In this episode, Ruth Jackson is joined by Jo Hargreaves, also known as The Faith Filled Therapist.
Jo is a psychotherapist, pastor, writer, speaker and podcast host, whose work integrates theology and therapy, submitting neuroscience to the authority of Scripture.
Jo reflects on her journey of faith, emotional healing and generosity, shaped by growing up with financial insecurity, encountering Jesus as a young adult and discovering how God has wired our brains for connection, wholeness and generosity. She shares openly about the relationship between faith and mental health, how generosity impacts our emotional wellbeing and why open‑handed living is both spiritually and neurologically transformative.
This episode explores:
- how faith, neuroscience and therapy can work together rather than sit in tension
- why generosity is essential for emotional and spiritual wholeness
- holding money lightly and developing a heart of joyful generosity
- how upbringing, culture and teaching shape our attitudes to giving
- why God designed us for relationship, community and generosity
“Generosity is one of the ways God rewires us – it loosens the grip of scarcity, comparison and fear and reminds us that nothing we have really belongs to us.”
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Jo’s favourite Bible verses on generosity:
‘Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on.”' Mark 12:43–44 (NIV)
The story of the widow’s offering is a powerful reminder that generosity is never about the amount given but the posture of the heart.
See our note on Bible usage: https://www.stewardship.org.uk/bible-usage
How you can pray for Jo
- for courage to continue living generously at deeper levels
- for discernment about where and to whom God is inviting her to be generous
- for provision and freedom to respond joyfully to opportunities to give
Download the transcript for episode 5
Related links:
The Faith Filled Collective with Jo Hargreaves
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Podcast presenter: Ruth Jackson
Podcast producer: Vimbai Chigwangwa
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Ruth Jackson
Ruth leads the PR and Communications for Stewardship, which she joined in April 2022.
She has over 25 years’ marketing communications experience across a range of sectors, including higher education, technology and the arts, both business- and customer-facing.
Ruth worships and serves at C3 Church in Cambridge, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, a dog and a cat. When she’s not at her desk, you might find her rowing on the River Cam, in a ballet class or out for a walk.
She supports causes that are focused on alleviating global poverty and injustice, with a particular interest in supporting vulnerable children.
