The Defender Podcast

GUEST Cooper and Anna Brooke Johnson have been loyal partners of Lifeline. They have 5 children, one of whom joined their family through adoption. Cooper works at Valent group and has been in the insurance business for 15 years. He obtained a bachelor’s degree from The University of Alabama in 1998 and an MBA from The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2002. He previously served on Lifeline’s...

GUEST Brad Evangelista , lead pastor at CrossPointe Church in Columbus, Georgia and church partner with Lifeline Children's Services. RESOURCES Parent Coaching is a service available for any parent who needs additional insight into their child’s behavior. Tailored to each family and each child. These are 45-60-minute sessions filled with proven tools and techniques to use in building additional st...

GUEST Autumn Millett: After experiencing a difficult childhood characterized by homelessness, poverty, abuse, and involvement with the foster care system, Autumn Millett was adopted into her forever family at the age of 17. It was there that she found her identity in a personal relationship with Christ. She is now a graduate of Word of Life Bible Institute and Stetson University and is married to...

GUEST Lisa Qualls, and her husband, Russ, are the parents of twelve children by birth and adoption, and sometimes more through foster care. She is the creator of the One Thankful Mom website and a popular speaker at events for adoptive and foster parents. She is also the cofounder of The Connected Parent , a podcast and resource site for adoptive moms. Using her training as a TBRI Practioner and h...

GUEST Boyd Christenberry, biological child's perspective on adoption.  RESOURCES Image Bearers: Shifting from Pro-Birth to Pro-Life  There are many books about being pro-life and combatting abortion, but this book seeks to bring awareness that the pro-life ethic is so much bigger than just being pro-birth.  Includes prayer guides, tips to care for the fatherless, discussion/thought-provoking quest...

GUEST Christie Mac Segars , VP of Domestic Programs holds a Bachelors from Samford University and a Masters in Social Work from The University of Alabama. She has been the Domestic Director at Lifeline since March of 2013. She is passionate about taking the gospel to hurting families and the ministry of reconciliation and redemption that exists in the various domestic programs. She and her husband...

GUEST Craig Slay is a lawyer in Brandon, MS who assists clients with the concerns they face every day, from unexpected personal and family circumstances to business or government matters to general uncertainties about the best way to handle situations or conflicts. He graduated from Mississippi State with two degrees. After a brief time in corporate sales, he went to law school at the University o...

GUEST Kemonia “Mo” Brown joined Lifeline in January of 2020.  She is from Hoover, Alabama and serves on our Counseling Team as a Family Therapist. Kemonia attended Troy University and received her Bachelors in Science. She majored in Psychology with a minor in Leadership Studies. She also attended The University of Alabama at Birmingham and received a Masters in Arts in Clinical Mental Health Coun...

RESOURCES Parent Coaching is available for any parent looking to build additional strengths in parenting.  HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms.  LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES The mission of Lifeline Children’s Services is to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children. Our vision is for vulnera...

GUEST Chris Johnson joined Lifeline in March 2020 and serves as the National Director of Church Partnerships. He previously served as a pastor for 24 years and as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Faith and Community Based Initiatives. Chris has also served as a consultant and has been a frequent speaker at local, state, and national conferences, churches, and community g...

GUEST Jana Lombardo is the Senior Program Director of International Programs. She has been with Lifeline since 1992 after she graduated from Auburn with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She worked for six and a half years as a domestic social worker/ birthmother counselor until the birth of her first son Eli. She became a TBRI Practitioner in 2017. Jana and her husband, Luke, are also proud par...

GUESTS Karla Thrasher is the Director of International Adoption at Lifeline. She has a degree in social work from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She and her husband Jamie have three precious children, Michael, Mary Allison, and Lucy. She began working with Lifeline in 2001. She works with the international program as a crucial liaison and help for prospective parents. She serves the Chin...

GUESTS Beth Perez : Beth joined the Lifeline staff in August 2011. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Mobile in 2008 and continued her education at the University of Alabama, where she received a Master’s in Social Work in 2011. Beth is a licensed social worker and works with Lifeline’s Latin American program. She became a TBRI Practitioner in 2012. Beth has had the...

GUESTS Oscar Perez : Oscar joined the Lifeline team in February of 2018 as our Colombia Orphan Care Coordinator. He’s originally from Cartagena, Colombia but now lives in Bogota, Colombia with his lovely wife, Beth, and puppy, Cocoa Reina. Their family really enjoys being able to serve the local church as well as adoptive families as they travel to Colombia to adopt their children. In his free tim...

GUESTS Sam Collier is a pastor, speaker, writer, and host of the “A Greater Story with Sam Collier” TV show and radio podcast. He is a speaker and host at North Point Ministries, founded by Andy Stanley, and he also communicates nationally and internationally as a speaker and contributor to the ReThink Group, Orange Network, Orange Tour, Alpha International Leadership Conference, Willow Creek Glob...

Lifeline International Adoption - https://lifelinechild.org/international-adoption/ GUESTS Jana Lombardo is the Senior Program Director of International Programs. She has been with Lifeline since 1992 after she graduated from Auburn with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She worked for six and a half years as a domestic social worker/ birthmother counselor until the birth of her first son Eli. S...

Lifeline International Adoption - https://lifelinechild.org/international-adoption/ GUESTS Brooke Rowan is Lifeline’s Program manager and social worker for Haiti. Brooke began working with Lifeline in 2017. She graduated in 2015 with a BS in Psychology from UAB. During graduate school, she spent a few weeks in Uganda with Compassion International, continued on to serve as Director over a mission s...

Lifeline Counseling - lifelinechild.org/counseling GUESTS Eric Frye, President of Waynes Environmental Services Josh Caldwell, VP of International Ministry Oscar Perez, (un)adopted Latin America Coordinator HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms.  LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES The mission of Lifeline Children’s Services is...

Lifeline Counseling - lifelinechild.org/counseling R(un) for One - runforone5k.org GUEST Angela Mains, MA, LPC, Program Director of Lifeline Counseling HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms.  LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES The mission of Lifeline Children’s Services is to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to v...

Stand for Orphans - standfororphans.org R(un) for One - runforone5k.org GUEST The Rick & Bubba Show - https://www.rickandbubba.com/ HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms.  LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES The mission of Lifeline Children’s Services is to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable childr...

Lifeline Pregnancy Counseling - pregnant.lifelinechild.org GUEST Deanna Jewell, Senior Director of Health & Client Services at The Pregnancy Network Deanna has a Bachelor’s Degree in Ministry to Women from Moody Bible Institute and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Ministry to Women from Southeastern Theological Seminary. Deanna loves training and equipping staff and volunteers to empo...

R(un) for One - runforone5k.org GUEST Michael Edwards, (un)adopted Program Director Tarun Manogarom Dr. Neil Anderson, Founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms.  LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES The mission of Lifeline Children’s Services is to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gosp...

Parent Coaching - lifelinechild.org/parentcoaching GUESTS Karla Thrasher, Director of International Adoption at Lifeline Lauren McAfee - Lauren Green McAfee is a speaker, writer, connector and coffee enthusiast with a heart to engage others in the Bible. While pursuing her graduate degrees in pastoral counseling and theology, Lauren worked at Museum of the Bible from its founding days, until its o...

Stand for Orphans - standfororphans.org GUESTS Alton Hardy, Pastor and Founder of Urban Hope Community Church  Eric Saunders, Campus Pastor at the McLean Bible Church Arlington Campus Quinton Dial, former NFL Defensive Lineman HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms.  LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES The mission of Lifeline Chi...

Join our COVID-19 response - lifelinechild.org/respond Journey Magazine - lifelinechild.org/alumni lifeline@lifelinechild.org milestones@lifelienchild.org GUESTS Alex Sam - Everett Mission Daniel Ponraj - Shubh Sandesh Foundation HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms.  LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES The mission of Lifeline...