The Stories Collective

We have a powerful conversation to share with you today. We had the privilege to talk with our new friend Felicia McCurry. 

⚠️ Before you listen, we do want to give you a trigger warning for this episode. Details of domestic violence and attempted murder are discussed in this conversation. ⚠️ 

Felicia and Sarah share a commonality, both being from the south. They reminisce on what they miss about that part of the country before getti...

We are looking forward to sharing today's conversation with our friend Gary Osmundsen! Gary and his family have been attending our church for a little over eight years. Gary is a husband, father, runner (a very serious one) and philosophy professor at Grand Canyon University. But this was not always the description of Gary's life. He was raised in Cape May, New Jersey with his career all laid out for him in his family&apo...

Today our host Sarah Schalow invites you to catch up and reflect on 2024 so far. Think of it as a recap of Quarter 1 😉 Since the turn of the year we've been able to share 14 stories of God's amazing faithfulness. The episodes have covered feeling forgotten by God, healing from addiction and abuse, hope in hard times, grieving while walking with the Lord and a whole lot more. We've also been able to share testimonies...

Today we are featuring Geri Tanzer! Geri's story is one that offers a unique perspective about recognizing the community around you and taking steps to cultivate it. Geri was raised Catholic and shares that she did come to a true understanding of who Jesus is at a young age. She felt a hunger for God and church and attended on her own. However, in college church was not so much of a priority, but she always felt she had that p...

We had the opportunity to continue our conversation with Dra Rogers, this time getting into the specifics of what ministry looks like with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). We have a special guest host, our Missions Pastor Jamie Engram who leads the conversation. Jamie and Dra met in the studio to talk through day-to-day life and ministry with FCA here in the West Valley. A lot of this ministry happens so close to our church!...

Dra Rogers joined us in the studio to share his story! Dra and his family are a big part of ministry here at Desert Springs and he is also a missionary that we help to support through Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Sarah and Dra begin their conversation with a "sports segment" but quickly turn to how God has worked so greatly in Dra's life. He moved around a lot as a child and though his grandparents were ve...

Sarah is excited to be sharing another special interview as she had the opportunity to record an episode with one of her real-life close friends, Megan Bomar. 

⚠️ Before you listen, we do want to give you a trigger warning for this episode. Murder and crime are discussed in this conversation. ⚠️ 

Megan is originally from Iowa and after attending GCU decided to put roots down here in Arizona. She was raised Catholic but became a Chris...

Today on the Stories Collective Sarah is excited to be sharing a special interview as she had the opportunity to sit down with her co-worker and brother-in-law Pastor Trevor Schalow! Sarah and Trevor begin the interview with a lot of laughs, reminiscing on the summer of 2015 when they first met having no idea that they would one day be family. Trevor shares about life growing up in the small town of Show Low in northeast Arizona. H...

Today on The Stories Collective we have a special guest host, our Missions Pastor Jamie Engram! Jamie had the chance to sit down in the studio with missionaries that Desert Springs helps to support in The Philippines, David and Kenda Jerome. If you were with us at church this past weekend (Feb. 24/25) you probably saw David + Kenda speaking in our services! David walks through what their journey to becoming missionaries was like. I...

 We are excited to welcome our friend and ministry leader Randy Donithan to the podcast today!

⚠️ Before you listen, we do want to give you a trigger warning for this episode. Pornography and sex addiction is discussed throughout this conversation. ⚠️ 

Randy was born and raised in Arizona growing up in the 50s and 60s. His family life was very difficult as his father was an alcoholic, and this caused many fights b...

We have a story to share with you today that will surely warm your heart! We were joined by our new friend Dacia Gordon. Dacia and her husband Lowell started attending in 2021 after they purchased a part-time home in Goodyear. They haven't quite embraced the term "snowbird" yet 😉 Dacia walks us through not just one but many stories from her life where she experienced God's faithful hand. Her earliest memory inc...

We have a wonderful story of healing and hope to share with you to kick off the month of February! We were joined in the studio by John Ricciardelli.

 ⚠️ Before you listen, we do want to give you a trigger warning for this episode. Domestic violence involving children is discussed throughout this conversation. ⚠️ John and Sarah begin their conversation by discussing some mid-2000s reality TV but don't worry they don't spen...

We had the opportunity to continue our conversation with Wade & Shannon Cooperrider, this time getting into the specifics of what ministry looks like in Nicaragua. Sarah gets us into the interview, but we have a special guest host, our Missions Pastor Jamie Engram who leads the conversation. Jamie and The Cooperriders met in the studio to talk through day-to-day life and ministry in Nicaragua. There are so many stories and oppo...

Welcome to Episode 100 of The Stories Collective! 🎉🎉 We could not think of a better interview to share for our 100th episode than the conversation we got to have with Pastor Steve Engram. Steve was born outside of Detroit as his Dad was leading Youth for Christ. The Engrams were becoming a ministry family and when the ministry led them to northern Ohio that became what Steve refers to as home. Steve shares a lot about how his rel...

This week we're continuing our series in sharing Part 3 of The Cooperrider's story! Wade and Shannon's story picks up with them preparing to attend language school in Costa Rica. As soon as they felt they had received affirmation from God and their community they began to take steps to get to the mission field. They knew it would be a process to get there but very quickly God made it apparent that He wanted them in N...

This week we're continuing our series in sharing Part 2 of The Cooperrider's story! Wade and Shannon's story picks up in the fall of 1998. Moving back to Arizona felt like being in survival mode as they were lost and struggling with their purpose. They struggled to acclimate back to life in Arizona and it felt like their dreams of being missionaries were slowly fading away. Things felt dark and depressing as Wade was...

Happy New Year! This is our first episode of 2024 and we're excited to tell you that we are kicking off a series with our dear friends and missionaries to Nicaragua, Wade & Shannon Cooperrider! Over the next couple of weeks, you'll get an inside look into the lives of Wade and Shannon. This week we're starting from the very beginning. Wade and Shannon were essentially high school sweethearts and the story of how ...

It is hard to believe that this episode of The Stories Collective is the last one being released in 2023. But don't worry, we'll be back next Wednesday, starting a series involving God's incredible faithfulness to kick off 2024! We invite you to settle in as our host Sarah catches you up on all that the Lord has done in 2023. Think of this episode as a one-on-one coffee meeting. Sarah reflects on how the podcast has ...

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear! We have another fun Christmas episode to share with you! We were joined again by our friend Sam Brown to battle our host Sarah Schalow in Christmas song trivia. Our wonderful producer Brittany Petry joined in on the fun by moderating the games. This episode has a little bit of a chaotic feel so buckle in and get ready to sing (and laugh) along! Brittany collect...