A Word with God Podcast

We're back from a long hiatus with a return guest, Rebecca Nordquist! And not only that, original co-host and Word with God founder, Stan Starkey as well. Here we an update on Rebecca's journey and a conversation about her work with mental health

Today we're joined by Nathan, Dusty, Parker, and Jeff to talk about their trip to Colombia to work at the Fundacion para un Mundo Mejor. We've been looking for an opportunity for the team to share what they got up to but between the building project and everything else that has been going on, we haven't found the time. So here they are to tell some stories about the country they visite...

Hey everyone, Stan is back! If you've missed hearing his voice it's because, as you may have guessed from the title, retired. He was on a tight schedule but we were able to get in a great update on what his life has been looking like since stepping down from his lead pastor position, and what God has been doing. Enjoy!

This week I’m going back to something I had been working through earlier, which is getting all our elders to share their stories with us. We have Ricardo and his wife Maritza with us. They share their testimonies about how they came to faith in their home country of Colombia, how life there compares with life in Canada, and if it’s ever too late at night to have coffee. I hope you enjoy it.

This episode featured Tim Heikoop, who works with Return Ministries, which helps Jewish people return to Israel. Tim recently spoke at Verity at Easter time and shared the Messianic connections in Passover that most Christians are completely unaware of. Here we speak about his story, how he came to know Christ, and going over some of those connections he shared with us a few months ago. You can fi...

This episode of the podcast is with my friend Samir, the founder of Lumens of Truth. Lumens of Truth exists to help Afghans know Jesus, grow in Jesus, and serve Jesus. They do this by evangelizing through their social media ministry, discipleship, home church, production of worship songs, and theological training through their Afghan School of Theology. Please check them out at the link below. htt...

Well this will be the final part of sharing my experience with mom's passing, about 1.5 years later. I'm sure I will mention it a lot or call back to moments in future podcasts, but all in all, at least as far as I can foretell, I've said everything I can on the matter. I miss you and love you mom.

Here is the second part of me wrestling with mom's passing. This time after she passed. It was the second time recording this, as the first didn't work, so it helped to be able to keep my emotions in check. Again, maybe this is more for me, but maybe it might help someone else out there.

As many of you know my mom passed away after a long battle with ovarian cancer on June 10, 2022. On the day we found out she was going to be transferred to hospice, I was on my way to record a podcast with Stan. Instead the following conversation occurred. After this I decided to record my thoughts at different times throughout this process, which I will release later. I sat on this for over a yea...

Just like we did for Peter and Paul earlier, this time we are looking at the historicity of the martyrdom of John. The traditional Christian belief is that he was exiled on the island of Patmos, but there are stories of him being martyred for his faith. Is this true or later legend? I'm covering all of this and more, using Sean McDowell's "The Fate of the Apostles - Examining the Mart...

I realize that the episode title might make you think we're talking with John Mark, the gospel writer, but alas, he was not available. Fortunately, we have this talk with another one of our elders. I've known Mark now for about 15 years or so. He used to be the guy cleaning up campus. Then he became my friend. What has always struck me is that he has always spoken as a man wise beyond his years, w...

This week we're on with Dave Thomson, an elder at Verity Church. What was his come to Jesus moment? How did he meet his wife? How did he end up at Verity? All these questions and more are answered here.

Any of you men have questions about marriage? How about any of you women want to know what the men were listening to during the men's breakfast? Ross Gilbert was here at Verity church to share his expertise on marriage, and you now get to hear the conversation that we had and hopefully get to learn something too!

It turns out that Steve and Rachel have been members of our church forever. They were there when I came to Evangel (our old name and location), and it turns out they were there for about 20 years before that as well! Steve was one of the first elders at the church and Rachel has been involved in worship ministry. They are pillars in our community and I've enjoyed getting to know them over the past...

Just like we did for Peter earlier, this time we are looking at the historicity of the martyrdom of Paul. The traditional Christian belief is that he was beheaded in Rome under Nero. Is this true or later legend? How does milk fit into it? We cover all of this and more, using Sean McDowell's "The Fate of the Apostles - Examining the Martyrdom accounts of the closest followers of Jesus. This book e...

I'm starting a new series that I will update semi regularly on the martyrdoms of the Apostles. This episode will be focused on Peter and the historicity of his crucifixion. I had been reading Sean McDowell's book "the fate of the Apostles" and realized I could take some of this information and share it with others. This book examines the stories and legends of the Apostles' deaths and tries to get...

Well this is definitely our biggest one so far! We've got Ricardo and Maritza, Dusty and Nathan, Dan and Seth, and Matt too. All these guys were recently in Colombia fulfilling Verity Church's Colombia project of building 2 homes for families in need and ministering to the people there. You don't need to know anything about construction to enjoy this one!

Warning, this episode contains frank and at times explicit discussion of experiences of sexual abuse of a minor and is most suitable to adults.  Dave joined us this week to discuss the abuse he faced at the hands of someone who should have been there to protect him, his father. He discusses not only the abuse, but the effect it had on his life moving forward, what it has done to his family, a...

Dan and Anne Marie are back and this was an incredible conversation to be a part of. Story after story was told of their missions work in Mexico and how they ended up there, where they almost went instead, and as you'll see, it definitely looks like they are going to need to come back for part 3.  If you enjoyed this, please share and let others know!

We recently had our first ever live podcast recording and it was with Sgt. Jeff Saunders. He is a police officer and a Christian. He shared with us about his story, coming to faith, romance, and what it is like to have faith in a world where you are constantly faced with its seedy underbelly.  Please remember to rate and review if you enjoy what we are doing.

Santos is back to talk about Easter with me. We start off talking about our experiences with Easter growing up and then move on to the Easter story. We read through the Gospel accounts and respond to the things that we find interesting or the questions that arise. Time started to become an issue so we had to speed things up at the end, but hopefully you will still find this edifying. Enjoy! Please...

I spoke with Dr. Neil Cudney who serves as the current President of Emmanuel Bible College. Neil came into this position during the pandemic and as you can imagine, it hasn't exactly been an easy to time to serve. He shares his testimony, what has been happening at EBC since stepping onboard, and a little about the miracle that has taken place over the last month. I recorded the intro and outro on...

Kim is back from Guyana and has some great stories to update us on about what is happening down there. The main focus of our conversation is about a racial reconciliation ministry that she is taking part in. We also talk about passing on the baton of leadership, the struggles of that and what it also allows her to do more of.

Matt is a new but much loved member at Verity, and he is stepping into the youth pastor role that we have been sorely lacking. We get to hear his testimony and how he ended up where he is. We had a great time talking with him and I hope you enjoy listening as much as we had recording this. Also we get to catch up on what Stan has been up to lately during his time off. 

Sandra was a missionary to Brazil for 20 years and has served in different ministry positions in Canada. She is now a chaplain and a key member of Verity church, helping head up our missions team.