The Unfolding

Growing up on the south side of St. Petersburg, Florida, Kevin Burgess faced depression and a deep sense of hopelessness. After his parents' divorce, he was uprooted from a safe environment and placed in a neighborhood where drugs and violence dominated daily life. Forgotten by society, he doubted he would live to see 30—until one day, someone handed him a Christian hip hop CD that changed everyth...

"Your story saved my life…" begins letter after letter from readers who found courage in Bryan's dark-to-light plotlines. One teen even pausing on the brink of self-harm to ask, "What would those characters do?"   Bryan's brand-new release, The Sacred Scales launches today, but today we step into the unfolding pages of his own journey: quitting a safe tech career, trusting God for a miracle fifty...

  Dove Award-winning artist Ryan Stevenson is known for songs like  Eye of the Storm and No Matter What —but behind the music is a story of identity, struggle, and relentless faith. For much of his early life, Ryan felt overlooked and forgotten. Poverty, bullying, and disappointment told him he wasn't enough. But through it all, there was a still, small voice—the voice of God—whispering that he wa...

" Listen a bit. "   A simple line spoken to a young Trevor Hudson during a leadership exercise became the compass for his life's work. In this Unfolding Short Story, the South-African pastor and author of  In Search of God's Will: Discerning a Life of Faithfulness and Purpose shows how a modest talent, handed back to God, can grow into decades of counseling, retreats, and Spirit-led guidance. Trev...

  For  nearly 40 years, Chris Hauser has been a trusted force behind the scenes in Contemporary Christian Music—promoting the work of artists like Amy Grant, Chris Tomlin, Lauren Daigle, and Russ Taff . Known for his humility, authenticity, and deep love for the Gospel, Chris has built a reputation not on self-promotion, but on service.   But behind that professional success was a personal story m...

"Everywhere somebody was sick, Jesus was right there." Those words became Keith's anchor as burn-pit-linked melanoma spread through his 33-year-old body. In this Memorial Day Moment, Navy-veteran and hospice chaplain Walt recounts the young soldier's journey of courage, grace, and a faith found at the finish line.  

  When Zach  Meerkreebs finished speaking at Asbury University's chapel on February 8, 2023, he texted his wife, "That was a stinker." He thought the message had flopped. But what happened next was anything but ordinary. Students stayed. More arrived. And over the next 16 days , more than 60,000 people from around the world came to Hughes Auditorium to experience what became known as the Asbury Ou...

"We began to… say the Nicene Creed."   That decision changed everything for pastor and researcher Glenn  Packiam , when a 2006 scandal rocked his Colorado Springs church. In this Unfolding Short Story, the Barna Group scholar and host of The Resilient Pastor podcast recounts how repeating the Creed each week knit a fractured congregation back together , and how its ancient words still steady belie...

  She's the voice behind the hit song Desperate —a powerful anthem that soared to number one and struck a chord with thousands. But Jamie MacDonald's story runs much deeper. In this episode, Jamie shares about growing up in a house where singing was banned and hope felt out of reach. After being kicked out at 15 and dropping out of high school at 16, she spent years bouncing between couches and gr...

David Sunde wrote a book called Homegrown Disciples: Parenting Rhythms for Drawing Your Kids into Life with God   Hear David reflect on the book, and  it's development from a time of community that continues to this day. David learned that discipleship d oesn't begin in a sanctuary. It begins around tables, in relationships, and in everyday moments of faith.   For David Sunde, a pastor and author,...

Guilt says you did something wrong. Shame says you *are* the thing that's wrong .   Russ Taff grew up believing he'd never be good enough. Raised by an alcoholic Pentecostal preacher and a co-dependent mother, his childhood was marked by abuse, secrets, and the suffocating weight of shame. But even in the darkest moments, music was his refuge .   Russ's extraordinary talent propelled him to the he...

Joseph Descans loved surfing. It was everything to him until a violent wave left him with a shattered leg and a long road to recovery. After surgery and a painful hospital journey, Joseph says God healed his knee and restored him to the waves he loved. But physical healing was just part of his story. Joseph also battled addiction to marijuana and alcohol, and he says God healed him there too. Over...

Joseph Descans loved surfing. It was everything to him until a violent wave left him with a shattered leg and a long road to recovery. After surgery and a painful hospital journey, Joseph says God healed his knee and restored him to the waves he loved. But physical healing was just part of his story. Joseph also battled addiction to marijuana and alcohol, and he says God healed him there too. Over...

  "Shame is a prison," Russ Taff says—and he lived in that prison for more than 40 years. To the world, Russ was a Gospel music legend: six GRAMMYs, 18 Dove Awards, and three Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductions. But behind the stage lights and accolades, he was hiding from pain, trapped in addiction, and silenced by the relentless voices of shame and self-hatred. In this deeply honest conversatio...

"I left school angry on Friday. On Monday, people saw a light in me."   Walter Hill was filled with grief and resentment after losing his mother and watching his father disappear into addiction. He had no interest in faith and no patience for empty answers. But God used one faithful friend and one unexpected night to break through the bitterness. This is a story of how deep anger was transformed i...

Content Warning – not appropriate for children.     Bruce Van Natta's childhood was filled with abuse and trauma, but he had one encounter with Jesus that marked him.  He knew God was real.  What he didn't understand is why God didn't rescue him. As he got older, he clearly heard God call him into ministry, but he was angry, skeptical, and cynical. As a diesel mechanic, Bruce regularly worked on b...

Katie Leigh never studied acting, never planned for ministry, and never dreamed she'd be the voice behind one of Christian radio's most beloved characters. But one day she prayed, "God, I'd like to do something for you." This is the behind-the-scenes story of Connie Kendall... and the faithfulness of the God who sees it all.

  For Natalie Layne , growing up in church  didn't automatically mean she knew Jesus personally. There came a moment—a quiet, desperate conversation with God—when she needed to know if He was real or walk away. That honest plea changed everything. In this episode of The Unfolding , Natalie shares the story of how that moment became the turning point in her faith journey—leading her to discover not...

Speaking on strength in weakness, Karis Meier lives with Lyme Disease. "So I know my story isn't over and it's not the fairy tale ending that I would hope for. But, I can see how God is working, and I know his promises won't fail me and that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living because that is what He promises."

  At  37 weeks pregnant, Erin Beck was eagerly anticipating the arrival of her daughter, Ainsley. But in an unimaginable turn of events, Erin was confronted with the devastating loss of her baby girl. Overwhelmed by grief and bitterness, she found herself at a crossroads—would she serve God in her sorrow, or use her pain to make His love known? In this deeply moving episode of The Unfolding , Erin...

  Hear Dr. Pamela Pyle's full story on the latest episode of Wow God Stories. "It will be a good death." These words were shared by a patient.   This episode explores what Dr. Pamela Pyle calls the "ending journey." As a hospital physician and the author of Anticipating Heaven , she's witnessed a peace in dying that defies understanding. It began with a conversation by a patient's bedside. It led...

Megan Woods grew up in church but drifted away from faith during her teens .  In high school, she experienced bullying, heartache, and a constant struggle with self-worth. It seemed she was never good enough .  But in the lowest moment of her life, God began to show her the truth about who He is and His love for Megan .  Out of that experience, Megan wrote a song called The Truth .  Released in 20...

"Football was my god. It told me who I was, how good I was, and what I was going to do."   Derwin Gray was a leader on the Indianapolis Colts. A hard-hitting defensive star with NFL money, a promising career, and a wife to share it all with. By every measure, he was a success. But inside, Derwin was still a boy without a role model, shaped by his father's absence and striving to prove he was worth...

In 2022, Ben Fuller was a singer and songwriter just beginning his career in Christian music .  His song "Who I Am" has been played on stations around the country .  H e gr ew up on a dairy farm in Vermont as a well-liked kid who seemed to have it all together .  But he always struggled to earn his father's approval .  On the inside he felt an emptiness that left Ben searching for something to fil...

"Jennifer, can you wait just a little while longer?"  In a quiet valley in South Africa, Jennifer Sakata sought God's direction . She was w a i t i n g , as a single 33-year-old woman , to find love and become married . Jennifer's surrender of her deepest longing to the Lor d turned into one of the most intimate moments with God she's ever experienced.   Hear Jennifer and her husband talk about th...