What if God could use the hardest pieces of your family’s story to shape your kids’ faith, purpose, and compassion for others?

On this special episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with the legendary and beloved children’s music leader Charlie Bancroft—known to most as "Uncle Charlie." Together, they dive into the inspiration behind Uncle Charlie’s music ministry and his the powerful story behind the Carlitos4Kids comfort monkey ministry. Don’t miss Uncle Charle’s heartfelt stories, laugh-out-loud moments, and deep wisdom about calling.

• [00:07:26] How Uncle Charlie went from youth pastor to music missionary
• [00:10:41] The story of Uncle Charlie’s ministry in Uganda and how he became “Uncle Charlie”
• [00:17:17] About Carlitos the comfort monkey
• [00:21:02] Powerful testimony of surviving a life-altering car crash and how God uses every piece of our story for spiritual growth and inspiration

Resources:

• carlitos4kids.com
• About Valued By God (VBG) App
• Uncle Charlie: Fruit of the Spirit song
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

Bringing Hope to Kids in Need: "it's all about just bringing the light of Jesus into their dark little world, you know?"

— Charlie Bancroft [00:03:47 → 00:03:52]

Transforming Lives of Orphans

"They took orphan children off of the streets that had no parents, no relatives, no nothing. And they built villages for these kids, and they gave them a new mommy that would take care of them."

— Charlie Bancroft [00:10:19 → 00:10:30]

Music as Ministry: "I always kind of labeled Myself as a music missionary, because that was my goal, was to share Christ through my music."

— Charlie Bancroft [00:12:29 → 00:12:37]

The Unique Power of Carlitos the Comfort Animal

"It's okay to have a comfort animal. And I think it's a beautiful thing to, you know, you can go to the store, Walmart, whatever, and buy A comfort animal for a kid. But the thing that separates Carlitos from other comfort animals, number one is his theme."

— Charlie Bancroft [00:19:02 → 00:19:16]

Turning Challenges Into Purpose: "So I quit griping about what I couldn't do and I focused on and the Lord helped me with this, focused on what I could do... And in time, the less frustrated I got about my situation, the more God healed me, you know? And so it became a healing time, and I began to use that empathy to create a ministry for kids with special needs."

— Charlie Bancroft [00:24:13 → 00:24:41]

Comfort Animals and Hospitalized Kids: "But I thought, you know, every kid has a comfort animal. Every kid has a comfort bear."

— Charlie Bancroft [00:26:25 → 00:26:28]

Embracing Self-Worth Through Faith: "you don't have to be perfect to be pleasing to God."

— Charlie Bancroft [00:29:09 → 00:29:11]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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Can family science experiments become powerful tools for discipleship and faith at home?

In this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark is joined by Brock Eastman—known to many as Dr. Fizzlebop—to explore how Christian parenting, purposeful family time, and hands-on science can all collide to nurture spiritual growth and inspiration in kids. Get ready for interactive experiments, faith-centered conversation, and creative ways to make raising Christian kids dynamic and fun.

• [00:03:42] Brock Eastman on his passion for science
• [00:08:09] Linking science to faith
• [00:12:46] Bible stories and scientific wonders—finding faith in unexpected places
• [00:15:03] Science experiment demonstrations- straw rocket launch and the fizz inflator

Resources:

• https://www.brockeastman.com/dr-fizzlebop.html
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

Family Science Devotionals: "And it's really for parents and kids to do together. It's like a family devotional. And there's 52 super easy experiments to do at home. And you have like 99% of the ingredients in your pantry right now."

— Brock Eastman [00:04:19 → 00:04:30]

Going Viral with Science for Kids: "I think I released these four board books. One is called Super Simple Weather Science, Super Simple Space Science, Super Simple Colors and Counting, and Super Simple Animals and Alphabet."

— Brock Eastman [00:05:04 → 00:05:16]

Discovering Passion in Unexpected Places: "But, you know, reading and writing were the ones I didn't like. And so it's kind of funny because now I've taken that thing I didn't love and became A writer to write books."

— Brock Eastman [00:07:01 → 00:07:09]

Making Spiritual Lessons Memorable: "So my hope is that that's where I put a lot of effort in, is to tie in the experience that kids are going to learn throughout elementary school and high school back to a devotional or a spiritual concept that they can connect to."

— Brock Eastman [00:08:09 → 00:08:58]

Trusting Divine Timing: "God already ordains. He knows the timing of our life, and he already knows, Kristen, in two weeks, in three years, in a decade, a moment you're going to be experiencing and going through."

— Brock Eastman [00:09:00 → 00:09:10]

Unexpected Success: "And funny enough, it's actually my best selling of all my books. It's the one that sells the best."

— Brock Eastman [00:10:33 → 00:10:36]

Viral Topic: Creating Meaningful Bedtime Routines: "It became a very sweet bedtime routine and read. And so Fizzlebop has been a lot of fun connecting family and kids."

— Brock Eastman [00:11:24 → 00:11:30]

Bridging Faith and Science for Kids: "And I believe that when we cement that idea and that concept in these little babies hearts, these toddlers hearts on your lap, around the bed before bed, at the kitchen table early, they are going to keep that, that's going to lock in and they're going to have that as they go through school."

— Brock Eastman [00:12:05 → 00:12:18]

Viral Moments in Miracles: "But in those miracles, in those times when he does things, there's moments where the world changes. Just shows his immense power in creating that."

— Brock Eastman [00:1

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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What if Jesus wants to lead you on a brand new adventure of faith and creativity?

On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Justin Stuart—co-creator of the wildly popular JStu YouTube channel and now author of the new graphic novel series, The Blobs. Justin opens up about the bold faith it took to walk away from a successful channel, how God led him into a new creative journey, and the ways families can grow closer through shared stories, discipleship, and laughter.

• [00:05:11] Justin’s early YouTube journey and reaching millions
• [00:09:41] Hearing God’s call to change directions
• [00:16:20] About his new book series - The Blobs

Resources:

• Amazon: The Blobs: Vol One: Crash Land!
• www.youtube.com/@itsjustinstuart
• www.instagram.com/itsjustinstuart
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

How YouTube Changed Our Lives Forever: "And we had zero intention in turning it into a business. But it did turn into something, because God had bigger and better plans than we could have even came up with on our own."

— Justin Stuart [00:06:11 → 00:06:25]

Breaking Free from the Algorithm: "I just want to take a break from the algorithm and I'm going to get out my iPad, which I haven't done in a while, and just draw. Because as a kid, I drew a lot. I made up characters, I wrote little stories. So I'm going to do that again because at the end of the day, kids, they don't think about the algorithm."

— Justin Stuart [00:10:02 → 00:10:18]

Viral Topic: Bridging Generations Through Storytelling: "And if the parent is enjoying the story, then surely the kids are going to enjoy even more."

— Justin Stuart [00:15:36 → 00:15:41]

Writing Stories That Reflect Faith & Growth: "I'm a Christian telling a cool story. And so the themes throughout the story are going to be apparent because I am a follower of Christ."

— Justin Stuart [00:18:29 → 00:18:37]

Inspiring Creators on YouTube: "I want to be able to use my YouTube channel as a creative hub for other people who are trying to create something so that they can find inspiration for themselves because they're seeing me do it and they hopefully can see themselves doing the same thing and believe in themselves through what they watch."

— Justin Stuart [00:20:44 → 00:21:00]

Viral Topic: Embracing Your Unique Creativity

"God has made you so unique and put abilities in you that he hasn't put in other people for a very specific reason...when you believe in your unique creativity that offers something to the world that is needed to impact the world."

— Justin Stuart [00:21:35 → 00:21:44]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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Who are the teachers that shaped you the most in life?

On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with educator Breanna Churchill. Breanna shares her journey from teaching preschoolers to becoming an award-winning children’s author to launching the Brown Bear Book Club, explores practical ways families can disciple their kids at home, and offers advice for people who are interested in becoming teachers.

• [00:07:54] How playful teaching fuels spiritual growth and purpose in raising Christian kids
• [00:10:22] What Breanna’s classroom revealed about God’s patience, creativity, and faith woven through every subject
• [00:13:19] The story behind Brown Bear Book Club
• [00:16:51] Inspiration and practical strategies for parents (and kids) to reconnect with God and nurture faith at home

Resources:

• brownbearbookclub.com
• Recommended Episodes:
  
  • Episode 156 - Jason Raitz
  • Episode 181 - Ryan George
  • Episode 193 - Hayley Arceneaux (astronaut)
  • Episode 213 - Rousseaux Brasseur (The Quester)
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

From Stage to Classroom: "I thought I was going to be an actress and singing, but teaching, I felt like teaching was the perfect place to be creative and teach young children."

— Breanna Churchill [00:06:28 → 00:06:38]

Viral Topic: Preventing Burnout in Parents and Teachers: "it's hard for us to be ready to teach our kids or our students if we're coming from an empty, burnt out and overwhelmed place."

— Breanna Churchill [00:15:46 → 00:15:54]

Morning Routines: "One of the things I do is start my day with God. I start my day with Him. And so it's prayer, it's worship, turning on music, sometimes not turning on music, sometimes it's just singing naturally, journaling, writing things down and just being honest and real with God."

— Breanna Churchill [00:16:51 → 00:17:09]

"Nobody feels totally equipped. I mean, even Moses, everybody's like, what, God? You want me to do what?"

— Breanna Churchill [00:19:45 → 00:19:51]

Viral Topic: The Importance of Experience for Aspiring Teachers: "I highly recommend that teachers, anybody thinking about being a teacher get experience. Experience working with children."

— Breanna Churchill [00:20:25 → 00:20:32]

"One thing I love about God is that he is so patient. I think God is so patient with us. But then I also realized God is so creative. Each child he created so uniquely, and they learn differently and they grasp concepts differently."

— Breanna Churchill [00:10:45 → 00:10:57]

How The Brown Bear Book Club Began: "I realized I wanted to take the things that I learned in the classroom, and I'm like, I still want to share this with the world. And so that's how the Bro

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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What if the power and hope of Easter could transform your family’s faith and purpose, uniting you around the message of Jesus’ resurrection?

On this special Easter episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark welcomes Dr. Esau McCaulley—pastor, professor, and author of “God’s Colorful Kingdom” and “God’s Colorful Easter.” Dive into a dynamic conversation about Christian parenting, raising Christian kids, and how to cultivate joy, discipleship, and spiritual growth through family time and the diverse beauty of God’s story.

• [00:03:32] Esau McCaulley’s journey as a pastor, professor, dad
• [00:06:52] Why writing for kids matters
• [00:08:03] Diversity in God’s colorful kingdom
• [00:10:09] The meaning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and why the hope of the resurrection is the heartbeat of discipleship at home

Resources:

• esaumccaulley.com
• Books: God’s Colorful Easter & God's Colorful Kingdom Storybook Bible
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

Viral Topic: How COVID Changed My Writing Journey: "Normally I write, like, you know, academic books, but during COVID it was so stressful, and there's. We had kids at home and all of these other things, and I really didn't feel in the mood to write a Big technical, academic book."

— Esau McCaulley [00:06:56 → 00:07:10]

The Meaning of Maundy Thursday and the Love Command: "So on Thursday, we remember the love command, the command that we have to love one another."

— Esau McCaulley [00:11:03 → 00:11:07]

Living With Hope Amid Sadness: "We live in a world that is sad and broken, and we sometimes feel the weight of that sadness, but we never weep as those who without hope, because we trust in the Savior who has come to rescue us."

— Esau McCaulley [00:12:32 → 00:12:42]

Viral Gospel Connections: "So when God, when Mark was written, Mark was saying, hey, if you don't believe this version of the story, go ask Rufus and Alexander. They're in the church."

— Esau McCaulley [00:18:45 → 00:18:54]

Viral Topic: Surprising Clues About Simon of Cyrene's Family Background: "Yeah, Simon, Rufus and Alexander are Greek names, right? So that probably means that Simon at some point became a Roman citizen and he gave his kids names that were Greek. It probably also means that maybe Simon's wife would have been a Gentile, and that Simon, who's married to a Gentile woman, eventually."

— Esau McCaulley [00:19:13 → 00:19:36]

Viral Topic: The Mysterious Journey of Simon of Cyrene

"It's possible that Simon of Cyrene, who's from Northern Africa, who comes to Jerusalem, who is Jewish, who gets converted to Christianity, possibly to a Gentile woman, then has two Gentile sons who become Christians, who are all in the early church."

— Esau McCaulley [00:19:50 → 00:20:07]

Viral Topic: The Universal Message of the Cross

"It's not just the diversity of what the story of Easter contains. It's what it does. Like on the cross, right? It says in three languages, the King of the Jews, right? And all of the gospel writers make a point of saying it's in three languages. So no matter where you're from, you can see on the cross."

— Esau McCaulley [00:21:03 → 00:21:23]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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What if creativity isn’t really about talent, at all?

On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Brennan McPherson—writer, game developer, and lead producer of the Light of the World animated film. Listen in as Brennan shares his inspiring journey from aspiring rock star to leading a ministry focused on bringing the story of Jesus to kids and families through powerful hand-drawn animation. Discover fresh insights into being a professional artist and why creativity is less about talent than we might think.

• [00:06:12] Brennan’s path from being a professional drummer to leading a media production ministry
• [00:10:09] The heart and vision behind the Light of the World film
• [00:12:10] What it means to be a creative producer
• [00:15:02] Brennan’s real talk about professional creativity and perseverance

Resources:

• Animated Jesus film: www.lightoftheworld.com
• Brennan’s Website: brennanmcpherson.com
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

Viral Topic: Transforming Nonprofit Media

"I came into the position of being the president of the organization and decided that we were going to take the nonprofit in a new direction and craft it into a full-blown media company crafting entertainment that makes the gospel simple to understand and impossible to forget."

— Brennan McPherson [00:06:38 → 00:06:53]

Viral Topic: "Why Isn’t There a Great Animated Jesus Movie?": "There's no good animated feature film on the life of Jesus. I couldn't even hardly believe it. For like a couple of years, I was like, are you sure? There's no— I mean, I kept like checking, trying to find if there was one that was, you know, there's a couple that are like really, really, really low budget that no one's ever seen."

— Brennan McPherson [00:10:11 → 00:10:25]

Viral Topic Title: "Reimagining the Disciples as Teenagers"

Quote: "We realized with the research that most of the disciples were likely teenagers. Peter was in his 20s, you know, but he was one of the oldest. So they weren't these old bearded guys that you see in all the representations."

— Brennan McPherson [00:11:16 → 00:11:27]

What Does a Producer Really Do?: "a producer's job is to solve problems before they derail the whole thing and collapse the film. Because if a film— it's like you're starting a business with hundreds of people you've never worked with before."

— Brennan McPherson [00:12:46 → 00:12:56]

The Secret to Creative Success

Quote: "my advice to anyone who wants to be creative is find the thing that you love doing. And then approach it in a systematic way."

— Brennan McPherson [00:17:57 → 00:18:05]

Success at Movie Guide Awards: "We just won Best Children's Film at the Movie Guide Awards and beat out King of Kings from Angel Studios and Zootopia 2 from Disney for that award, and so we're very, very proud of it, but really for us, this film is a long-term ministry initiative."

— Brennan McPherson [00:21:48 → 00:22:06]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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What if God could use even your brokenness to create something beautiful and inspire your whole family’s faith journey?

This week on the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Jamie Statema—award-winning songwriter, producer, and GO FISH! co-founder—to explore how families can nurture spiritual growth, purpose, and discipleship at home. Jamie shares behind-the-scenes stories about being a Christian artist, raising Christian kids through music, and his powerful new children's book, "A Broken Crayon," a reminder that God uses every part of our stories—even the hard parts!

• [00:02:25] Jamie Statema’s musical journey with GO FISH!
• [00:09:27] The story behind "A Broken Crayon"
• [00:13:45] Real talk: Overcoming performance and embracing brokenness
• [00:16:02] Making home and church safe for authentic conversations

Resources:

• gofishresources.com
• Jamie’s New Book: A Broken Crayon
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

Viral Origin Stories: "I'm the OG GO FISH! guy. But when we originally started, it was myself and a friend from my church up in Minneapolis, Minnesota had this idea to do like an a cappella group."

— Jamie Statema [00:06:12 → 00:06:24]

Viral Topic: "Kids Can Handle Deep Truths — Music for All Ages": "The key, I feel, to making great music for kids that won't drive parents bonkers is to not talk down to kids because kids are way smarter than most people give them credit for."

— Jamie Statema [00:07:33 → 00:07:43]

Viral Topic: How Music Helps Memory

"It's amazing how music does, you know, it helps you remember things. It's a great way to learn things."

— Jamie Statema [00:08:38 → 00:08:43]

Viral Topic: Turning Brokenness into Beauty

Quote: "It's all about how God can take broken things and turn them into beautiful things."

— Jamie Statema [00:09:59 → 00:10:04]

The Danger of Too Much Information: "Sometimes you just got to follow God's leading, just do the next right thing. And then just see what happens."

— Jamie Statema [00:11:56 → 00:12:02]

Redefining Greatness in Faith: "Being a good dad is doing a great thing for God, you know, being a good husband, serving in the church, serving others, whatever it may be. It doesn't have to be in the spotlight to be considered great, and that's something I talk about a lot."

— Jamie Statema [00:13:31 → 00:13:45]

Viral Topic: Redemption Through Brokenness: "That’s really the message of the book, that even when you feel broken, it’s not over."

— Jamie Statema [00:15:51 → 00:15:55]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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What does it look like to make Jesus the star of your daily life?

On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark welcomes Brock Eastman and Shaun Stevenson—co-authors of the Parable Port book series—who share how their friendship started with with a critical book review and how wanting to learn and get better turned into a writing partnership. This episode has tons of laughs, stories, and practical ideas for raising Christian kids, building faith at home, and inspiring spiritual growth through creativity and discipleship.

• [00:05:32] How Brock and Shaun became friends
• [00:13:02] Turning parables into a book series for kids
• [00:22:11] Parable Port’s bonus resources and podcast
• [00:27:41] Childhood memories and creative inspiration

Resources:

• Book Website: parableport.com
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

The Power of Collaboration in Creative Projects: "that collaboration has been building over, I don't know, 5, 10 years, Sean. It's been a long time."

— Brock Eastman [00:09:18 → 00:09:22]

Modern Storytelling and Ancient Parables

"We're not creating something new. We're using stories that Jesus has already told and helping kids understand them in different ways or look at them from different angles or help them find characters in the book that they can relate to and see how it applies to their life."

— Brock Eastman [00:17:36 → 00:17:49]

Why We Chose Not to Write a Picture Book: "I know just based on the word count and the, the, we could have never explored the story in the way that we are right now."

— Brock Eastman [00:18:22 → 00:18:27]

Viral Topic: The Power of Collaboration in Children's Storytelling: "It's about collaboration, it's about building and growing and creating a really great immersive story that kids can read and get into. And that's the ultimate goal."

— Brock Eastman [00:21:54 → 00:22:02]

How Unexpected Friendships Start: "We met because I actually left Brock a— I wouldn't say it was a bad review. It was a like middle of the road review on one of his books online. And he actually messaged me... So we started emailing back and forth, and after that we started working on different projects together and just became friends and had a great time."

— Shaun Stevenson [00:07:02 → 00:07:14]

Viral Topic: Creating a Parable Book Series for Kids: "And she said, nope, I can't find anything. So we talked about it like, oh, what if we made like a book series about parables?"

— Shaun Stevenson [00:12:43 → 00:12:50]

Viral Topic: The Power of Parables

Quote: "parable, it's this word that we use kind of a Bible-y word, but it's a word that helps us understand something using everyday objects all around us."

— Shaun Stevenson [00:14:45 → 00:14:53]

How Everyday Objects Teach Us About Faith: "That to me is the power of like everyday items helping us learn about Jesus."

— Shaun Stevenson [00:17:14 → 00:17:18]

Empowering Young Storytellers: "And I think even as a kid, like you can tell stories too. Like if you love telling stories, do it. It's so fun."

— Shaun Stevenson [00:27:35 → 00:27:42]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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