Ridge University Podcast

Between school activities, after-school activities, sports, family obligations, careers and personal hobbies, Christian families today are expected to cram a lot into a limited schedule. You might say they’re beyond busy. And when life gets busy, something has to give. Sadly, for more and more families today, church involvement is often one of the first things to go. Statistics show that parents i...

Between school activities, after-school activities, sports, family obligations, careers and personal hobbies, Christian families today are expected to cram a lot into a limited schedule. You might say they’re beyond busy. And when life gets busy, something has to give. Sadly, for more and more families today, church involvement is often one of the first things to go. Statistics show that parents i...

Between school activities, after-school activities, sports, family obligations, careers and personal hobbies, Christian families today are expected to cram a lot into a limited schedule. You might say they’re beyond busy. And when life gets busy, something has to give. Sadly, for more and more families today, church involvement is often one of the first things to go. Statistics show that parents i...

Between school activities, after-school activities, sports, family obligations, careers and personal hobbies, Christian families today are expected to cram a lot into a limited schedule. You might say they’re beyond busy. And when life gets busy, something has to give. Sadly, for more and more families today, church involvement is often one of the first things to go. Statistics show that parents i...

Written and compiled across centuries, the Bible stands as a remarkable piece of divine work. Despite the broad span of dates and geography, a consistent narrative emerges from its pages; a gripping story of rebellion, reconciliation and renewal. But what about the people God chose to write the books of the Bible? What was their back story and why did they write the books they wrote?  Join Ridge U...

Written and compiled across centuries, the Bible stands as a remarkable piece of divine work. Despite the broad span of dates and geography, a consistent narrative emerges from its pages; a gripping story of rebellion, reconciliation and renewal. But what about the people God chose to write the books of the Bible? What was their back story and why did they write the books they wrote?  Join Ridge U...

Written and compiled across centuries, the Bible stands as a remarkable piece of divine work. Despite the broad span of dates and geography, a consistent narrative emerges from its pages; a gripping story of rebellion, reconciliation and renewal. But what about the people God chose to write the books of the Bible? What was their back story and why did they write the books they wrote?  Join Ridge U...

It's been another encouraging year on the podcast as we've continued to see lots' of engagement across our various series! Thank you! Before jumping into the new year, we thought it would be a good idea to look back and share some of our stand out episodes/series from 2024. Listen in as our podcast hosts share some of their favorites!

Back for another round of festive fun and trivia are Ridge U hosts Joni Pine and Will Herron alongside good friends Mindy Schardt and Gavin Jerome. Listen in as the team put their Christmas trivia knowledge to the test in Christmas Jeopardy, while also braving the unknown of some blindfolded taste testing!  Mentioned in the Episode: For more info on our Christmas services or to serve at one of our...

Encountering God is a series committed to sharing the stories of God’s work in people’s lives at The Ridge.  Joining series host Joni Pine this time is long time Ridge staff member, Julie Wiemann. Listen in as Julie reflects on her journey with God both in and inside The Ridge.

Encountering God is a series committed to sharing the stories of God’s work in people’s lives at The Ridge. In this episode we hear from Keith Schwickerath as he shares about his journey in coming to Jesus and how serving plays a crucial role in his faith.

Encountering God is a series committed to sharing the stories of God’s work in people’s lives at The Ridge.  In this episode we hear from Mphatso Stiles (wife of Todd Stiles our Ridge Youth Director) as she shares the amazing ways God has proven His faithfulness in her life.

While sports are intrinsically good, there is a danger that they can grow to carry too great an influence in our lives. So what are some ways we can identify the current level of influence sports has in our lives? How can we avoid idolizing sports but instead enjoy them as God intended?  Join Ridge Director of Discipleship and Ridge U host Seth Sparks as they give some practical direction around d...

It's estimated that global spend on sporting apparel alone will top $300 billion by 2030. While it’s clear that sports are a global phenomenon transcending culture and century, it's not always clear why. How do we explain the gravitational pull of sports and why does it matter to us as followers of Jesus?  Join Ridge Director of Discipleship and Ridge U host Seth Sparks as they explore the why beh...

How did Jesus view political differences? He didn't see people with different opinions as enemies or make a distinction between us/them. Instead, he urged us to pray for everyone in authority.

There are all kinds of views on the role of God and government. This message will reassure you who's role it is to bring lasting peace and wholeness... hint: His name is not on the ballot.

It’s election season. So let’s take a look back at three important elections in history. Through examples of how the bible addresses politics, we find ourselves at the door of another election ... each and every day of our lives.

Let's talk about AI, algorithms and what we can do to tame them for our benefit and God's glory.

Are you getting in your own way when it comes to effective, God-honoring media consumption?

How can we better evaluate the media organizations and influencers in our media feeds?

As Christians, we are told to pursue truth. Is your media diet helping your or harming you in that pursuit?

In this final episode, Will and Kurt share some of their personal experience of the church. Listen in as they share how, despite the imperfect nature of the church, it can still be a place to serve, find support, and be formed by God.  Resources: Why Bother With Church ? (Sam Allberry) Church: Why Bother ? (Philip Yancey)

You don’t have to search hard to find negative publicity about the church. Sadly, much of it is justified. It can cause us to ask afresh, what is God’s intention for the church? What should the church look like?  Join Ridge Director of Discipleship Will Herron and guest contributor, Kurt Beyer, as they continue our series by exploring what the Bible has to say about God’s plans for the church. 

Recent research has shown that Americans are leaving the church at the highest rate in U.S history. It is a movement greater in numbers than all the American revivals combined - just in the opposite direction. It’s now estimated that 15% of all Americans are de-churched. That’s people who used to attend a church at least once per month and now attend fewer than two times a year. This is an alarmin...

Join Ridge Kids Director, Neil Erredge, and Ridge Family Director Doug Applegate as they tackle some challenging questions about God posed by our very own Ridge kids!