talk with Sanctuary a Rating + Review!
• Learn about Let’s Connect.
• Let’s Connect listings

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 us a text

Today’s guest will inspire you to just be a better, stronger, more compassionate human being. James wrote in chapter one, verse 27: “Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world.” Sometimes, even as ministers of the Gospel, we can be so consumed with all the tasks that are involved in producing ministry events that we can overlook ministry itself, stripped down to its core, which is just loving on people. And our guest Marlene Craft is going to help provide a bit of a mental and ministry reset for each of us, regardless of what lane of ministry work you’re doing—simply as a follower of Christ. 
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Marlene Craft and her husband Wayne were pastors for 30 years, until his sudden passing 13 years ago. Soon after her husband died, she knew that her desire was now to minister to widows. In 2013, Marlene began a small group widows’ ministry at her home church and, five years later, became the first Assemblies of God U.S. Missionary Chaplain to Widows, Marlene’s heart is to equip the church to minister to widows and has written a program to do that. She loves to encourage widows and let them know the Lord has “a future and a hope” for this season in their life. Marlene also enjoys teaching about grief to aid people through their journey of darkness.

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Connect with today's guest, Marlene Craft:

Website: WidowsLink.org
Facebook: @WidowsLinkMinistry

Featured:

• Give Let’s Talk with Sanctuary a Rating + Review!
• Learn about Let’s Connect.
• Widows Link Cruise 2025 [registration deadline extended to Aug 30 2024]
• Let’s Connect listings

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 us a text

Today's conversation is going to be an encouragement for all our friends who are serving in the ministry, like pastoring a church, or preaching out on the weekends when invited, or serving as a lay youth pastor or worship pastor, while also carrying the weight of a full-time job in the secular arena. But we also hope to encourage so many others who may be considering this prospect in the near, or distant, future. Bi-vocational ministry often gets overlooked by vocational ministers, or even laity whose pastor is bi-vocational, as it can be misunderstood as being “part-time”. But our guest today, Rev. Robert Miller, is going to debunk this, and other myths about bi-vo ministry, easily from his own personal experience.
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Rev. Robert L. Miller has served as the Chief Operating Officer of the North Texas District of the Assemblies of God and Lakeview Camp since December 2023, and Executive Director of the NTD Church Loan Fund and NTD Foundation since January 2018. Prior to serving in the North Texas District, Robert was the Lead Pastor at New Life Assembly in Collinsville, OK for eight years and has served in Pastoral Leadership for 20 years. Robert was a bi-vocational pastor while working in the financial services industry for 18 years prior to coming to the North Texas District. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and an MBA from Southwestern Assemblies of God University. He also co-leads an intentional interim pastoral ministry and is currently serving a church as lead pastor through a season of transition since August 2023. Robert serves as Chairman of the Board for Adult and Teen Challenge of Dallas, on the Board of Directors for Assemblies of God Credit Union, is the Founding Chair of the Spanish advanced degree program for Global University, on the Teacher Education Supervisory Board at SAGU, and was just nominated to serve on the board for the National Association of Church Business Administrators. Robert and his wife, Haley, have been married for 25 years and have four children, one son-in-love, two dogs, and one grandson! He is an avid golfer, loves traveling with his family, and playing Monopoly.
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Connect with today's guest, Robert Miller:

Email: rmiller@northtexas.ag
Web: churchloanfund.ag

Featured:

• Give LTS a Rating + Review!
• Life on Loneliness Island Blog Series

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 us a text

In this episode, host Bridgette Tomlin and her guest Crystal Williams tackle the "modest is hottest" mantra, talk about what true modesty actually is, how to teach the generation behind us more about it, and what the risks and rewards are in speaking truth when it's easier to remain silent. Is modesty just about how long your shorts are, or how low-cut your blouse is? What does modesty of the heart look like? Take a listen and pass this crucial conversation along to another momma, youth pastor, women's ministries leader, or young adult you're leading.
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Crystal is a happy wife and the mother of two vibrant, highly imaginative children. She likes to refer to herself as the “Williams Home Engineer”. She is the homeschool teacher to her children and her passions include transforming mundane moments into magical experiences. Crystal adores everything “Southern”, as is evident in her personality, her humble character and her “Old Soul” charm. Her home is where she’s most comfortable; however, where she thrives is in her ability to lift spirits and bring hope to whomever she encounters.

Although Crystal has faced numerous, difficult challenges throughout her life, God has proven Himself faithful through it all. Her life and those of her beautiful family are the evidence of God’s hand upon them. They are walking miracles. Crystal is full of faith and this is expressed through her fervency in worship towards God. All of this coupled with a lifetime of serving in ministry and the gifts in which she walks, gives Crystal the unique disposition to minister in a way which encourages, challenges and simply softens hearts.

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Connect with today's guest, Crystal Williams:

IG: @crystal_firey_williams
Email: crystalfireywilliams@gmail.com

Featured:

• Give LTS a Rating + Review!
• Life on Loneliness Island Blog Series

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 us a text

When you’re suffering, when someone you love is suffering, when it seems the evil in the world is thriving or excelling, it just doesn’t make sense that God would not intervene right now and make it all right. What do you do when Jesus delays? But more importantly, how do you reconcile WHY Jesus delays? This episode of #letstalksanctuary features host Bridgette Tomlin as she digs deeper into Jesus’s delay in healing Lazarus--the delay of a highly anticipated miracle.
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Featured: 

• Let’s Connect | June 2024
• Sanctuary on Facebook
• Life on Loneliness Island Blog Series

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 us a text

You may have heard the slogan, “Behind every good man is a better woman”. Good men can be even greater men when challenged to become that. It is within the power of every woman to champion the greatness and potential she sees in the man she knows and loves, especially and most importantly her husband and the sons she is raising.

It is widely known that men and women are vastly different in the ways their brains function, what is most important to them, how they manage their emotions, what makes them angry, what makes them feel happy, fulfilled, and successful, and so much more. How can women champion their husbands forward to meet their full potential and, ultimately, fulfill the call of God on their lives—vocationally, personally, and relationally? In today's episode we welcome Neil Kennedy of FiveStar Man to educate, inspire, and encourage the listener as we head into Father's Day weekend.
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Neil Kennedy is a renowned author of 14 books, speaker, and founder of FivestarMan.com, ChampionUniversity, and The Daily Champion. FivestarMan is an international men’s movement dedicated to empowering men with the message of Biblical/Authentic manhood. Neil and his wife, Kay, affectionally known as Kaytie Girl, have three married children with eight grandchildren. They reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Connect with Today's Guest, Neil:

Email: Neil@FivestarMan.com
Facebook: @neil.kennedy
Instagram: @neilkennedy

Featured: 

• Let’s Connect | June 2024
• Sanctuary on Facebook
• Life on Loneliness Island Blog Series

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 us a text

There is a growing, almost staggering uptick in women who are serving in vocational ministry or on the mission field who are not married. And yet very few conversations are centered in the ministry world around what it looks like to be single in the local church, much less single in the ministry community space. So, that’s why today's guest Kelly Reed and host Bridgette Tomlin are attempting to pull back the curtains and shed a little light on this very important subject. They'll discuss the obstacles still standing in the way of single women in ministry, the challenges when divorce enters the picture, the differences for single women vs married women, and so much more. Take a listen, whether you're married or single as this conversation will stimulate further conversation in your own ministry and church circles.
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Kelly Reed is the Worship Pastor at The Bridge Bricktown Campus in Oklahoma City and Mom to Bennett (11) and Gemma (7).  Along with her passion for worship, Kelly carries a desire to help other women realize that their worth and value are established in God. She loves spending time with her family, hanging out with friends, or getting lost in a good book or TV show.
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Connect with today's guest, Kelly Reed:

Email: kelly@wearethebridge.church

Facebook: Kelly Reed

Instagram: @itskellyreed

Featured: 

• Let’s Connect | June 2024
• Contact Host Bridgette Tomlin
• When God Doesn't Fix It [Laura Story]
• It's Not Supposed to Be This Way [Lysa Terkeurst]

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!

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Even those beyond the church's four walls recognize that being labeled with a "Jezebel Spirit" is not a good thing. But often this term is thrown around flippantly, and even more often, it is thrown around without an understanding of its true meaning according to Scripture. What is a Jezebel spirit? In today's episode we welcome guest Susan Vandenheuvel to discuss the origin of this term, what it truly means, and how and when to properly use it. But even more importantly, this conversation is designed to draw attention to a common ploy of the enemy used against those in spiritual leadership. This is a powerful wakeup call, greatly needed for all followers of Christ. 
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Susan Vandenheuvel is a speaker, five-time author, and pastor who has filled various roles within her church and community, including the federal and state prison settings. She is also the creator and founder of She Rises MN and hosts an annual women’s conference. Susan’s story of redemption has helped many find hope, healing, freedom, and the unfailing love of Jesus. Susan is also the host of the She Connects Podcast, where she connects with women in the online space. 

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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!

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There's a lot of talk these days about church hurt. People who have been hurt or disappointed by spiritual leaders, spiritual leaders who have been hurt by those they are called to lead. How can someone in spiritual leadership maintain a heart that is tender to those he or she is leading, and simultaneously protect against chronic injury from the saints? Today's guest Ashley Earwood has had her own share of church hurt and joins host Bridgette Tomlin to reveal how the Holy Spirit has trained her to cultivate tough skin with a tender heart.
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A church girl at heart, Ashley has volunteered in just about every area of the church you can imagine and has faithfully served alongside her husband in full-time pastoral ministry for the past 15 years. She currently serves full-time as part of the Senior Leadership Team at Bear Creek Church in Lodi, California where she also leads the Women's Ministry. She's about to celebrate 5 years of ONE Conference, a local women's conference she founded & hosts, centered around the topic of Biblical unity.

She's been married to her college sweetheart, Paul, for 20 years and they have three spunky children, ranging in ages 10-15.

A self-proclaimed 'reluctant pastor's wife' herself, Ashley has a heart to encourage ministry wives and is passionate about encouraging & equipping ALL women to find their place and run their race within the Body of Christ.

Connect with today's guest, Ashley Earwood:

IG:  @ashleyearwood_

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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!

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In today's episode host Bridgette Tomlin welcomes Casey Gibbons of Mothergood to return to the podcast and talk about S-E-X. How do we talk to our children, teens, and young adults about God's plan for sexuality? In the midst of a gender identity crisis, how should today's ministry leaders and parents broach these otherwise touchy subjects according to God's Word? Casey, mother of six, offers sound counsel with practical tools on how to start the conversation, and keep it going in an effort to raise up a generation of Christ-followers who understand how to please God in every area of their lives.
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Casey Gibbons is all about leading people to Jesus within the home and in the local church. She is an author/speaker and a homeschooling mother to her six creative children. Casey serves alongside her husband, Scotty, as Lead Pastors in Oklahoma City and in their extra time they enjoy speaking on the topics of marriage and family. Fun Fact: Casey loves taking a power nap and eating dark chocolate in the afternoons. 

Connect with today's guest, Casey Gibbons:

IG:  @Mothergood.us
FB: @Mothergood.us
Web:  scottygibbons.com

BONUS: Casey's daughter Candice Gibbons is an Oxford University graduate and recently released her first two books for teen girls. Please checkout IG @authorCandiceGibbons, website candicegibbons.com. 

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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!

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While there are many seasons in the life of a ministry wife, undoubtedly there are seasons where it may feel like she's silently bleeding--isolated with no one who seems to understand the life she leads. In this episode, host Bridgette Tomlin welcomes her guest Jan McIntyre to share candidly about her own journey as a ministry wife, the nudge from the Holy Spirit to create community for ministry wives, and the practical decisions she's made to break out of isolation and shake off the sabotage that can come with church hurt. You'll be encouraged by her sweet, southern spirit and the tenacity with which she has forged through challenging times to love and serve Jesus faithfully.
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Jan McIntyre is an ordained minister and a short term missionary. She is married to her best friend, Tim. They serve as the pastors of Marion Oaks Assembly of God in Ocala, FL and have been there for 19 years. They have two precious daughters and three beautiful granddaughters. Jan is the founder of Silently Bleeding: Hope for the Pastor’s Wife, an online ministry for pastors’ wives. Jan’s motto is “Love God, love people.”

Connect with today's featured guest, Jan McIntyre:

Facebook:  

• Silently Bleeding: Hope for the Pastor’s Wife
• Silently Bleeding: Hope for the Pastor’s Widow
• Silently Bleeding: Hope for the Retired Pastor’s Wife
• Silently Bleeding: Hope for the Broken Hearted (for abused & or abandoned pastors’ wives)

Web:  silentlybleeding.com
Podcast: Silently Bleeding | Apple, Google Play, and Spotify
YouTube: Silently Bleeding: Hope for the Pastor’s Wife
Radio: WNWR The Word in Philadelphia, PA [7:15 PM | Sat]

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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!

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While we don’t want to believe it, public perception or image definitely matter. As a general rule, there are two camps, perhaps three, within the ministerial community when it comes to public persona. One ascribes to that of the Influencer in every way--focusing on high fashion, promoting all their latest finds on social media, maybe they’re in the extreme fitness realm. And then there are those in the camp who deem attention to such things as vain, self-serving, prideful, and even deflecting attention away from Christ altogether. And among those in the middle are those who are giving it their best shot, while others are battling that legendary battle of self-value to the point of even loathing the mirror. Today's featured guest Maranda Rains, a bi-vocational pastor's wife and personal stylist, comes on board to school us on how to effectively tend to our public perception without pride, but also with grace, holiness, and an attitude that pleases the Lord. She might bring a perspective that challenges your own, but take a listen with an open mind, a surrendered heart, and a desire to hear some fun and fresh ideas about spring fashion!
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Maranda Rains resides in Tyler, TX with her husband Paul of 22 years, daughters Bella Gray and Bristol Fay, plus two white fur people, Casper and Cotton. Maranda has enjoyed a 23-year career as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant/Sales Director. She has had the privilege to drive 14 free cars, earn copious amounts of diamonds, travel around the world, and lead women of excellence. However, her most treasured gifts have been the valuable friendships she has collected along the way.

Maranda enjoys volunteering for organizations in her community, and mostly serving at her church, Lakeview Community Church, where she and her husband serve as lead pastors while also working in secular fields outside the church.

During college and as a former Miss Northeast Texas USA and Miss East Texas USA, Maranda’s passion for style and fashion drew her into the closets of friends to help boost their confidence and excitement to look and feel their very best. She's still having a blast even 25+ years later.

Connect with today's featured guest, Maranda Rains:
Facebook:  Maranda’s Closet Clients
Facebook:  @maranda.rains
Instagram: @marandarains

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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!

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Bridgette Tomlin, your host, welcomed her husband Chresten Tomlin to the podcast for Episode 78! In our most recent episode, Episode 77, we featured the incomparable Pam King and dug into her insights about the combo of marriage and ministry. This week we want to come at the same topic but from a slightly different angle. Chresten and Bridgette recently celebrated their 26th anniversary of marriage and ministry. In this episode they share a little bit of their own love story and journey, as well as some of the lessons they either learned early on in their marriage and ministry journey or wish they would have learned earlier! You'll enjoy their candor, up-front honesty, and recognize that somebody out there may have walked some of the same roads on which you find yourself today.
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Reverend Chresten Tomlin has been involved in full-time preaching and music evangelism for the past 26 years. His travels have taken him across the nation and around the world, ministering in concerts, special services, and revival meetings. Having been raised in the fire of Pentecost, Chresten knows the value of living a Spirit-led life. God has placed a call upon him and his wife to bridge the generational gap, which will propel the Church into the future. 

Chresten is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. He combines a passionate burden for the lost and a fervent hunger for holiness to produce powerful, Pentecostal preaching. His message drives home basic principles for living the overcoming, joy-filled Christian life. Chresten is also a soulful singer who produces powerful and anointed Gospel music. His repertoire covers everything from black Gospel to southern Gospel and everything in between! This couple's desire is to raise up a new generation of Pentecostals, filled with the Spirit and driven by conviction.
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Connect with today's featured guest, Chresten Tomlin:
Facebook: @tomlinministries
Site:  www.ctministries.com
Email:  ctministries98@gmail.com

Featured:

• Hear more from Chresten on #letstalksanctuary [Ep 7, 8, 42, 55]
• Marriage + Ministry Podcast Episodes [Ep 7, 8, 32, 36, 55, 77]
• Learn about Let’s Connect.
• The Love List by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott

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!

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Throughout the month of February we will feature content that focuses on the dynamic of marriage + ministry. First up, we welcome Sanctuary lead team member Pam King back to the podcast as she shares about the TOP THREE areas of concern for many married couples, especially those who serve in leadership. You'll draw loads of wisdom from her 45+ years of marriage and ministry experience, find out why sex in marriage is so important, walk away with practical tools you can actually use, and learn how she and her husband Jim keep their marriage operating a peak performance, regardless of the season they're in.
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Born into a pastor’s home, Pam King has been in full time ministry her entire life. Alongside her husband, Jim, Pam has traveled around the world in ministry for over 40 years in missionary evangelism. Their ministry has taken them around the world with Ukraine and Israel as their primary focus. They have been involved in mobilizing pastors, Bible school students and lay people in various endeavors. They have lead scores of ministry teams from local churches across America on international crusades and conferences to Russia, Ukraine and China. Their ministry, Awaking Hope, has started or sponsored over 300 Bible schools in video format and over 200 new churches in the nations of Ukraine, Russia, Romania, China, Kyrgyzstan and Israel. One of the most fulfilling endeavors of their ministry has been House of Joy Orphanage that the Kings established in 1995 in Kahovka, Ukraine.

Jim and Pam love teaching on marriage and family as they see this as a great need in the Body of Christ today and especially among ministry couples and families. Ministry can bring challenges even to the strongest of marriages.

After her love and passion for God, her husband and her children are the love of Pam’s life. Pam finds great joy in fulfilling the call that God has placed on her life as a wife, mother, and minister. She has a passion to encourage people to live to their full potential and to live out their God-given purpose.
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Connect with today's featured guest, Pam King:
Facebook: @awakinghope
Instagram: @awaking_hope
Site:  www.awakinghope.com

Featured:

• Marriage + Ministry Podcast Episodes [Ep 7, 8, 32, 36, 55]
• Featured Scriptures
• Learn about Let’s Connect.
• The Love List by Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott

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 us a text

Understanding who we are, what our strengths and weaknesses are, how we communicate, but then also all of the above about the people we are working with can help diffuse a lot of tension or unnecessary conflict when you’re working on a pastoral staff, a lead team, or even in your marriage. In this episode we welcome guest Vanessa McGee of McGee, Inc to educate us about the value of knowing yourself well, and then being able to identify and appreciate differences in others. You'll love Vanessa's sense of humor, her willingness to shoot straight, and perhaps identify with her own experience of being married to her total opposite!
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Vanessa McGee has a passion to inspire and encourage others to discover and value the way that they have been uniquely formed and fashioned by God. Having worked with churches, non-profits and businesses for over 25 years, she understands the blessings and unique challenges that each of these types of environments bring. She has a diversified background, having worked in the areas of lay counseling, individual coaching, conference speaking and teaching within the local church. Vanessa has a distinctive style of speaking, utilizing humor and real life experience. This combination is sure to leave you laughing and entertained, but most importantly, challenged to go and live out God's purpose for your life and celebrate who you were created you to be! Vanessa has been married to her husband Robby for 38 years, and is known as Sessa to her three amazing grandkids. She was born and raised in Texas, and currently resides in Frisco, Texas where she can almost always be found with a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other!
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Connect with today's featured guest, Vanessa McGee:
Facebook: Vanessa McNeel McGee
Instagram: @vanmcgee
Website: www.mcgeeinc.com

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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!