Jo Vitale

Dr. Jo Vitale has always been interested in people’s questions about life and purpose, faith and culture. Growing up as a Christian in an increasingly secular society, those questions led her to pursue three degrees through the University of Oxford’s theology faculty: a Theology BA, an MSt in Biblical Interpretation, and a DPhil in the field of Old Testament studies. A recipient of various academic awards during her time at Oxford, Jo concluded her research by focusing on depictions of female beauty in the Old Testament for her doctoral dissertation. It was during those years at Oxford that her commitment to helping a contemporary audience make sense of ancient Scripture was forged, and she often speaks on cultural misconceptions such as that the God of the Bible is sexist, racist, immoral, untrustworthy, or simply irrelevant to today’s world.

Alongside her graduate studies, Jo received ministerial training at Wycliffe Hall, an Anglican permanent private hall of the University of Oxford, before joining the Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics full-time in the capacity of an academic tutor, pastoral mentor, and public speaker. While in Oxford, Jo volunteered for the pastoral team of the undergraduate student ministry at St Aldates Church, as well as serving as a member of the church council and standing committee.

In 2016, Jo moved to the US to take up the role of the Dean of Studies at the Zacharias Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, and to be an itinerant speaker for RZIM. Jo has spoken internationally in a variety of contexts, including at churches and Christian conferences (e.g. Passion City Church, Atlanta; Redeemer Church, NYC; Calvary Chapel, Las Vegas; Progressive Baptist Church, Chicago; The Story Church, Houston; Hillsong, Sydney; and St Aldates, Oxford), businesses, schools, radio shows/podcasts, and on the campuses of multiple universities including Stanford, West Point, Princeton, Yale (for the annual National Collegiate Day of Prayer), UC Berkeley, Oxford, LSE, ASU, York, Aberdeen, Cardiff, Nottingham, Leeds, and Canterbury.

Jo resigned from RZIM in 2021, and in 2022 she and Vince moved out to the Bay Area, CA, with their two young sons Raphael and Jonathan. Jo and Vince feel called to ministry as a couple. They co-host the Ask Away podcast which has an international listenership, and they do a lot of their speaking and writing as a team.

Vince Vitale

Dr. Vince Vitale was educated at Princeton University and the University of Oxford, and he taught philosophy and theology as a faculty member briefly at Princeton and then for several years at Oxford. It was during his undergraduate studies at Princeton that Vince was challenged to read the Bible by two soccer teammates and took an unexpected journey from skeptic to evangelist. He then completed master’s and PhD studies at Oxford, receiving a Daniel M. Sachs Graduating Scholarship (at the time awarded annually to one graduating Princetonian) and a Clarendon Scholarship (supported by Oxford University Press).

Alongside his work with Kardia, Vince serves as Faculty Scholar at CEO Forum and as a host of the Unbelievable? podcast. Previously, he served as RZIM’s Regional Director for the Americas and before that as Team Director of The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics.

While researching at Oxford, Vince developed a new response to the problem of evil. This response is discussed in Vince’s Philosophia Christi article, “Non-Identity Theodicy,” and in book form with Oxford University Press as Non-Identity Theodicy: A Grace-Based Response to the Problem of Evil (2020). For his work on Søren Kierkegaard, InterVarsity Press and Tyndale House selected Vince as IVP Young Philosopher of Religion of the Year 2013.

Vince has commended the Christian faith in numerous countries and on the campuses of many leading universities including Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, UC Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, Johns Hopkins, West Point, and Oxford. He also has had the privilege of speaking at Google; Amazon; Facebook; Autodesk; The Brooklyn Tabernacle; and Passion City Church; and he was the keynote speaker at the 54th National Prayer Breakfast of Canada.

In addition to his focus on biblical and cultural questions, Vince has strong interests in the topics of reconciliation, leadership, and theology of work, as well as in the intersection of faith and sport. He played varsity soccer at Princeton, was a “double Blue” at Oxford (competing for the university in soccer and boxing), and has traveled with Athletes in Action mission teams to four continents. While teaching at Princeton, Vince served as Faculty Director of the Athletes in Action ministry on campus.

Vince is married to Dr. Jo Vitale. Vince and Jo enjoy teaming up for the Ask Away podcast, giving talks together, and trying (unsuccessfully!) to keep up with their young children, Raphael and Jonathan.