Joe sits down with his identical twin brother John Velarde, the owner of Chick-fil-a Whitehall. They discuss how he pivoted his business in light of COVID-19, serving stressed out employees and customers, how to practice generosity instead of a scarcity mindset, and other helpful practices for those in the highly challenging business environment brought on by the Pandemic.
Interview with Todd Rainwater - Associate Pastor at Mt. Paran Church
Joe sits down with Todd Rainwater who he has know since he was in 6th grade. Todd was Joe’s first youth pastor and now serve as an associate Pastor at Mt. Paran Church of God in Atlanta, Ga. They discuss the art of caring for others by listening well, COVID-19 lessons, how to pray and much more.
Interview with Mike Linch - Senior Pastor of Northstar Church
Joe interviews Mike Linch, the Senior Pastor of Northstar Church in Kennesaw, GA. Joe interned at Northstar from 2000-2003, a period that has had a major impact on Joe's leadership journey. They discuss COVID-19 learnings, serving the community, defining spiritual leadership and more.
Interview with Jeff Hodges - Pastor at First Baptist Church (Smyrna, Ga.)
Joe interviews Jeff Hodges to discuss learnings from COVID-19, the power of being a faithful person and how to cultivate faithfulness, and the importance of pouring into others.
They have known each other since Joe's freshmen year of high school and Jeff has served as a Pastor with students and of missions at First Baptist Church in Smyrna, Ga.
Interview with Rev. Hal Hopkins - Church Planting Catalyst for the SEND Network
Joe interviews local pastor and SEND Network church planting catalyst, Hal Hopkins. Hal was instrumental in helping Joe in his leadership journey and seeing Riverbend Community Church established over a decade ago. In this conversation, they discuss creating a leadership development culture, how justice fits into the Kingdom of God and our discipleship journey, racism and racial reconciliation, and much more.
Interview with Roscoe Lilly - Lead Pastor of Starpoint Church
Joe interviews Roscoe Lilly, the Lead Pastor of Starpoint Church in Clifton Park, New York. They have known each other since 2000. 17 years ago Roscoe moved up to Clifton Park, NY to start Starpoint church. He has been an instrumental influence in Joe's journey to start and establish Riverbend Community Chutch. In this episode, you will hear what it's like to start a worship service as a church only to have no one show up for 4 weeks in a row and to continue on, COVID-19 learnings, and the importance of creating systems.
Interview with Mark Fitch - Campus Pastor at LCBC
Joe interviews good friend Mark Fitch, who serves as a Campus Pastor at LCBC in York, PA. They discuss learning’s from COVID-19, visions for this region, the future hope for the local church, and much more.
Interview with Jeff Christopherson - Author of Venal Dogmata
Joe sits down with Jeff Christopherson who resides in Ontario, Canada. Jeff is the author of Kingdom Matrix, Kingdom First, and his latest book is called Venal Dogmata: A Parable of the Future Church. He also helps to lead the Send Institute and The Sanctuary Church. They discuss his latest book, lead-in and after COVID-19, what it looks like to be a team led organization based on the APEST model, his latest book and much more.
Interview with Russ Butcher - Lead Pastor of Church at the Grove
Joe sits down with his longtime friend and mentor Russ Butcher. Russ is the Lead Pastor of Church At The Grove in Loganville, GA. They discuss leading through COVID-19, steps to take as we enter a new normal, discipleship, and much more.
Interview with Joseph Velarde - Keeping the Faith
Pastor Joe is interviewed by Brad Modrich the founder of Conflict and the “Conflict podcast”. He answered the question: “how do you keep the faith” in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenging times facing our community and world.
Interview with Lisa Perry - Founder of Second Chance Training Center Inc.
Joe sits down with Lisa Perry from Second Chance Training Center. We discuss what it looks like to walk alongside prisoners and how to help them once they get out, a vision that moves away from a punitive path to a restorative path, the difference between helping and enabling, creating a transitional home for those leaving the prison system and much more.
Interview with Barry Whitworth, Executive Director of the Baptist Resource Network
Joe sits down with Barry Whitworth to discuss a vision to impact Pennsylvania and South Jersey, how multiplication movements are established, leadership and much more. Barry has been leading in a variety of settings for over 30 years, serving as a mission pastor, associate pastor, church planter, pastor, interim pastor, transitional pastor and planter, church planting strategist, lead church planting catalyst, church planting director, and now executive director of the Baptist Resource Network
Interview with Kathy Slane and Jesse Velarde, Job Developers from ADEPT, The Arc of PA
On this episode of the Vision For The Valley podcast Joe sits down with Kathy Slane and Jesse Velarde for ADEPT. They seek to join local employers in helping to support those in the special needs community as employees. They tell amazing stories of development, while sharing how they provide assessment tools, mentoring, job placement and coaching. This episode is helpful if you are an employee or employer and is a great way to learn how to work with the special needs community.
Interview with Sam Mullay, Development Director at "Livin The Dream"
Joe and Sam sit down to talk about the ever present need for good mentors for the youth of Allentown. Sam highlights his own personal journey that led him to work as the development director for “Livin The Dream” an organization seeking to create a Christian community center in Allentown.
Interview with Blake Morgan, Owner and Head Chef of Morgan's Local Flavor
Joe sits down with Blake Morgan, owner and head chef of Morgan’s restaurant, which has served the Valley with delicious food for breakfast, lunch and dinner since February of 2005. They talk about Blake’s culinary journey, the power of encouragement for development, the importance of personal experience, intentional investment in family, “trophy hunting” and so much more!
Interview with The Bayou Boys - Founders of Bayou, Grain, Queen City BBQ, and Wiz Kidz
Joe sits down with the Bayou Boys - Mo, Christian and Jerry. In the past 5 years they have started 5 new restaurants (The Bayou: Bethlehem and Easton, Grain, Queen City BBQ and Whiz Kidz) within in the Lehigh Valley. They share how they got started, the power of collaboration, the importance behind creativity, and much more!
Interview with City Cuts Barbershop in Kutztown, PA
Joe sits down with Jon, Jerry, Geo, Rudy, and Nate at City Cuts Barbershop in Kutztown, PA. City Cuts was established in 2006 and has seen tremendous success through their continual investment and generosity in the midst of their local community. The conversation ranges from the City Cuts initiative “Books By Kids” and the importance of pouring into the next generation, the risk and uncertainty in starting a business, the need for individual strengths in complementing a team, and much more.
Interview with Matt Utesch, Head Coach of the Track & Field Program at Lehigh University
Joe and Matt sit down to talk about the his experience in building the Track and Field program at Lehigh University over the last 20+ years, the importance of clarity in vision, and how leadership and service go hand-in-hand.
Interview with Brad Modrich, Founder of Conflict
Joe sits down with Brad Modrich to talk about the importance of self awareness, self leadership, health, long term sustainability, and seeking the prosperity of the Lehigh Valley.
Interview with Shannon Varcoe, Founder and Inventor at ZYX Sticks
Joe sits down with ZYX Founder, Shannon Varcoe to discuss the role of empathy as it relates to the entrepreneurial mindset.