The Stories Collective

Thank you for joining us for another episode of The Stories Collective! We were joined by our friend Paula Beene. We are very thankful for Paula's willingness to share her life with us. 

⚠️ Before you listen, we do want to give you a trigger warning for this episode. Specific details of abortion procedures are discussed in this conversation. ⚠️

Paula begins her story by sharing what it was like growing up in Yuma,...

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 appreciate his vulnerability. James met his...

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. She and her husband Brian were hig...

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 earliest memories involve him struggli...

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 family, with both parents following the ...

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 throughout this conversation. ⚠️

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 of the Lord. It wasn't until sh...

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'll hear more about that in the i...

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 the thought of having another child....

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, Jacqui was ready t...

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 moved to Arizona for his college ca...

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 her to reevaluate everything. She re...

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 conversation. ⚠️

We teased t...

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 June 27th, 2017. This summer will ma...

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 us. Bill begins the conversation by...

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 of that phrase. Lori and her husba...

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 working in his life even before that. G...

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 community mission helping children livin...

We have a powerful and important conversation to share with you today. Those of you who regularly attend Desert Springs will recognize today's guest Nate Fish. Nate and his family began attending Desert Springs in the spring of 2021 and it wasn't long before Nate began serving as a worship volunteer regularly singing and playing piano in our Modern Services. We even had Nate's wife Suzanne on episode 2 of this podcas...