Jacob Valk

Chats Under the Sun

Religion EN ↓ 131 episodes

I love talking about what following Jesus means to pastors, CEOs, homeless, nerds, filmmakers, philosophers, entrepreneurs, missionaries, storytellers, moms, rocket scientists, artists and travellers. Disclaimer: The opinions and views of my guests are their own and not necessarily held by me.

Author

Jacob Valk

Category

Religion

Podcast website

podcasters.spotify.com

Latest episode

Jan 12, 2026

Where to listen?

Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soon

Podcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts

Get it on Google Play Install for free Android 5M+ downloads · 4.8 rating iOS soon

Episodes

85: Our 2023 reading list so far (Part2) with Owen, Jesse, & John-Michael 28.07.2023

PART 2! The boys sat down again for our twice-annual book pod. I enjoy recording these so much. We talked about nearly 200 books over the course of almost 7 hours, and talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K0m4kSP47JrQPfeZ2ILy-y53t6...

84: Our 2023 reading list so far (Part1) with Owen, Jesse, & John-Michael 21.07.2023

LETS GO. The boys sat down again for our twice-annual book pod. I enjoy recording these so much. We talked about nearly 200 books over the course of almost 7 hours and talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K0m4kSP47JrQPfeZ2ILy-y53t6...

83: Infertility & Embryo Adoption Journey with a Niagara Couple 14.07.2023

I had the incredible opportunity to sit down with a Niagara couple, both of whom are well known to many of you, and hear from them about their journey with infertility, the things they had to think through with embryo adoption, and learning to trust God through all of it. Adoption of any kind is something I want to be constantly learning about, and I am so grateful to them for their openness and v...

82: The Incredible History of Agape Valley Bible Camp with Mr. H (Tim Hartwick) 07.07.2023

Mr. H has been the director of Agape Valley Bible Camp for as long as I can remember. The Camp has been a huge part of my spiritual growth in my early years as a Christian, but I had no idea that the history of the camp and the property was a wild ride of dynamite, drugs, and eight years of faith and red tape. This was a fantastic conversation, and I hope y'all enjoy. Visit https://www.agapeva...

81: Into The Light Ministries, David Platt, & Reflecting on Last Year with John-Michael Bout 28.06.2023

I sat down with John-Michael about how we have been experiencing the last few months since the documentary launch. It's been a wild ride, let me tell you. We also talked about the launch of Into The Light Ministries and why we chose to go in that direction.  We also dropped a lil announcement of a video we have been secretlyish working on that is coming out this summer. I’m so stoked about it....

80: Losing your husband at twenty: a testimony with Delaney DeArmitt 18.04.2023

In the summer of 2021, Delaney married Max DeArmitt. Five months later, Max was killed by a drunk driver on his way to work. I met Delaney at a campfire nearly a year later and had the opportunity to hear her story, and it remains one of the most impactful testimonies I have ever heard. In this conversation, she told me about the accident, about dealing with grief, and what she learned about herse...

79: Same-Sex Attraction, Identity, and Forgiveness with Aaron Davis  24.03.2023

Aaron has an incredible story of wrestling through questions of SSA when he was very young, in a church context that struggled to communicate the Gospel. His testimony twists and turns over several years and several church contexts, and I found so many helpful and thoughtful takeaways from our conversation as well as several new books to read on the topic. I’m grateful Aaron was willing to be vuln...

78: Songwriting with Sovereign Grace Music with Lacy Condy 28.02.2023

Lacy has been a singer and songwriter with Sovereign Grace Music for several years. We had a delightful conversation about all the things in the songwriting process. I loved this conversation, and if you are interested in the behind-the-scenes of the SGM world, this is a must-listen. If you want to hear a gorgeous rendition of Psalm 90 sung by Lacy for SGM, view it here https://www.youtube.com/wat...

77: Depression, Suicide & Trusting in God with Nate and Kerri Radsma 23.01.2023

I sat down with Nate Radsma and his mom, Kerri, for this incredible conversation about Nate's journey with depression. There is nothing I could write in this description that can do justice to how deeply moving this conversation is. I deeply respect Nate for having the courage to be vulnerable, honest, and articulate both the incredible struggles he has been through and his trust in God.  If...

76: What we read in 2022 (Part4) with Owen Hebbert, Jesse Bout, & John-Michael Bout 09.01.2023

This is the final one; thank you all for listening to this monster 6-hour pod. The four of us sat down and talked about the over 150 books we collectively read over the last six months. I love these guys. Talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, fascinating people and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://do...

75: What we read in 2022 (Part 3) with Owen Hebbert, Jesse Bout, & John-Michael Bout 02.01.2023

I have been looking forward to this podcast for ages. The four of us sat down and talked about the over 150 books we collectively read over the last six months. I love these guys. Talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, fascinating people and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/document/d/...

74: What we read in 2022 (Part 2) with Owen Hebbert, Jesse Bout, & John-Michael Bout 26.12.2022

PART 2: I included a document of all the books we discussed in the pod. I have been looking forward to this podcast for ages. The four of us sat down and talked about the over 150 books we collectively read over the last six months. I love these guys. Talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, fascinating people and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc: http...

73: What we read in 2022 (Part 1) with Owen Hebbert, Jesse Bout, & John-Michael Bout 23.12.2022

I have been looking forward to this podcast for ages. The four of us sat down and talked about the over 150 books we collectively read over the last six months. I love these guys. Talking about books gives us the opportunity to discuss life, big ideas, fascinating people and have a good laugh along the way. Here is a doc of all the books we discussed in the pod: https://docs.google.com/document/d/...

72: Why your pastor must value his marriage over the church with Brad Rhoads 14.12.2022

Brad Rhoads is the founder of Grace Marriage, a ministry committed to equipping marriage ministries in the local church. When Brad guest-lectured in one of my classes at Southern, I left wishing that every church member could experience what I just heard. I’m grateful he was willing to come on the podcast. He told me about the rocky start to his marriage and a mentor who helped him prioritize his...

71: Writing The Gargoyle Story, Cultivating Wonder, and Envisioning the Future with Jesse Bout 21.11.2022

Jesse is a musician, graphic designer, and writer based out of Hamilton, Ontario, and one of my oldest friends. For the last few years, he has been taking the Inktober prompt list and writing a song based on it every day for the month of October. This year, he wrote a short story based on the prompt words and then scored the resulting audiobook. We talked about that process, and I loved this conve...

70: Growing Up in Saudi Arabia, The Toronto Business World, & Morocco Hospitality with Nikhil Thomas 17.10.2022

Nik is one of the handful of Canadian brothers I have here at Southern and he has an almost endless series of fascinating stories from his times living in South India, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Morocco, and Louisville. We talked about his story of leaving the financial world of Toronto to go to Morocco as a missionary and the lessons he learned about hospitality from ping-ponging all over the world. N...

69: Designing the Gentle and Lowly Book Cover & Creating to the Glory of God with Jordan Singer 07.10.2022

Jordan Singer is a Senior Designer at Crossway and created the design for the book covers of R. C. Sproul: A Life by Stephen Nichols and Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund among many others. We talked about how learned the craft of Graphic Design, some of his formative experiences, and the process of designing a book cover. I LOVED this conversation, Jordan is a craftsman and he is deeply passionate...

68: Migrant Workers Ministry, Purposeful Living, & a Year In Guatemala with Wilf and Sharon Bout 05.08.2022

In this episode, I talked with Wilf and Sharon Bout about their work with the migrant workers here in Niagara Ontario. They told me about the incredible influence their families had on them growing up and their formative years leading youth groups and doing evangelism during their early 20’s. We talked about their time living in Guatemala and what it is like to serve with the migrants that come he...

66: BOOKS P3: The First Half of 2022 with Owen Hebbert, Jesse Bout, & John-Michael Bout 19.07.2022

We laughed. We cried. I thought Ben Franklin was president (he wasn’t) and we talked about books for a ridiculous 4.5 hours. The end-of-the-year book recap we did in 2021 was an absolute riot and I couldn’t wait a whole year to talk books again. I love these bois, chatting with them is a pleasure. This is part three of three. Owen is on Instagram @hebbert_the_writer Jesse is on Instagram @boutjess...

65: BOOKS P2: The First Half of 2022 with Owen Hebbert, Jesse Bout, & John-Michael Bout 12.07.2022

We laughed. We cried. I thought Ben Franklin was president (he wasn’t) and we talked about books for a ridiculous 4.5 hours. The end-of-the-year book recap we did in 2021 was an absolute riot and I couldn’t wait a whole year to talk books again. I love these bois, chatting with them is a pleasure. This is part two of three. Owen is on Instagram @hebbert_the_writer Jesse is on Instagram @boutjesse...

64: BOOKS P1: The First Half of 2022 with Owen Hebbert, Jesse Bout, & John-Michael Bout 05.07.2022

We laughed. We cried. I thought Ben Franklin was a president (he wasn’t) and we talked about books for a ridiculous 4.5 hours. The end-of-the-year book recap we did in 2021 was an absolute riot and I couldn’t wait a whole year to talk books again. I love these bois, chatting with them is the best. This is part one of three. Owen is on Instagram @hebbert_the_writer Jesse is on Instagram @boutjesse...

63: Formative Books, Working in Parliament, & Anti-Sex Trafficking Policy with Sam Oosterhoff 28.06.2022

Sam Oosterhoff is the MPP of Niagara West and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. We talked about the books that were formative for him during his education, the work he did as a policy advisor in Ottawa, winning the race for MPP at 19, and some of the work he has done in Anti-Sex Trafficking Policy for schools in Ontario and hospice care in the province. I have a lot o...

62: New Testament Culture, Attributes of God, & Why We Study Theology with Fred Heiberg 21.06.2022

I love Fred. I always go to him (and his brother Marcel) when I have a systematic or philosophic theology question. In this chat, we talked a bit about the New Testament languages, why creation ex nihilo is important, and we walked through and discussed some of the attributes of God. I always love the conversations that we have in private and I’m stoked when we can get a good talk recorded. Fred i...

61: Fundraising $65,000, Meeting Heath Lambert, & Dealing in Hope with John-Michael Bout 03.06.2022

We just got back from filming part of our documentary Into The light with Heath Lambert in Florida and Jeremy Pierre in Louisville. I sat down with JM again and we chatted about the last couple of weeks of filming and how stoked we are to be working on a project like this. This film is so hopeful, it’s incredible. It would mean so much to me if y’all would donate to get this documentary off the gr...

60: Building a Shipping Container Home, & Running a Cidery & Drone Business with Aaron Post 20.05.2022

Aaron is a serial entrepreneur and owner of Tall Post Craft Cider. I have had him on the podcast before but since then he has built a home out of several shipping containers on the farm he manages. We talked about the process of building the sea can home and an update on how things are going with Tall Post, Windward Drones, and the other businesses and projects he is working on. Aaron is a good fr...

Listen to the Chats Under the Sun podcast in Replaio

Radio and podcasts in one app - free, with no sign-up. Install today and do not miss the launch

Get it on Google Play

Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.