For the first episode of 2024, we are taking a look back at one of our most-listened to episodes of 2023. Chelsea Patterson Sobolik joins the podcast today to talk about how adoption has deeply impacted her life. She shares about her personal adoption story, her and husband's pursuit of adopting a child internationally, and her book "Longing for Motherhood: Holding Onto Hope in the Midst of Childlessness." GUEST Chelsea Patterson Sobolik serves as Director of Government Relations at World Relief...
Jan 03, 2024•41 min
As we approach the end of 2023, we are sharing one the most popular episodes this year. Ann Maura Hinton, Program Director of Bridge Educational Services at Lifeline, joins the podcast to talk about the power of play in kids' lives and how it affects their ability to learn and grow. GUEST Ann Maura is the Program Director of Bridge Educational Services at Lifeline. She loves to learn and is constantly looking to build a bridge from frustration to hope alongside families in need. She brings with ...
Dec 27, 2023•35 min
Today on the podcast, we have a special holiday episode! Herbie and Dr. Rick reflect on the goodness and grace bestowed upon us by the Lord throughout the year. Christmas isn't just a celebration; it's a time for deep gratitude. Hear of the Lord's hand at work through His people, caring for orphans and vulnerable children. It's a testament to the true spirit of Christmas. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. CO-HOST R...
Dec 20, 2023•32 min
Today on the podcast, we are joining you with a special story from our annual fundraising event in Birmingham, Alabama. The Vest family shared not only of their international adoption journey and how Lifeline was able to aid them after a traumatic family event, but how these events provided a unique insight which led them to becoming involved the Families Count ministry. GUESTS Rich and Johanna Vest are parents of four children through birth and adoption. They Vests serve as volunteer directors ...
Dec 13, 2023•29 min
Today on the podcast, Kenny and Kristen Anderson join us again with an update on their adoption. In August, we talked with the Andersons as they were about to head to China to bring home their daughter. Listen to part two as they share of life after coming home. GUESTS Kenny and Kristen Anderson have been pursuing international adoption over the last 3.5 years. They have a biological daughter named Brooklyn and this year they brought home their daughter, Hannah, from China. HOST Herbie Newell is...
Dec 06, 2023•33 min
Today, Angela Mains joins the Defender Podcast to talk through practical tips for helping your child successfully navigate the dysregulation of the holidays. The holidays can be such a joyful and peaceful time; however, holidays can be difficult for children who come from hard places. Learn how to thrive and survive the holidays. GUEST Angela Mains is a TBRI and Certified Theraplay Practitioner. She has worked at Lifeline for several years and brings knowledge, experience, and wisdom from her ti...
Nov 29, 2023•31 min
Today, Angela Mains joins the Defender Podcast to talk through surviving the holidays with children who come from hard places. We know when parents can stay grounded, present, and regulated, they can help their children do the same. Angela talks about parents managing expectations during this time for their kids and themselves and prioritizing rest. Angela is the Program Director of Counseling Services at Lifeline and has a plethora of experience and wisdom. GUEST Angela is a TBRI and Certified ...
Nov 22, 2023•30 min
Today on the podcast, Pastor Chris Johnson and his wife, Alicia Johnson, join the podcast to share their adoption story. They have ten children and adopted seven of their children through foster care. They have served as foster parents for more than 40 children. GUEST Today, we are going to talk with a man we affectionally call Pastor Chris and his wife, Alicia. Chris is the Vice President of Church Partnerships and Government Affairs at Lifeline and his family has also grown through biological ...
Nov 15, 2023•39 min
Today on the podcast, Zac Rowe joins to talk about his personal connection to adoption and the work the church he helps lead, Gateway Church, is doing for adoption. GUEST Zac Rowe is a worship pastor at Gateway Church's Justin campus in Justin, Texas. The main campus of Gateway Church is in Dallas, Texas. Zac's wife is Kenzie Rowe. Gateway is one of the largest and most influential churches in North America, with multiple campuses and thousands of listeners online. HOST Herbie Newell is the Pres...
Nov 08, 2023•43 min
Today on the podcast, Sandra Flach joins to talk about Justice for Orphans, the nonprofit she founded. GUEST Sandra Flach founded Justice for Orphans, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to rallying the Church around the cause of helping orphans and foster children. Sandra has experience caring for children with traumatic histories. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. CO-HOST Rick Morton is the Vice President of Engagemen...
Nov 01, 2023•32 min
Today on the podcast, Todd Unzicker, Executive Director of North Carolina Baptist Convention, talks about the church pressing in and caring for orphans and vulnerable children. GUEST Todd Unzicker is the Executive Director of North Carolina Baptist Convention. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. CO-HOST Rick Morton is the Vice President of Engagement at Lifeline Children's Services. RESOURCES Your partnership makes L...
Oct 26, 2023•15 min
Today on the podcast, Nancy Osborne and Brent Eliason join and talk about Harbor Families and how the Lord is working through this ministry. Many families do not have informal supports in place, like friends and family, to fill in the gap when they are in need. Harbor Families equips churches to fill in this gap for families to get them through crises. GUEST Nancy Osborne is the Senior Director of Foster Care and Family Preservation at Lifeline. Brent Eliason is the Program Manager of Harbor Fam...
Oct 18, 2023•44 min
Today on the podcast, the Rinehart's join and share their story of how special needs adoption has impacted their life for the better. Three of their nine children were adopted from China and each have Down syndrome. GUEST The Rinehart family is an adoptive family at Lifeline. Joe and Dr. Brenda Rinehart have nine children and nine grandchildren. Dr. Brenda Rinehart works as a Doctor of Psychology. Joe works for Cisco Systems. They adopted three of their children who have Down syndrome from China...
Oct 11, 2023•51 min
Petry Groza, Lifeline's partner in Romania, joins the podcast to share about Regen, his ministry to orphans and vulnerable children in Romania. He and his family work with the Roma population and minister to those who have been displaced from Ukraine since the conflict with Russia and Ukraine began. GUEST Petry Groza is Lifeline's partner in Romania. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. CO-HOST Rick Morton is the Vice...
Oct 04, 2023•40 min
Korie and Willie Robertson join the Defender podcast to talk about the new movie about their family, The Blind , coming out as a limited release on Thursday, September 28, 2023. They share more about their family's story, specifically regarding Phil and Miss Kay. Listen to hear their story of beauty coming from ashes! GUEST Korie Robertson is a New York Times best-selling author and star of A&E’s Duck Dynasty. She works in the family business Duck Commander, is co-owner in Tread Lively Produ...
Sep 28, 2023•26 min
Renee Eggebraaten, her son, and his birth mom join the Defender Podcast to share their journey of hope, redemption, and open adoption. GUEST Renee Eggebraaten lives in Rapid City, South Dakota and joined Lifeline's team as a Casework Supervisor for Lifeline's SD team in July. She and her husband have two children that both joined their family through domestic infant adoption. Their son Jonathan also lives in Rapid City, South Dakota. Rebecca is Jonathan's birth mother, and Jonathan has known her...
Sep 27, 2023•41 min
Today on the podcast, Kathryn Barnhill, adult adoptee, joins the podcast to share her adoption story. She speaks to her experience as an adult adoptee and her journey to get to where she is now. The Lord was with her every step of the way. GUEST Kathryn Barnhill is a Pregnancy Counselor at Lifeline in South Carolina. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. CO-HOST Rick Morton is the Vice President of Engagement at Lifeli...
Sep 20, 2023•49 min
Today on the podcast, Claire Davis and Jennifer Travis join the podcast to talk about supporting children as they journey through various milestones of adoption. GUEST Claire Davis, Program Director of Domestic Adoption, leads domestic adoption teams at Lifeline. Jennifer Travis, Director of Domestic Training, has helped lead our foster care teams and now leads out domestic training at Lifeline. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ...
Sep 13, 2023•42 min
Today on the podcast, Aren Williams, Jason Williams, and Brendt Banks join to talk about the work they do and have witnessed the Lord do through Heritage Builders. GUEST Aren Williams is Lifeline's Heritage Builders Program Director. Jason Williams is Aren's husband and volunteers with Heritage Builders as well, lending his professional expertise in preparing for jobs, resume-building, and interview preparation. Brendt Banks is a marriage and family therapist and also leads groups with Heritage ...
Sep 01, 2023•30 min
Today on the podcast, Jose Salazar joins to talk about his church's partnership with Lifeline and ways they are able to extend the gospel to vulnerable children. This partnership is possible through (un)adopted, Lifeline's Global Orphan Care ministry. Jose is a part of Reforma Church in Guatemala. He is an orphan care advocate and partner of Lifeline. GUEST Jose Salazar works with Reforma Church and their ministry, SOMOS, in Guatemala. His role is church partnerships and relationships. He is a f...
Aug 23, 2023•52 min
Today on the podcast, the Anderson family joined the podcast to talk about their waiting journey over the last 3.5 years to meet their daughter in China and that the waiting journey is almost over as they are traveling to China soon! GUEST Kenny and Kristen Anderson have been pursuing international adoption over the last 3.5 years. They have a biological daughter named Brooklyn. Their other daughter is currently in an orphanage in China and they are traveling to meet her soon. HOST Herbie Newell...
Aug 16, 2023•46 min
Today on the podcast, Josh Benton joins to talk about Send Relief and the work they are doing to provide disaster relief, minister to women in crisis pregnancies, and reach orphans and vulnerable children. GUEST Josh Benton is the Vice President of Send Relief, the mercy ministry arm of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. They have responsibility for things like disaster relief, ministering to women in crisis pregnancies, adoption, and orphan care. Lifeline is pr...
Aug 09, 2023•27 min
Today on the podcast, Kemonia Brown and Kara Clark join to talk about bullying and the effects on children as school starts back. GUEST Kemonia Brown joined the Lifeline team in January 2020 and is from Hoover, Alabama. She serves as a Family Therapist at our Birmingham office. She went to Troy University and University of Alabama at Birmingham where she received her Master of Art's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She brings a plethora of wisdom and experience to the table. Kara Clark live...
Aug 02, 2023•55 min
Today on the podcast, Dr. Ed Litton joins to talk about leading his church to care for vulnerable children and families in their community. This interview occurred at the Southern Baptist Convention. GUEST Dr. Ed Litton is the pastor of Redemption Church in Mobile, Alabama. He is the past president of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is a champion for the gospel. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. CO-HOST Rick Mo...
Jul 26, 2023•20 min
Today on the podcast, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman along with Kristin Parks join the podcast. They talk about the new Show Hope room at Lifeline that our Counseling team will use to serve children through play therapy. The room is dedicated to their daughter, Maria. They talk about Show Hope and how the Lord is using it to mobilize the church to care for vulnerable children. GUEST Steven and Mary Beth Chapman are faithful friends and partners of Lifeline. They are the founders of Show Hop...
Jul 19, 2023•42 min
Today on the podcast, Angela Mains joins the podcast to talk about spiritual development in kids who have come from hard places, including trauma, neglect, and any adverse experiences in their backgrounds. Because we want to see children know and follow Jesus, this conversation is important to understand how these experiences can impact the kids in our lives and how we can respond to that. GUEST Angela Mains is the Senior Director or Lifeline Counseling. She oversees our Counseling and Parent Co...
Jul 12, 2023•40 min
Today on the podcast, the Catania family will be joining to talk about empowering children brought home through adoption to pursue learning about their culture and background. GUEST Michael and Amy Catania live in New York and adopted a child from Colombia through Lifeline. Amy was also adopted from Colombia. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. CO-HOST Rick Morton is the Vice President of Engagement at Lifeline Child...
Jul 05, 2023•37 min
Ivy Todd joined the podcast to talk about her perspective on being a sibling of a child brought home through adoption. She also speaks from her professional expertise as a parent coach at Lifeline. GUEST Ivy Todd is a Parent Coach at Lifeline and is a sibling of a child brought home through adoption. She has worked at Lifeline for several years now and brings much wisdom to the table. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry ar...
Jun 28, 2023•42 min
Today on the podcast, Dr. Rick Morton, Vice President of Engagement at Lifeline, interviews Dr. David Prince at the Southern Baptist Convention this year. They talk about the church being involved in caring for the orphan and vulnerable children. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. CO-HOST Rick Morton is the Vice President of Engagement at Lifeline Children's Services. GUEST Dr. David Prince is the senior pastor of A...
Jun 21, 2023•22 min
Today on the podcast, we celebrate the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which placed the decision for life back on our states and made 24 states' restrictions or bans on abortion legal in the United States. Dr. Rick Morton and Herbie Newell discuss what this means for life in our country and for Lifeline's advocacy for women and children. HOST Herbie Newell is the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services and its ministry arms. CO-HOST Rick Morton is the Vice President...
Jun 07, 2023•36 min
