Unleashed

Back in high school, Vanessa Nunez felt God put a book on her heart: Do You Know Who God Is? Years later, after Bible college, children's ministry, and 12 years running a newborn photography business, she still wondered if her gift really mattered. Then God gave her a dream about a key, and she threw it away.

Ryan and Vanessa talk about why "I'm way too busy" is the sneaky lie that keeps so many moms stuck, how she started Courageous Kids Academy during nap times with a newborn, and what it looks like to build a business God's way. Vanessa is a mom of three, a teacher at a private Christian school, and is married to a police officer. She creates books and resources that help kids learn who God is.

Connect with Vanessa:
https://courageouskidsacademy.com/

In 2020, Zach Rippey lost his comedy career to COVID and found Jesus in the Gospel of John. That same year, his best friend Armani was drawn closer to the Lord too. Months later, Armani had a stroke while white-water rafting and never came home.

Zach’s new book, Me, Armani, and Jesus, took him back to the cabin and the river where Armani spent his last days. Ryan and Zach talk about why grief hit hardest in year three, the God moments Zach found at the river, and how Armani’s organ donation saved three lives. Ryan also shares his own story of three miscarriages before his miracle son.

 

Connect with Zach:
https://ilikebirdsministry.com/
Find the I Like Birds podcast on Spotify. Get Me, Armani, and Jesus on Amazon or directly from Zach, and use code BIRDS for 15% off.

Kim Gilson was teaching her stuffed animals at age ten, and she’s been a teacher ever since: in the classroom, as an assistant principal, as a state accountability consultant, and now on stage. Her message is built on the seven motivational gifts from Romans 12, and her struggle is the one a lot of gifted people share. God wired her to teach and speak. He didn’t wire her to market herself.

On this Igniting Vision call, Ryan and Kim work on that gap. Kim shares what she’s already doing, from weekly AI searches for conference applications to tailoring her talk for librarians and assisted living owners. Ryan offers a way to reach the people who book speakers by serving them first, and a workshop idea that takes her message past her own church to her whole city.

Gary Jepsen resisted going live for a long time. Then he finally hit the button. At his first Friday night Facebook Live, a woman with a torn meniscus was walking without pain or a knee brace by the end of the 45-minute call, and everyone who asked received prayer or a prophetic word.

In this Igniting Vision call, Ryan and Gary build out the strategy behind it. They cover how a single weekly live can become a podcast, YouTube content, and an email-list builder all at once, plus how Gary is moving his coaching from one-on-one sessions to a growing group community. Along the way, Gary shares the story that launched him into ministry and simple, practical teaching on hearing God's voice.

Find Gary at https://garyjepsen.com/

At five years old, Shawn Kennedy pretended her bedroom was full of people, and she was helping them heal. She knew she'd write a book one day. Then came decades of trauma, mental illness, addiction, and a learning disability that convinced her she was "dumb and stupid."

In this episode, Shawn shares how God never let go of that dream, how a lie finally broke, and how she wrote not one but two books, including a Bible study for women healing from trauma. If you've got a story inside you and a voice telling you that you can't, this one's for you.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of sexual abuse, suicide, and addiction.

Check out Shawn's Website at https://victoriousconquerorministries.com/

Lachele Bryant spent 35+ years in law enforcement investigating crimes against children and 11 years sitting on a word from God.

In this Igniting Vision call, she opens up about the vase she wrote on in 2015, the family gathering she finally hosted a decade later, and the ministry, She Is Becoming, now taking shape because of it.

Lachele and Ryan talk honestly about disobedience, timing, and what it looks like to finally do the thing you already know you're supposed to do.

Cassandra is a ranch wife and homeschool mom of five who said yes to a message before she had a plan, a platform, or even confidence she was "the teacher" type. Holy Spirit told her to start a YouTube channel so she did, with zero clarity on what would come next. 

 

In this episode, she shares the message on her heart for women everywhere: God is not disappointed in you. He's not waiting for you to get it together. He loves you because you're His. We talk about obeying before you have it figured out, why keeping things simple has been her secret weapon, and what it looks like to build something real, one small step of faith at a time.
Connect with Cassandra at https://cassandralowery.com/

Learn more about Kingdom Launchpad at https://www.skool.com/kingdom-launchpad-6884/about

Zac Brown - musician, creative director, and worship pastor sits down with Ryan to talk about something most driven believers never learn: how to actually rest. 

 

Zac shares the season of burnout that led his church leadership to send him away for a week alone in a cabin with no Wi-Fi  and what happened when God finally got him to stop. From Elijah's snack-and-nap prescription to the lie that busyness equals faithfulness, this conversation is a permission slip to stop striving and simply be His.