The Backstory Podcast
Join hosts Josh Packard (Future of Faith), Shannon Hopkins (Rooted Good), and Elizabeth Coffee (Lake Institute) for a candid look at the messy, beautiful work of narrative change. Created specifically for the community of Lilly Endowment Storytelling grantees, The Backstory pulls back the curtain on our own projects—wins, struggles, and all.
Each episode, we sit down as friends to swap insights, interview fellow grantees from the field, and explore how we can ethically and effectively tell stories that shape the future of faith. It’s less about polished presentations and more about "how the sausage is made." Come listen, learn, and let’s figure this out together.
The Backstory-S01E15-Hope Exchange: Inside a Cross‑Denominational Storytelling Movement
In this episode of The Backstory, Kyle Oliver (Virginia Theological Seminary) and Nikki Collins (Future of Faith) discuss Hope Exchange, a collaborative storytelling initiative. They explain the project’s two audiences — spiritually curious people who are institutionally wary, and church leaders/seminary faculty — and outline plans for live storytelling events, filmed stories, a digital Library of Hope, podcasts, and toolkits.The guests share progress so far: building the team, conducting a Denver shoot, forming an ecumenical advisory group, and refining processes like coaching storytellers to preserve authenticity. The episode highlights goals around formation, audience engagement, and how storytelling can deepen connection and reshape narratives about faith.
5 Oct 2026
The Backstory-S01E14-Behind the Lens: Nate Clark on Documentary Storytelling and Faith
Shannon Hopkins interviews filmmaker Nate Clark of Fourth Line Films about his documentary work, collaborations with faith-based organizations, and projects like The Passing On and H.E. Butt Foundation films. Nate shares his approach to discovering stories, working with communities, and balancing creative choices with ethical care.
After the interview, Josh Packard and Elizabeth Coffey reflect on distribution, audience engagement, and practical tips for organizations and storytellers on how to make and share meaningful films.
https://www.fourthlinefilms.com/
21 Sept 2026
The Backstory-S01E13-People of Hope on Wheels: Catholic Charities’ Mobile Museum of Service
This episode of The Backstory explores Catholic Charities’ People of Hope Museum—a traveling, 18-wheeler exhibit that centers the stories of staff and volunteers who serve people in need. The team explains how the mobile museum collects short, powerful testimonies, combines educational displays, and partners with local agencies to spark empathy and community involvement.
Hosts discuss the project’s goals, logistics, and challenges, including rapid planning, measurement of impact, and how the tour connects online resources with in-person experiences across the country.
https://peopleofhope.us/
7 Sept 2026
The Backstory S01E12-Sacred Stories on the Road: L'Arche's Pilgrimage of Listening
In this episode of The Backstory, the team from L'Arche and filmmakers from EverAble discuss their Sacred Stories project — a roving storytelling initiative that travels to L'Arche communities to capture spiritual lives and experiences of people with intellectual disabilities. They explain their inclusive, inductive interview methods, the ethical and logistical challenges of a mobile production, and how listening deeply informs their work.
The conversation covers the project's origins, creative choices like using an RV as a pilgrimage vehicle, the use of music and nonverbal soundscapes, and plans for future filming and editing. Follow their journey and find resources via L'Arche USA and Future of Faith.
https://www.larcheusa.org/about/sacred-stories/
https://www.ever-able.org/
24 Aug 2026
The Backstory S01E11-Behind the Brand: How ASHA Shapes Narrative Change with Mike Horn
In this episode Elizabeth Coffey speaks with Mike Horn of ASHA about narrative change, brand identity, and the power of listening. Mike explains ASHA’s approach—finding a simple, generative idea that grounds an organization’s identity, using art and behavioral design to open space for new stories, and building a platform that lets those stories travel.
The conversation also covers ASHA’s collaboration with Wesleyan Impact Partners, Rooted Good, and Parrish Collective to reframe Christian narratives, reach diverse audiences (including the ‘Dones’ group), and test stories in the real world.
https://ashaandco.uk/
10 Aug 2026
The Backstory S01E10 with Blair Thompson and Tim Soerens
In this episode of The Backstory, hosts Elizabeth, Josh, and Shannon pull back the curtain on a national storytelling project led by Wesleyan Impact Partners, Parish Collective, and Rooted Good. Guests Blair Thompson and Tim Soerens describe audience research into the “Dones” (people who feel ‘done’ with church), the creative strategy, and plans for both big‑budget and grassroots story pipelines.
The conversation explores partnership dynamics, funding and project roles, lessons from the planning phase, and the team’s approach to testing, learning, and scaling stories that aim to broaden how people see and experience church.
27 Jul 2026
The Backstory S01E09 with Melissa Spas from Belmont University
Hosts Elizabeth, Josh, and Shannon share project updates—recent hires, RFPs, and the start of paid production—as they push the National Storytelling Initiative from planning into action.
Shannon and Josh discuss fresh audience research showing many active Christians on the edge of church life and the need for more compelling, relevant stories. They also preview upcoming storytelling tests, campaigns, and gatherings.
Guest Melissa Spas, Belmont’s new managing director for the coordination program, explains goals to listen, convene, and build shared resources so grantees can learn from one another and scale narrative work across diverse Christian communities.
Find more about the coordination efforts at: https://www.belmont.edu/storytelling-coordination-program/
6 Jul 2026
The Backstory-S01E08-Elizabeth Parks
In this episode of The Backstory, Elizabeth Parks, Editor of the International Journal of Listening, joins the team to explore listening as a practice—ethical, interdisciplinary, and transformational. They discuss listening as invitation, the risks and costs listeners face, and how to collect stories in non‑extractive ways.
Practical takeaways include setting boundaries, centering reciprocity, asking who benefits, and preparing organizations and staff (like pastors and project leads) to be changed by what they hear. Parks points listeners to the International Journal of Listening and her work for further resources.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethshun-chingparks/
Website: https://www.elizabethsparks.org/
8 Jun 2026
The Backstory-S01E07-Nancy Ammerman
Welcome to The Backstory's expert episode featuring sociologist Nancy Ammerman. Nancy introduces the idea of lived religion and explains how narrative methods—asking "tell me about a time," using audio prompts, photos, and PhotoVoice—help researchers build trust and surface everyday sacred and spiritual experiences.
She also offers practical guidance on listening for people’s vocabulary, layering multiple methods to deepen stories, and organizing qualitative data through coding and memoing to find meaningful themes.
https://studyingcongregations.org/
https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Stories-Spiritual-Tribes-Religion/dp/0199917361
25 May 2026
The Backstory S01E06-Laura Everett
In this episode of The Backstory, hosts Elizabeth, Josh, and Shannon speak with Laura Everett of the Massachusetts Council of Churches about their storytelling initiative, Revelations. The conversation pulls back the curtain on project planning, ethics, and the practical steps they are taking to support storytellers.
Topics include research into safety and psychographic audience insights, cohort-based storytelling tied to film screenings, a national resource center for wholeness and security, and partnerships that protect vulnerable narrators while cultivating prophetic imagination and community.
https://www.masscouncilofchurches.org/
11 May 2026
The Backstory S01E05 Holy Post
Welcome to The Backstory, a behind-the-scenes series from Future of Faith exploring projects funded by the National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life. In this episode, hosts check in on project staffing and partnerships, and share lessons about hiring, timelines, and budgeting for long-term storytelling work.
Producer Shannon interviews Jon from Holy Post about how their grant amplifies both adult-focused media and new children’s content, highlights the importance of audience credibility, and explains plans for 20 short films and 20 children’s videos paired with podcasts and written pieces. The conversation also covers distribution, evaluation, fiscal sponsorship, and collaboration possibilities among grantees.
www.HolyPost.com
27 Apr 2026
The Backstory S01E04 Metropolitan AME
Welcome to The Backstory episode featuring Metropolitan AME Church’s storytelling project. The team describes their “Come to the Table” approach built around three tables—Welcome (hospitality and church in the wild), Imagination (artists and creative expression), and Creation (climate justice). They emphasize research-driven, ethical, non-extractive storytelling aimed at engaging Black Gen Z “dones” through listening, focus groups, and collaborative production.
The conversation covers early planning, challenges with distribution and impact measurement, questions of compensation and ownership, and the hope that these experiments—supported by a grant—will amplify marginalized voices, strengthen community ties, and model new ways for faith communities to welcome and connect.
6 Apr 2026
The Backstory S01E03 with Ross Allen from Christian Century
Welcome to The Backstory from Future of Faith — a behind-the-scenes look at storytelling work funded by the National Storytelling Initiative. This episode explores how organizations translate grant support into action, featuring Ross Allen of Christian Century on cohort training, community reading circles, and efforts to "reclaim the story" of American Christianity.Hosts and guests discuss the challenges of narrative change, the tension between deconstruction and reconstruction, and the hope found in building public voices, belonging, and practical steps congregations can take to amplify stories that matter.
23 Mar 2026
The Backstory S01E02 with Melissa Wiginton from Austin Seminary
In this episode of The Backstory, Elizabeth interviews Melissa Wigginton from Austin Presbyterian Seminary about the Austin Story Project: a grant-funded effort training story guides to lead small, embodied "story circles" centered on Jesus moments. They discuss project design, early wins (training 50 guides), challenges with participation, distribution plans, and built-in evaluation with EffectX.Guests also explore practical lessons about hiring for storytelling versus communications roles, the power of simple questions to draw out meaningful stories, and how local, community-based experiences can contribute to a wider shift in narratives about Christian faith and life.
9 Mar 2026
The Backstory S01E01 with Chris Leach from NFCYM
In this premiere episode of The Backstory from Future of Faith, project leaders and guests pull back the curtain on the National Storytelling Initiative. They discuss early learnings from planning grants, working with master storytellers and marketers, audience and distribution strategy, and the surprising role of AI StoryBots in shaping personal narratives.
Chris Leach from the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry joins us as our special guest and conversations cover youth protagonism, diocesan capacity, the emerging Library of Hope, and practical questions about ethics, consent, and scaling local stories into national campaigns as the projects move from planning into execution.
4 Mar 2026
The Backstory-Trailer
Welcome to The Backstory, a candid look at the roots, soil, and saplings of narrative change.
Hosted by Josh Packard (Future of Faith), Shannon Hopkins (Rooted Good), and Elizabeth Coffee (Lake Institute), this podcast is a dedicated companion for the Lilly Endowment Storytelling cohort. While most people only see the "canopy"—the polished, final stories we share with the world—we’re interested in what happens underneath.
In this series, we pull back the curtain on the creative process to explore how faithful narratives are actually built. We dig into the "backstory" of our work: the ethical dilemmas, the technical challenges, the unexpected wins, and the messy reality of trying to shift culture through story.
Join us each month for:
- Behind-the-scenes breakdowns of our own active projects.- Peer-to-peer interviews with fellow grantees from the field.- Honest conversations about what it takes to tell stories that shape the future of faith.
Whether you are in the thick of a grant project or just passionate about the intersection of faith and storytelling, come listen, learn, and grow with us in The Backstory.
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