Undivided Birmingham Podcast

Jacob Simmons and Jeff Hindman Interview With Dr. Chris Crain

In this episode of Undivided Birmingham, Dr. Chris Crain interviews Jacob Simmons, pastor of Hope Community Church and Jeff Hindman, music minister of Hope Community Church. 
Hope Community Church was established through the church revitalization process of Church Adoption. McElwain Baptist Church a once thriving church with thousands of members, had been faithfully serving its community for 125 years. Over the years, the church roll declined to 350 members with only 100 people in worship attendance. As Pastor Jacob Simmons states, "McElwain Baptist Church was a declining church, but not a dying church."  As a way to help the church revitalize, Shades Mountain Baptist Church, adopted McElwain Baptist and began a new work by establishing Hope Community Baptist Church. 
In this interview, Pastor Jacob Simmons and Jeff Hindman share their story of God working in this wonderful partnership of two churches. 

Andy Blake , Executive Director of WorkFaith, Interview With Dr. Chris Crain

In this episode of Undivided Birmingham, Dr. Chris Crain interviews Andy Blake, the executive director of WorkFaith Birmingham, a ministry with a mission to empower lives through work and faith. 
Andy Blake has served as a Church Planter in New York City, as well as a pastor. He now leads WorkFaith Birmingham and has a heart to see God transform the lives of people with challenges in seeking employment. WorkFaith Birmingham workshops help people discover their gifts, talents, and skills, as well as teaching them how to interview with prospective employers through mock interview sessions with actual HR volunteers. 
Andy said it's very rewarding to him to see someone come into a workshop on day one with all of their insecurities and challenges and then two weeks later see them transformed with confidence in their mock interview sessions. Many clients have been hired by companies that partner with WorkFaith Birmingham. 
Learn more about WorkFaith Birmingham at workfaithbhm.org. 

Pastor and Police Officer Eli Smith Interview With Dr. Chris Crain

In this episode of Undivided Birmingham, Dr. Chris Crain interviews Eli Smith, Birmingham Police Officer and Pastor of House of Miracles Church, about best practices for keeping your church and congregation safe and secure against intruders who seek to do harm. 
Pastor Eli's #1 tip is to lock your car doors and remove all valuables from your vehicle. Also, make sure you lock your office doors and have a sign-in system in place for visitors. That way you have a record of who is in your  building at all times. Another great tip is always let people know where you are going. This is a good thing to do for various reasons but is especially helpful should you have a medical emergency while out of the office. 
Pastor Eli shares so many important tips in this podcast. We hope you enjoy listening and please subscribe!

Maureen Hallman and Katie Hobbs of Alabama Baptist Children’s Home Interview with Dr. Chris Crain

In this episode of Undivided Birmingham, Dr. Chris Crain interviews Maureen Hallman, who works in Community Engagement on the ABCH Development Team and Katie Hobbs, Project Specialist for the ABCH Development team.
Maureen and Katie share about the important Kingdom work being done at ABCH through their ministry to foster children and foster families.
Maureen gave us three ways that churches can engage with ABCH:
1. Prayer is first and foremost.2. Service through volunteer work in various areas from babysitting for foster families, to gardening and cleaning the kitchen.3. Giving of financial donations and time. 

Mary Splawn, Minister of Connections at Mountain Brook Baptist Church, Interview with Dr. Chris Crain

In this episode of Undivided Birmingham, Dr. Chris Crain interviews Mary Splawn, wife of Senior Pastor Wayne Splawn and Minister of Connections, at Mountain Brook Baptist Church. 
Mary shares about her call to ministry at the age of 14 years old and the different events in her life that led Mary and her husband, Wayne, to Mountain Brook Baptist Church. Mary and Wayne began serving as youth ministers 14 years ago at MBBC. Wayne Splawn became senior pastor of MBCC in January of 2022.
In her role as the pastor's wife and Minister of Connections, Mary works with women's ministries, oversees the gym facility, and produces a church podcast with a Bible reading plan for church members. In her podcast called the Bible Reading Podcast, Mary reads through the church's Bible reading plan each day to equip church members who are auditory learners as well as church members who are just extremely busy and a podcast fits well into their schedules. 

Kevin Moore, Area Director at Mission Increase Central Alabama, Interview with Dr. Chris Crain

In this episode of Undivided Birmingham, Dr. Chris Crain interviews Kevin Moore, the Area Director of Mission Increase Central Alabama.
One of the key roles Kevin plays in the Central Alabama region is strengthening and building capacity in nonprofit organizations. He views the nonprofit sector (in many ways) as the delivery system for the “goods and services” of Christ’s Kingdom by aiding the mobilization of the Church in the context of the community. 
Kevin advises Christian non-profit ministries about fundraising best practices in order to help them make the greatest impact for God's kingdom. His advice is to focus on building relationships with potential donors and to not think about what you can get from them but to think about what you can do for them. Christian non-profits help churches to mobilize into the community by meeting needs and making the name of Jesus known. 
 

Susan Bates of Your Working Copy Interview With Dr. Chris Crain

In this episode of Undivided Birmingham, Dr. Chris Crain interviews Susan Bates, the founder of an audio Bible ministry called Your Working Copy. 
Susan Bates is passionate about God's Word and accepted a call from God in the 1980s to distribute his Word to "the least of these" through audio devices that have solar panels that can be recharged by the sun. Susan believes this includes people who are unable to read the printed Word due to various reasons such as physical disabilities, learning disabilities, or those who have no access to electrical power due to homelessness. 
Susan Bates has a bachelors degree and masters degree from the University of Alabama. She has worked in the field of engineering, taught in the classroom from kindergarten to the university level, and been involved in the Girl Scouts USA organization. God has used her varied gifts and talents to carry out the mission of Your Working Copy.
Learn more about how you can support the mission of Your Working Copy by visiting their website at yourworkingcopy.org.

Dr. Rick Lance, Executive director of ALSBOM, Interview with Dr. Chris Crain

In this episode of Undivided Birmingham, Dr. Chris Crain interviews Dr. Rick Lance, Executive Director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. Dr. Lance shares about his early years growing up in Birmingham and his first interview with ALSBOM for the position of executive director. He also shares his vision for the State Board of Missions; One Mission, the Great Commission - One Program, the Cooperative Program.