7 Principles to Start Something that Matters

What do you do when the burden on your heart might actually be God’s invitation to move? In this episode of the Rise Up Podcast, Nate sits down with Jason Clark and Kristen Friend to talk about what it means to launch something with faithfulness, urgency, and purpose. Whether it’s a ministry, church plant, business, nonprofit, or new season in your family, this conversation unpacks the principles that help turn a God-given burden into action.

Together, they explore why every meaningful launch begins with a burden, why place and space matter more than we often realize, and why no one builds anything significant alone. From the early days of planting Rise, to launching 733, to learning how to plan around passion instead of pressure, the conversation is filled with practical wisdom for anyone sensing that God is asking them to take a step.

Then the episode moves into the deeper work of faithfulness: launching before everything feels perfect, loving the work more than the fruit, and building with legacy in mind. This episode is for anyone who has been carrying an idea, a calling, or a holy discontent and wondering what to do next. If you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment, this conversation will challenge you to take the next faithful step and trust God with the fruit.

When Loss Doesn’t Get the Last Word What do you do when grief shapes your story before grace does? In this episode of the Rise Up Podcast, Nate sits down with Chris Yamnitsky, alongside Kristen Friend, to talk about loss, addiction in the family, the ache of growing up too fast, and the long road from coping in the world to being remade by Jesus. Chris shares what it was like to lose his dad at a young age, to carry questions no son should have to carry, and to spend years trying to outrun the pain through work, nightlife, and keeping busy—only to find himself emptier than ever. What unfolds is an honest and deeply moving story of how God meets people in layers, not just moments. From quietly attending Rise while living a double life, to finding real community at 733, to being pursued by faithful people who never stopped praying, Chris’s story is a reminder that God wastes nothing—not even the years that felt off course. The same gifts that once drew people into the wrong places are now being redeemed to gather people into the Kingdom, and the same season that once marked his deepest grief became the very place where God began rebuilding his life. Then the conversation widens into the power of prayer, spiritual family, and what it looks like when faith becomes public and contagious. This episode is for anyone carrying grief, wrestling with the past, or wondering whether God can really rewrite what has been broken for a long time. If you’ve ever felt like you were surviving with whatever got you through, but knew it could not carry you into the future, this conversation will meet you there with both honesty and hope.

What do you do when the thing you once loved starts to feel ordinary? In this episode of the Rise Up Podcast, Nate and Jason talk about what it means to relight the flame—in your calling, your marriage, your ministry, your work, and your everyday life. Because most people know how to start with passion, but far fewer know how to stay faithful when the novelty wears off and consistency becomes the real test. Together, they unpack four key shifts that move us out of drift and back into intentionality: from apathy to enthusiasm, from “I have to” to “I get to,” from focusing on what’s wrong to what’s right, and from living in maintenance mode to doing something great. Through stories about fire pits, preaching to a camera during COVID, parenting little kids, and learning to stop chasing every shiny new thing, this conversation gets honest about how quickly purpose can cool when it goes untended—and how often what needs to change is not our whole life, but our posture. This episode is a reminder that the good old days are often happening right now, and that calling doesn’t stay alive by accident. It is fed by gratitude, vision, attentiveness, and a willingness to dream again. If you’ve felt spiritually flat, emotionally dulled, or just stuck in the motions of life, this conversation will help you recognize where the fire has gone low—and how to start feeding it again.