Inspired... with Simon Guillebaud

Mary Hulgraine dreamt of becoming a professional basketball player. On scholarship at college in the USA, a terrible injury dashed that dream and led to addiction to painkillers. Back in her native Ireland, her life spiralled down and down to the depths, before a dramatic intervention. Just under a million people follow her now on social media as she shares messages of hope and life. What a story!...

Chris and Denise Arthey were successful and happy empty-nesters when they moved to Texas in 2007 for Chris’ job. A few months later, their lives changed in an instant when they had a head-on collision on their motorbike with a drunk driver. How do you bounce back from that? Is there hope after both of them needed a leg amputation? Check out chrisarthey.co.uk to contact them or buy ‘Highway 35 - Me...

34 years ago, a drunken couple avoided the long queue into a bar by her benefitting from his fireman’s lift and squeezing headfirst through the men’s toilet window! Decades later, that same (sober) couple now host community outreach evenings in that very bar through their team of Ski Angels who live together in Meribel as part of Altitude Mission. It’s a fantastic story! ▶️ Watch this episode on Y...

When a lady in the congregation went up to the vicar and told him she had a vision for helping kids with additional needs, little did anyone realise that a decade later there would be ten charities working across the UK, helping thousands of children, parents and indeed families navigate the challenges life throws at them. Wow! Naomi's story is fantastic! ▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://...

‘Here I am to worship’ was the most sung song in the world apart from ‘Happy Birthday’ when it was released in 2001, but there is so much more to Tim Hughes’ story. He could have pursued a career as an artist in the USA, instead he intentionally stepped away from the huge opportunities on offer. Raising up and equipping worship leaders was a passion, but so was leading a local congregation. The la...

Sara’s spellbinding story of coming to Christ, planting seven churches, being imprisoned, and now working outside Iran with the Iranian diaspora is deeply challenging, encouraging and inspiring. Wow! ▶️ Watch this episode as a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xBHEJUqLxgc Check out Elam Ministries at elam.com and Hamsayeh International at www.hiuk.org To pray daily for Iran, download the app ‘Ira...

Mark Mitchell’s entrepreneurial gift was evident as an 8-year-old when he bought two hamsters, dimmed the lights, put the mood music on, and began raking in the cash after a short gestation period! Nowadays, he has three car dealerships and 106 happy colleagues (not employees) with no HR department because the need is not there, such is the joy and job satisfaction of his crew! What a story! ▶️ Wa...

John Edwards was, for many years, a homeless drug addict and alcoholic. His dramatic conversion at rock bottom launched him into the craziest adventures of being repeatedly buried alive (seen by c.100 million people through the airwaves), walking across whole nations whilst carrying a cross, helping criminals and addicts out of their own prisons of addiction, and more. It is a stunning and heart-w...

Hellie Glynn shares her story of a faith shaped by the powerful whispers of the voice of God. This episode is packed with rich stories and real wrestles like “how do we handle disappointment in leadership, rebuild broken trust, and walk in forgiveness?” Hellie’s 25 years of leadership across different church traditions and festivals challenge how we hear God—and inspire new ways of listening to Hi...

John Lennox came to worldwide attention and renown through debating the likes of famous atheists Dawkins and Hitchens, but less well known is his work behind the Iron Curtain, which impacted millions in its own right. At 82-years-old now, he’s still managed to come out with two books this year alone, including his autobiography. His is a high-profile life well-lived indeed, free from any whiff of...

From a timid introverted childhood to preaching in 110+ countries and criss-crossing the world for the last 45 years (so far) in fruitful ministry, Charles Price has become one of the senior statesmen in the world as a gifted and anointed Bible teacher. It was a total treat to hear him share his story. Check out www.charlespriceministry.org --- 🌽 Check out our amazing farming video: glo.org.uk/fa...

Make sure you check out Part 1 to hear Mez's astounding story! What does it actually look like to reach the people the Western church has largely abandoned? Mez McConnell has spent 30 years doing it — in Brazilian favelas, Scottish housing schemes, and some of the most deprived postcodes in the UK. In Part 2, he pulls no punches. This is a conversation that will unsettle comfortable Christianity a...

A rough childhood spent in numerous foster homes led to drug addiction to crime to maximum security prison, but Mez McConnell’s extraordinary story shows that nobody is beyond hope. He’s been planting churches now for the last two decades in the toughest parts of Scotland and seeing long-term costly transformation. Get ready to be very challenged, inspired and stirred. What a listen! ▶️ Watch this...

Arthur White had it all - a great wife, healthy kids, a successful business, a villa in Spain - as well as being four-time World Powerlifting Champion. But when someone handed him a pill in the gym to speed his recovery, it was a slippery slope to addiction, infidelity, and losing it all. By all accounts, he should be long dead, but three decades after a remarkable encounter, he’s still fighting f...

David’s unexpected story of being a gay activist discovering Jesus is told in his book ‘A War of Loves’. Now an academic at Oxford University, he is living out his call to obedience to Jesus as a celibate gay Christian - a life-script nobody in their wildest imaginations would have predicted. ▶️ Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3x5LW9J2E0w Check out: dacbennett.com | Instagram: @dav...

This was soooo good, it just blew me away! Russ Parker saw stunning fruit almost immediately after his dramatic teenage encounter with Jesus. That propelled him into a life of radical witness across many nations, from reconciliation in Northern Ireland to preaching from the platform where Martin Luther King Jr delivered his final sermon. Russ focuses on listening to the inner voice of the Spirit,...

This conversation covers Michele’s costly conversion from Judaism, the four-year wait for her lovemate to recognise she was the one, her fruitful gospel ministry with youth in Manchester and then during the miners’ strike in an impoverished community, her successful media career before working in the NHS, her writing of many books, her now living with chronic pain, and more. She’s feisty, larger t...

John Eldredge is an author, counselor and teacher. His books have sold over 16 million worldwide. Wild at Heart as a ministry has exploded in impact, but I love how John has followed God’s instruction to keep the organisation small and give it all away. Staying humble, rooted in community, and listening to God’s voice have been the keys to longevity in fruitful ministry through the decades where m...

Amy Boucher Pye comes from the USA but is now a London-based author, speaker, retreat leader, and spiritual director. She oozes gentle wisdom, and shares openly from her own painful life experiences. Most of us in the frenetic West could do with slowing down, breathing deeply, and hearing God’s words of tender affirmation and acceptance of us. Hearing it through Amy is a gift, so do take a listen....

Wow! We’ve now reached 250 episodes of Inspired, so this week we’re digging into the archives to bring you some beautifully crazy stand-out stories from older episodes. I’ve no doubt that you’re going to be blown away, stirred and encouraged, on the back of which you’ll have a shopping list of classic Inspired episodes to check out. You can find links to the full episodes at greatlakesoutreach.org...

Christian Hacking’s life swung when he broke his back in a rock-climbing accident. His high-octane lifestyle came to a smashing spinal-cord-severing halt, leaving him wheelchair-bound and grappling with God’s purpose for his life. He tells his story with searing honesty and humour, and still lives life to the full despite severe physical limitations. He’s married a single-mum and they have four ch...

Rachel Gardner shot to prominence as Founder of the Romance Academy on the BBC. She is part of the Youthscape team and has always been a passionate advocate for youth. Over the last few years she has planted a church in Blackburn with her husband Jason, and their two adopted children, and shares lovely stories of messy transformation there. She’s a great communicator, has written a number of books...

I think we’d all like to work for Peter Vardy! When starting up his businesses, he set the ground rules as doing the best for 1) his employees, 2) his customers, and 3) the surrounding community. The results have been (un)surprisingly spectacular. Profits have been ploughed back into projects both nationally and internationally, and hundreds of thousands of lives have been changed. What a story! S...

Paul Bulkeley’s story is that of an underachieving, average student architect being transformed through an encounter with the Living God into an award-winning, high-achieving, distinguished leader in his field. And his passion as founder of BizMin is to equip entrepreneurs, creatives and businessfolk worldwide through his BizMin course to shine bright and thrive in the workplace. What a story! ▶️...

Eric and Erika Andersson lead Ark church in Copenhagen. The last few years have rocked their world both negatively and positively with her cancer diagnosis, dramatic healing, and an encounter with Jesus that has completely redefined their philosophy and practice as they seek to follow, model and live for Jesus. Their voice is a profound challenge to how we do church, and what is most important. ▶️...