{"id":8935,"date":"2026-02-13T09:19:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/?p=8935"},"modified":"2026-02-13T09:20:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:20:58","slug":"pih-beth-ludlum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthfund.org\/a\/pih-beth-ludlum\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast episode 43: Beth Ludlum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast<\/a>. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In episode 43, we interview Rev. Dr. Beth Ludlum. Beth serves as vice president for strategic initiatives and executive director of The Hub for (Re)Imagining Ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. She also serves on the Health Fund’s Board of Directors. <\/p>\n<\/div>

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In this episode, Beth shares how she grew up on a sixth-generation farm in southeast Kansas. She grew up active in her small Methodist church, where the older women taught her to bake bread and pray and the older men would tell her stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Church was always a big part of my life,” she said, noting those early experiences really shaped her faith and identify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon graduating high school, she left her small town to attend Kansas State University, where she majored in agricultural communications. While there, she began getting more and more involved in ministry. When graduation time rolled around, she struggled to find a job that felt right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I kept looking at jobs and thinking, this isn’t the right next step,” she said. “And so finally, a friend told me about this opportunity to teach in China. It was with a Christian organization, so kind of with the idea of going with eyes and ears toward what God was doing there, and that somehow just hit the right chord.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She spent a year there, and fell in love with the people. Upon her return to the states, she shares how her career took a different path and led her into politics in Washington, D.C., and then ultimately into her current faith-based role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She also discusses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Her experience working in Washington, D.C., for U.S. Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Discovering a love of policy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Her journey into working in a faith-based role<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Her decision to go to seminary and what she loves about ministry<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Her passion for empowering young adult leadership and revitalizing ministry<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • What The Hub for (Re)Imagining Ministry does<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The decline in church attendance<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The role churches can play in their communities<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The importance of lifting up the good in the world<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • What gives her hope<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Beth is an innovative leader in Kansas.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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    Listen now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Listen below or on any of your favorite podcast services. Like and subscribe to stay up-to-date with each new episode!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>