The Unfolding

  G ran g er Smith had always found it easy to work hard on the thin g s he was passionate about .  Country music was at the top of that list .  Last year after 24 years of tourin g as an award-winnin g , platinum-sellin g , sin g er and son g writer, G ran g er made the decision to leave the music business to pursue a future in ministry . That was somethin g that a few years a g o would have seem...

"He was a life worth sacrificing for." Before Roland Warren became CEO of Care Net, one of the largest networks of crisis pregnancy centers in North America, he was just a scared 20-year-old college student facing an unplanned pregnancy with his girlfriend. The pressure to choose abortion was intense. But they made a different choice. And that one decision changed everything.   Roland's story is a...

  It was a story that made national headlines. In April of 2019, a five-year-old boy was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America by a stranger. Landen Hoffmann's injuries were catastrophic, and his survival was uncertain. But his mother, Kari, responded with unshakable faith. Drawing on what she'd learned growing up in church, Kari immediately turned to prayer, refusing to give in...

"My true value simply came from being a child of God."   That realization changed everything for Allie Marie Smith. As a high-achieving kid, she looked like she had it all together. But under the surface, sadness began at 12. A traumatic event at 17 deepened the spiral that eventually brought her to the edge.   Through a supernatural encounter with Jesus and a long road of healing, Allie found hop...

  How do you keep moving forward when life feels like one battle after another? In this episode, Cathy Vincent shares her incredible journey of faith, resilience, and God's steady presence through every season. From encountering Jesus as a young girl to a miraculous healing from epilepsy in her twenties, Cathy's story is filled with both divine moments and everyday faithfulness. She  shares life's...

"This makes you way more real to us."   That's what Amber Albee Swenson's kids told her after she finally opened up about her past.   She had spent years teaching the Bible and leading her family in faith, but still carried silent shame that was creating distance. One conversation changed everything. Vulnerability became the key to deeper trust, healing, and faith.   Amber's latest book is called...

  What happens when ordinary people decide to follow God, without a roadmap or plan, into some of the most dangerous places on earth? In this episode of  The Unfolding , Dan Chung shares his incredible journey from a Korean immigrant growing up in Chicago to co-founding Crossing Borders , an organization dedicated to rescuing and supporting North Korean refugees fleeing unimaginable oppression . ...

"You don't have to throw your brain in the dustbin to be a Christian."   Raised in the UK with few Christians around him, Justin Brierly encountered God powerfully at age 15. But later, in the halls of Oxford, doubt crept in. What followed was a deep search for truth that led to a career of asking  hard questions and finding better answers.   His book Why I'm Still a Christian tells that story. It...

  Singer, songwriter, and worship leader Jaime Jamgochian knows what it means to wait, and to keep holding on when the future feels uncertain. After rising to the top of Christian radio with "Hear My Worship," Jaime's journey took unexpected turns: chronic illness, career setbacks, and a season of deep doubt .  At one point, she found herself in her 40s, back in her childhood home, too sick to get...

When Kerry Hasenbalg heard God say "Love this one as your own" it led her to Nanja, a girl orphaned in the Rwandan genocide, and set in motion a series of events that led to an unforgettable reunion. In this story, a scar became the key to recognizing a daughter thought to be lost.   Since that time, Kerry has walked through her own seasons of loss and healing. Today, she helps others through writ...

What does it really mean to trust God fully, even when your world falls apart? When pastor and speaker Megan Fate Marshman suddenly lost her husband, Randy, she found herself in the midst of unimaginable grief. As a young widow and single mom, Megan faced a choice: strive for control or surrender to a God who never leaves. In this episode of The Unfolding, Megan shares how heartbreak led her to a...

"What does it look like for a coral biologist to minister to creation?" For Rachel Jordan, that question became painfully real when the reefs she studied began to vanish. As she searched for answers in both science and Scripture, Rachel began to see a bigger redemption story and a calling to bring restoration to God's underwater creation. If you're interested in Rachel's book, you can discover mor...

    Courtney Smallbone comes from  a long line of Jesus-followers—but as a teenager, she wasn't convinced. That changed after a powerful encounter that shifted her from skeptic to wholehearted believer. When she witnessed God move in a miraculous way, it marked her for life and reshaped her expectations of what God could do. That moment would become the foundation of her faith when she later faced...

"Sometimes we miss Him in our every day." — Suzanne Happs   We often look for God on the mountaintop or in the valley. But what about the middle? The everyday spaces of life where nothing feels especially dramatic or divine.   In this short story, Suzanne Happs reflects on raspberries, unexpected timing, and the sacredness of the ordinary. She reminds us that even in quiet seasons, God is present...

  Caleb, Jordan, and Josh Ward, the brothers who make up Consumed  By Fire, first played music together in 2006 .  They hit the road with a heart to serve and tell people about the hope of Jesus through music .  For years they played and traveled, mostly for small crowds and small pay. They were living and working by faith- A way of life they had watched their p a rents model in a powerful way. Bu...

Travis West knows what it feels like to run on empty. Early in his marriage he was working multiple jobs and caring for his wife Mariah through a long illness . A study trip to Jerusalem changed everything. When the city slowed to a standstill on Friday nights, Travis experienced Sabbath rest for the first time. In this episode he explains how that weekly pause brought new life to his family and w...

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...