Meet Phil & Erin

Our names are Phil and Erin Vestal. We are the creators of Ruah Space, and are ever so glad that you have found us here at our little corner of the web.

Our passion for learning about and practicing the various spiritual disciplines that can bring people closer to God began when we were college students together at Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, MI. The professors there got us so excited about studying and living out our faith that Phil switched to a Religion major, moved to Jerusalem to study with historians and rabbis, and after graduating we got married and moved to Malawi, Africa as missionaries. Our time there was brief but profound, and we walked away more convinced than ever that how we live our lives can and does impact the way that our faith is developed. We are now pastor and wife at Hope Covenant Church in the Chicagoland area after Phil attended the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology to get his Master of Divinity degree (Fun fact: Phil wrote his Master’s thesis on spiritual disciplines…). Phil and Erin are both certified Yoga Faith yoga instructors, and Erin has special training in YogaFaith Yin yoga.

We live out our faith as best we can, ever mindful of our humanness. And we don’t have it all perfect! But our passion to practice what we preach is a daily choice that we live out in big and small ways while we work, create, and raise our two small boys.

Our Vision

In fact, it is our family life that has driven many of the ideas found here in Ruah Space. We realize that many people are busy and don’t have loads of time, but believe it is critical that modern day Christ followers are taught how to pray, fast, meditate, and join in faith-shaping disciplines that Christians have practiced for thousands of years. So we are taking everything we have learned and delivering it to you in bite-sized pieces that are immediately applicable to your life.

What you will find here is a rich treasure trove of faith formation practices, Bible history, and interactive experiences created for every day people like you. We hope that you dive in and are blessed.