FREE ONLINE COURSE

Speak to a world that’s stopped listening.

HEARD is a free online course built to equip followers of Jesus to connect with the non-religious—not with arguments or clichés, but with presence, purpose, and Christ-shaped love.
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ABOUT THE COURSE

Faith Worth Hearing. Words Worth Saying.

HEARD helps you step outside the church walls and into real conversations—with your neighbors, your classmates, your online followers. Taught by Ross Cochran and based on the innovative work of Landon Saunders and his Heartbeat ministry, this course gives you the tools to listen well, speak authentically, and communicate Good News that actually sounds like good news.

What You'll Learn

  • The Challenge: Why traditional religion often misses the mark—and how Jesus shows a different way.
  • Responding Like Jesus: Learning from Christ's model of compassion, clarity, and courage.
  • Knowing the Audience: Understanding secular worldviews, skepticism, and the rise of the “Nones” and “Dones.”
  • Crafting the Message: How to speak so non-religious people can actually hear—and care.
  • Becoming the Communicator: Developing the heart, habits, and humility of someone worth listening to.

Designed For

HEARD is created for followers of Jesus who want to connect with people outside the walls of the church—those who are skeptical, secular, disillusioned, or simply uninterested in religion. It’s for people who care about their friends, neighbors, classmates, or coworkers and want to share something meaningful without sounding rehearsed, defensive, or overly religious.

Whether you’re leading a small group, building influence online, or just trying to have better conversations in everyday life, HEARD equips you to speak with authenticity, courage, and care in a world that’s often been burned by religion but is still hungry for hope, dignity, joy, and love.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Ross Cochran

A native of Hobbs, NM, Ross Cochran retired in 2024 after teaching in the College of Bible and Ministry at Harding University for 38 years. He received an M.Th. degree from Harding School of Theology and a Ph.D. from Boston College. He has served on church staffs in Natick, MA, Memphis, TN, and Searcy, AR, and as a shepherd for the Downtown Church in Searcy. In 2021 Ross married Stephanie Howell and combined they have five children, a daughter-in-law, two sons-in-law, and one grandchild with a second on the way.

For nearly fifty years, Ross has been captivated by Landon Saunders’ mission to speak a word to the world and to speak that word in the marketplaces of the world. 

About Landon Saunders and Heartbeat

Landon  Saunders (1937 – 2023) was a beloved preacher, a pioneering communicator, and the founder and long‑time president of the Heartbeat radio ministry.

Believing the church has become too inwardly focused, Landon wanted to reach those outside the walls of the church, many of whom will not listen to messages that sound “religious.” Taking a cue from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s notion of “a religionless Christianity,” Landon cast his messages in language familiar to his audiences. 

Landon envisioned this curriculum, and before passing in 2023 requested that it be written. A significant amount of the content of the LISTEN section of these lessons is from presentations made Landon made during his ministry—Heartbeat.

Themes Landon consistently developed in his presentations included the value of every human being, relationship as the place where life grows or fails, and how to navigate the world in joy.

Heartbeat is a non‑profit continuation and evolution of Saunders' work, primarily expressed through a podcast, weekly reflections, curriculum, an d other media. The organization aims to advance Saunders’ vision of reaching beyond religious walls to affirm the value, dignity, and flourishing of every human being.
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