The Stories Collective

Today's guest is someone who is probably a familiar face to so many of you who attend Desert Springs. We were so honored to have our friend and Worship Leader James Alexander in the studio with us. James faithfully leads each week in our 8am service and we're so thankful for his heart and ministry! James pours out his heart in today's interview and we know that you all will apprecia...

Happy Wednesday! With Mother's Day being this upcoming weekend (you're welcome for that reminder 😉) we were so glad to be joined by Sasha DeFrancesco in the studio. Sasha and her family have been attending Desert Springs for seven years and the church was a big part of making Arizona feel like home. Sasha grew up in California and came to know the Lord as a 13-year-old at a church camp....

May is here! Friend and fellow Desert Springs podcaster Mark Syhlowy joined our host Sarah Schalow in the studio to share his story. Mark cohosts The Now Life podcast with Shawn Jones and we're so glad that we got the opportunity to get to know him on a deeper level today. Mark begins his story by describing his childhood growing up in Buffalo, NY (Go Bills!). He explains that some of his ear...

We are so glad to be bringing an episode we recorded in January to you today! Becca Cho joined us in the studio near the end of her pregnancy with her third baby - a precious girl born in late February. We're so glad we were able to record Becca's story before Quinn Marie came! Becca begins her story by telling us about life growing up in South Dakota. She was raised in a Christian famil...

This conversation feels like you're sharing a warm cup of coffee in a diner with an old friend as they share their life and experiences. It was a privilege to have Gary Sanders join us to share many stories from his life.  ⚠️ Before you listen, we do want to give you a trigger warning for this episode. Violence against children and racially motivated crimes and attacks are discussed throughou...

Today's guest exemplifies what is looks like to engage with God, connect with others and live on mission from the moment of salvation. We were joined in the studio by Betsy Crosson. You might want to take notes as you listen to this conversation! Betsy grew up in California knowing who God was but because of some events in her life was having a hard time understanding the unconditional love o...

It's Wednesday again which means we have another story of God's faithfulness to share with you! Our host Sarah Schalow was joined by her friend and worship teammate Tom Lane in the studio. Those of you who attend our Modern Services may recognize Tom as a frequent bass player. Tom jumped into serving with us almost immediately after he and his wife Jan began attending our church - you&ap...

We are back this week with Part 2 of Jacqui Christianson's story! Last week Jacqui was incredibly vulnerable in sharing the loss of her precious son Teddy when he was only 79 days old. Jacqui and her husband Matt took time to recover from the shock, grieve and continue on with life though they knew they would never be the same. They clung to God and to each other and slowly began to process t...

We are truly honored to be sharing today's conversation with you. Our host Sarah Schalow was joined by Jacqui Christianson in the studio to share the story of her precious son Teddy. ⚠️ Before you listen, we do want to give you a trigger warning for this episode. Pregnancy complications and the death of an infant are discussed in this conversation. ⚠️ Being raised her whole life in Arizona, J...

Bill Reeves is someone who goes back to almost the very beginning of Desert Springs as we know it and we are so glad to be featuring him on The Stories Collective podcast this week! Bill came to know the Lord as a teenager when a friend shared his faith with him. Shortly after that Bill moved away but kept in touch with those friends as he really desired to have Christian community. He eventually...

Welcome back to The Stories Collective podcast! Pam Maurer joined us in the studio to share some significant mile markers in her life. The first mile marker is from 1992 when a tragic accident that resulted in three deaths totally changed Pam's life both in the day-to-day and spiritually. At age 36 Pam felt that she had been living a "good Christian life", but this accident caused h...

We have a powerful testimony of God's literal saving grace to share with you today. We're talking with our friend Ryan Risselman and we think this is an episode you're definitely going to want to share with those around you.  ⚠️ Before you listen, we do want to give you a trigger warning for this episode. Suicide and suicide ideation/idealization are discussed throughout this conver...

Today's conversation is one that has been highly anticipated and we're so glad to finally be sharing it with you. Paige McMahon joined us in the studio right at the beginning of 2023 to share her heart and her husband's legacy with us. Those of who you have been Desert Springs for a while may remember when Paige's husband John McMahon was tragically killed in a plane crash on J...

Today's interview is one where time just flew by - we had so many things to discuss! Our host Sarah Schalow was able to connect with Bill Mansker and we are so glad that she did. Bill has an incredible story and loads of wisdom for all of us to learn from. So much of what Bill shares comes back to being consistent in Christ and recognizing the Lord's continuous grace and faithfulness to...

Welcome to Episode 50 of The Stories Collective! We can hardly believe it. It is almost Valentine's Day, and we have a very sweet interview to share with you today! Lori Britt helps to lead our Marriage Mentoring ministry at Desert Springs and we are so glad she joined us in the studio. We've all heard the phrase, "when you know you know" and Lori is a testament to the validity...

We have a story of life change through the Gospel to share with you today. Greg Huggins joined us in the studio to share how the Lord brought him to Himself. Greg has been at Desert Springs for many years, leading many Sunday morning classes and Bible studies and now serving as an elder. Though Greg did not come to know the Lord until he was in his early 30s, he feels that God's hand was work...

As you may know this past Sunday, January 22nd was Sanctity of Human Life Day. Today's guest Nancy Beeman is someone who has done a lot of work and advocacy for ending abortion in the United States and we are blessed to have her be a part of Desert Springs. Nancy was raised primarily in Southern California but in college fell in love with Kentucky and Tennessee when she was serving in a commu...

We have a powerful and important conversation to share with you today. If you regularly attend Desert Springs, you'll likely recognize our guest, Nate Fish. Nate and his family began attending Desert Springs in the spring of 2021, and it wasn't long before he became a regular worship volunteer, singing and playing piano in our Modern Services. Some of you may also remember that Nate&apos...

We are so looking forward to sharing today's conversation with you! Our host Sarah Schalow got to record an amazing conversation with her friend Haley Smith. Haley has been at Desert Springs since the early 2000s and has literally grown up at the church. She was involved in the youth group, participating in SMI trips and all of the things we love to offer our students. Though Haley had a rela...

Happy New Year! We could not think of a better episode to kick off 2023 with than the episode we're sharing with you today. We were joined in the studio by Rich Holland, and we think you are going to be blessed, inspired and challenged by this conversation. Rich and his family began attending Desert Springs in 2018 but the concept of Church (we mean "big C" Church, the body of Chris...

This episode of The Stories Collective is the last one being released in 2022. But don't worry, we will be back next Wednesday with an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness to kick off 2023! In a way this conversation is one with just you. Our host Sarah Schalow recorded a solo episode to reflect on some things that God has done in her life (like how she ended up at Desert Springs), to...

Good tidings to you and yours! During this week of Christmas, we have another lighthearted and fun Christmas episode to share with you. Our host Sarah Schalow is joined by her friends (and co-workers) Manny Hernandez and Daniel Calderón to discuss Christmas traditions. The episode begins with Sarah and the guys discussing their own Christmas traditions and then moves into discussing traditions tha...

Merry Christmas everyone! Over the next two weeks we have some fun and lighthearted stories to share with you. We know that the Christmas season can be hard at times, so we wanted to bring some joy and laughter to your week 🤗 Our host Sarah Schalow and producer Brittany Petry came together to read some hilarious Christmas fails that you all at Desert Springs sent in. Sarah + Brittany share their...

We have a very sweet conversation to share with you! This is our last interview for 2022 but don't worry, we have some fun and light content for Christmas coming to the podcast over the next few weeks. Then we'll be back in 2023 with more amazing stories of God's faithfulness! But today, our host Sarah Schalow is talking with our friend Ruth Hill. Sarah and Ruth immediately bonded o...

Today we get to hear a story about how God used His discipline to bring a man back to Him. We are talking with our friend Kevin Wilkinson. Kevin's story starts in Michigan where he came to know Christ at the age of 12 after his father who was an alcoholic was radically saved from that life and placed his faith in Jesus. This had a ripple effect on the family and the remainder of Kevin's...