Reality LA Podcast: The Drop In

Dorcas Adewole drops in to share her journey from Brazil to the UK to LA, Reality LA's prayer team, the temptation to be performative in prayer, asking God for the small things in addition to the big things, surrendering control, and following rather than trying to lead the Holy Spirit when we pray.

Dawnchelle Holmes drops in to share the story of losing her mom to cancer, how God meets us in our sorrow, how grief will always be part of life in a fallen world, the importance of community during times of loss, and how to best love those who are grieving. If you are in need of care, visit reality.la/care.

Pastor Jonathan Fitzgerald drops in to discuss rethinking presence, understanding rest as a gift, an unhurried life, and how God does significant work even in the most mundane situations.

Pastor Jeremy drops in to discuss grieving our city's losses and needs, participating in God's restorative activity through the combination of practical work and dependent prayer, and how all of this relates to our sermon series through the book of Nehemiah.

Reality LA Administrative Assistant Danielle Devlin (whose voice you may recognize from leading worship on Sundays!) drops in to discuss fear of disappointment that God won't answer our prayers, the Holy Spirit praying on our behalf, the freedom and boldness to ask God what we want, and trusting God's presence in our lives during hardship.

In this episode, Nathan and Michael discuss our church family's vision for the coming year as shared Sunday by Pastor Jeremy. The wide-ranging conversation covers how our leadership develops vision, the relationship between Luke and Acts, and our church values of desperate prayer, whole-life discipleship, and sacrificial service. Download our "10 Days of Prayer" guide. See how our 2025 events tie into our Discipleship Pathway and stay updated on their details and registration.

While "desperate prayer" is one of our foundational values, there are some seasons of life that remind us more than others of our constant need for and dependence upon God. In light of the uncertainty, grief, and ongoing difficulty our church family and city are currently experiencing in the LA fires, we've recorded this special episode to encourage one another and prompt us toward unity in desperate prayer.

This week, Leauretta Simmons and Jeffrey Burnell drop in to discuss giving for the sake of giving, the simplicity of obedience, the connection between growing faith and growing generosity, and how honest reflection on WHY we're doubtful or suspicious about giving can tell us volumes about what's going on in our hearts.

This week long-term pastor and financial consultant Greg Gibbs drops in to discuss what a capital campaign is, how one works, why one of Jesus' favorite subjects is often our least favorite, and the connections between our generosity, our hearts, and our discipleship.

Reality LA staff members Milla Nieminen (Executive Director), Chaundra Hitchens (Director of Care and Community), Mary Beth Lattimore (Director of Operations), and Heather Fischer (Communications Director) drop in to describe their roles and responsibilities on staff, why a church staff exists in the first place, and why such roles matter. They discuss how our church's different ministries and departments integrate and support one another, their mission to equip the saints, the work that goes into carrying out that mission, and how—most of all—their heart behind everything is love for God and God's people.

Jenny Oetzell and Jeremy Treat drop in to discuss Reality's unique central/regional church model and its limitations, difficulties, but many benefits. Jeremy provides a clear picture of how central operations is like a heart pumping blood to the regional limbs; while Jenny shares the story of how she came to Reality LA and the blessings she has received from being rooted both regionally and centrally.

As we discuss the upcoming capital campaign, Kyle Mueller, Jeremy Treat, and Kevin Weiner drop in to discuss the relation between Reality LA and Serve LA, their shared history and values, the way they mutually benefit from one another, and Serve LA's unique opportunities within the city.

As we discuss the upcoming capital campaign, Cesar Sotelo, Kyle Mueller, and Mary Beth Lattimore drop in to share their experiences and hopes for our buildings. Serve LA's head chef, Cesar, tells how the ministry of Serve LA was instrumental in his coming to know Jesus, and Mary Beth shares the tale of her own journey coming to work at Reality LA. They discuss the limitations and hindrances of the current state of our buildings and how the Reality LA and Serve LA ministries could bless even more people with expanded space and improved facilities.

Jeremy Treat, Nadine Harris, Mary Hashimoto, and Sydney Cooper drop in to share with Nathan the stories of the Hope Center and how Reality LA came to inherit its buildings, congregations, and ministries. Nadine and Mary joined the Hope Center in the 70s when it was called Fountain Ave Baptist Church and Sydney joined the church family in the 90s. They share how they came to the church, the many iterations of the Hope Center they've been part of, Pastor Ed, and the work, miracles, and faithfulness of God they've seen through it all.

The Drop In returns with an eight-episode deep dive into our capital campaign! This week, Michael and Nathan introduce the campaign, the series, and the seven key questions we'll delve into over the coming weeks: What is the story of the Hope Center? What is the condition of the buildings? How do Reality LA and Serve LA relate? How does investing centrally enhance regional ministry? What does the staff do? How does a capital campaign work? How should we think about giving?

In our season one finale, producer Heather Fischer drops in to discuss how the earthly pales compared to the eternal, healthy detachment from fallen creation as investment in the new creation, surrendering all to Jesus, and how our church communications and branding reflect our value of kingdom mindset. Between seasons, we'll be taking a break from our weekly schedule—and as we prepare for season two we invite you to email us at [email protected] to give us feedback and share topics or approaches you'd like to see in the future of the podcast.

Kate and Nicole drop in to chat about familial love; living out a faith visible to your children; sibling love in families of origin and within church families; and God's tender, sweet parental love for us whether we have it together or not.