The Collide Kids Podcast | Faith, Family Discipleship & Fun Christian Interviews

Can encouragement transform you and your family's purpose?
This week on the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Brandon Rushin, Christian speaker, entertainer, and widely considered professional encourager. Together they explore Brandon’s ministry of speaking and encouraging through hilarious, unforgettable characters, and how they open people up to receive Good News.
[00:05:09] Brandon introduces himself
[00:07:30] How Brandon’s mom, vacation Bible school, and a chance modeling gig shaped Brandon’s sense of purpose and calling 
[00:20:12] Why laughter, joy, and engaging characters open doors for faith conversations
Resources:
brandonrushin.com 
Website: collidekidspodcast.com 
Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:
Discovering Talents Early: "And my mom and dad still to this day say there was one day that we were at Disney and my dad said, in front of the castle, I just threw up my hands and said, everybody, look here. And he said, I just entertained people right there. And he said, I could tell right from that moment that God had given you a gift that you were going to get to use."
— Brandon Rushin [00:07:36 → 00:08:00]

Divine Purpose in Childhood Summers: "But I really believe that was God crafting and speaking and teaching me that, hey, I'm gonna. What you're getting from me, you're gonna use for my glory in the future."
— Brandon Rushin [00:10:15 → 00:10:26]

Everyone Needs Encouragement: "Because I feel like everybody needs to know that they're important, that they matter and that they're cared for."
— Brandon Rushin [00:14:07 → 00:14:13]

Breaking Down Barriers with Laughter: "I believe that if you get people laughing, it'll break down their walls, and then they're ready to receive good news."
— Brandon Rushin [00:20:12 → 00:20:21]

Creativity and Faith in Character Building: "And the first thing I do is go to prayer and I pray to God and say, hey, God, either let a character that you've already helped me create be that character to fit this. To fit this theme, or give me the words and the thoughts to create a new character. And tried and true, he always comes through either a character that already. That he's already helped me goes to fit it perfectly, or he comes up with a new character."
— Brandon Rushin [00:24:27 → 00:24:51]

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 !

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Let’s be honest, how often do we compare ourselves with our people or other families?
This week on the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Liz A. Pitman—award-winning author, former educator, and creator of the Pete the Puzzle Piece adventure series—to talk all about Christian parenting, nurturing faith at home, and helping kids (and parents!) discover their God-given purpose. Liz shares personal stories of family life, inspiration from her own childhood, and practical discipleship strategies to help families grow in identity, faith, and self-worth.
[00:03:03] Liz shares her journey from classroom teacher to children’s book author
[00:08:13] The origin story of Pete the Puzzle Piece 
[00:12:26] The traps of comparison for kids and parents
[00:17:48] Practical tips for ways to help kids embrace their worth and purpose through encouragement, positive declarations, and intentional family time
Resources:
Liz’s site: petethepuzzlepiece.com 
7 Minute Devotions for Busy Parents on Apple Podcasts
Website: collidekidspodcast.com 
Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

How Childhood Memories Shape Our Calling: "It's really neat to look back and see how God put the puzzle pieces together symbolically and how he still does do that today in the big picture."
— Liz Pitman [00:06:26 → 00:06:32]

Viral Topic - Finding Purpose in Uncertain Seasons: "if we're truly honest at some point in our lives, I think all of us can feel like that absolutely where we're wondering what our purpose and where we're headed."
— Liz Pitman [00:09:59 → 00:10:09]
Embracing Your Unique Purpose: "It's that we all have our own unique thumbprint. So identical twins even have their own unique thumbprint. And when we can just really let that soak in, that we are one of a kind, that we are an original, that we can't be replaced, God's given us our own unique voice, then we can truly, as we trust in him to give us the strength to do what he's called us to do, really focus, laser focus on our mission and our purpose of why we're here. That's to glorify the Lord and do what he's told us to do and called us to do for Him."
— Liz Pitman [00:13:13 → 00:13:49]

Finding Your Place: "this journey that I will have you read more on involves a journey of discovery where your child, or even you might be encouraged that you have a special place."
— Liz Pitman [00:17:11 → 00:17:22]

Raising Resilient Kids: "But it is so much easier to just set that foundation early in your children so that they don't have to experience as much brokenness that the world can try to throw at them with cracks and you know, the comparison trap and all the things."
— Liz Pitman [00:18:52 → 00:19:07]

The Power of Parental Encouragement: just take those extra moments with your children and encourage them when they come up to you excited with their stories even if it's a busy day because you never know how that could impact them to just continue on in their God given dreams.
— Liz Pitman [00:23:36 → 00:23:50]

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 !

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What if God could use the hardest pieces of your family’s story to shape your kids’ faith, purpose, and compassion for others?
On this special episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with the legendary and beloved children’s music leader Charlie Bancroft—known to most as "Uncle Charlie." Together, they dive into the inspiration behind Uncle Charlie’s music ministry and his the powerful story behind the Carlitos4Kids comfort monkey ministry. Don’t miss Uncle Charle’s heartfelt stories, laugh-out-loud moments, and deep wisdom about calling.
[00:07:26] How Uncle Charlie went from youth pastor to music missionary
[00:10:41] The story of Uncle Charlie’s ministry in Uganda and how he became “Uncle Charlie”
[00:17:17] About Carlitos the comfort monkey
[00:21:02] Powerful testimony of surviving a life-altering car crash and how God uses every piece of our story for spiritual growth and inspiration
Resources:
carlitos4kids.com 
About Valued By God (VBG) App
Uncle Charlie: Fruit of the Spirit song
Website: collidekidspodcast.com 
Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:
Bringing Hope to Kids in Need: "it's all about just bringing the light of Jesus into their dark little world, you know?"
— Charlie Bancroft [00:03:47 → 00:03:52]

Transforming Lives of Orphans  
"They took orphan children off of the streets that had no parents, no relatives, no nothing. And they built villages for these kids, and they gave them a new mommy that would take care of them."
— Charlie Bancroft [00:10:19 → 00:10:30]

Music as Ministry: "I always kind of labeled Myself as a music missionary, because that was my goal, was to share Christ through my music."
— Charlie Bancroft [00:12:29 → 00:12:37]

The Unique Power of Carlitos the Comfort Animal  
"It's okay to have a comfort animal. And I think it's a beautiful thing to, you know, you can go to the store, Walmart, whatever, and buy A comfort animal for a kid. But the thing that separates Carlitos from other comfort animals, number one is his theme."
— Charlie Bancroft [00:19:02 → 00:19:16]

Turning Challenges Into Purpose: "So I quit griping about what I couldn't do and I focused on and the Lord helped me with this, focused on what I could do... And in time, the less frustrated I got about my situation, the more God healed me, you know? And so it became a healing time, and I began to use that empathy to create a ministry for kids with special needs."
— Charlie Bancroft [00:24:13 → 00:24:41]

Comfort Animals and Hospitalized Kids: "But I thought, you know, every kid has a comfort animal. Every kid has a comfort bear."
— Charlie Bancroft [00:26:25 → 00:26:28]

 Embracing Self-Worth Through Faith: "you don't have to be perfect to be pleasing to God."
— Charlie Bancroft [00:29:09 → 00:29:11]

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 !

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Can family science experiments become powerful tools for discipleship and faith at home?
In this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark is joined by Brock Eastman—known to many as Dr. Fizzlebop—to explore how Christian parenting, purposeful family time, and hands-on science can all collide to nurture spiritual growth and inspiration in kids. Get ready for interactive experiments, faith-centered conversation, and creative ways to make raising Christian kids dynamic and fun.
[00:03:42] Brock Eastman on his passion for science
[00:08:09] Linking science to faith
[00:12:46] Bible stories and scientific wonders—finding faith in unexpected places
[00:15:03] Science experiment demonstrations- straw rocket launch and the fizz inflator
Resources:
https://www.brockeastman.com/dr-fizzlebop.html 
Website: collidekidspodcast.com 
Instagram: @collidekidspod 

Clip Finder:
Family Science Devotionals: "And it's really for parents and kids to do together. It's like a family devotional. And there's 52 super easy experiments to do at home. And you have like 99% of the ingredients in your pantry right now."
— Brock Eastman [00:04:19 → 00:04:30]

Going Viral with Science for Kids: "I think I released these four board books. One is called Super Simple Weather Science, Super Simple Space Science, Super Simple Colors and Counting, and Super Simple Animals and Alphabet."
— Brock Eastman [00:05:04 → 00:05:16]

Discovering Passion in Unexpected Places: "But, you know, reading and writing were the ones I didn't like. And so it's kind of funny because now I've taken that thing I didn't love and became A writer to write books."
— Brock Eastman [00:07:01 → 00:07:09]

Making Spiritual Lessons Memorable: "So my hope is that that's where I put a lot of effort in, is to tie in the experience that kids are going to learn throughout elementary school and high school back to a devotional or a spiritual concept that they can connect to."
— Brock Eastman [00:08:09 → 00:08:58]

Trusting Divine Timing: "God already ordains. He knows the timing of our life, and he already knows, Kristen, in two weeks, in three years, in a decade, a moment you're going to be experiencing and going through."
— Brock Eastman [00:09:00 → 00:09:10]

Unexpected Success: "And funny enough, it's actually my best selling of all my books. It's the one that sells the best."
— Brock Eastman [00:10:33 → 00:10:36]

Viral Topic: Creating Meaningful Bedtime Routines: "It became a very sweet bedtime routine and read. And so Fizzlebop has been a lot of fun connecting family and kids."
— Brock Eastman [00:11:24 → 00:11:30]

Bridging Faith and Science for Kids: "And I believe that when we cement that idea and that concept in these little babies hearts, these toddlers hearts on your lap, around the bed before bed, at the kitchen table early, they are going to keep that, that's going to lock in and they're going to have that as they go through school."
— Brock Eastman [00:12:05 → 00:12:18]

Viral Moments in Miracles: "But in those miracles, in those times when he does things, there's moments where the world changes. Just shows his immense power in creating that."
— Brock Eastman [00:12:57 → 00:13:04]

Viral Topic: The Moon and Creation in the Bible: "You said when God hung the moon and the stars in the sky."
— Brock Eastman [00:13:23 → 00:13:24]

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 !

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What if Jesus wants to lead you on a brand new adventure of faith and creativity?
On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Justin Stuart—co-creator of the wildly popular JStu YouTube channel and now author of the new graphic novel series, The Blobs. Justin opens up about the bold faith it took to walk away from a successful channel, how God led him into a new creative journey, and the ways families can grow closer through shared stories, discipleship, and laughter.
[00:05:11] Justin’s early YouTube journey and reaching millions
[00:09:41] Hearing God’s call to change directions
[00:16:20] About his new book series - The Blobs
Resources:
Amazon: The Blobs: Vol One: Crash Land!
www.youtube.com/@itsjustinstuart
www.instagram.com/itsjustinstuart 
Website: collidekidspodcast.com
Instagram: @collidekidspod
Clip Finder:
How YouTube Changed Our Lives Forever: "And we had zero intention in turning it into a business. But it did turn into something, because God had bigger and better plans than we could have even came up with on our own."
— Justin Stuart [00:06:11 → 00:06:25]
Breaking Free from the Algorithm: "I just want to take a break from the algorithm and I'm going to get out my iPad, which I haven't done in a while, and just draw. Because as a kid, I drew a lot. I made up characters, I wrote little stories. So I'm going to do that again because at the end of the day, kids, they don't think about the algorithm."
— Justin Stuart [00:10:02 → 00:10:18]
Viral Topic: Bridging Generations Through Storytelling: "And if the parent is enjoying the story, then surely the kids are going to enjoy even more."
— Justin Stuart [00:15:36 → 00:15:41]
Writing Stories That Reflect Faith & Growth: "I'm a Christian telling a cool story. And so the themes throughout the story are going to be apparent because I am a follower of Christ."
— Justin Stuart [00:18:29 → 00:18:37]
Inspiring Creators on YouTube: "I want to be able to use my YouTube channel as a creative hub for other people who are trying to create something so that they can find inspiration for themselves because they're seeing me do it and they hopefully can see themselves doing the same thing and believe in themselves through what they watch."
— Justin Stuart [00:20:44 → 00:21:00]
Viral Topic: Embracing Your Unique Creativity
"God has made you so unique and put abilities in you that he hasn't put in other people for a very specific reason...when you believe in your unique creativity that offers something to the world that is needed to impact the world."
— Justin Stuart [00:21:35 → 00:21:44]

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 !

Support the show