Rod Knoerr
Rod Knoerr is a respected dentist who left dentistry after 8 years to attend seminary and served as a pastor for 8 years before returning to dentistry. Rod and his wife, Beths’ plan during dental school was to graduate and return to Beth’s hometown, have a lot of children and live near family. God had a different plan. As Rod and Beth sought to follow the Lord with their lives, they ended up living in three different state and 15 different houses and apartments during their marriage. Rod was married to his dear wife Beth for 40 years, the last 3 years caught up in the raging storm of bone marrow cancer. During this journey they grew stronger in their faith and closer to each other in unexpected ways and discovered real purpose for their lives as they found themselves encouraging and bringing hope to those around them. Rod has always devoted his life to helping others realize their God-given potential. He became certified as a leadership coach just weeks before the cancer journey began. Five days after returning from a mission trip in Romania (Beth’s fourth trip during her cancer) Beth opened her eyes in heaven. Rod’s last words to Beth are now his life mission statement, “Beth, I will spend the rest of my life trying to get as many people into heaven with you as I can”! Rod is starting a 501c3 nonprofit called Be The Hope. In the midst of Beth’s terminal cancer, Rod and Beth took a leap of faith and bought an abandoned Girl Scout camp that they have renovated and is soon to be opened called Be The Hope Retreat. Rod also is a captivating and inspirational speaker who will help others discover how to experience hope-filled thriving instead of just barely surviving in the throes of life’s storms.
