Krisan Marotta
Press Kit
Krisan Marotta
Krisan Marotta is the host of Wednesday in the Word, a verse-by-verse Bible study podcast reaching 50,000 listeners a year in 157 countries, and the author of Start Strong and the forthcoming What Jesus Taught. She has taught Scripture for over four decades and helps people understand what the Bible means—and how we know.
How to say Krisan:
From the Wednesday in the Word intro: “I’m Krisan Marotta…”
As a Bible teacher, Krisan Marotta is a popular speaker, teaching people how to understand the Bible one verse at a time.
She is mom to two grown children and grandma to 3. She lives with her husband of 44 years in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Photos
Books
Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity
Clear biblical foundations for new believers, without seminary jargon.
What Jesus Taught (Coming Spring 2027)
A Scripture-grounded guide to what Jesus actually taught, in his own words.
Downloads
Download one-page press kit (PDF)
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Past Interviews
The Schilling Show (AM 1070 WINA) — “What New Believers Need to Know About Christianity” (January 2026)
Krisan joined Rob Schilling to talk about Start Strong and what new believers need to know.
Bio
Krisan Marotta is the author of Start Strong: A New Believer's Guide to Christianity and the creator and teacher of Wednesday in the Word, the longest-running Bible study podcast in the world. For more than 35 years, she has helped ordinary Christians understand what the Bible means and how we know.
Krisan Marotta became a Christian in high school, in 1977. Her faith took root at Stanford University, where verse-by-verse teaching at Peninsula Bible Church showed her how much depth the Scriptures hold. She graduated with distinction in Communication/Journalism, which taught her to ask good questions, research thoroughly, and make complex ideas clear. She then completed three years of master's-level study in biblical exegesis at the McKenzie Study Center, covering biblical languages, theology, church history, and interpretation.
She began teaching the Bible around 1990. From 1994 to 2014, she served as Women's Ministry Director at Trinity Presbyterian Church, where her weekly women's Bible study became a cherished tradition. Again and again, she met the same problem: believers who loved God but felt lost when they opened their Bibles, and new Christians who didn't know where to start.
In 2011, Krisan launched Wednesday in the Word to offer that same patient, verse-by-verse teaching to anyone, anywhere. More than 480 episodes later, the podcast reaches about 50,000 listeners a year in 157 countries. In 2019, she stepped back from in-person teaching to give the podcast her full attention.
Her books carry the same mission onto the page. Start Strong gives new believers a clear map of the faith's core ideas, and What Jesus Taught, Book 2 in The Essentials of Christianity Series, arrives in Spring 2027.
Krisan Marotta has been married for 44 years, has two grown children and three grandchildren, and dances with the Skyline Country Cloggers in Charlottesville, Virginia. She sees everyday life as the proving ground for what she believes. As she says, "The knowledge you gain is useless unless you let it change your life."
Show Topics
What Saving Faith Actually Is (Most People Get This Wrong)
From What Is the Gospel? and Start Strong teaching on R.E.A.L. faith: permanent, ongoing trust because of the blood of Jesus.
- What do most people get wrong about saving faith?
- What are the four convictions in R.E.A.L. faith?
- How is saving faith different from “trying harder to believe”?
- Why is faith itself a gift, not a work we manufacture?
- How would you answer someone who asks, “Am I really trusting Jesus?”
Faith Under Fire
From Habakkuk: how long will God let his people suffer, and why keep believing if we’re not spared tragedy.
- What two questions does Habakkuk force honest believers to face?
- What do we do when God’s answer feels worse than the problem?
- How does “the righteous will live by faith” land when justice seems delayed?
- What changes when Habakkuk shifts from the problem with God to the Person of God?
- How can someone trust God when hard times are coming?
Spotting Teaching That Sounds Impressive but Goes Nowhere
From 1 Timothy, Galatians, and Colossians: recognize the true gospel by substance, source, and result and false teaching dressed in Christian language.
- What does “impressive but empty” teaching usually sound like today?
- How do substance, source, and result help you test what you hear?
- Why do churches keep adding “Jesus plus…” requirements?
- What’s the difference between charisma that flatters and truth that sets you free?
- What’s one diagnostic question you’d give a confused believer this week?
When Church Hurts
From the 2 Corinthians series: what faithful ministry looks like when church life gets messy.
- What does this letter say to people wounded by church?
- How can leaders stay faithful without bitterness or theatrics?
- What’s the difference between healthy confrontation and spiritual control?
- How does Paul model weakness as strength?
- What hope is there for someone ready to walk away?
If Grace Covers All Sin, Why Not Keep Sinning?
From Galatians and Start Strong: freedom from the Law isn’t a license to sin, and holiness isn’t living under Law again.
- Why do believers start with grace and then switch to self-effort?
- How does the gospel change us in a way the Law never could?
- What’s the difference between working for holiness and working from it?
- How do you answer “So do we just sit still?”
- What does walking by the Spirit look like in ordinary life?
Sample Questions
What inspired you to write Start Strong?
I’ve been teaching the Bible for more than 35 years, and I kept hearing the same question: “I just became a Christian. Where do I start?” Many new believers feel overwhelmed. They want to follow Jesus, but they don’t know where to begin. This book is my answer to that question. It’s the book I wish I could hand to every new believer in my Bible studies, small groups, or Sunday school classes.
How is Start Strong different from other books for new believers?
A lot of books for new believers tell you what to do: join a church, read your Bible, pray. And those are certainly good things to do. But this book focuses on the why. It explains the Christian worldview and gives you a foundation to build on. Think of it as a map, not a checklist.
Each chapter explains one core concept, like sin, grace, faith, or the Holy Spirit, in a way that’s easy to understand and biblically grounded. It’s meant to be theologically solid, understandable and reassuring.
Who have been your biggest spiritual influences?
I learn from a wide range of voices, through books, sermons, and online teaching. But when Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Jonathan Edwards, and R.C. Sproul all land in the same place, I take that seriously. That kind of agreement across centuries grabs my attention.
What sets your podcast apart from other Bible teaching resources?
I have the luxury of time. I’m not confined to a 12-week series or a 30-minute sermon slot. That means I can go as deep into a passage as it takes.
If understanding a verse requires exploring Old Testament background, historical context, or cultural details, we go there. I can also take time to compare interpretations throughout church history and explain why some are more compelling than others.
That freedom lets me do more than just explain what a passage means, I can show how we know it means that.
What’s a book (other than the Bible) that has deeply shaped your thinking?
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul and The Language of Bible Study by Jack Crabtree. Every believer would benefit from reading those two books.
What inspired you to write What Jesus Taught?
After years of teaching the Gospels verse by verse, I kept meeting believers who loved Jesus but only knew a thinner version of what he said. I wanted a clear, Scripture-grounded book that walks readers through the core of Jesus’ teaching in his own words. Book 2 in The Essentials of Christianity Series, following Start Strong.
How is What Jesus Taught different from Start Strong?
Start Strong is for people just beginning the Christian life. What Jesus Taught is for believers who already read the Bible but still feel Jesus’ teaching has been softened, co-opted, or reduced. It goes straight to the text so readers can discover the full weight and the full freedom of following him.
Who is WJT for?
What Jesus Taught is for Christians who want the real Jesus of Scripture, not a safer Sunday version; for readers who sense something is missing in popular Jesus talk; and for mentors looking ahead after Start Strong.
Why do believers need Jesus’ own words, not just stories about him?
Stories about Jesus matter, but his teaching is how he defines the kingdom, faith, discipleship, and what it means to follow him. When we skip or soften his words, we settle for a smaller Jesus. This book keeps the focus on what he actually taught.
When will What Jesus Taught be available?
It’s coming Spring 2027. Learn more at krisan.com/what_jesus_taught_the_book/.
Wednesday in the Word podcast
The longest running Bible Study podcast in the world
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