The Almost Amazing Dinner Party

Melissa Patin is a friend of the show and Jennifer's former supervisor. Melissa's husband recently passed away, and she offers a great deal of insight about facing grief, including what we can do for our grieving friends.

Kristen Campell is our Women's Ministry Director, and she shares with us lots of great opportunities for women to get involved at CityRise.

Alejandra Rojas is our Worship and Senior Adults Admin, serving our church in a variety of ways. She offers great insight into what people can do to get better connected to a Christian community through church involvement.

Ashley Miksch, our Student Ministry Associate at CityRise Church, joins us for a great conversation about friendships. Looking for meaningful frienships? Check out https://cityrise.org/adults for information on how to get involved at our church and start building godly relationships.

Jennifer and Justin chat with Andy Dennis about a book he read called "The Anxious Generation." Jennifer and Justin are fascinated by literature, but their Tiktok obsession greatly limits their time for reading. Andy was kind enough to give them a synopsis, and the discussion based on this book led to a fruitful conversation about parenting children in the digital age.

Amber Bender is the co-founder and Executive Director of Addi's Faith Foundation, which is a 501c3 organization dedicated to ending childhood cancer. They fund childhood cancer research as well as provide financial assistance to families struggling to care for a child with cancer. Amber shares with us the story about how this organization began and how you can get involved to help their work in childhood cancer research and assistance. To learn more, visit https://addisfaith.org/

This Redeemed Life was founded in 2007 by Marian Jordan Ellis with the desire to reach women with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and equip them with the life-changing truth of God's Word. Their motto is “Revelation Causes Transformation.” All of their resources and events are designed for women to encounter Jesus through the living Word and experience His power to transform their lives from the inside out. Marian is our speaker for the Women's Retreat taking place on February 7 and 8 in Houston, TX. She shares her heart for ministry and a preview of the encouraging content she will be sharing at the retreat. To register for the retreat, visit https://cityrise.org/women To learn more about Marian's ministry, visit https://thisredeemedlife.org/  

Mary Ann Bridgwater is the Founder and President of Pray the Word Ministries, a ministry committed to expanding and enhancing prayer activity in Houston, our nation, and throughout the world. A frequent speaker and prayer consultant, her passion is leading others to experience a prayer life where they walk in the awareness of the presence of a Holy God. If you'd like to learn more about her ministry, visit https://www.praytheword.org/ If you'd like to register for her upcoming weekly class offered by our church beginning February 19th, visit https://subspla.sh/n48jsmf

Jennifer and Justin chat about Christmas. To learn more about all our Christmas Eve services, visit https://cityrise.org/christmas.

Lori Bisson is leading our new Grief Share group that is kicking off in January. She shares with us her experience with grief and her heart to help people work through tragedies by leaning on God. Visit https://cityrise.org/griefshare to sign up for this new group!

Emily Heinzman is the Bellaire Kids Program Coordinator and shares with us her journey in faith and how she came to find her place in full time kids ministry.

Steve Bezner has been the Senior Pastor of Houston Northwest Church since January 2013. His passion is to see Houston—and the world—become more like Heaven as people become more like Jesus. Steve loves to preach, teach, write, and speak about the Bible in a way that is easy to understand but also challenges people to live the life that God has designed for each of them. His new book "Your Jesus Is Too American" is a calling for the Church to reclaim Kingdom values over the American Dream, and you can learn more at https://www.stevebezner.com/ and order the book at https://a.co/d/cSTDDWJ

Melissa Radke is a best-selling author, speaker, and television personality that has won hearts around the world with her funny and candid insights on life, love, and the complexities of the modern world. We can't wait to have her at our upcoming women's event and loved getting to know her in this fun conversation. To learn more about Melissa's ministry, visit https://www.melissaradke.com/

Elizabeth Lee and Emma Straub are two new members of our kids team focused on partnering with parents to teach children about the love Jesus has for them. Elizabeth and Emma share about how they came to be on our team and what they are looking forward to in this ministry.

David and Denise Glenn are the founders of Kardo Ministries and the authors of the Kardo Bible study materials. They are devoted to equipping people with the word of God to be better fathers, mothers, spouses, and parents. They will be speaking at our upcoming Marriage Night on October 4, 2024. To register, visit https://cityrise.org/marriagenight and to learn more about their ministry, visit https://kardo.org

Rosie Hirschfeld is the new director of Bellaire ACV, a ministry focused on sharing the love of Jesus with preschool children and their families while providing care and development to prepare kids for school. Rosie shares with us her history with the church, her passion for education, and what she is most excited about with this new campus of our preschool.

Catherine Hernandez attends our Bellaire campus and helps lead MomCo, a ministry focused on connecting mothers with a strong community for support and encouragement as they manage the hardest job in the world. To learn more about our MomCo ministry or to register for the fall, visit https://cityrise.org/women

Erika Roberts is the brand new director for A Children's Village Preschool, the CityRise Church early learning program that ministers to those near the Texas Medical Center in Houston, TX. Erika shares with us her passion for leading chidren to grow in their faith and education.  To learn more, visit https://cityrise.org/acv and to check out the available jobs at our church, visit https://cityrise.org/jobs

Joshua Montgomery and his family worship at our Bellaire campus and work with Houston area college students through Cru, an organization focused on connecting people with Jesus Christ. Joshua shares about his faith and calling into ministry, and how our church family can get involved ministering to college students.

Emily Taylor is a member of our Bellaire campus and offers a lot of insight about legal decisions everyone should think about in regard to their children, themselves, and aging parents. To connect with Emily about these types of issues, visit https://rappandkrock.com/emily-b-taylor/

Lorraine Lewis has been part of our church family for many years, helping to start our Bellaire campus in 2005 and eagerly jumping onto the team that launched CityRise Church | Missouri City in 2021. Lorraine shares her story of coming to faith and the unique perspective she has since she did not become a Christian until after becoming a parent.

Lisa Hafemeister is the new Director of HR and Strategic Planning for CityRise Church, helping us as we seek to do more in Houston and around the world for the Kingdom. She shares with us her faith background and heart to help the Church reach the world with the Gospel. 

Meg Baumgarten is the Executive Assistant and Office Manager for Lifehouse Houston, seeking to help single pregnant moms get on their feet as they welcome new children into the world. Meg grew up at our West U Campus and is an incredible example of what it looks like to love and serve others in the name of Jesus! To learn more about Lifehouse visit https://lifehousehouston.org/

Ashley Miksch is a Student Ministry Associate for CityRise and she and Jennifer offer some great wisdom about how parents can partner with our ministries during the summer to help their children grow in the faith. To learn more about all our summer activities for children and students visit https://cityrise.org/summer

Kirby Follis is the Executive Pastor of the CityRise Network and he has answers to all our questions about the big Deep & Wide Day event coming up on Sunday May 19 at Houston Christian University. Make sure to visit https://cityrise.org/deepandwide for more information on this awesome gathering of all our church campuses!

Jennifer and Justin talk with Elizabeth Oliver about making a big career change, the importance of Christian community, and much more! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! Visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_ to watch our episodes on YouTube!

Jennifer and Justin take some time to catch up, discussing how we should trust God in big life changes, how sin has a way of showing itself when we drift from God, Christian meditation, and more!   Watch our full episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

Rynie Badenhorst is our new Global Outreach Pastor, focused on reaching people around the world and online with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Rynie shares with us his story and heart for missions and what he hopes to see God do in the near future as we see to continue to expand the Kingdom. To learn more, visit https://cityrise.org/missions Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Jared Stover and Gage Hallbauer go to our West U Campus and have been actively involved in a weekly Bible study hosted by Andy and Jennifer Dennis over the past few years. Jared and Gage offer great insight into how honoring God with our time, even when we are overwhelmed with a long list of responsibilities, will strengthen our faith in profound ways. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! To watch this episode and many more, check out our YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

Elisa Adams and Olivia Dennis are two seniors from our student ministry that just returned from an incredible mission trip to Guatemala over spring break. They share with us what they got to do and how God moved through the work they took part in. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! To learn more about our student ministry or missions opportunities visit https://cityrise.org/students and https://cityrise.org/missions  

Andy Dennis, our biggest fan and Baptist Student Ministry Director for Rice and the Med Center, shares with us some great insight about evangelism. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! To watch our most recent episodes, visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

Lauren Grossman is the Kids Ministry director at our Bellaire Campus, seeking to reach children with the gospel of Jesus Christ through weekly ministries, outreach events, and original media. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Jose Pacheco is an MBA student at Rice University who felt the calling to start a bible study for his class mates. After seeing God's faithful provision to get him to the United States for his education, Jose couldn't help but look for ways to express his appreciation to God by doing something to further the Kingdom. Make sure to rate, review and subscribe!

West U Campus Pastor Robby Dobbs shares with us his heart to encourage and lead men into meaningful relationships with God and each other. To learn more, visit https://cityrise.org/men

David and Jennifer Rupe share the story of their marriage and how their pursuit of God has strengthened their relationship in the good and bad times.

Jennifer and Justin set up at our annual Dinner & Deploy event where ministry partners from all over Houston and the world come together to connect and empower each other to share the gospel. Links for ministries we interviewed below! STCH International https://www.stchm.org/international/ Agape Development https://www.agapedevelopment.org/ Casa El Buen Samaritano https://www.casaelbuen.org/ Amazon Basin Ministries https://www.amazonbasinministries.org/ One Heart Global Ministries https://www.facebook.com/1heartgm/ Full video episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

West U Baptist Worship Leader Savannah Cavazos shares her heart to serve in the worship ministry and offers encouragement and insight for Christians in the pursuit of meaningful worship. Check out https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_ for videos of our episodes.

Laura Seifert of Yes Ministries shares with us insight on how to let go of the things that are holding us back, and gives us a preview of the teachings she will be sharing at our upcoming Women's Retreat on February 2 and 3 at West U Baptist Church in Houston, TX. Visit https://www.yesministries.net/ to learn more about Laura's ministry. Visit https://cityrise.org/women to register for the Women's Retreat. Make sure to rate, review and subscribe! Visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_ to watch our most recent episodes.

Jennifer and Justin take some time to catch up about the break, share their words for the year, and preview the next series our church will be going through together. Check out https://cityrise.org/great for the new series. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson shares the story behind the "Great: 40 Days of Commission" study on the Great Commission. To access all the resources for this new series, check out https://cityrise.org/great Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Sam Oliver shares with us a ton of great insight about how men can be healthier physically, emotionally, and mentally. Make sure to rate, review and subscribe! Check out our most recent episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

Julie Jenkins shares incredible insight on parenting, prayer, and faith based on what she has learned from her years of experience with three daughters who are now all adults. Please make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! To watch our episodes on YouTube, check out https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

Rosty Semikov shares with us the unique way he is seeking to care for the people of his home country, Ukraine, and how his organization is spreading the Gospel through medical mission work. To learn more about the Peace and Development Foundation, please visit https://peacedevelopment.fund Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! Check out our episodes on YouTube!    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

Worship pastor of our West U Campus, Dr. Paul Magyar shares about the role of worship in Christmas. To find out about all our Christmas opportunities, visit https://cityrise.org/christmas Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! To watch our most recent episodes on YouTube, check out https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

We're taking a couple of weeks up to catch up on some interviews so that we can finish 2023 strong. Take a look back at some previous episodes you may have missed, or revisit one of your favorites!

Greyson Landrum is the newest member of our Student Team at CityRise, and he shares his faith background, and how God brought him into Student Ministry. To learn more about opportunities for students at CityRise, visit https://cityrise.org/students Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! To watch our most recent episodes, check out https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

Jennifer and Justin catch up with each other about what God has been teaching them. To watch our episodes, check out https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_ Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

David Hao is the Head of School at Veritas Christian Academy in Bellaire, TX. David offers advice for parents considering private school, and great encouragement for parents both in public and private school about discipling our kids. To learn more about Veritas, visit https://www.veritasca.org/ Make sure to rate, review and subscribe. To watch our most recent episodes, check out https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

Jennifer and Justin catch up with a few Network Partners at our recent Leadership Conference. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! Check out the links below to connect with the partners we got to visit with: Eyes on Me, Inc. https://www.eyesonmeinc.com/ Judea Harvest https://www.judeaharvest.org/ Attack Poverty https://attackpoverty.org/ Rice and Med Center BSM https://www.riceowlbsm.com/texas-medical-center To watch our most recent episodes, check out https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_  

Mike Wilson's organization "My Life Speaks" works closely with Haitian Child Services to create infrastructure so abandoned and neglected children don't fall through the cracks. They provide family-based orphan care, similar to that of foster care in the US, for children who have truly been orphaned, neglected, and abandoned; many of whom have been discarded due to their special needs. They work to place as many children as possible with loving forever families, and keep them out of orphanages, off the streets, and out of danger. To learn more about this organization and their event in Houston on October 17, visit https://www.mylifespeaks.com/events Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! To watch our most recent episodes, visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuAMJBF5rW7jL6EdYLySlLwWq_UQ4Py6_

Jackie and Stephana Bledsoe are the featured speakers at our Marriage Night on October 6th and the founders of Happily Married Couples, who share a message of hope for marriages and families through speaking, writing, and coaching. Their mission is to help you cultivate a marriage worth celebrating and establish meaningful influence in the lives of your children. Their mission and heart for marriage has been forged through God's grace in their own marriage, which has thrived through homelessness (twice!), job loss and financial despair, loneliness, in-law, intimacy issues, and most recent major health issues. Their desire is for God to use their story as one of hope and inspiration to other marriages. To learn more about their ministry, visit https://happilymarriedcouples.com/ To register for our Marriage Night event on October 6, visit https://cityrise.org/marriagenight Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!