Built for Durango

Built for Durango is the podcast of Durango Vineyard Church, created for people who believe faith should shape a city—not stay contained within church walls. Rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, this podcast calls believers to live as true disciples: men and women who follow Jesus closely and make a tangible impact where they live. Each episode challenges listeners to engage their faith in real, practical ways—serving neighbors, developing leaders, building community, and advancing the Kingdom of God in everyday life. Through biblical teaching, local stories, and direct conversations, Built for Durango focuses on what it means to make disciples who make a difference. Our vision is clear: to see Durango become the “city on a hill” Jesus spoke of—a community marked by visible faith, authentic love, and sacrificial service. This podcast is an invitation to step in, take responsibility, and help build something that lasts. If you’re ready t

Built for Durango is a religion podcast hosted by Bob Bonnar & DJ Jergensen, with 55 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Bob Bonnar & DJ Jergensen hosts Built for Durango, a religion show with 55 episodes published.

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  Built for Durango

  Wide Doors, Narrow Hallways

  Sep 17, 202629 minS1

  What does Christian freedom actually look like? Is it the freedom to do whatever we want — or the freedom to willingly give something up for the sake of someone else? Continuing through Acts 15, DJ explores the surprising instructions the early church gave Gentile believers. The door to salvation was thrown wide open: nothing they could do would earn them a place with God because Jesus had already done everything necessary to bring them close. But once they walked through that wide door, they discovered a narrower hallway — learning to live alongside people whose backgrounds, convictions and struggles were very different from their own. Drawing from Paul’s teaching in Romans and 1 Corinthians, DJ challenges a common understanding of spiritual maturity. Strength isn't demonstrated by exercising every freedom we possess. Sometimes real strength is demonstrated by what we're willing to carry — or willingly surrender — so that someone else can thrive. Christian freedom ultimately becomes an opportunity to love. That vision has profound implications for life together: alcohol, politics, personal convictions, theological certainty and countless other issues can either divide a community or become opportunities to practice sacrificial love. Durango Vineyard wants the front door to remain wide enough for anyone to encounter Jesus, while creating the “narrow hallways” of relationships, small groups and community where we learn to surrender our rights, wrestle honestly with our differences and help one another become more like Christ. Nothing is required to get in. But once we're in, we're invited to spend our freedom on somebody else.

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  Episode #29

  Episode 29 — Nothing to Prove: When the Work Really Begins

  Sep 17, 202614 minS1

  What changes when we realize we have nothing to prove to God — and stop trying so hard to prove ourselves to everyone else? In this episode of Built for Durango, Bob and DJ continue the conversation from DJ’s sermon on “wide doors and narrow hallways,” but Bob draws an unexpected connection between the message of Acts and Durango Vineyard’s long journey into its new church building. DJ acknowledges that while he never felt he had to prove the project to God, he often felt enormous pressure to prove himself as a leader — to demonstrate to the church that the vision was sound, the risk was worthwhile and the project would succeed. That experience brings Paul’s teaching into the present. Our standing with God isn’t determined by our accomplishments, religious performance or ability to get everything right. And when we stop using those things to establish our identity, we become free to use them for something better: loving and serving other people. That includes the new building itself. Bob and DJ reflect on the danger of allowing a tremendous accomplishment to become an idol, identity or finish line. The building matters because of what can happen through it — welcoming people, serving Durango, strengthening relationships and creating opportunities to demonstrate the love of Jesus. After years of dreaming, planning, sacrifice and construction, Durango Vineyard finally has a home of its own. But this isn't the finish line. Now the work really begins — and the work is remarkably simple: love God, love our neighbors, and use whatever He has given us to love others well.

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  Episode #28

  Episode 28 — Grace First: Making Room for the Journey

  Sep 12, 202613 minS1

  How do we hold strong convictions without turning them into barriers that keep other people from Jesus? In this companion episode of Built for Durango, Bob and DJ dig deeper into the “sacred cows” we accumulate through faith, experience, culture and simply getting older. Some of those convictions may be valuable and hard-won. The problem begins when we expect someone at a completely different place in their journey to live by standards we ourselves took years to develop. Returning to the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, Bob and DJ explore the remarkable balance modeled by the early church. Peter warns against placing burdens on new believers that even longtime followers have failed to carry. James makes it clear that God's invitation is open to everyone exactly where they are. Yet the council doesn't abandon truth or suggest that following Jesus never asks anything of us. Instead, the conversation returns to one of the essential tensions of the Christian life: grace and truth. Grace says there is no barrier Christ hasn't already crossed to bring us to God. Truth says that once we encounter that grace, Jesus loves us enough to invite us toward something more. The challenge for mature Christians is knowing the difference between God's invitation and our own sacred cows — and having enough humility to remember that all of us are still in process.

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  Built for Durango

  September 2 Sermon — Approval or Influence: Who Are You Living to Please?

  Sep 4, 202623 minS1

  What if the success God gives us was never meant to tell us who we are — but to give us something we can use to serve others? In this sermon from Durango Vineyard Church, DJ marks the church’s first service in its new building by continuing straight through Acts 14, where Paul and Barnabas experience the dizzying extremes of ministry. After God heals a man who had never walked, a crowd wants to worship them as gods. Moments later, that same crowd turns against Paul, stones him and leaves him for dead. That dramatic reversal exposes something all of us wrestle with: people pleasing. DJ explores the important difference between seeking approval and exercising influence. Approval is something we try to receive from others to establish our worth. Influence is something we give away for the benefit of others because our identity is already secure in God. Drawing from the long and difficult journey that brought Durango Vineyard into its new home, DJ shares how God used the process to reshape his own heart. The building may be worth celebrating, but it cannot become the church’s identity or measure of success. Instead, it is another tool God has entrusted to ordinary people to serve Durango and advance His Kingdom. The challenge applies far beyond a church building: Can we serve, create, lead and love without needing applause in return? Can we remain faithful when the crowd celebrates us — and when the same crowd turns against us? When our approval comes from God, our influence can be freely spent on others.

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  Episode #27

  Episode 27 — The Cost of Confrontation

  Aug 30, 202617 minS1

  What happens when you confront something for the right reasons — and it still costs you? In this companion episode of Built for Durango, Bob and DJ dig deeper into DJ’s sermon on Acts 13 and the biblical purpose of confrontation. Using the analogy of a coach correcting a player in the middle of a game, they explore a different way to think about confrontation: not as attacking someone, winning an argument or proving ourselves right, but as helping people — and ourselves — realign with something better. That raises a harder question: what happens when speaking truth comes with a price? From Paul confronting Elymas to Dietrich Bonhoeffer standing against the Nazi regime, Scripture and Christian history make it clear that doing the right thing doesn't guarantee approval, popularity or even success. Sometimes following Jesus means accepting rejection precisely because our allegiance is to His Kingdom rather than ourselves. Bob and DJ wrestle with how to confront redemptively, how to discern whether the battle we're fighting is actually God's battle, and why anyone called to confrontation needs to remain especially close to Jesus. Because life with Christ may be better — but better doesn't always mean easier.

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