1 00:00:01,760 --> 00:00:06,500 What would it look like to start a community that was really. 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:11,220 It's for the people like Jesus would be for. 3 00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:18,312 Welcome to Heaven Earth Church. 4 00:00:18,456 --> 00:00:22,120 I'm Ross Stackhouse, the founding pastor of Heaven Earth Church. 5 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,832 From the start, our heart has been to be a church for people who 6 00:00:25,856 --> 00:00:28,136 don't fit neatly into church. 7 00:00:28,328 --> 00:00:31,400 We want to meet people where they are and know their stories, 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,040 because in every story, there is God's story. 9 00:00:35,340 --> 00:00:37,588 And this podcast is just about that. 10 00:00:37,644 --> 00:00:40,676 It's about inviting you into the stories of the people of Heaven 11 00:00:40,708 --> 00:00:41,640 Earth Church. 12 00:00:41,980 --> 00:00:44,160 So let's turn to the story. 13 00:00:46,220 --> 00:00:49,396 Hello, good people, and welcome to the Heaven Earth Church 14 00:00:49,508 --> 00:00:50,276 podcast. 15 00:00:50,388 --> 00:00:55,012 This is the church that looks to make a lasting impact in our community. 16 00:00:55,196 --> 00:00:56,356 My name is Brad Miller. 17 00:00:56,388 --> 00:00:58,760 I'm one of the hosts and producers of the podcast. 18 00:00:58,900 --> 00:01:01,328 We like to get to know the folks who are part of the Heaven 19 00:01:01,344 --> 00:01:02,624 and Earth Church community. 20 00:01:02,712 --> 00:01:04,624 And today we have as. 21 00:01:04,712 --> 00:01:08,336 As our guest, we have Jason and Karen Baker. 22 00:01:08,368 --> 00:01:09,888 We're so glad you're with us. 23 00:01:10,024 --> 00:01:13,392 So welcome to our podcast conversation here. 24 00:01:13,416 --> 00:01:14,736 Jason and Kara, welcome. 25 00:01:14,848 --> 00:01:15,824 Thank you for having us. 26 00:01:15,912 --> 00:01:18,340 Yeah, well, let's just kind of, let's. 27 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,744 Our main focus here is get to know you guys a little bit and a 28 00:01:21,752 --> 00:01:22,032 little bit. 29 00:01:22,056 --> 00:01:25,440 What got you into Heaven Earth Church and what keeps you here, things 30 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:25,984 of that nature. 31 00:01:26,032 --> 00:01:28,270 But, Carolyn, just start with you. 32 00:01:28,310 --> 00:01:29,566 What's a hometown for you? 33 00:01:29,638 --> 00:01:30,638 Where are you from? 34 00:01:30,774 --> 00:01:34,030 I grew up in Dayton, Ohio, specifically Kettering. 35 00:01:34,110 --> 00:01:35,534 We went to Fairmont High School. 36 00:01:35,622 --> 00:01:37,854 So born and raised a Buckeye. 37 00:01:37,982 --> 00:01:40,366 All right, big Buckeye fans in my household. 38 00:01:40,478 --> 00:01:43,374 Tell me a little bit about growing up in Kettering, Ohio, Dayton, 39 00:01:43,422 --> 00:01:43,950 Ohio area. 40 00:01:43,990 --> 00:01:46,750 What was something interesting about growing up? 41 00:01:46,790 --> 00:01:48,622 Your family life, Anything along that line? 42 00:01:48,726 --> 00:01:49,230 Yep. 43 00:01:49,310 --> 00:01:53,000 So first thing first, I was adopted at birth. 44 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:55,416 So that makes my sister and I a little bit different. 45 00:01:55,568 --> 00:01:58,780 My sister and I were both adopted, unrelated biologically, 46 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:03,540 but grew up with an amazing mom and dad and great childhood and 47 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:09,340 lots of family and friends and just a wonderful childhood. 48 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:11,896 So a pretty healthy growing up. 49 00:02:11,968 --> 00:02:16,136 Sounds like, you know, given circumstances, adopted. 50 00:02:16,168 --> 00:02:16,424 That's. 51 00:02:16,472 --> 00:02:17,064 That's us. 52 00:02:17,152 --> 00:02:17,900 Yep. 53 00:02:18,740 --> 00:02:20,572 Then you did almost die when you were born. 54 00:02:20,636 --> 00:02:21,228 Oh, yes. 55 00:02:21,324 --> 00:02:23,720 I guess that is an interesting point. 56 00:02:25,860 --> 00:02:30,620 So when I was a newborn, my parents got me about two weeks after 57 00:02:30,660 --> 00:02:34,364 I was born, and I was pretty sick right away. 58 00:02:34,532 --> 00:02:37,676 And my mom kept taking me to the doctor, and the doctor kept telling 59 00:02:37,708 --> 00:02:40,204 her, you're just nervous because you have this new baby you 60 00:02:40,212 --> 00:02:42,556 weren't expecting, and et cetera, et cetera. 61 00:02:42,588 --> 00:02:43,122 And. 62 00:02:43,276 --> 00:02:46,486 And so one day, a couple days later, my great grandmother was holding 63 00:02:46,518 --> 00:02:48,982 me and my great Grandmother said to my mom, if you don't get 64 00:02:49,006 --> 00:02:50,502 her help, she's going to die. 65 00:02:50,646 --> 00:02:53,894 And so my mom went back to the doctor, and thankfully, the doctor 66 00:02:53,942 --> 00:02:57,670 that she was seeing was not there that day, and we saw his partner, 67 00:02:57,830 --> 00:03:02,374 and his partner diagnosed me with a syndrome called pyloric stenosis, 68 00:03:02,502 --> 00:03:06,118 where a tube in your digestive system isn't formed correctly. 69 00:03:06,294 --> 00:03:09,406 And so if you don't get it fixed, you do. 70 00:03:09,518 --> 00:03:13,166 So we're talking here today because of some really divine intervention 71 00:03:13,198 --> 00:03:13,646 that happened. 72 00:03:13,678 --> 00:03:14,254 Right? 73 00:03:14,422 --> 00:03:14,958 Twice. 74 00:03:15,054 --> 00:03:15,838 Twice, right. 75 00:03:15,894 --> 00:03:18,846 Being adopted and then the doctor saving my life. 76 00:03:18,918 --> 00:03:20,398 That's a pretty cool start to life. 77 00:03:20,454 --> 00:03:24,350 And we're gonna have some more conversation about other cool things 78 00:03:24,390 --> 00:03:25,470 that have happened in your life here. 79 00:03:25,510 --> 00:03:27,278 But let's talk to Jason for a minute. 80 00:03:27,294 --> 00:03:28,606 Jason, what's hometown for you? 81 00:03:28,678 --> 00:03:29,742 Where are you from? 82 00:03:29,926 --> 00:03:32,750 I was raised in Steinsville, Indiana. 83 00:03:32,830 --> 00:03:36,570 Not Zionsville, Steinsville and Monroe County. 84 00:03:37,030 --> 00:03:39,790 And tell me a little bit about. 85 00:03:39,830 --> 00:03:41,810 Life growing up in Slingsville. 86 00:03:42,150 --> 00:03:46,142 My mom was a babysitter when I was growing up, and my dad was a 87 00:03:46,166 --> 00:03:47,534 traveling evangelist. 88 00:03:47,662 --> 00:03:52,238 So my mom was the babysitter to my best friend. 89 00:03:52,294 --> 00:03:55,166 So my childhood was great because we just went out in the woods 90 00:03:55,198 --> 00:03:57,610 every day and I got to play with my best friend, so. 91 00:03:57,990 --> 00:03:59,770 Well, so you just had. 92 00:04:00,070 --> 00:04:02,744 In many ways, you guys had both had pretty good childhood. 93 00:04:02,792 --> 00:04:04,312 So coming up in the. 94 00:04:04,416 --> 00:04:05,352 That's fantastic. 95 00:04:05,416 --> 00:04:07,752 Well, tell me a little bit about what you do right now, what 96 00:04:07,776 --> 00:04:13,032 got you to Whiteland, Indiana, or Greenwood and Indiana area, and 97 00:04:13,216 --> 00:04:15,832 maybe a little bit of, what, your kind of career, things you do 98 00:04:15,856 --> 00:04:16,152 right now. 99 00:04:16,176 --> 00:04:16,872 Kara, how about you? 100 00:04:16,896 --> 00:04:17,560 What got you here? 101 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:18,104 And what. 102 00:04:18,192 --> 00:04:18,984 What do you do? 103 00:04:19,072 --> 00:04:19,512 Sure. 104 00:04:19,616 --> 00:04:22,856 So even though I was born and raised a Buckeye, I always wanted 105 00:04:22,888 --> 00:04:23,912 a different path. 106 00:04:24,056 --> 00:04:26,904 And so I went to swim camp at Indiana University when I was in 107 00:04:26,912 --> 00:04:27,630 eighth grade. 108 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:30,002 And when I came home from swim camp, I told my parents, that's where 109 00:04:30,026 --> 00:04:30,946 I'm going to college. 110 00:04:31,058 --> 00:04:32,470 And they said, oh, okay. 111 00:04:33,050 --> 00:04:35,634 And then senior year of high school, my parents said, all right, 112 00:04:35,642 --> 00:04:36,130 what's next? 113 00:04:36,170 --> 00:04:36,658 Where are you? 114 00:04:36,714 --> 00:04:36,882 Where. 115 00:04:36,906 --> 00:04:37,506 Where are you applying? 116 00:04:37,538 --> 00:04:39,490 And I said, I told you, I'm going to iu. 117 00:04:39,650 --> 00:04:41,154 I knew no one at iu. 118 00:04:41,202 --> 00:04:41,790 I. 119 00:04:42,090 --> 00:04:48,434 And thankfully, my parents let me do that and met Jason our junior 120 00:04:48,482 --> 00:04:48,978 year. 121 00:04:49,114 --> 00:04:52,434 And so because of his work situation, my work situation, we 122 00:04:52,442 --> 00:04:54,204 ended up landing in Greenwood. 123 00:04:54,362 --> 00:04:56,504 And so we've lived in Greenwood ever since we got married 124 00:04:56,552 --> 00:04:57,896 in 2003. 125 00:04:58,048 --> 00:04:58,984 Sidious assault. 126 00:04:59,032 --> 00:05:01,100 You were a competitive swimmer? 127 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,696 Yes, I swam all growing up. 128 00:05:04,768 --> 00:05:10,424 I swam from the time I was 4 years old until I was 18, but had 129 00:05:10,432 --> 00:05:11,864 no Desire to swim in college. 130 00:05:11,992 --> 00:05:12,648 I just want. 131 00:05:12,704 --> 00:05:12,920 I. 132 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,560 But it was, it really shaped who I was growing up. 133 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:20,136 And if there's ever a cultural reference or a biblical reference, 134 00:05:20,168 --> 00:05:22,744 I don't know, Jason likes to kindly remind me it was cause I was 135 00:05:22,752 --> 00:05:25,400 at swim practice that I probably don't know that. 136 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:25,704 So. 137 00:05:25,712 --> 00:05:29,060 Yeah, that's how we ended up in Greenwood in central Indiana. 138 00:05:29,140 --> 00:05:29,828 Yeah. 139 00:05:30,004 --> 00:05:31,348 But Jason, how about you? 140 00:05:31,484 --> 00:05:33,988 Did you went to IU to I pick it up on, is that right? 141 00:05:34,044 --> 00:05:34,680 Yes. 142 00:05:35,740 --> 00:05:40,916 And I only met a couple of guys at IU because that's where I 143 00:05:40,988 --> 00:05:43,828 grew up, was in the same town pretty much. 144 00:05:43,964 --> 00:05:46,036 And so I felt like I had enough friends already. 145 00:05:46,108 --> 00:05:49,012 So I wasn't really into making new friends at college. 146 00:05:49,076 --> 00:05:53,566 But these two guys befriended me for no reason that I can understand. 147 00:05:53,718 --> 00:05:58,750 But one of those guys knew Kara, so that's why we met was through 148 00:05:58,790 --> 00:05:59,454 this other guy. 149 00:05:59,502 --> 00:06:00,830 So mutual friend. 150 00:06:00,870 --> 00:06:02,014 Shout out to Jordan Ablon. 151 00:06:02,062 --> 00:06:02,690 Yes. 152 00:06:03,750 --> 00:06:07,070 So I've said you were kind of a Lyndon Monroe. 153 00:06:07,150 --> 00:06:09,614 Did you, did you live at home or did you go to the dorms and all 154 00:06:09,622 --> 00:06:10,574 that kind of thing? 155 00:06:10,742 --> 00:06:13,342 I lived in the dorms one year, yes. 156 00:06:13,486 --> 00:06:14,398 Okay. 157 00:06:14,574 --> 00:06:16,926 What did you study at iu, Jason? 158 00:06:17,118 --> 00:06:20,462 We both studied sports communication, broadcast. 159 00:06:20,526 --> 00:06:22,850 And we know nothing about broadcasting. 160 00:06:25,380 --> 00:06:27,280 No shade to our alma mater. 161 00:06:28,660 --> 00:06:29,340 Here we are. 162 00:06:29,380 --> 00:06:30,012 Broadcasting. 163 00:06:30,076 --> 00:06:30,556 Yes. 164 00:06:30,668 --> 00:06:33,724 This is the most broadcasting I've ever seen and I have a degree 165 00:06:33,772 --> 00:06:34,520 in it. 166 00:06:35,460 --> 00:06:37,852 Well, how's it shaking out there? 167 00:06:37,876 --> 00:06:40,476 He said you're not in sports broadcasting. 168 00:06:40,588 --> 00:06:42,012 What are you at, Jason? 169 00:06:42,156 --> 00:06:44,028 What kind of career are you involved with? 170 00:06:44,164 --> 00:06:46,700 Well, I was when I was growing up. 171 00:06:46,740 --> 00:06:51,212 My dad and I had a baseball card shop for a decade while I was 172 00:06:51,236 --> 00:06:53,234 in middle school through college. 173 00:06:53,412 --> 00:06:55,734 And then we did ebay after that. 174 00:06:55,822 --> 00:07:01,050 And then I did ebay on my own until 2021 probably. 175 00:07:01,630 --> 00:07:05,574 And right now I'm just a reseller, we'll call it. 176 00:07:05,662 --> 00:07:06,326 Okay. 177 00:07:06,438 --> 00:07:12,022 And sell baseball gloves and baseball cards and anything that 178 00:07:12,046 --> 00:07:15,450 I can flip for a profit, I guess. 179 00:07:16,030 --> 00:07:19,062 And I was a stay at home dad when our girls were little, so. 180 00:07:19,246 --> 00:07:20,806 Well, awesome, awesome. 181 00:07:20,918 --> 00:07:23,090 Erin, how about you tell me about what kind of. 182 00:07:23,550 --> 00:07:24,742 What do you do in your career? 183 00:07:24,806 --> 00:07:25,410 Sure. 184 00:07:25,870 --> 00:07:29,894 So even though Jason and I both studied sports, I did an internship 185 00:07:29,942 --> 00:07:33,142 for the Toledo Mud Hens when I was a junior, between my junior and 186 00:07:33,166 --> 00:07:34,534 senior year of college. 187 00:07:34,582 --> 00:07:37,430 And I quickly realized that that lifestyle didn't align with 188 00:07:37,470 --> 00:07:38,770 what I wanted in life. 189 00:07:39,310 --> 00:07:42,982 I really wanted to get married and have children and to work in 190 00:07:43,006 --> 00:07:43,718 sports is. 191 00:07:43,774 --> 00:07:45,086 That's pretty difficult to do. 192 00:07:45,198 --> 00:07:47,342 And I knew I wanted to be a very involved parent. 193 00:07:47,406 --> 00:07:50,846 And late Night games and early, early morning office hours 194 00:07:50,918 --> 00:07:53,214 are not really what I wanted to do. 195 00:07:53,302 --> 00:07:57,326 So even though I got a degree in sports communications, I quickly 196 00:07:57,358 --> 00:07:59,390 realized that wasn't the path for me. 197 00:07:59,510 --> 00:08:04,558 I ended up landing a job in Greenwood out of college for a utility 198 00:08:04,734 --> 00:08:09,230 and basically worked in the utility space for 25 years. 199 00:08:09,350 --> 00:08:14,314 And I currently worked work for Wabash Valley Power alliance, 200 00:08:14,362 --> 00:08:18,346 it's an electric cooperative and I'm communications and marketing 201 00:08:18,378 --> 00:08:20,074 manager and I've been there this week. 202 00:08:20,162 --> 00:08:21,594 It will be 19 years. 203 00:08:21,762 --> 00:08:22,458 Good for you. 204 00:08:22,514 --> 00:08:23,178 Thank you. 205 00:08:23,314 --> 00:08:24,746 And you mentioned you have children. 206 00:08:24,818 --> 00:08:27,994 So it's just a nugget about your, about your kids. 207 00:08:28,042 --> 00:08:29,018 So you don't go in great detail. 208 00:08:29,074 --> 00:08:30,554 What's the nugget about them? 209 00:08:30,722 --> 00:08:34,762 So yes, we are parents to a 19 year old daughter named Emma and 210 00:08:34,786 --> 00:08:38,698 she's a freshman at Miami of Ohio studying biochemistry and minoring 211 00:08:38,714 --> 00:08:39,630 in Spanish. 212 00:08:39,940 --> 00:08:43,116 And our youngest daughter is just turned 18. 213 00:08:43,188 --> 00:08:46,044 Her name is Olivia and she's a senior at Greenwood High School. 214 00:08:46,212 --> 00:08:50,828 And the, the, the thing that, that sticks out to me about our girls 215 00:08:50,844 --> 00:08:52,908 is that they are absolutely nothing alike. 216 00:08:53,004 --> 00:08:55,840 The only thing they share is a gender and parents. 217 00:08:57,940 --> 00:08:59,100 You have anything to add to that? 218 00:08:59,140 --> 00:09:03,916 Any cool, any cool stories about you, about your kids or a nugget 219 00:09:03,948 --> 00:09:05,320 there that you might want to share? 220 00:09:07,070 --> 00:09:08,566 Not at the moment. 221 00:09:08,758 --> 00:09:11,830 Well, I will say that our girls are very blessed to have been 222 00:09:11,870 --> 00:09:13,158 raised by their dad. 223 00:09:13,334 --> 00:09:16,918 That's not a story that many people can share and it's pretty 224 00:09:16,934 --> 00:09:18,262 neat to see their bond. 225 00:09:18,326 --> 00:09:21,574 And I hear the stories they tell me from growing up when he used 226 00:09:21,582 --> 00:09:24,582 to split donuts between the two of them, but he got a whole one 227 00:09:24,606 --> 00:09:25,318 that they had to share. 228 00:09:25,374 --> 00:09:27,766 Well, tell me how that kind of shook up for you there, Carrie. 229 00:09:27,798 --> 00:09:28,742 That is a. 230 00:09:28,926 --> 00:09:31,112 It's more common than it used to be, but still a. 231 00:09:31,206 --> 00:09:33,972 A little bit different than many people's experiences. 232 00:09:34,036 --> 00:09:36,404 How did that shake out for you from your perspective? 233 00:09:36,532 --> 00:09:38,772 Kind of the stay at home dad type of thing. 234 00:09:38,876 --> 00:09:42,068 So yeah, it's hard to believe when you say it was 20 years ago 235 00:09:42,124 --> 00:09:42,788 that it started. 236 00:09:42,844 --> 00:09:47,172 But yeah, it was 20 years ago and Jason was self employed and it 237 00:09:47,196 --> 00:09:48,580 just made sense at the time. 238 00:09:48,620 --> 00:09:55,284 Daycare, super expensive and I had the health insurance and so it 239 00:09:55,292 --> 00:09:57,556 just kind of made sense that he would stay at home with the girls 240 00:09:57,588 --> 00:10:00,630 and he, he ran his business while they napped. 241 00:10:01,130 --> 00:10:06,830 My job on maternity leave was to get the girls on a schedule and 242 00:10:07,290 --> 00:10:10,002 also, you know, feed them, I guess. 243 00:10:10,146 --> 00:10:12,466 And so yeah, we had a. 244 00:10:12,618 --> 00:10:13,830 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 245 00:10:14,170 --> 00:10:16,738 And so it just, yeah, it really worked out well for our family. 246 00:10:16,794 --> 00:10:20,162 It was, I mean looking back, it was hard for me just because, 247 00:10:20,266 --> 00:10:22,034 you know, there were days where I definitely wanted to be the 248 00:10:22,042 --> 00:10:24,626 one to stay at home and be with the girls. 249 00:10:24,658 --> 00:10:27,606 But I knew that um, they were in great hands, probably better hands 250 00:10:27,638 --> 00:10:29,090 with Jason than me. 251 00:10:29,550 --> 00:10:33,734 Um, and yeah, I think that Emma and Olivia will look back on 252 00:10:33,742 --> 00:10:36,342 that time and, and really cherish those moments with their 253 00:10:36,366 --> 00:10:36,758 dad. 254 00:10:36,854 --> 00:10:38,982 Jason, how about you tell me a little bit about the stay at home 255 00:10:39,006 --> 00:10:40,422 dad experience for you. 256 00:10:40,526 --> 00:10:44,102 Obviously you did your, your ebay career and other things of that 257 00:10:44,126 --> 00:10:46,850 nature as well, but tell me how that went for you. 258 00:10:47,710 --> 00:10:51,754 Um, it was what I was felt. 259 00:10:51,862 --> 00:10:54,354 I always felt that was what I wanted to do. 260 00:10:54,522 --> 00:10:58,642 And my mom was always there every day of our life when I was 261 00:10:58,666 --> 00:10:59,218 growing up. 262 00:10:59,274 --> 00:11:04,470 So I wanted that for either one of us to be that for our kids. 263 00:11:04,970 --> 00:11:11,138 And it was easier than it should have been probably at that 264 00:11:11,194 --> 00:11:13,122 time for me personally. 265 00:11:13,186 --> 00:11:18,654 But I'm not really a people person so being home wasn't really. 266 00:11:18,842 --> 00:11:21,370 I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. 267 00:11:21,710 --> 00:11:27,702 And there was opportunities I had where like at the church we went 268 00:11:27,726 --> 00:11:31,990 to at that time they had a MOPS program for mothers of preschoolers. 269 00:11:32,070 --> 00:11:36,678 So I was the child care for that because I didn't go, wasn't 270 00:11:36,694 --> 00:11:40,342 going to go to the class with a bunch of women, but I watched their 271 00:11:40,366 --> 00:11:40,710 kids. 272 00:11:40,790 --> 00:11:47,298 So it's just stuff like that where the kids that you interacted 273 00:11:47,314 --> 00:11:52,082 with then could see that guys could also be involved in their day 274 00:11:52,106 --> 00:11:53,026 to day life. 275 00:11:53,178 --> 00:11:57,426 I thought that was, worked for you guys and it definitely helped. 276 00:11:57,458 --> 00:11:58,642 That I'm the cheap parent. 277 00:11:58,706 --> 00:11:59,042 Yes. 278 00:11:59,106 --> 00:12:02,402 Because if you're, I can only say if you're going to be the stay 279 00:12:02,426 --> 00:12:05,794 at home parent, you can't be also the one that likes to spend 280 00:12:05,842 --> 00:12:06,290 money. 281 00:12:06,410 --> 00:12:10,162 So our girls, our girls always made fun of me because we never did 282 00:12:10,186 --> 00:12:12,354 anything unless it was free or we had a coupon. 283 00:12:12,402 --> 00:12:13,922 So there you go. 284 00:12:13,946 --> 00:12:15,410 Well, I'm sure there's more to that story. 285 00:12:15,530 --> 00:12:17,746 We'll delve a little deeper on another occasion. 286 00:12:17,778 --> 00:12:20,178 But I wanted to fellow you lived in Greenwood. 287 00:12:20,274 --> 00:12:22,834 I think you said 19 or 20 years you lived in Greenwood, is 288 00:12:22,842 --> 00:12:23,138 that right? 289 00:12:23,194 --> 00:12:23,522 Yeah. 290 00:12:23,586 --> 00:12:26,034 And then tell me a little bit about the experience of living in 291 00:12:26,042 --> 00:12:26,386 Greenwood. 292 00:12:26,418 --> 00:12:29,586 Particularly you said you were part of a church prior to coming 293 00:12:29,658 --> 00:12:29,986 here. 294 00:12:30,058 --> 00:12:32,754 So tell a little bit about, a little bit about your kind of spiritual 295 00:12:32,802 --> 00:12:36,002 background, church background, both growing up and maybe what you 296 00:12:36,026 --> 00:12:37,586 experienced here in Greenwood. 297 00:12:37,618 --> 00:12:38,744 Tell me a little bit about that. 298 00:12:38,882 --> 00:12:39,820 Just start with you. 299 00:12:39,860 --> 00:12:40,492 You want me to go? 300 00:12:40,516 --> 00:12:41,356 Oh, I'm going First. 301 00:12:41,428 --> 00:12:45,612 Okay, well, like I said, my dad was a traveling evangelist when 302 00:12:45,636 --> 00:12:51,404 I was a kid, and he was gone, like, one year, I think he was gone, 303 00:12:51,452 --> 00:12:53,240 like 300 and some days. 304 00:12:53,540 --> 00:12:57,964 And then he got off the road when I was in middle school and we 305 00:12:57,972 --> 00:12:59,160 had our store together. 306 00:12:59,620 --> 00:13:03,436 And I also have an older sister that I have not mentioned 307 00:13:03,468 --> 00:13:04,040 yet. 308 00:13:05,550 --> 00:13:14,086 And let's see, we hopped around to a lot of different churches 309 00:13:14,118 --> 00:13:15,170 when I was in. 310 00:13:15,710 --> 00:13:16,770 In school. 311 00:13:17,070 --> 00:13:21,750 And then when we moved up here, we started. 312 00:13:21,870 --> 00:13:22,806 We went to. 313 00:13:22,878 --> 00:13:25,638 We tested out, like, three or four churches. 314 00:13:25,734 --> 00:13:28,694 And there was one church in particular that was like a big church 315 00:13:28,742 --> 00:13:29,510 around here. 316 00:13:29,630 --> 00:13:36,238 And the week we were there, like, it was not for me, and I didn't 317 00:13:36,254 --> 00:13:37,630 think it was for Kara either. 318 00:13:37,710 --> 00:13:40,302 And then when we were walking to the car, I was like, oh, that 319 00:13:40,326 --> 00:13:41,790 was an amazing experience. 320 00:13:41,910 --> 00:13:42,910 Didn't you think that was great? 321 00:13:42,950 --> 00:13:44,286 And she was like, it was. 322 00:13:44,358 --> 00:13:46,062 I'm like, no, I was just kidding. 323 00:13:46,206 --> 00:13:48,174 And so we did not choose that church. 324 00:13:48,222 --> 00:13:54,398 But then we did go to a church for, I don't know, 16 years, we'll 325 00:13:54,414 --> 00:13:55,022 say. 326 00:13:55,206 --> 00:13:58,142 And we didn't have any reason that we left that church to come 327 00:13:58,166 --> 00:13:58,350 here. 328 00:13:58,390 --> 00:14:02,866 But I met Ross through the Bridges alliance of Johnson county 329 00:14:02,938 --> 00:14:07,954 program, which is people walking along, people struggling 330 00:14:08,002 --> 00:14:09,106 with poverty. 331 00:14:09,298 --> 00:14:13,362 And I met Ross there, and he just seemed like a nice guy. 332 00:14:13,426 --> 00:14:19,138 And so at one point, I was going to his services he was having. 333 00:14:19,194 --> 00:14:20,690 And our old church at the same time. 334 00:14:20,730 --> 00:14:24,594 And then when they started actually having services here, I 335 00:14:24,602 --> 00:14:28,032 was like, well, I feel like there didn't seem to be a lot of 336 00:14:28,056 --> 00:14:33,120 people that knew how to do church, I guess we'll say, at this 337 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:33,472 church. 338 00:14:33,536 --> 00:14:38,992 And I felt led to be one of the people that knew kind of what 339 00:14:39,016 --> 00:14:43,328 was going on, or that could be not really a le. 340 00:14:43,384 --> 00:14:45,260 Not a leader, but just. 341 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:52,016 Yeah, well, we'll come back to some of that here in just a minute 342 00:14:52,048 --> 00:14:52,192 here. 343 00:14:52,216 --> 00:14:55,026 But, Carol, want to find out for you a little bit about your church 344 00:14:55,058 --> 00:14:58,146 history growing up and maybe here in Greenwood area. 345 00:14:58,218 --> 00:14:58,514 Yeah. 346 00:14:58,562 --> 00:15:02,418 So basically, my church experience was the polar opposite 347 00:15:02,434 --> 00:15:04,670 of Jason's church experience growing up. 348 00:15:05,210 --> 00:15:08,418 I went to the same church all through. 349 00:15:08,554 --> 00:15:10,018 All through my life growing up. 350 00:15:10,074 --> 00:15:12,978 My mom went to the same church growing up. 351 00:15:13,034 --> 00:15:16,870 My grandfather was the founding member of the church. 352 00:15:17,290 --> 00:15:19,030 It was a Presbyterian church. 353 00:15:19,930 --> 00:15:21,996 And so that's all that I knew. 354 00:15:22,138 --> 00:15:25,048 Um, I'd never gone to any other type of church except for. 355 00:15:25,104 --> 00:15:27,512 Actually, I was thinking about this this morning. 356 00:15:27,616 --> 00:15:31,592 I was fortunate enough to grow up with a best friend who was Jewish. 357 00:15:31,736 --> 00:15:35,656 So I had that experience of having a different type of Religion 358 00:15:35,688 --> 00:15:39,400 around me, which I look back on really fondly, that I had that 359 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,296 experience, but as far as, like, my personal experience, whereas 360 00:15:42,328 --> 00:15:45,912 Jason hopped around different churches and they had different experiences, 361 00:15:45,976 --> 00:15:48,632 I went to the same church, the same pew, with the same people doing 362 00:15:48,656 --> 00:15:50,020 the same things every week. 363 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:54,800 And so when we got married, it was. 364 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:57,456 It was like he mentioned, it was challenging to find a church 365 00:15:57,488 --> 00:16:00,400 that we could both agree on just because we had vastly different 366 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:01,344 experiences. 367 00:16:01,472 --> 00:16:04,592 And then as he mentioned, we were with one church for a really 368 00:16:04,616 --> 00:16:05,136 long time. 369 00:16:05,208 --> 00:16:06,784 And I. 370 00:16:06,952 --> 00:16:10,256 I just felt kind of a calling, I think, after he did, but a calling 371 00:16:10,288 --> 00:16:11,728 that it was time for something different. 372 00:16:11,864 --> 00:16:13,136 And like you mentioned, nothing happened. 373 00:16:13,168 --> 00:16:15,580 There was no, you know, sometimes people leave churches for, 374 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,712 you know, reasons or whatever, but we didn't. 375 00:16:18,856 --> 00:16:20,344 But then we. 376 00:16:20,432 --> 00:16:22,340 We started coming here and. 377 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:25,928 And at first it was really hard for me because it was very different. 378 00:16:25,984 --> 00:16:27,864 I grew up Presbyterian. 379 00:16:27,992 --> 00:16:30,728 I went to the same church here for a really long time. 380 00:16:30,784 --> 00:16:32,712 I was used to one thing, and so this was. 381 00:16:32,816 --> 00:16:36,020 This was really stretching me, but I knew there was a reason. 382 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:38,968 So that's part of the reason how you got here to have another 383 00:16:39,024 --> 00:16:40,040 church in the first place. 384 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,056 So we want to go a little deeper in a minute. 385 00:16:42,088 --> 00:16:45,972 Let's go a little more basic or a little more foundational than 386 00:16:45,996 --> 00:16:46,516 that. 387 00:16:46,668 --> 00:16:49,524 Was there any time in your life that you kind of found was a. 388 00:16:49,612 --> 00:16:52,080 So do you care first in terms of kind of a. 389 00:16:52,940 --> 00:16:56,660 Kind of a God moment, kind of a coming to faith moment for you 390 00:16:56,700 --> 00:16:59,092 where you kind of felt like, you know, faith was a real thing 391 00:16:59,116 --> 00:17:00,516 that you wanted to some another. 392 00:17:00,588 --> 00:17:02,160 Live it out and express it? 393 00:17:02,620 --> 00:17:04,884 You know, a life of faith? 394 00:17:05,012 --> 00:17:06,004 You know, I. 395 00:17:06,172 --> 00:17:06,964 Not really. 396 00:17:07,052 --> 00:17:08,308 I just feel like it's been. 397 00:17:08,364 --> 00:17:09,840 Always been part of my life. 398 00:17:10,750 --> 00:17:14,010 There was never a profound moment. 399 00:17:14,350 --> 00:17:15,654 It's just always been. 400 00:17:15,742 --> 00:17:19,970 I was just raised in a Christian church in a Christian environment, 401 00:17:22,110 --> 00:17:25,654 and Jason is a man of faith. 402 00:17:25,702 --> 00:17:30,102 And yeah, I don't feel like there was that one aha moment now. 403 00:17:30,126 --> 00:17:35,628 There's been some aha moments of like, why we came here and. 404 00:17:35,734 --> 00:17:37,120 And how we landed here. 405 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:42,224 I think God revealed that to me afterwards. 406 00:17:42,272 --> 00:17:43,936 And it was like, oh, okay, God. 407 00:17:43,968 --> 00:17:44,700 That's why. 408 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,192 Let's stick a pin in that one. 409 00:17:46,216 --> 00:17:47,168 We're coming back there. 410 00:17:47,224 --> 00:17:47,648 Okay. 411 00:17:47,744 --> 00:17:51,280 Jason, for you, was there any kind of tell me a story about coming 412 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:55,216 to faith for you or, you know, did Karen kind of describe her experience 413 00:17:55,288 --> 00:17:58,272 kind of this as a growing up and gradual, you know, just part 414 00:17:58,296 --> 00:17:59,216 of who life is. 415 00:17:59,288 --> 00:18:01,740 Tell me about your coming to faith experience. 416 00:18:03,810 --> 00:18:09,162 Well, I think I'm sometimes Jealous of people that come to faith 417 00:18:09,226 --> 00:18:11,962 later in life just because it's always. 418 00:18:12,066 --> 00:18:17,402 It seems more real for some reason when it's like you can see 419 00:18:17,426 --> 00:18:21,114 it, see somebody's life change instantly. 420 00:18:21,162 --> 00:18:22,282 It's amazing. 421 00:18:22,346 --> 00:18:26,842 And growing up in church, I don't feel I had that, like, I was 422 00:18:26,866 --> 00:18:33,412 always just a good kid and I was never a problem for my parents 423 00:18:33,476 --> 00:18:34,676 or anything like that. 424 00:18:34,828 --> 00:18:35,920 And just. 425 00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:37,796 You would look better doing drugs. 426 00:18:37,828 --> 00:18:38,440 Yeah. 427 00:18:41,580 --> 00:18:46,708 Well, both you church, you know, church people growing up in 428 00:18:46,764 --> 00:18:50,180 kind of an established church environment, and then you. 429 00:18:50,300 --> 00:18:53,092 That you kind of came to something new here at Heaven Earth 430 00:18:53,156 --> 00:18:53,860 Church. 431 00:18:54,020 --> 00:18:56,204 You already described a little bit of it. 432 00:18:56,332 --> 00:19:00,220 But tell me, Carol, let's come back to you about how you were first 433 00:19:00,260 --> 00:19:01,484 introduced to Lis. 434 00:19:01,612 --> 00:19:06,876 Connecting with Pastor Ross through Jason is my understanding. 435 00:19:06,988 --> 00:19:07,740 But tell me your. 436 00:19:07,780 --> 00:19:10,124 Some of your initial experiences of coming to Heavener 437 00:19:10,172 --> 00:19:10,796 at church. 438 00:19:10,908 --> 00:19:13,036 Just first impressions, this type of thing. 439 00:19:13,188 --> 00:19:14,240 Oh, boy. 440 00:19:14,980 --> 00:19:21,644 Well, I first met Ross, I believe, at a dedication for a baby 441 00:19:21,692 --> 00:19:27,372 box at White River Township Fire Department, if that's right. 442 00:19:27,556 --> 00:19:31,260 Jason knew Ross through bridges, like he mentioned and met 443 00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:36,172 him that day at that event and just was really impressed by what 444 00:19:36,196 --> 00:19:37,180 a nice guy he is. 445 00:19:37,220 --> 00:19:40,060 And he always remembers everyone's name, which is so impressive. 446 00:19:40,220 --> 00:19:41,772 I'm not that I'm not. 447 00:19:41,796 --> 00:19:42,960 I don't have that gift. 448 00:19:44,580 --> 00:19:48,840 But to be honest with you, when we first started coming here, 449 00:19:49,140 --> 00:19:53,764 it was tough because like I mentioned, I'd had this very similar 450 00:19:53,852 --> 00:19:57,060 experience growing up in Presbyterian Church, always with 451 00:19:57,100 --> 00:19:58,180 our other church. 452 00:19:58,340 --> 00:20:02,084 And then this was really pushing me outside of my comfort 453 00:20:02,132 --> 00:20:02,720 level. 454 00:20:03,020 --> 00:20:06,148 And it was also a challenging time because it was during the pandemic. 455 00:20:06,324 --> 00:20:09,892 So I think the first time we ever came to church here was maybe 456 00:20:09,956 --> 00:20:14,916 Easter Sunday when we were outside would have been 2021. 457 00:20:14,988 --> 00:20:15,876 Is that right? 458 00:20:16,028 --> 00:20:16,840 Maybe. 459 00:20:17,260 --> 00:20:20,520 And, yeah, it was just. 460 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:21,780 It was just very different. 461 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:28,740 But again, I had to trust God that I was here for a reason. 462 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,984 And again, it's revealed itself of. 463 00:20:33,072 --> 00:20:34,872 Tell me about some of the conversations you had with Jason, 464 00:20:34,936 --> 00:20:39,320 kind of after some of those initial uncomfortable experiences. 465 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:41,864 Does it sound like you had a prior experience where you went to 466 00:20:41,872 --> 00:20:45,534 some big megachurch and you both on the, you know, had some conversation 467 00:20:45,582 --> 00:20:47,566 about that, how that was not what you wanted. 468 00:20:47,678 --> 00:20:48,222 What were you. 469 00:20:48,246 --> 00:20:51,902 Some of the conversations that you had with Jason following that 470 00:20:51,926 --> 00:20:52,446 time? 471 00:20:52,598 --> 00:20:54,810 When I come here to HEC for. 472 00:20:56,950 --> 00:20:57,950 I think I just. 473 00:20:57,990 --> 00:21:05,770 I struggled with, like, I don't know, I just struggled with 474 00:21:06,950 --> 00:21:08,110 specifically. 475 00:21:08,270 --> 00:21:08,718 It was. 476 00:21:08,774 --> 00:21:13,652 It was a hard time in my life because of the pandemic and some 477 00:21:13,676 --> 00:21:14,084 of the. 478 00:21:14,172 --> 00:21:14,804 The. 479 00:21:14,972 --> 00:21:18,948 The things that were Happening and, And like, we couldn't sing here 480 00:21:19,084 --> 00:21:19,940 and things like that. 481 00:21:19,980 --> 00:21:21,716 So it was kind of a challenging time. 482 00:21:21,868 --> 00:21:24,532 Um, so I was just kind of like, sometimes I didn't come and 483 00:21:24,556 --> 00:21:25,956 Jason came by himself. 484 00:21:26,148 --> 00:21:31,684 Uh, but again, God just kept working on me and, and, and I overcame 485 00:21:31,732 --> 00:21:37,150 some of those things and, and saw the goodness. 486 00:21:38,290 --> 00:21:39,946 Well, we'll come back to some of that in a minute. 487 00:21:39,978 --> 00:21:41,098 Jason, let's talk about you. 488 00:21:41,154 --> 00:21:44,954 You initially met at Rostack House through some of the community 489 00:21:45,042 --> 00:21:47,866 organizations that are part of the church here. 490 00:21:47,938 --> 00:21:51,690 What they led you to kind of make that stuff to be part of the. 491 00:21:51,730 --> 00:21:53,962 You know, at least check out the worshiping community. 492 00:21:54,146 --> 00:21:55,830 What kind of led you to that? 493 00:21:56,370 --> 00:22:00,666 Well, that's a good story, because the main reason that we started 494 00:22:00,738 --> 00:22:04,420 coming here, like, I had met Ross before, but our daughter was 495 00:22:04,460 --> 00:22:08,580 playing volleyball at this school right here across the road. 496 00:22:08,700 --> 00:22:11,796 And so we would drop her off and then you would have to go somewhere 497 00:22:11,828 --> 00:22:14,932 for an hour and a half or two hours and then come back and pick 498 00:22:14,956 --> 00:22:15,348 her up. 499 00:22:15,404 --> 00:22:16,868 And I knew the church was right here. 500 00:22:16,924 --> 00:22:20,500 And Ross had always said that they had Bible study on the night 501 00:22:20,540 --> 00:22:21,956 I was dropping her off. 502 00:22:22,108 --> 00:22:26,932 And I'm not a people person and not really a small group type 503 00:22:26,996 --> 00:22:27,220 person. 504 00:22:27,260 --> 00:22:30,228 Like, I didn't go to youth group as a kid because it's just 505 00:22:30,284 --> 00:22:31,440 wasn't my thing. 506 00:22:32,540 --> 00:22:33,252 But they. 507 00:22:33,356 --> 00:22:37,012 I came here because I had some Bibles in my van that I had got at 508 00:22:37,036 --> 00:22:39,556 Goodwill, like little pocket Bibles. 509 00:22:39,588 --> 00:22:42,660 And I was going to drop them off here for him because there was 510 00:22:42,700 --> 00:22:45,108 some sort of ministry he gave them to at that point. 511 00:22:45,244 --> 00:22:48,804 So I came here for that, and then I was just going to leave. 512 00:22:48,852 --> 00:22:50,356 And he was like, oh, well, you should stay. 513 00:22:50,428 --> 00:22:52,880 And he's like, and I promise I'm not going to leave you. 514 00:22:53,260 --> 00:22:58,132 And we're going to split off into smaller groups, but I'll be 515 00:22:58,156 --> 00:22:59,172 in the same room you are. 516 00:22:59,196 --> 00:23:01,220 Because he knew that it was not my thing. 517 00:23:01,340 --> 00:23:04,720 And so I was like, okay, I'll just stay here. 518 00:23:05,020 --> 00:23:07,844 Because my other option was to go to Goodwill and then go have a 519 00:23:07,852 --> 00:23:10,292 beer at Oak and Barrel and then come back. 520 00:23:10,396 --> 00:23:11,844 And I chose not to do that. 521 00:23:11,852 --> 00:23:13,028 I chose to come to church. 522 00:23:13,124 --> 00:23:15,940 So then we split off into groups. 523 00:23:16,020 --> 00:23:20,484 Ross lied to me, did not go into the room that we were in, but 524 00:23:20,652 --> 00:23:22,964 we were in this room right back behind us. 525 00:23:23,052 --> 00:23:30,046 And there was me and I think four other people, and Spencer Metcalfe 526 00:23:30,078 --> 00:23:31,086 was one of them. 527 00:23:31,238 --> 00:23:36,170 And just seeing him in that room that night, it was like more 528 00:23:37,750 --> 00:23:43,838 God than I had seen in probably almost my whole Life and 529 00:23:43,894 --> 00:23:46,430 just in those people in that room. 530 00:23:46,470 --> 00:23:49,902 And one of the funny things was, is Mary Foreman was also in 531 00:23:49,926 --> 00:23:50,570 that room. 532 00:23:50,940 --> 00:23:55,120 And she had said that she could tell when I first got here, 533 00:23:55,500 --> 00:23:58,212 when we were in like the large group thing, she was asking me all 534 00:23:58,236 --> 00:24:01,556 these questions and that I didn't really feel like I wanted 535 00:24:01,588 --> 00:24:02,532 to answer them. 536 00:24:02,636 --> 00:24:07,380 And so she knew that her best bet was just to step back and not 537 00:24:07,420 --> 00:24:08,580 ask me questions. 538 00:24:08,740 --> 00:24:09,760 And so. 539 00:24:10,220 --> 00:24:12,596 And she didn't tell me that till, like, way later. 540 00:24:12,748 --> 00:24:16,916 And I thought that that was kind of funny that God told her, 541 00:24:17,068 --> 00:24:18,836 hey, knock it off. 542 00:24:18,988 --> 00:24:22,468 And then I stayed and it was just. 543 00:24:22,524 --> 00:24:25,012 And then I went home that night and it was just. 544 00:24:25,196 --> 00:24:30,180 I don't know, it was just like I felt like we should be part of 545 00:24:30,220 --> 00:24:30,852 this. 546 00:24:31,036 --> 00:24:33,940 So did you have some conversation with Kara about that 547 00:24:33,980 --> 00:24:35,520 type of experience that you had? 548 00:24:35,980 --> 00:24:44,250 Yeah, I just pretty much told her all that same stuff again. 549 00:24:44,950 --> 00:24:49,102 So it sounds like you kind of had a kind of an aha moment, if you 550 00:24:49,126 --> 00:24:53,278 will, for you at least, kind of like, okay, there's something 551 00:24:53,334 --> 00:24:57,806 here for me that's, you know, particularly for me. 552 00:24:57,878 --> 00:24:58,270 Am I. 553 00:24:58,310 --> 00:24:59,374 I don't want to read too much into it. 554 00:24:59,382 --> 00:24:59,662 Am I. 555 00:24:59,686 --> 00:24:59,982 Yeah. 556 00:25:00,046 --> 00:25:01,086 Track here at all. 557 00:25:01,238 --> 00:25:03,070 Yeah, yeah. 558 00:25:03,230 --> 00:25:03,838 And. 559 00:25:03,974 --> 00:25:07,850 And that night Spencer had to give a. 560 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,120 Like, do this video at the end for some class he was doing for, 561 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:13,992 I think nursing school or something. 562 00:25:14,096 --> 00:25:18,328 And he told like this to his two minute testimony pretty much 563 00:25:18,384 --> 00:25:21,944 of being an addict and all this stuff and recovery. 564 00:25:22,072 --> 00:25:25,144 And it was, it was just like that moment. 565 00:25:25,272 --> 00:25:30,616 I always feel like, not that those people are lesser than people, 566 00:25:30,688 --> 00:25:35,586 but I feel drawn to people, like people that aren't really accepted. 567 00:25:35,698 --> 00:25:38,670 Everywhere is more people that I'm drawn to. 568 00:25:38,970 --> 00:25:44,690 And it felt like a room of people that were like, we were only 569 00:25:44,730 --> 00:25:47,250 in there for 45 minutes or an hour maybe. 570 00:25:47,330 --> 00:25:52,866 And it felt like by the end that we were like family, which doesn't 571 00:25:52,898 --> 00:25:54,802 really happen in that short of a time. 572 00:25:54,826 --> 00:25:59,746 So kind of a transformation that happened relatively quickly 573 00:25:59,778 --> 00:26:02,712 over the course of that one evening, it sounds like. 574 00:26:02,736 --> 00:26:05,400 But also you were kind of led into it through other relationships 575 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:10,536 and you shared that with Kara and then she eventually came along 576 00:26:10,608 --> 00:26:10,888 here. 577 00:26:10,944 --> 00:26:13,032 And that's what we're going to talk with her a minute. 578 00:26:13,176 --> 00:26:13,912 Am I accurate here? 579 00:26:13,936 --> 00:26:15,160 Yes, relatively so. 580 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:17,816 Well, Carol, let's talk about you, that you had this experience. 581 00:26:17,888 --> 00:26:21,928 You know, let me ask you, did you see some animation in Jason or 582 00:26:21,984 --> 00:26:25,144 something along this line that caught your attention? 583 00:26:25,272 --> 00:26:27,202 It's something along that line here. 584 00:26:27,256 --> 00:26:27,982 Yeah, definitely. 585 00:26:28,046 --> 00:26:33,662 So just seeing kind of Jason's journey to coming Here. 586 00:26:33,686 --> 00:26:35,930 I mean, he, he. 587 00:26:36,310 --> 00:26:40,350 We would go to our other church in the morning and then he 588 00:26:40,390 --> 00:26:40,590 would. 589 00:26:40,630 --> 00:26:43,118 We would drive separate and it wasn't super close to our house, 590 00:26:43,174 --> 00:26:45,790 so it was maybe like a 15 or 20 minute drive. 591 00:26:45,950 --> 00:26:46,350 And he. 592 00:26:46,390 --> 00:26:48,570 We would drive separate and then he would go to. 593 00:26:48,870 --> 00:26:49,950 He would go to church. 594 00:26:50,030 --> 00:26:52,654 I think it was at Johnson's. 595 00:26:52,702 --> 00:26:53,406 Johnson's barbecue. 596 00:26:53,438 --> 00:26:55,252 Yeah, he would go to Johnson's barbecue. 597 00:26:55,446 --> 00:26:56,340 And then. 598 00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:01,300 And then he started, I think watching online here maybe, and. 599 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:02,760 And then attending. 600 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,280 Well, he was already attending bridges, but then attending different 601 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:06,968 events here. 602 00:27:07,024 --> 00:27:12,728 And so again, I, I was a little slower to, to come along. 603 00:27:12,864 --> 00:27:14,376 Let's go there for you. 604 00:27:14,448 --> 00:27:14,824 Slower. 605 00:27:14,872 --> 00:27:15,560 Come along. 606 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,360 And he mentioned about how this one night was important to him. 607 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:20,648 Was there some sort of aha moment for you? 608 00:27:20,704 --> 00:27:20,968 Some. 609 00:27:21,024 --> 00:27:25,200 Would you sometimes, you know, the switch flip for you and say, 610 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,200 okay, something maybe here for. 611 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:27,696 From me. 612 00:27:27,768 --> 00:27:30,800 Well, I've certainly met some wonderful people here that I would 613 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:32,580 never have connected with otherwise. 614 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,900 But I think that the aha moment was July of. 615 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:42,800 I don't know if it was 21 or 22 now, but our daughter shared with 616 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:46,592 us something that I'm not going to share right now, but she 617 00:27:46,616 --> 00:27:50,282 shared something with us and then that was like, oh, okay. 618 00:27:50,346 --> 00:27:52,458 That's why God has pushed me. 619 00:27:52,594 --> 00:27:56,330 And so as soon as that happened, I knew that. 620 00:27:56,370 --> 00:27:57,098 That was when I knew. 621 00:27:57,114 --> 00:27:59,562 And I was like, okay, yep, God knows better than I do. 622 00:27:59,586 --> 00:28:00,378 And I was. 623 00:28:00,514 --> 00:28:01,350 I was. 624 00:28:02,290 --> 00:28:04,506 And I think sometimes when, you know, you. 625 00:28:04,578 --> 00:28:06,474 I like Jason works from home. 626 00:28:06,562 --> 00:28:09,626 So like getting up and coming to church on Sunday, you know, he's. 627 00:28:09,658 --> 00:28:10,602 It's probably exciting to him. 628 00:28:10,626 --> 00:28:13,322 Cause he probably wants to leave the house and go do things. 629 00:28:13,346 --> 00:28:14,586 But for me, I'm just the opposite. 630 00:28:14,618 --> 00:28:17,658 I work in an office all week and drive and commute and everything. 631 00:28:17,714 --> 00:28:20,510 And so sometimes on Sunday I just want to stay in bed. 632 00:28:21,010 --> 00:28:21,990 And so. 633 00:28:22,850 --> 00:28:24,058 So that. 634 00:28:24,114 --> 00:28:27,674 That's some of it why he was, you know, kind of doing lots of different. 635 00:28:27,762 --> 00:28:29,722 You know, he was going to two church services and all that. 636 00:28:29,746 --> 00:28:30,074 And I'm. 637 00:28:30,122 --> 00:28:30,794 Man, I'm tired. 638 00:28:30,842 --> 00:28:31,914 I need to rest. 639 00:28:32,082 --> 00:28:32,602 Transition. 640 00:28:32,666 --> 00:28:35,402 For her, the transformation for you to get connected to church 641 00:28:35,546 --> 00:28:40,122 was partly Jason, mostly Jason, you know, some other things. 642 00:28:40,146 --> 00:28:40,922 Going on with you. 643 00:28:41,026 --> 00:28:41,770 That kind of thing. 644 00:28:41,810 --> 00:28:42,236 Yes. 645 00:28:42,338 --> 00:28:44,056 Here's what the next step of this is. 646 00:28:44,128 --> 00:28:45,048 What keeps you here? 647 00:28:45,104 --> 00:28:47,240 You know, it's one thing to get kind of connected with something 648 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:47,864 initially. 649 00:28:47,992 --> 00:28:48,952 But Kara, what. 650 00:28:48,976 --> 00:28:51,272 What keeps you here at heaven or church? 651 00:28:51,336 --> 00:28:52,008 The people. 652 00:28:52,144 --> 00:28:54,008 There's just some great people here that. 653 00:28:54,064 --> 00:28:57,560 From all walks of life that again, I wouldn't I wouldn't know 654 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,152 otherwise without, without coming to church here. 655 00:29:00,336 --> 00:29:02,488 People very different than I grew up. 656 00:29:02,544 --> 00:29:05,464 People maybe I didn't. 657 00:29:05,512 --> 00:29:10,370 I wouldn't have otherwise encountered, but just nice, authentic 658 00:29:10,790 --> 00:29:11,294 people. 659 00:29:11,382 --> 00:29:15,742 I also, I never realized until I came here how much, I guess the 660 00:29:15,766 --> 00:29:19,518 term is church trauma, how much church trauma some people have. 661 00:29:19,654 --> 00:29:23,918 I'm fortunate that I don't feel that, but it's really opened 662 00:29:23,934 --> 00:29:27,006 my heart to that and made me open my eyes to that. 663 00:29:27,078 --> 00:29:29,646 And it's been. 664 00:29:29,798 --> 00:29:32,270 I feel like you grow and do better when you learn. 665 00:29:32,430 --> 00:29:36,414 And so I feel like I've grown and um, learned a lot from people 666 00:29:36,582 --> 00:29:37,214 that are. 667 00:29:37,302 --> 00:29:39,134 Otherwise I, I wouldn't have met. 668 00:29:39,222 --> 00:29:42,062 Um, and that's been really enlightening for me. 669 00:29:42,086 --> 00:29:45,182 It helps me probably relate to my children a little bit more because 670 00:29:45,206 --> 00:29:47,262 my children are our children. 671 00:29:47,446 --> 00:29:52,142 Um, you know, they're probably more open minded than I have been 672 00:29:52,166 --> 00:29:52,670 in my life. 673 00:29:52,710 --> 00:29:54,814 And so it's, it's just helped me grow. 674 00:29:54,902 --> 00:29:55,198 Great. 675 00:29:55,254 --> 00:29:55,758 Great. 676 00:29:55,894 --> 00:29:56,302 Jason. 677 00:29:56,366 --> 00:29:56,990 Kind of the same thing. 678 00:29:57,030 --> 00:29:58,090 What keeps you here? 679 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:10,660 I would say the stuff that goes on not during church, like the 680 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:14,312 community outreach type stuff. 681 00:30:14,376 --> 00:30:19,720 And like when the tornado happened, I was here pretty much 682 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:25,894 that whole week and it was just crazy to see the impact that 683 00:30:25,992 --> 00:30:29,882 this church had on the community around us, which is how 684 00:30:29,906 --> 00:30:32,522 it was supposed to be because that's what made me so mad was the 685 00:30:32,546 --> 00:30:35,514 tornado was on like Friday night. 686 00:30:35,682 --> 00:30:41,674 And then some local churches like had church on Sunday and then. 687 00:30:41,842 --> 00:30:44,634 But some churches didn't and just went out into the community 688 00:30:44,722 --> 00:30:46,234 and helped. 689 00:30:46,362 --> 00:30:50,218 And then I was like, well, if you're a pastor at a church this 690 00:30:50,274 --> 00:30:54,370 Monday and you're in your church just sitting there, you're 691 00:30:54,450 --> 00:30:56,274 not doing this right. 692 00:30:56,442 --> 00:31:02,114 And so just stuff like that and like Recovery Church is amazing 693 00:31:02,162 --> 00:31:09,250 to see those stories and just the, the specific people that you 694 00:31:09,290 --> 00:31:14,754 know that this church has helped that know not because we're 695 00:31:14,802 --> 00:31:21,338 better, but because we're known to serve the people that not 696 00:31:21,394 --> 00:31:22,470 everybody will. 697 00:31:23,490 --> 00:31:27,882 Just those specific people that we've been able to help in the 698 00:31:27,906 --> 00:31:32,218 worst times of their life is just a great testament to what's 699 00:31:32,234 --> 00:31:33,194 going on around here. 700 00:31:33,282 --> 00:31:34,282 That's awesome. 701 00:31:34,426 --> 00:31:40,310 And I will say that I did stop drinking while we were here. 702 00:31:40,770 --> 00:31:44,378 And I'm coming up on a thousand days. 703 00:31:44,434 --> 00:31:46,154 I don't really, I don't go to meetings or anything. 704 00:31:46,202 --> 00:31:48,672 So I don't know, like, I don't do months or. 705 00:31:48,776 --> 00:31:52,992 But sometimes I look and I'm almost at a thousand days sober. 706 00:31:53,056 --> 00:31:54,060 And it just. 707 00:31:55,160 --> 00:32:01,776 The people at Recovery Church that were able to. 708 00:32:01,848 --> 00:32:03,820 That you could see it changed Their life. 709 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:05,024 It was. 710 00:32:05,112 --> 00:32:06,620 It's amazing to see. 711 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:09,424 Thank you for sharing that. 712 00:32:09,512 --> 00:32:10,352 Appreciate that. 713 00:32:10,456 --> 00:32:11,840 And, yeah, you got. 714 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:12,352 Way to go. 715 00:32:12,376 --> 00:32:12,708 Yeah. 716 00:32:12,784 --> 00:32:13,452 Thousand dates. 717 00:32:13,516 --> 00:32:13,804 Yeah. 718 00:32:13,852 --> 00:32:14,316 Yay, God. 719 00:32:14,348 --> 00:32:14,940 Yay, Jason. 720 00:32:15,020 --> 00:32:15,324 Yeah. 721 00:32:15,372 --> 00:32:15,836 Yay, God. 722 00:32:15,868 --> 00:32:16,748 Yay, Jason. 723 00:32:16,924 --> 00:32:19,644 And thank you for the community of people who've been a 724 00:32:19,652 --> 00:32:21,788 part of helping to sustain that. 725 00:32:21,844 --> 00:32:25,292 You know, my belief is a part of what helps keep things going is 726 00:32:25,316 --> 00:32:26,828 the people, as you said, Kara. 727 00:32:26,924 --> 00:32:30,892 But when people come together not only to be kind of part of the 728 00:32:30,916 --> 00:32:34,140 community, but be present in times of need and be supportive, 729 00:32:34,300 --> 00:32:37,276 even though those folks may or may not have been directly supportive 730 00:32:37,308 --> 00:32:37,532 of you. 731 00:32:37,556 --> 00:32:39,078 But you've seen it happening, haven't you? 732 00:32:39,164 --> 00:32:39,426 Yeah. 733 00:32:39,458 --> 00:32:40,434 You've seen support, happiness. 734 00:32:40,482 --> 00:32:44,322 People have had some, you know, similar struggles with you 735 00:32:44,506 --> 00:32:46,802 with recovery issues and things like that, and you've seen 736 00:32:46,826 --> 00:32:48,350 that, and it's touched you. 737 00:32:48,650 --> 00:32:49,218 Yes. 738 00:32:49,314 --> 00:32:49,730 All right. 739 00:32:49,770 --> 00:32:50,210 Awesome. 740 00:32:50,290 --> 00:32:53,458 And I'll also add one thing, Brad, if you don't mind. 741 00:32:53,594 --> 00:32:54,338 I think. 742 00:32:54,474 --> 00:32:58,130 I think this church accepts people for who they are and come 743 00:32:58,170 --> 00:32:59,070 as you are. 744 00:32:59,770 --> 00:33:03,858 If that's dressed up, if that's dressed down, if that's stressed 745 00:33:03,874 --> 00:33:06,326 out, if that's happy, if that's. 746 00:33:06,358 --> 00:33:09,014 If you have a new puppy and you have to bring your puppy to church, 747 00:33:09,062 --> 00:33:11,318 which is what we did for a long time. 748 00:33:11,454 --> 00:33:15,286 Our little puppy, Molly, she's two and a half now, but we brought 749 00:33:15,318 --> 00:33:17,730 her to church every Sunday, and. 750 00:33:18,110 --> 00:33:22,918 And Angie would bring Benson for a long time, and that was a pretty 751 00:33:22,934 --> 00:33:23,302 neat thing. 752 00:33:23,326 --> 00:33:26,650 And people would always say, your church lets you bring a dog. 753 00:33:28,270 --> 00:33:29,250 They did. 754 00:33:30,790 --> 00:33:33,022 And that's something that, you know, it kind of leads me to, you 755 00:33:33,046 --> 00:33:33,870 know, one of the things we. 756 00:33:33,910 --> 00:33:38,622 The mission of the church states pretty clearly on banners 757 00:33:38,686 --> 00:33:42,222 and things of this and this nature, the church that exists to 758 00:33:42,246 --> 00:33:44,030 make a lasting impact on the community. 759 00:33:44,150 --> 00:33:45,090 Absolutely. 760 00:33:45,590 --> 00:33:50,510 So tell me, based on your experience, is there something to 761 00:33:50,550 --> 00:33:50,702 that? 762 00:33:50,726 --> 00:33:51,486 Is that true? 763 00:33:51,598 --> 00:33:52,270 Absolutely. 764 00:33:52,350 --> 00:33:52,654 Yes. 765 00:33:52,702 --> 00:33:53,134 Absolutely. 766 00:33:53,182 --> 00:33:54,590 And if it's true, how's it lived out? 767 00:33:54,630 --> 00:33:57,162 You've mentioned a few things, I think, here, but how else is that 768 00:33:57,186 --> 00:33:57,658 lived out? 769 00:33:57,714 --> 00:33:59,930 Well, I think Jason nailed it when he said that. 770 00:34:00,050 --> 00:34:00,618 It's. 771 00:34:00,714 --> 00:34:01,162 It. 772 00:34:01,266 --> 00:34:03,290 It's not what happens on Sunday morning. 773 00:34:03,410 --> 00:34:05,354 It's what happens every other day of the week. 774 00:34:05,442 --> 00:34:08,522 So it's the things that the members of our church do, whether 775 00:34:08,546 --> 00:34:12,906 it's helping the tornado victims or it's helping sometimes 776 00:34:12,938 --> 00:34:15,370 the man that comes in off the street who doesn't have any food 777 00:34:15,410 --> 00:34:17,898 or doesn't have any gas money. 778 00:34:17,954 --> 00:34:19,150 Our church helps. 779 00:34:19,490 --> 00:34:22,762 It's the Narcan on the side of the building for somebody who may 780 00:34:22,786 --> 00:34:23,510 need it. 781 00:34:24,130 --> 00:34:29,978 It's a church member's family member needing something uplifted 782 00:34:29,994 --> 00:34:30,990 at Christmas. 783 00:34:31,570 --> 00:34:35,178 I have a friend whose daughter is battling cancer right now and 784 00:34:35,314 --> 00:34:40,030 I have no qualms about saying I need prayers for our friend Lauren. 785 00:34:40,370 --> 00:34:44,746 And so it's just, you see it lived out every day by everybody 786 00:34:44,778 --> 00:34:49,226 in this church from the attendees to the pastoral staff. 787 00:34:49,298 --> 00:34:51,858 And yeah, that's just great to witness. 788 00:34:51,954 --> 00:34:52,690 Thanks for sharing that. 789 00:34:52,730 --> 00:34:55,954 Kind of along with that mission of the church is a phrase 790 00:34:56,002 --> 00:34:59,826 kind of a model if you will, that is on the church website and 791 00:34:59,898 --> 00:35:03,138 I hear it said quite often around here is something to the effect 792 00:35:03,194 --> 00:35:05,870 of if you feel like you don't fit in church, you fit here. 793 00:35:06,170 --> 00:35:07,282 Jason, speak to that. 794 00:35:07,306 --> 00:35:08,434 Do you think that's a true statement? 795 00:35:08,522 --> 00:35:10,990 If so, how have you seen that lived out? 796 00:35:12,250 --> 00:35:17,202 I think the greatest story that this church will ever tell and 797 00:35:17,226 --> 00:35:20,510 I don't know why I cry all the time now, but it's a new thing. 798 00:35:22,090 --> 00:35:29,042 There was a woman in Franklin who is a self proclaimed atheist, 799 00:35:29,106 --> 00:35:33,362 which is her is what she thinks. 800 00:35:33,426 --> 00:35:35,390 So we'll just say that. 801 00:35:37,210 --> 00:35:40,914 And if you think about her whole life story, she's a Korean 802 00:35:40,962 --> 00:35:47,598 adoptee who shouldn't even technically be here without having 803 00:35:47,654 --> 00:35:49,886 been adopted and brought to the Franklin area. 804 00:35:49,958 --> 00:35:53,726 And she was somehow become the greatest evangelist for our whole 805 00:35:53,758 --> 00:35:54,062 church. 806 00:35:54,126 --> 00:36:00,430 And the only reason that this one family came was because she had 807 00:36:00,470 --> 00:36:08,410 asked this other lady, she had asked the atheist woman, do you feel 808 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:15,304 or I would like our family to have more of a community and if that's 809 00:36:15,352 --> 00:36:16,520 church or whatever. 810 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:20,136 And she said, oh well you should take your kids to Heaven Earth 811 00:36:20,168 --> 00:36:20,520 Church. 812 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:26,600 And then they started coming here and then her son tragically 813 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:30,920 passed away when he was two and a half and our church was able 814 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:36,542 to be here for that family and like they had the funeral here and 815 00:36:36,566 --> 00:36:42,126 the only reason that we were able to be there for that family 816 00:36:42,198 --> 00:36:46,846 during the worst week and I mean from then on, I mean it wasn't 817 00:36:46,878 --> 00:36:51,230 just a week, it's their whole life was because this woman said 818 00:36:51,270 --> 00:36:54,062 hey, this community will be there for you. 819 00:36:54,166 --> 00:36:54,990 And we were. 820 00:36:55,110 --> 00:36:58,254 And like we had the funeral here and they don't come to church 821 00:36:58,302 --> 00:36:59,582 here anymore. 822 00:36:59,726 --> 00:37:01,086 And I can understand why. 823 00:37:01,158 --> 00:37:03,710 I'm not going to speak for them, but I'm going to assume that 824 00:37:03,750 --> 00:37:08,474 coming to the same sanctuary where you had your child's funeral 825 00:37:08,522 --> 00:37:11,274 would be very hard for you to come back. 826 00:37:11,442 --> 00:37:17,130 But just if that's the only thing we ever did as a church was 827 00:37:17,170 --> 00:37:21,722 be there that time for them in their life, then all of this was 828 00:37:21,746 --> 00:37:22,506 worth it. 829 00:37:22,658 --> 00:37:24,410 So you saw a Real God moment there, didn't you? 830 00:37:24,450 --> 00:37:25,786 Yes, you really did. 831 00:37:25,858 --> 00:37:28,746 And so, Carrie, do you have any God moments that you've seen 832 00:37:28,818 --> 00:37:29,430 here? 833 00:37:29,730 --> 00:37:32,790 Well, I would definitely agree with Jason on that. 834 00:37:33,570 --> 00:37:34,794 Just there's. 835 00:37:34,842 --> 00:37:36,282 I think there's a lot of God moments. 836 00:37:36,346 --> 00:37:39,082 I'm not sure I can come up with one better than that at the 837 00:37:39,106 --> 00:37:39,670 time. 838 00:37:40,050 --> 00:37:41,110 I do have to. 839 00:37:41,410 --> 00:37:42,710 I know, I know. 840 00:37:43,330 --> 00:37:44,362 I do have to laugh. 841 00:37:44,426 --> 00:37:46,874 Jason mentioned that he doesn't know why he cries anymore. 842 00:37:47,002 --> 00:37:49,850 He made fun of my dad all the time because my dad would get emotional. 843 00:37:49,930 --> 00:37:52,630 Now Jason's following suit on that. 844 00:37:53,090 --> 00:37:56,282 I still don't think I'd cry during the good dinosaur movie, but 845 00:37:56,386 --> 00:37:57,098 like, he did. 846 00:37:57,154 --> 00:37:59,950 But maybe my dad was a movie crier. 847 00:38:00,300 --> 00:38:03,764 Um, I honestly, I can't think of anything off the top of my head 848 00:38:03,772 --> 00:38:04,148 right now. 849 00:38:04,204 --> 00:38:06,196 Well, let me bring it around in this way. 850 00:38:06,268 --> 00:38:08,320 And then is there. 851 00:38:08,860 --> 00:38:12,212 We all have, as you mentioned, we have life outside of church and 852 00:38:12,236 --> 00:38:13,316 even outside of work, whatever. 853 00:38:13,348 --> 00:38:14,964 But we have relationships, all those places. 854 00:38:15,012 --> 00:38:18,212 It might be co workers, it might be people that you, if you're, 855 00:38:18,236 --> 00:38:22,420 you know, activities your kids are in or social life, otherwise, 856 00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:23,652 that kind of thing. 857 00:38:23,836 --> 00:38:28,186 Do you think this is the type of church that if someone, a coworker, 858 00:38:28,218 --> 00:38:31,626 someone in your social life came to you with some issue, whatever 859 00:38:31,658 --> 00:38:37,770 it is, health, marital, you know, relation, work related things, 860 00:38:37,890 --> 00:38:40,666 and they kind of confide in you a little bit, do you think it's 861 00:38:40,698 --> 00:38:44,186 the type of church that you would feel comfortable inviting that 862 00:38:44,258 --> 00:38:48,230 person in your life to say, hey, this just might help? 863 00:38:48,690 --> 00:38:49,322 Definitely. 864 00:38:49,386 --> 00:38:52,522 And what would be the factors of why that would be? 865 00:38:52,706 --> 00:38:56,440 I think because there's just no judgment here. 866 00:38:57,140 --> 00:39:00,492 People are accepted and loved and for just who they are at that 867 00:39:00,516 --> 00:39:03,196 moment and always. 868 00:39:03,348 --> 00:39:06,204 So it's just truly a judgment free zone. 869 00:39:06,332 --> 00:39:07,612 Judgment free zone. 870 00:39:07,756 --> 00:39:11,000 Jason, do you concur with that and you want to say more? 871 00:39:11,780 --> 00:39:14,160 I don't have anything to add to that, but yes. 872 00:39:15,460 --> 00:39:16,476 Very good. 873 00:39:16,628 --> 00:39:21,620 Well, this podcast and this video maybe use as a way to help 874 00:39:21,660 --> 00:39:24,356 introduce people to heaven or church. 875 00:39:24,468 --> 00:39:27,636 So what would you want to share with a person who may be checking 876 00:39:27,668 --> 00:39:29,412 out heaven, earth, church? 877 00:39:29,556 --> 00:39:31,960 What kind of things do you want to share with them, Jason? 878 00:39:35,820 --> 00:39:36,960 I don't know. 879 00:39:38,060 --> 00:39:40,692 You go first and then I'll see if I'm great. 880 00:39:40,716 --> 00:39:40,916 Okay. 881 00:39:40,948 --> 00:39:41,156 Okay. 882 00:39:41,188 --> 00:39:42,340 You put me on the spot. 883 00:39:42,500 --> 00:39:45,780 I feel like I've said the same thing a lot, but just it's a group 884 00:39:45,820 --> 00:39:51,180 of people that comes together every week, most times more often 885 00:39:51,220 --> 00:39:51,900 than every week. 886 00:39:51,940 --> 00:39:54,480 There's small groups, there's something for everybody. 887 00:39:55,220 --> 00:39:57,308 Small groups and community service. 888 00:39:57,364 --> 00:40:03,324 Opportunities and worshiping on Sunday and, you know, celebrating 889 00:40:03,372 --> 00:40:08,284 the good times, whether that's your child's graduation or birthday 890 00:40:08,332 --> 00:40:09,084 parties or whatever. 891 00:40:09,132 --> 00:40:11,080 And then also they're in the hard times. 892 00:40:11,780 --> 00:40:12,844 So it's just. 893 00:40:13,012 --> 00:40:16,640 It's a nice group of people, and we keep getting bigger and bigger. 894 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,808 You know, not huge, but it's not. 895 00:40:20,864 --> 00:40:24,056 It's probably not a place that you can come and blend in Sometimes. 896 00:40:24,088 --> 00:40:24,712 People like that. 897 00:40:24,736 --> 00:40:26,360 They like to come in and blend in. 898 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:29,192 Ross knows everyone's name, like I mentioned, and he'll probably 899 00:40:29,256 --> 00:40:32,728 use it during a sermon, but it's. 900 00:40:32,904 --> 00:40:33,304 It's. 901 00:40:33,352 --> 00:40:35,380 It's a conversation every Sunday. 902 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:38,904 Anything you want to add to? 903 00:40:38,992 --> 00:40:42,760 I have joked with Ross that I feel like he's ruined church for 904 00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:43,528 the rest of us. 905 00:40:43,584 --> 00:40:45,356 For the future. 906 00:40:45,428 --> 00:40:46,028 For the future. 907 00:40:46,084 --> 00:40:49,244 If we ever tried to go to another church where you can't just 908 00:40:49,332 --> 00:40:51,800 speak up at any time that you feel led. 909 00:40:52,100 --> 00:40:55,884 Not that that's me a lot, but you have contributed. 910 00:40:55,932 --> 00:40:57,564 I mean, you have been part of the conversation. 911 00:40:57,612 --> 00:40:57,980 Yeah. 912 00:40:58,060 --> 00:40:59,132 Worship in other ways. 913 00:40:59,196 --> 00:41:01,920 And besides, you also contribute as a stellar. 914 00:41:04,260 --> 00:41:07,148 I did forget to mention that if you want to play church softball, 915 00:41:07,244 --> 00:41:07,900 it's a good time. 916 00:41:07,940 --> 00:41:12,054 The guys are out there playing softball, and the ladies, we tend 917 00:41:12,102 --> 00:41:14,390 to just chat in the stance. 918 00:41:14,470 --> 00:41:15,330 There you go. 919 00:41:15,790 --> 00:41:19,142 Well, it's a joy to be with you and to be. 920 00:41:19,246 --> 00:41:21,110 To get to know both of you. 921 00:41:21,150 --> 00:41:24,102 And this is an opportunity for folks who may be checking out to 922 00:41:24,126 --> 00:41:27,926 have a church to get to know people who are part of the church. 923 00:41:28,038 --> 00:41:28,806 And we just. 924 00:41:28,878 --> 00:41:30,966 Thank you for being our guest here. 925 00:41:31,038 --> 00:41:36,006 And I have asked a couple of people, like, specifically, like, 926 00:41:36,078 --> 00:41:37,490 one family in particular. 927 00:41:38,790 --> 00:41:41,950 There was a sermon that Ross was going to give, and I was like, 928 00:41:42,070 --> 00:41:45,290 I feel like there was a couple families, but one in particular, 929 00:41:45,910 --> 00:41:47,966 I was like, I feel like you guys should be here. 930 00:41:48,038 --> 00:41:50,430 If you want to come, you should be here. 931 00:41:50,550 --> 00:41:56,110 And then they came and they spoke and they wept during church. 932 00:41:56,190 --> 00:41:59,406 And it was, like, cool to see that. 933 00:41:59,558 --> 00:42:04,144 I invited four specific people that day, and they all came. 934 00:42:04,302 --> 00:42:09,324 And then one of those couples is deeply rooted in their own church 935 00:42:09,372 --> 00:42:12,732 already, but the other was kind of looking for a church to join, 936 00:42:12,796 --> 00:42:15,320 and they have come here ever since. 937 00:42:16,260 --> 00:42:19,612 So you've seen life change happen based out of your own experience? 938 00:42:19,716 --> 00:42:20,332 Yes. 939 00:42:20,476 --> 00:42:22,428 Do you have anything you want to add to this, Kara, or anything 940 00:42:22,444 --> 00:42:23,116 else you want to share? 941 00:42:23,188 --> 00:42:24,892 And I do like that there's. 942 00:42:24,956 --> 00:42:28,120 Including you, there are three or four. 943 00:42:28,500 --> 00:42:33,340 Not that there's ever a retired pastor, but three or four 944 00:42:33,460 --> 00:42:38,300 retired pastors that come every Sunday, pretty much, which 945 00:42:38,340 --> 00:42:40,440 means that we have to be doing something right. 946 00:42:41,140 --> 00:42:42,092 Appreciate it. 947 00:42:42,196 --> 00:42:43,452 Anything you want to add, Gar? 948 00:42:43,596 --> 00:42:45,400 No, just thank you for having us today. 949 00:42:45,700 --> 00:42:49,516 Well, indeed, it's been a pleasure having you with us here. 950 00:42:49,668 --> 00:42:53,260 And again, our guest here today on the Heaven Earth Church 951 00:42:53,340 --> 00:42:58,226 podcast, Jason and Kara Baker, part of the community here of a church 952 00:42:58,388 --> 00:43:03,302 that is looking to continue to be to offer a lasting impact in our 953 00:43:03,326 --> 00:43:03,846 community. 954 00:43:03,998 --> 00:43:04,550 Thank you. 955 00:43:04,590 --> 00:43:07,062 My name is Brad Miller and thank you for joining us here on 956 00:43:07,086 --> 00:43:09,770 the Heaven Earth Church podcast. 957 00:43:10,430 --> 00:43:13,062 We want to thank you for spending time with us today. 958 00:43:13,166 --> 00:43:16,710 My name is Ross Stackhouse, the pastor to Heaven Earth Church. 959 00:43:16,870 --> 00:43:20,198 And you may think out there that your story is over, but in fact, 960 00:43:20,254 --> 00:43:23,388 your faith story may just be beginning. 961 00:43:23,534 --> 00:43:26,336 If you want more information about our church or you're interested 962 00:43:26,368 --> 00:43:28,896 in the next step, you can go to heavenearthchurch. 963 00:43:29,008 --> 00:43:29,584 Org. 964 00:43:29,712 --> 00:43:33,376 Otherwise, we look forward to being with you next time at the Heaven 965 00:43:33,408 --> 00:43:34,400 Earth Church podcast.