Gary Wilkerson Podcast

World Challenge’s partners in Texas are reaching out to at-risk youth to help them find their heavenly Father. Father’s Love ministers to children from low-income, often single parent households and offers them schoolwork support and a safe environment where they can play sports and have fun. Today, they share their heart for the work and how God is redeeming the next generation. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp63c) Support this podcast

Have you ever prayed for healing? Have you ever prayed for a miracle, and it seemed like God didn’t answer? Today, guest speaker Laura Harris Smith joins Gary Wilkerson to discuss how she came to believe in miracles and divine healing and discovered the difference between them. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp62c) Support this podcast

When we suffer or disaster strikes, our first question might be, “Why is God letting this happen to me?” Today, Matthew and Deanne Ward join us to discuss Matthew’s battle with cancer, the journey of faith and grief they went through, and how their family grew together in this difficult time. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp61c) Support this podcast

The spread of coronavirus has struck a deep chord of anxiety in our country. The quarantine and unstable stock market have only added to people’s fears. Many believers, though, may find their family and friends are open to the gospel for the first time. In this week’s special episode of the Gary Wilkerson podcast, Keith Holloway joins us again to discuss how believers can steady their hearts. And with that peace comes opportunities to share the reason for our hope. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp60c) Support this podcast

We are living in shaky times. As a global pandemic of coronavirus makes its way around the globe, taking lives, crashing stock markets and threatening the livelihood of millions, people are afraid. How are you doing handling the fear. Or maybe put another way, how’s your faith holding up? In this special edition of the Gary Wilkerson podcast, Gary is joined by Keith Holloway, the Senior Director of Missions Development at World Challenge to talk about faith in a time of fear. We hope this podcast gives you hope and encouragement that even in desperate times like these, God is in control. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp59c) Support this podcast

According to government studies, nearly 22 million Americans are addicted to alcohol or drugs. These addictions destroy families, wreck lives and break loved ones’ hearts. Jerry Nance, director of Global Teen Challenge, points out that the world is in an epidemic of addiction. No matter where he goes—India, the Netherlands, Vietnam, America—he has found that drugs are the modern method of drowning out pain and hopelessness. God offers a different solution, though, and Teen Challenge works to help addicts find hope in Jesus Christ. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp58c) Support this podcast

When church or a Bible study or a friendship implodes, it’s easy to become cynical in our pain. Pastor and guest speaker Rusty George joins us today to discuss how people can heal and live successfully in community. God promises to do some of his most important work in our lives through other people. In a time when church attendances are sinking, we must pay close attention to God’s heart for the body of Christ. We must ask ourselves, “How do my abilities and gifts fit into community and help others?” View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp57c) Support this podcast

Baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials, Gen Z, iGen—there are a lot of issues separating America right now and one of the most divisive is age. People are leaving the church feeling they aren’t understood by younger or older believers. How can we reverse this destructive trend? One way is through understanding. Today, on the Gary Wilkerson podcast, Gary talks with the younger members of the World Challenge team to get their views on the generational divide that’s tearing apart our churches. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp56c) Support this podcast

When we talk about loving God with all of our heart, soul and strength, we usually think of strength as the depth of our emotions for God. But what if that verse was talking about our physical bodies too? What if our bodies are much more important to our spiritual health than we ever realized? Today, Gary Wilkerson is joined by guest speaker and ministry founder David Bush to talk about how we can balance spiritual disciplines with physical fitness. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp55c) Support this podcast

Few people discuss the deep pain, anxiety and anger that can accompany loving a prodigal. When the biblical prodigal returned home, God acknowledges the father’s anguish in his overwhelming relief to see his wandering son return. Caring for a wayward person is a wilderness journey for the soul. In the middle of it, how do we make sure to also care for our own hearts? Today, we rejoin Gary Wilkerson and Judy Douglass as they continue their discussion from last week and explore how the parents of a prodigal can find strength and hope. View show notes (https://wcm.link/gwp54c) Support this podcast

Perhaps nothing is harder than watching someone you love choose a life that will hurt them. Today, we’re joined by Judy Douglass who shares about her life with a prodigal son. More than anything, she emphasizes how the journey alongside a beloved prodigal is never easy but always worth it. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp53c (https://wcm.link/gwp53c) Support this podcast

Recent studies have found that nearly 19 million children in the US are growing up with only one parent, and that over one fourth of these single parents are wrestling with poverty. Today, we’re joined by guests from Father’s Love, a ministry who work primarily with children from low-income, single-parent homes. They are following a great calling to help families connect with each other and God. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp52c (https://wcm.link/gwp52c) Support this podcast

Seeing major church leaders walk away from the faith has almost become a common feature in the news. Many believers are left asking, “Why? What happened?” In today’s episode, Doug Welbourn joins us to share his insights after years of counseling pastors and church leaders. God offers us freedom from the pressures and hollow promises of culture, but finding our way out of that mindset can feel challenging. Community and good friends will remind us that God’s word satisfies and will never fail. Our Father calls us to be free from earthly standards, to be foolish in the eyes of the world and find heavenly wisdom. View full show notes: wcm.link/gwp51c (https://wcm.link/gwp51c) Support this podcast

Often our worst shame comes from what grows out of the wounds in our past. We try to cut down every bad habit or embarrassing addiction that sprouts, but until we dig up the root, the damage will never completely heal. Today’s guest, Brittany Rust, talks about how God helped her uproot and heal from a history of abuse, sexual sin and depression. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp50c (https://wcm.link/gwp50c) Support this podcast

Today, guest speaker and director of Global Teen Challenge Jerry Nance joins us to talk about a hope we can take hold of that frees us from our worst addictions. Our God can overcome the strongest addiction and redeem the darkest past. For those in the grip of addiction, he offers them a way to heal and live fully again. He can fill the emptiness inside each one of our hearts, and his mercy is new every day. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp49c (https://wcm.link/gwp49c) Support this podcast

Parents in the church can feel ashamed of having a prodigal child. They may have actually been condemned for their child’s suffering or wandering path. In this episode, Gary Wilkerson is joined by his wife, Kelly, and son, Evan, as they discuss how their family was ultimately able to draw closer to God as a result of Evan’s prodigal journey. While this time can be immensely painful for parents and families, God is always faithful. Gary, Kelly, and Evan talk about how God redeemed and healed their own relationships and lives through what seemed like a very dark period. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp48c (https://wcm.link/gwp48c) Support this podcast

Many of us have struggles that we aren’t comfortable sharing with others. These secret sins seem so taboo that if we told anyone, they might stop speaking to us. Often these deep soul wounds manifest as anxiety or anger or other sins that affect our relationships with friends, family and community. So how do we get to the root of these issues? How do we find healing from these sins that constantly seem to trip us up? View show notes: wcm.link/gwp47c (https://wcm.link/gwp47c) Support this podcast

We’re told in Matthew 19:26 that with God all things are possible. How many of us actually trust in that promise, though? We serve a God who can do incredible things, and the most spectacular is when he saves one of his children. This week, we’re joined by Holly Dziedzickie and "Nora" from Cambodia who share a striking testimony about how God’s power and goodness saved one girl from certain death and brought her into new life. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp46c (https://wcm.link/gwp46c) Support this podcast

Many believers discuss their sins and problems in very specific terms like anger, worry, doubt. They think these sins are at the core of their struggles, but that usually isn’t true. Our sins are more often symptoms of deeper heart issues. When we wrestle with a sin over and over without victory, it’s almost always because we aren’t getting to the root of the problem. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp45c (https://wcm.link/gwp45c) Support this podcast

None of us can live without failure. What defines us is how we recover from our low points. At our rock bottom, do we turn toward God and delve deeper into community, or do we isolate ourselves? Today, Nate Larkin joins Gary Wilkerson to talk about how we can choose a better path in the middle of our failure. View show notes: wcm.link/gwp44c (https://wcm.link/gwp44c) Support this podcast