The Profile

Emma Fowle speaks to the Executive Director of Elim, Olivia Amartey. In this in-depth interview, Olivia talks about losing her father to Covid, how she has never let her race or gender hold her back and what it looks like to steward a national organisation well.    The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine.  Subscribe now  for only £1

When a bullet tore through Taylor Schumann's left hand on an otherwise average afternoon at New River Community College in Virginia, it changed everything. In the split-second moment of the shooting, and the long work of healing and trauma recovery that followed, her beliefs about gun reform and the role of the church in the USA's historic and future violence were irreversibly altered. She speaks...

Dr. Michael Guillen is a former Harvard physics instructor and Emmy award-winning News Science editor. He talks to Justin Brierley about his new book ‘Believing is Seeing’ which tells the story of his journey from atheism to Christianity via science, and why everyone needs to examine their own worldview. For ‘Believing is Seeing’ by Dr Michael Guillen: https://michaelguillen.com/   The Profile is...

Rachel Matthews meets the five time world record holding Paralympian Stef Reid. In this in depth interview, Stef talks about the accident which changed her life and how her perspective on what it means to be a Christian has matured over time.   Read her story in full  here The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine.  Subscribe now  for only £1

Imagine if terrorists hijacked a plane and flew it into an American city. What if that led to the US President attempting to overthrow Saddam Hussein's Iraq. This was premise of Joel Rosenberg's first novel - and it was written months before the September 11th attacks took place. The astonishing story of how Rosenberg appeared to have predicted geo-political events led to a huge amount of media. I...

Lindz West may be best known as the energetic frontman of Christian dance band LZ7, but he is also a passionate evangelist with a heart for taking the gospel to the hardest to reach young people. In this week’s The Profile, he talks honestly to Premier Christianity’s Emma Fowle about growing up on Billy Graham tent revivals, why he walked away from Jesus as a teenager and how he was drawn back to...

It's a double bill this week! Jackie Hill Perry is an American Christian speaker, author and poet who’s widely known for being raw, open and honest about her sexuality. Jackie, who says she remembers being same-sex attracted from a young age, now uses her Christian ministry to share God’s work in bringing her out of a homosexual lifestyle, which she also detailed in her first book  Gay Girl, Good...

The Mayor of Bristol found himself in an awkward position last summer. Marvin Rees was visibly delighted that the statue of slave trader Edward Colston, which had stood in the city centre for 125 years, had been torn down by Black Lives Matter protestors and thrown into the harbour. But given his position as mayor, he also told reporters he could not condone criminal damage. When I put this dispar...

Sarah Kroger's life dramatically changed when she encountered God at a youth conference. Today, she describes her calling has helping others to understand that they too can have a personal relationship with Jesus. In this in-depth conversation with Premier's Rachel Matthews, the Nashville-based worship leader opens up about her testimony, music and songwriting career. The Profile is sponsored by t...

Sohrab Ahmari grew up in Iran before becoming an atheist as a teenager after moving to the USA. An adult convert to Catholicism, he is a widely-published journalist and social commentator in the US. He talks to Justin Brierley about his new book ‘ The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos’ . The Profile is brought to you in association with  Premier Christianity  ...

Jeff Lucas is a popular Bible teacher, speaker and author. He's been a regular columnist for Premier Christianity for over 20 years. But what makes him tick? How did his Christian journey begin? And where does his trademark humour come from? In this in depth interview, Jeff opens up about a range of topics including understanding God's guidance, why he finds prayer so difficult, his new book Singi...

2 guests are featured this week on The Profile speaking to Justin Brierley and Ruth Jackson: Jon Yates is Executive Director of the Youth Endowment Fund and author of  ‘Fractured: Why our societies are coming apart and how to put them back together again ’ Sam Chan is an Australian evangelist and author of ‘ How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy) ’ The Profile is brought to you in associ...

There is an honesty about Christine Caine that is rare in high-profile leaders. When the bestselling author, internationally acclaimed speaker and leader of multiple international organisations appears Zoom, she is straight off the treadmill, laughing and apologising for her appearance in a sorry-not-sorry way that epitomises her no-nonsense attitude. “I cannot be made up like I am for television...

Rachel Pieh Jones grew up in the USA but has spent most of her adult life in the Horn of Africa. In this in-depth interview with Premier Christianity's Sam Hailes, Rachel explains how meeting and living alongside Muslims radically changed her perception of them. Now based in Djibouti, where almost everyone is a Muslim, Rachel says she's experienced remarkable hospitality, even as she's experienced...

Veteran broadcaster Patrick Forbes talks to Justin Brierley about his varied life and ministry, which includes seafaring, clowning and being a parish priest, as related in his new autobiography ‘ A Roomful of Elephants: My first eighty years in the church’ .   The Profile is brought to you in association with  Premier Christianity  magazine.  Subscribe now for £4.95/month  

The CEO of Mercy UK explains how miraculous financial provision has allowed them to run a residential home for vulnerable young women. In the 15 years since the house in West Yorkshire opened, more than 320 young women have been through the residential discipleship programme, with 82 per cent of residents testifying afterwards: “My life was transformed.” In this interview with Premier Christianity...

It has taken the Northern Irish collective a few years to realise it, but they're more of a ministry than a band. That's according to Gareth and Ali Gilkerson, the husband and wife duo who are founding members of the popular worship group Rend Collective. In this in depth interview with Premier Christianity's Sam Hailes, the couple talk about their decision to preach the Gospel at every gig, why C...

Richard Stearns was President of World Vision USA for 20 years. In this in-depth interview with Premier Christianity's Sam Hailes, he talks about his unexpected calling into the ministry and how he felt completely unprepared and ill-equipped for the role. "I knew nothing about poverty and I remember saying 'Lord I don't know what to do'. It was almost like the Lord said to me 'that's exactly where...

The Archbishop of York is an evangelist. Speaking about the Thy Kingdom Come prayer initiative, he says, "We all long, of course, to share our faith.” A significant proportion of the 38 books he’s authored are either about mission and evangelism or, in the case of his newest title,  Dear England  (Hodder & Stoughton), are aimed at those who don’t yet share his faith. In this in-depth interview wit...

Scientist Rosalind Picard speaks to Ruth Jackson about her faith journey from atheism, how she has used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create life-saving technology and where she sees the future of AI. She also shares her thoughts about working in science as both a Christian and female, as well as how we can help people to meet God in the midst of suffering. Watch Professor Rosalind Picard discus...

Apologist Clare Williams, who is one of the speakers at the upcoming Unbelievable? conference, speaks to Ruth Jackson about some of the big questions young black people face. Clare spent over ten years working as a teacher before training in apologetics and uses her experience to help provide Generation Z (those born after mid-90s) with answers to some of life’s toughest objections about the Chris...

Operation Mobilisation has over 5,000 missionaries working in 110 nations. The charity is best known for  Logos Hope , its ship which provides help, aid and support to communities around the world. Matthew Skirton is the CEO of the UK branch of the Christian charity and in this interview with Premier Christianity's Sam Hailes, he shares his own personal testimony. Matthew also recalls the 20 years...

In part one, Julia Fisher hears the story of Terri Goodyear, who went to prison for the murder of her husband. Why did she commit such an horrific crime, and could God forgive someone capable of such an act? In part two the worship leader and church leader Tim Hughes talks to Sam Hailes about the future of the Church post Covid-19.    The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Chris...

As a much in-demand actor, David Oyelowo OBE can’t say ‘yes’ to every film he’s offered. So how does he decide which projects to take on? His answer is simple: “As a Christian, I don’t really do films that don’t have some kind of message to them.” In this interview with Sam Hailes, David explains how God became real to him, what it was like playing Martin Luther King Jr in Selma and why he wishes...

Gospel heavy weight Fred Hammond is well known for his extensive music catalogue, but he's been quietly honing his writing and stage directing skills for almost two decades. Now his virtual play "Surviving Williams" is set to reach a global audience. In this interview with Premier's Muyiwa, Hammond says his greatest gift is the anointing to help people. “I love to see people grow. I love pouring i...