Spouse Theresa Ingram Role Author | Name Chip Ingram Children 4: Jason Ingram | |
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Full Name Ralph Browne Ingram II Born June 21, 1954 (age 70) ( 1954-06-21 ) Columbus, Ohio Website livingontheedge.org/about-us/chip-ingram Parents Ralph Browne Ingram, Martha Ann Carpenter Alma mater West Liberty University, Dallas Theological Seminary Books Living on the Edge: Dare to E, The invisible war, True Spirituality, Love - Sex - and Lasting R, Overcoming Emotions that Destr | ||
Occupation Pastor, author, orator Similar Greg Laurie, David Jeremiah, Chuck Swindoll | ||
Emotions That Destroy - 1/2 - Chip Ingram
Ralph Browne "Chip" Ingram II (born June 21, 1954) is a Christian pastor, author, and orator. He is the founder and teaching pastor of Living on the Edge, an international discipleship ministry, and the senior pastor of Venture Christian Church in Los Gatos, California. Ingram is also the co-founder of PrimeMovers, a six-month, facilitated discovery process that activates Christian high-capacity leaders into their God-prepared purpose in life.
Contents
- Emotions That Destroy 12 Chip Ingram
- Newlyweds from marriage built to last bible study with chip ingram
- Early life
- The intersection of faith and basketball
- Ministry
- Teacher and speaker
- Education
- Family
- Works
- External links
- References
Newlyweds from marriage built to last bible study with chip ingram
Early life
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Ingram grew up in what he called "a negative religious environment". In his book, Living on the Edge: Dare to Experience True Spirituality, Ingram recounts growing up in a church that did not believe in the Bible or in having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. "We read our prayers, we said the right things, we fulfilled our religious duty, and then we went home. There was absolutely no expectation that what we did on Sunday would have any impact on how we lived the rest of the week.”
As a result, by the time Ingram was a teenager, he was disengaged from church and God. He recalls, "I wanted to believe, but the older I got, the less interested I became in going through the religious motions and pretending and saying things that no one lived or believed."
The intersection of faith and basketball
Throughout high school and college, Ingram was an avid basketball player. After high school, he found himself at a summer camp playing basketball with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. At first, Ingram “was more than a little skeptical” of the Christians he met at the camp. Yet, he couldn’t deny the sincerity of these student athletes' faith – or their love for one another. It was also during that time that Ingram began to wonder about the purpose of his life. He realized that up until that point he had attained success and achieved his goals, yet he didn't have peace or purpose in his life. He began asking, “If God exists, what does He really want from me?”
One day at camp, Ingram opened his Bible and began reading Romans 12. As he read, he realized that God simply wanted his heart, his life, and a joyful relationship with him. God did not want him to follow a set of rules and attend "boring religious services where people don't live what they actually believe." That same week, Ingram became a Christian when he “heard the news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Ingram went on to graduate from West Liberty State College in 1976. Afterwards, he received an invitation from Sports Ambassadors to travel overseas with other college basketball players from around the nation using basketball as a vehicle for evangelism. During the next two summers he would go onto ball out on "dem folks", dunking on people then spreading the Gospel to them, Ingram toured the Caribbean, South America, and Asia with three international basketball teams, a trip that he said to be the turning point of his life.
While he was on tour, he caught a vision for something he never dreamed of—that God could use an ordinary person like him to accomplish extraordinary things. As God’s plan unfolded, Ingram realized that God was not calling him to coach athletes, but to “coach” people for Jesus Christ and become a pastor.
Ministry
In 1982, Ingram began his pastoral ministry at a small, rural church near Dallas, Texas. While he was there, it grew from 30 to 500 people. In 1990, he became the senior pastor for Santa Cruz Bible Church in Santa Cruz, California where he led a church congregation of 1,000 that grew to over 4,000.
In 1995, he founded Living on the Edge as a nationally syndicated radio ministry, which has since grown into an international Christian discipleship ministry. In 2003 Ingram moved to Atlanta, Georgia to become president and chief executive officer of Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, succeeding Bruce Wilkinson.
Today, Ingram serves as the senior pastor of Venture Christian Church in Los Gatos, California, and the CEO and teaching pastor of Living on the Edge. He is the author of 16 books and several small group ministry studies.
Teacher and speaker
Ingram’s direct, practical teaching style helps everyday people apply God's truth to relevant issues, relationships and challenges. His passion is to help "Christians really live like Christians" by inspiring them to "move from spiritual spectators to healthy, authentic disciples of Jesus by living out God's truth in their lives and relationships in transformational ways." In a winsome, down-to-earth way, Ingram reveals Bible truth about God's perspective on marriage, understanding love and sex, raising kids, money and how to overcome painful emotions and circumstances. Reaching more than a million people a week, his teaching can be heard online and through hundreds of radio and television outlets worldwide.
Education
Ingram completed his undergraduate work at West Liberty State College and went on to earn a Master of Education from West Virginia University and a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary.
Family
Ingram and his wife, Theresa, have four children and 11 grandchildren.