In February 2025, historic flooding tore through McDowell County, West Virginia. Sandy's basement filled with five feet of water. Her daughter lost everything. The food pantry she had been running for nearly a decade was destroyed. And while her own home was still under water, Sandy helped coordinate over 50,000 hot meals for her neighbors.

That sentence alone tells you most of what you need to know about this conversation.

Sandy came to Jesus on her own couch in Statesville, North Carolina, after a pastor named J.B. Parker Jr. knocked on her door every Saturday until she finally let him in. She grew up in a home where the family Bible was decoration. None of that disqualified her from the work God put in front of her. It built her for it.

In this episode, Sandy talks about what she calls real church versus play church. She tells the story of a man who walked into a service with a beer can in his shirt pocket and the woman who scooted over to make room for him. She talks about why stateside ministry gets passed over when there's still a harvest field in our own Jerusalem. And she names something most ministry leaders feel but rarely say out loud: the people you keep showing up for will not always meet you in the middle. You feed them anyway. You plant the seeds. You let God give the increase.

If you serve in ministry, lead a church, or you've been quietly wondering if your work matters, this one's worth your time.

Full Show Notes: https://svtc.info/podcast/she-fed-50-000-meals-after-the-flood-took-her-own-home

🎙️ Host: Justin Franich | Executive Director, Shenandoah Valley Teen Challenge
🌐 Full episodes + resources: https://svtc.info/podcast
📖 Faith-based recovery guides: https://svtc.info
🙏 Support this ministry: https://svtc.info/donate
📞 Need help? Call us: 540-213-0571

He watched God work what felt like miracle after miracle in the NICU. And then, the moment he crossed back home, everything unraveled. Jeremy puts words to a moment many people recognize but rarely admit: the split second where faith feels distant and the old escape routes feel close again.

We talk with Jeremy about the grief of losing his infant daughter, the slow drift from trying to cope into prescription drug addiction, and how clonazepam left him numb and chasing relief. From there, his story moves into meth addiction, the strain it put on his marriage and parenting, and how relapse tends to come back worse. He also speaks honestly about NICU trauma during COVID, financial pressure, isolation, and the role community played through prayer, texts, and practical help.

Then we get into consequences and rebuilding. Jeremy shares what happened after his arrest, why prison became more than a temporary wake-up call, and what it looks like to live recovered while staying aware he's still one bad choice away. We also talk about daily sobriety practices, Christian recovery, staying spiritually rooted, and how he now uses his addiction recovery leadership training to help others through 5:17 Ministries.

If you or someone you love is battling addiction, grief, or relapse, this conversation offers clarity and hope. Subscribe for more stories like Jeremy's, and share this with someone who needs it.

🎙️ Host: Justin Franich | Executive Director, Shenandoah Valley Teen Challenge
🌐 Full episodes + resources: https://svtc.info/podcast
📖 Faith-based recovery guides: https://svtc.info
🙏 Support this ministry: https://svtc.info/donate
📞 Need help? Call us: 540-213-0571

Yes, his name is Bill Gates. No, not that one. This Bill is from Boston originally, lives in Port Saint Lucie, Florida now, and spent twenty years of his life absolutely convinced there was no God.

Then life fell apart. A divorce he didn't want. A rebound relationship that broke his heart. Friends who kept inviting him to church week after week, and his answer was always the same. Whatever the answer is, that isn't it.

One Sunday night there were no ball games on TV, and he decided to go with them just to not be alone. A young youth pastor named Joe Keefe was preaching that night, filling in for the senior pastor. His message was about letting Christ into your life and trusting Him to bring the right person too. Bill sat there running the math on whether his friends had set him up to hear that exact sermon. When he couldn't make the numbers work, he had to admit something else was going on.

Twenty-eight years later, Bill and his wife Sunseri are stepping into Living Free together because they've seen what targeted discipleship does that a Sunday morning sermon can't. In this conversation, Bill tells the atheism story, walks through sixteen years of children's ministry he never felt qualified for, and explains why the most effective ministry sometimes happens outside the walls of a formal church.

If you love someone who says they don't believe, this one's for you.

Full Show Notes: https://svtc.info/podcast/bill-gates-god-retired-me-from-atheism

🎙️ Host: Justin Franich | Executive Director, Shenandoah Valley Teen Challenge
🌐 Full episodes + resources: https://svtc.info/podcast
📖 Faith-based recovery guides: https://svtc.info
🙏 Support this ministry: https://svtc.info/donate
📞 Need help? Call us: 540-213-0571