Welcome to a special season finale episode of the Collide Kids Podcast! Host Christen Clark is joined by Brian Dixon—author, podcaster, business coach, and co-founder of Hope*Writers—for an episode packed with encouragement, practical tips, and a dose of hope just in time for summer.

Brian shares his journey from being a teacher to helping writers share their message through Hope Books. Learn why “hope” is at the heart of everything Brian does, both in his faith and in his work with authors.

Listen in for Brian’s step-by-step advice on how to build, not just write, a book—including planning, mapping, and sticking to a goal (with a deadline!). Discover why everyone, even kids, has a story worth sharing, and how tough moments in your life can be transformed into hope-filled messages for others. Plus, we get a sneak peek of Brian’s upcoming children’s book “Ruby May Writes a Book,” and practical ways families can make time for big dreams.

Thank you for tuning in all season! Be sure to check the show notes for links, discussion questions, and more resources. Wishing you an amazing summer—remember, God loves you so much!

Go to https://yourhopestorybook.com/ to download a digital copy of Brian's book for aspiring writers!

Clip Finder:

Viral Evangelism Strategies: "It's giving a reason for the hope that you have."
— Brian Dixon [00:06:51 → 00:06:53]

Viral Topic: Write the Book You Needed
"Generally what I recommend is you write your book for yourself two or three years ago."
— Brian Dixon [00:16:46 → 00:16:51]

Viral Topic - The Gift of Time: "But yet we look at our hours in the week, 168, and we say, lord, we don't have enough. No, he's given you everything you need, right? Everything you need to live a life of godliness, to live the vision and the mission that he's put you on this earth to do."
— Brian Dixon [00:19:46 → 00:20:01]

How to Structure a Bestselling Book Chapter: "Every chapter follows the same structure. So it might have a quote at the beginning, then a story, then some teaching points, then maybe some application questions, and then maybe a journal prompt. That's what's called the chapter outline."
— Brian Dixon [00:23:42 → 00:23:55]

Longing for Acceptance as a Kid: "For years I wanted Eddie to come to my house and play with my Lego. Like, that was like, the vision is like, one day Eddie will come to my house and I'll finally fit in and I'll finally be cool."
— Brian Dixon [00:28:52 → 00:29:01]

The Power of Belonging: "But what I realized in sharing that is that that is part of my hard story is not feeling like I belong. Right? And so I believe that God can use a story like that to encourage me to make sure nobody else ever feels that way."
— Brian Dixon [00:30:11 → 00:30:26]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

Some days, you might play The River for some nice background music. Some days, you'll play it so your kids don't hear anything inappropriate. But some days, you listen because life has knocked you down, and you need help getting back up. We're here for all of them. Our goal is to introduce as many people as possible to Jesus through music and service. You can listen and get connected at https://riverradio.com/

Support the show

Get ready for another fun and faith-filled episode of the Collide Kids Podcast! Host Christen Clark sits down with Aaron Collier, a husband, dad, Disney enthusiast, and manager at WinShape Camps. Aaron shares all about his journey from children’s pastor to camp leader, his love for shaping kids’ faith, and why summer camp is such a big deal for families.

Discover the amazing story behind WinShape Camps and how camps now reach over 100 cities and even stretch internationally! Aaron explains what makes camp so special, why partnering with local churches is key, and how camp experiences help kids find their gifts and deepen their faith even after summer ends.

You’ll laugh at Aaron’s “shaken, not stirred” Diet Coke memory, and learn how you can join camp, support local campers, or land an awesome summer job. Christen also wraps up with three great family discussion questions so you can keep learning and growing together.

So, whether you’re a camp veteran or totally new, tune in for camp stories, encouragement, and a whole lot of fun!

Go to camps.winshape.org to learn more about their overnight camp or a day camp experience in your area!

Know a college student looking for a summer job? check out workatwinshape.org !

Clip Finder:

Making Life Decisions After College: "My wife and I wanted to settle down, have kids, and you can't really travel on the road and do that. Like, as a married couple, it's a little hard."
— Aaron Collier [00:05:18 → 00:05:26]

Dream Jobs and Unexpected Journeys: "And then just a few years ago, a role opened up for me to oversee church partners at WinShape Camps, and it's like a dream role."
— Aaron Collier [00:06:03 → 00:06:12]

Empowering Communities Worldwide: "They do what we call a catalyst model where they launch the city to be able to do it on their own eventually, which is just so such a cool equipping thing that we get to do."
— Aaron Collier [00:11:08 → 00:11:18]

How Summer Camp Changed My Life: "camp truly did change my life."
— Aaron Collier [00:13:46 → 00:13:48]

Finding Purpose Through Camp: "And I wouldn't be doing something for around fourteen years if I didn't fall in love with it."
— Aaron Collier [00:13:48 → 00:14:20]

Finding Your Calling: "You're so good with kids and, like Mhmm. Can't truly help me discover, like, what my calling was in life. And it was just so instrumental to me."
— Aaron Collier [00:14:36 → 00:14:45]

Viral Camp Experiences: "Coolest part of the week, though, for our Winshape Communities teams is, like, on Friday, we do what we call Friday Family Fun Day Mhmm. Where at lunchtime, we invite parents to what we call the closing party, and they get to come and see the recap of the entire week and get to dance with their kids as they're doing the theme song."
— Aaron Collier [00:17:47 → 00:18:04]

The Importance of Local Church Partnerships: "if we're not partnering with a local church, we're actually not doing a service for the local church and connecting th

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

Some days, you might play The River for some nice background music. Some days, you'll play it so your kids don't hear anything inappropriate. But some days, you listen because life has knocked you down, and you need help getting back up. We're here for all of them. Our goal is to introduce as many people as possible to Jesus through music and service. You can listen and get connected at https://riverradio.com/

Support the show

Welcome to another fun and inspiring episode of the Collide Kids Podcast! This week, host Christen Clark is joined by Jared Greer, known for his appearances on "American Ninja Warrior" and as the founder of Overcoming Obstacles Ministries.

Jared shares his incredible journey from youth pastor to American Ninja Warrior competitor and explains how his passion for Jesus and overcoming challenges led him to create a traveling ninja obstacle course ministry. With honesty and humor, Jared tells behind-the-scenes stories of his TV appearances—including funny fails, tough training, and how God used every win and wipeout for His glory. He also offers practical advice on facing your fears, bouncing back after setbacks, and sharing your faith with friends.

Families will love hearing how Jared’s ministry has helped over 180,000 kids hear about the hope of Jesus, and how anyone can start practicing sharing the gospel right where they are. Plus, you’ll enjoy some ninja jokes and thoughtful discussion questions perfect for sparking conversation at home!

Special thanks to our editor, Jay Lee, from provisionpods.com.

Check out obstacleministry.com to learn more about Jared, Overcoming Obstacles events, and Jared's amazing trick shots!

Clip Finder:

Following Multiple Passions vs. Specialization: "You really need to kind of specialize in something to, like, become the best."
— Jared Greer [00:04:54 → 00:04:57]

Resilience After Failure: "What do you do when you fall? You get back up. And I just keep getting back up and saying, okay, God, how can you use my failures for your glory? How can you use success for your glory? Whatever happens, First Corinthians 10:31, whether you're eating or drinking or whatever you're doing, do it all for the glory of God."
— Jared Greer [00:10:56 → 00:11:09]

Understanding the Gospel Basics: "God is real, God loves us. Sin entered the world."
— Jared Greer [00:21:29 → 00:21:32]

Viral Topic: The Human Condition and Redemption: "God showed his love in this way that while we were sinners, Christ died for us."
— Jared Greer [00:21:58 → 00:22:03]

Viral Topic: "How to Receive the Good News According to Jesus": Jesus said that, you know, with two words is how he described to receive the good news, the gospel, to repent and believe.
— Jared Greer [00:22:06 → 00:22:55]

Viral Topic: Sharing Faith with Family
"just share out of the overflow of your relationship with Jesus seems to, to be what has worked best for me, you know, like just to, to you're reading the Bible and just talk about it, you read it with them."
— Jared Greer [00:23:33 → 00:23:43]

Viral Topic: The Greatest Leadership Tip
"Really? Just that your walk with Jesus is the most important thing. He's like, that's. That's the most important thing. Like, if we can keep that at the forefront of our lives, then, you know, there are other things we have to figure out, but, like, they'll fall into place."
— Jared Greer [00:25:58 → 00:26:11]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

Some days, you might play The River for some nice background music. Some days, you'll play it so your kids don't hear anything inappropriate. But some days, you listen because life has knocked you down, and you need help getting back up. We're here for all of them. Our goal is to introduce as many people as possible to Jesus through music and service. You can listen and get connected at https://riverradio.com/

Support the show