Chip Ingram
| Chip Ingram | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Ralph Browne Ingram II June 21, 1954 Columbus, Ohio |
| Alma mater |
West Liberty University Dallas Theological Seminary |
| Occupation | Pastor, author, orator |
| Spouse(s) | Theresa Ingram |
| Children | 4: Jason Ingram |
| Parent(s) | Ralph Browne Ingram Martha Ann Carpenter |
| Website | livingontheedge |
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.
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."
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.”
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