Creators and Guests

Stasi Eldredge is an author, teacher, and the women’s ministry leader at Wild at Heart—a ministry devoted to helping people discover the heart of God, recover their own hearts in God’s love, and learn to live in God’s Kingdom. Stasi and her husband, John, live in Colorado Springs.

Allen Arnold is an author, speaker, and Executive Producer of Content for Wild at Heart—the worldwide ministry founded by New York Times bestselling author John Eldredge. As a former Fiction Publisher, he oversaw the launch of more than 500 novels. He is the author of five acclaimed books: The Story of With, Chaos Can't, Waves of Creativity, The Eden Option, and his new release, Risk the Real. He loves blue oceans, black coffee, hot salsa, and big ideas. Discover more and receive free daily readings on God, Story, and Creativity at withallen.com

Annie F. Downs is a New York Times bestselling author, sought-after speaker, and successful podcast host based in Nashville, TN. Engaging and honest, she makes readers and listeners alike feel as if they’ve been long-time friends. Co-founder of the That Sounds Fun Network—which includes her aptly named flagship podcast, That Sounds Fun—and author of multiple bestselling books including Chase the Fun, That Sounds Fun, 100 Days to Brave and Remember God, Annie is the friend who will shoot straight with you, remind you that God is good, and still manage to make you laugh in the process. For more about Annie's work, visit https://www.anniefdowns.com/.

Becky Allender lives in the Pacific Northwest and is the co-founder of The Allender Center at The Seattle School of Psychology and Theology. She is the author of Hidden In Plain Sight, One Woman’s Search for Identity, Intimacy and Calling. Becky has been facilitating Story Workshop groups and Narrative Focus Trauma Groups with The Allender Center. She has been a monthly contributor to the online magazine, Red Tent Living, for the past eleven years. She and her husband, Dan Allender, lead Marriage Intensives, Conferences, and Retreats with Steve and Lisa Call’s organization “Reconnect”. Her greatest joy is being a wife, mother, and grandmother to 6 beautiful wild, beautiful grandchildren.

As a writer, speaker, and encourager of mothers, Bethany wants to see a generation of Grace Filled Warriors stand together and walk triumphantly behind the One who sets them free from performance, doubt, and fear. She helps weary mothers win the battle against worry and fatigue as they understand their identity in Christ and rest in the hope of the Gospel in community with other mothers.

Blaine Eldredge is a writer and teacher from Peyton, Colorado. For the past ten years he's built teaching platforms to help the Church thrive in late modernity. Blaine likes to read, write, and talk about culture, history, and theology. In particular, he loves to contemplate the Gospel of Jesus and make resources to convey its astonishing beauty. For those of you wondering about Blaine's church engagement and education, he's a part of Kindred Church in Colorado Springs and holds a Master’s degree in Language from the University of British Columbia. Mainly, Blaine loves to read and follow Jesus in community as Jesus makes it on earth as it is in heaven. Blaine also likes bowhunting, chopping wood, and poetry readings.

Cherie Snyder lives in Colorado with her husband, Morgan, and their beloved young adult kids, Joshua and Abigail. She joined the mission of Wild at Heart in 2001. Her central passion is exploring the good News of the Kingdom of Heaven, the heart of God, and the human experience in community with others disciples of Jesus as well as those who are considering the claims of Christianity and those who challenge the Christian faith. She is currently a student at Denver Seminary, pursuing training as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor.

Wife! Mother, singer, poet, songwriter New Music :: "This is the Hour” Out Now! https://t.co/CCjtBZKEM7

Danita Jenae is a young mom and recent military widow learning to carry both joy and sorrow in the same breath. As an author, speaker, poet, and artist, she walks alongside the broken-hearted, offering practical and creative ways to lead a Spirit-led life at danitajenae.com and @CompanionInSorrow. To help you find your way in sorrow, Danita invites you to grab your free copy of her Find Your Footing Grief Guide at WhenMountainsCrumble.com.

As a qualified counselor, Elaine has a passion for helping people discover the gift of who they truly are and to encourage them to embrace their own story and live centered in their innate value as a human being. She believes each person has unique gifts, and by tapping into what they really love, dismantling toxic beliefs, and mastering their emotions, they can unlock their true potential. Elaine loves spending quality time with her family and friends around great food and deep conversations. She takes great pleasure in understanding new concepts, loves working with and learning from the next generation, and have a vision to unite the world of counseling and coaching to bring the best results for people.

Eric Gilmour is an author, musician, and itinerant speaker who travels domestically and internationally. He and his wife Brooke are the founders of Sonship International- a teaching ministry committed to strengthening the church. Their hearts are to bring the church into a deeper experience of God's presence in their daily lives. With over one hundred thousand subscribers on YouTube Eric's music and teachings have aided millions of people in resting in the presence of God. Eric, Brooke and their two daughters, Madison and Lia, reside in Orlando, Florida. They have two golden retrievers, Mia and Oakley. When he's home you can find him spending time with his family, reading and/or with a camera in his hand filming or taking pictures, namely in the golden hour.

Jennie Allen, Bible teacher, author, and the visionary behind IF:Gathering, leads a new chapter as the Founder & Visionary of Gather25, a 25-hour global prayer gathering. Driven by a deep love for God and an unyielding belief in the potential of this generation, Jennie's mission is to disciple a generation of Jesus followers to live what they believe.

John Eldredge is an author, counselor, and president of Wild at Heart, a ministry devoted to helping people discover the heat of God and recover their own hearts in God’s love. John is married to the Captivated podcast host, Stasi, and together they provide guidance and encouragement to those who are seeking to deepen their relationship with God.

Judy Dunagan the author of The Loudest Roar: Living in the Unshakable Victory of Christ. A wonder seeker of God and His Word, Judy is passionate about discipleship and making God’s Word and prayer come alive in everyday life. She is a speaker and Bible teacher and serves on the Board of Deeper Walk Interna­tional, the ministry her father Mark Bubeck founded. Judy and her husband, Rick, live in Colorado and are the joyful grandparents of six littles.

Justin Rizzo is a worship leader, songwriter, composer, and recording artist based in Kansas City, Missouri. He has released multiple worship albums and been featured on multiple compilation projects, along with writing and producing four full-length musicals. He has a passion to raise up worship leaders and creatives of all types and see them thrive. In addition he owns a production company called Firelight Creative that focuses on creating musicals and films. He also travels extensively to lead worship and speak at events around the world.

Katie Davis Majors is the bestselling author of Our Faithful God, Kisses from Katie, Daring to Hope, and Safe All Along. She is the founder of Amazima Ministries, an organization that aims to empower people in Uganda through authentic relationships, education, community strengthening, vocational training, and spiritual discipleship. Katie, her husband, Benji, and their children currently live in Tennessee. Visit Katie at Katie Davis Majors.com

encouraging the hearts of women one word at a time

Laurie’s love for helping people heal from the impact of trauma. Laurie is full of life and full of passion for what’s important in her life which becomes obvious soon after you meet her. She loves people well and loves seeing the light come back on in the eyes of those who have lost it. In her free time, Laurie loves being a mom and a grandmom, and enjoys spending time with good friends!

Helping women find their voice! | NYTimes Bestseller of #WithoutRival | Wife to @johnbevere and #Momto4men | Cancer Survivor | Cofounder of @messengerintl

Lisa Harper is an engaging, hilarious communicator as well as an authentic and substantive Bible teacher that many enjoy hearing in person, or on countless TV and radio platforms. She holds a Master of Theological Studies from Covenant Seminary, and a doctorate-in-progress at Denver Seminary. She’s been in vocational ministry for 30 years and has written 19 books and Bible study curricula but says her greatest accomplishment by far is becoming Missy’s (her adopted daughter from Haiti) mama! They live on a hilly farmette south of Nashville, Tenn., where they enjoy eating copious amounts of chips, queso and guacamole. Her latest devotional hit the shelves on September 19, 2023.

Based in the UK, Liz Wright is an international best-selling author, speaker, presenter of the TV show Encountering God with Liz Wright, host of the Charisma Podcast show Live Your Best Life with Liz Wright, and the CEO and Founder of the International Mentoring Community. Liz's life changed forever in 1995 with a physical visitation from Jesus Christ. Since that time, she has helped millions around the world to know the heart of God and experience His life-transforming love for themselves.

Lysa TerKeurst is a New York Times bestselling author of more than 25 books with more than 6 million books in print. Her most recent books include Good Boundaries and Goodbyes, Forgiving What You Can't Forget, and It's Not Supposed to Be This Way. She is president and chief visionary officer of Proverbs 31 Ministries and has a social media reach of more than 8 million followers. Lysa writes from her family’s farm table in North Carolina.

Melissa L. Johnson is a licensed marriage and family therapist, spiritual director, and the founder of Impossible Beauty, a blog and podcast dedicated to redefining beauty as “the life of God at work in us and among us”. She also teaches a course on soul wellbeing at Bethel University. Melissa’s writing and podcast interviews seek to uncover what true beauty is, what it is not, and how we go about finding beauty in a broken world.

Nancy Carmichael is the Proprietor and Chief Misfit of the IsleofMisfits.com, a blogging and podcasting Oasis for self-proclaimed square pegs, far and wide. Through it, she hopes to build a community of people who own their awkward, love their fellow misfit and embrace beauty and truth in the weirdness of life. Aside from this, one of her main claims to fame is being merely 1 degree separated from Kevin Bacon, thanks to a friend who once played a stand-in for his leading lady in the 80’s classic “She’s Having a Baby”. As if it could get any better, Nancy is married to a man so good it took EHarmony to help her find him, and a daughter she will obnoxiously brag about if given even half a chance. She has spent her life communicating good news wherever in the world the door opens, through writing, singing, speaking, coaching, counseling and advocating for those whom society often overlooks.

Sara Hagerty is a bestselling author and Jesus follower. She has written four books, including her most recent release, The Gift of Limitations: Finding Beauty in Your Boundaries (March 2024). Despite laundry baskets overflowing and unending “to do” lists, Sara still squeezes in her early morning runs, walks through the woods next to her house with the children of hers still little enough to collect acorns, and reading pages and paragraphs of books in the middle minutes. She lives in Missouri with her husband Nate and seven chil- dren.

Physician/author helping stressed-out individuals shift their mindset/eliminate limiting emotions/maximize wellbeing, so they can choose their best life now!

Stacey Burton has been a grateful part of the Wild at Heart team for over 10 years wearing many hats, including the Producer of Stasi Eldredge’s Captivated podcast and the ministry's Resources Manager. Stacey is continually learning what it means to fully rest in God’s grace and provision, enjoying nothing more than meeting with him in the boundless, quiet beauty of the outdoors. A native to Colorado, Stacey and her husband Eric anticipate becoming empty nesters as their kids, Jake and Riley, prepare to step out into their own adventure.

The intro and outro music for the Captivated podcast is composed by Tim and Laurie Thornton, who have a passion to empower God’s people as they seek the kingdom and live into their destiny as a worshiping family that makes disciples and extends the dominion of God wherever they go.