Geoff Eckart lives in Grand Rapids, MI with his wife, Arianna. Together they have 3 daughters. He is the Lead Pastor at Daybreak Church in Hudsonville, MI, and the Founder & CEO of "Never The Same," a national youth ministry. Geoff is also the Chairman of the Board for the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

In this podcast, Geoff talks about how he is God is helping him to juggle his various job responsibilities, keeping a top priority on his walk with Jesus and his family.

Geoff has led a ministry for young people for a number of years called "Never The Same." Geoff tells about the major impact this ministry made even this past summer in the lives of thousands of high school age young people. In fact, he strongly senses that there is a real movement of God, especially among high school and college aged folks in our day. This, he says, is part of a real revival that is happening in our land which may well have begun with the events over a year ago at places like Asbury University.

Geoff also talks about the amazing power of prayer that we American Christ-followers often neglect to take full advantage of. His church is putting increasing emphasis on prayer and, already, they are seeing a very positive impact.

Finally, Geoff mentions an upcoming movie premier that he has helped produce about his prayer walk a few years ago across much of America. The movie is called The Justice Trail and will be premiered on September 4, 2024 here in Grand Rapids.

Jason and Jennifer Rykse were High School sweethearts. They have been married for 22 years. Together they have 11 children, 7 boys and 4 girls. For many years they were neighbors with Randy and Marcia Hekman. Marcia shared the gospel with Jen who received Jesus in the front yard of their home and was freed from a crippling anxiety. She was led to the knowledge that Jesus loves her children more than she does. This was a turning point for their family and for their relationship with Jesus. Together with Randy and Marcia they met in a house church for several years watching many come to a relationship with the Father. This led to a deepening in their walk with the Lord and valuing the power of scripture. Jason and Jen continue to value this closeness with the Father and sharing this with others. They have opened a Youth Center in Howard City, to which they share the love of Jesus with teens in this area. This is part of the ministry City Impact led by dear friends Jonathan and Kelley Bergsma. They have a heart to raise their children (the best kids ever) to walk in step with Jesus and for teens to do the same. They believe God is on the move and enjoy being vessels used by Him. They value the power in a relationship with Jesus and teaching others the power of this closeness with Jesus, our King, Savior and Redeemer.

In this podcast, Jason and Jen tell of the amazing day many years ago when Jen's emotional and physical pain she was experiencing ultimately led to her coming to faith in Christ. And that, in turn, greatly influenced Jason's walk with the Lord and, ultimately, has impacted their family and has touched hundreds of other lives as well! Also in this podcast, Marcia shares how, while a Freshman in college, she came into a life-changing relationship with Jesus and how others can do the same.

Clare DeGraaf is truly an amazing person! He is a native of Grand Rapids, MI where he still makes his home. Clare has been married to his high school sweetheart Susan for over 50 years, and they are parents to six children and grandparents to 20 amazing grandkids. Clare is a graduate of Calvin College, and, early in his career, one of Clare's top priorities was to have a successful business and make a lot of money, which he did! But a life-threatening encounter with cancer at that point got his rapt attention and ultimately led him to discover a real, life-saving relationship with Jesus Christ. In his own words, Clare said, "I fell in love with Jesus and fell out of love with my "mistress" – my business." A few years later, he felt the call of God to sell his business and devote full time to serving the Kingdom of God.

Since making that decision, Clare has been involved in many ministries, touching literally millions of lives around the world. At his core, Clare has a heart for evangelizing and discipling men, leading them to following Jesus, as Clare does, wholeheartedly.

He is the author of a best-selling book, "The 10 Second Rule."

So much more I could say, but to learn more, I encourage you to go to his website, ClareDegraaf.com.

In this podcast, Clare describes how a severe cancer diagnosis at age 30 motivated him to seek a genuine faith in Jesus that was truly life-changing and resulted in great joy. Not only did God miraculously heal him of his cancer, but a few years after surrendering His life to Christ, Clare felt led to sell his very successful and profitable business and devote his life to full-time serving the Kingdom of God. That included starting a ministry providing special Bibles to deaf people in the world who, because the vast majority of them are illiterate, would otherwise not have a Bible they could read and comprehend.

Andrew Brunson and his wife Norine were involved in starting churches, training, giving aid to refugees, and holding a house of prayer in Turkey for 23 years. But that came to an abrupt end in October of 2016 when Andrew was falsely accused of terrorism and arrested. This resulted in him being held without trial for two whole years in various Turkish prisons. However, due to a worldwide prayer movement and significant political pressure from the US government, Andrew was finally sentenced and then dramatically and wonderfully released in October 2018. Andrew and Norine's current ministry, WaveStarters, is focused on the Muslim world, the persecuted church, and in helping to prepare believers everywhere to stand strong for Jesus in difficult times. He and Norine have three children and now live in the Washington, DC area.

In this second podcast with Andrew, we talk about where the American Church is heading in our day. Andrew believes we will be facing increasing persecution and opposition in our culture. Certainly we can see that happening as Biblical Christians are increasingly marginalized and viewed as being "Christian Nationalists," bigots, homophobes and haters. Andrew believes this may result in fewer real believers in our nation; but it will also serve to strengthen the faith and resolve of those believers who remain. Is revival coming that will expand the church? Andrew is not sure, but he believes the numbers of believers could grow along with increasing persecution and opposition by culture. God does desire "all men to come to saved and come to a knowledge of the truth." (I Timothy 2:4). Will there be a huge revival before Christ's second coming? We pray so!

Jared Blauwkamp is the young adult's pastor at Resurrection Life Church here in West Michigan. He has a degree in Exercise Science from Grand Valley State University and will be graduating this December with a bachelor's degree in ministry from the International School of Ministry. Jared has a deep hunger and desire to know Jesus and make Him known, to fight for a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit, and to restore the identity of the Father in the next generation.

In this podcast, Jared describes how he came to faith as a young child of age 4. But how, after a season of sinfulness, at age 10 he had an encounter with the living God that launched him into an intimacy with Christ that continues to the present day.

Jared also shared how his parents provided an incredibly godly example that, along with their prayers, has resulted in Jared and his 4 brothers all serving the Lord wholeheartedly.

Finally, and most importantly, Jared lays out what it will take for America to experience a true revival and spiritual awakening. He says we need two things: (1) Character Change: for us Christ-followers to be genuinely loving and serving the Lord with all our hearts. But we also need to see (2) God's Power on Display: in the form of lives being miraculously transformed and other miracles like healings and the like that point people to Him. The latter will certainly garner the attention of the crowds. But the ultimate goal is not to be fixated on the miracles as much drawing our hearts to loving God with all that we are.

Jared concludes by saying, with joy, that what he is observing here in West Michigan and beyond leads him to believe that revival is genuinely coming closer to us every day. Amen!

Vernon Spears was born in Louisiana, but his family moved to the Kalamazoo, Michigan area when he was four years old. There they attended the Second Baptist Church until, when Vernon was in 9th grade, they switched to a First Assembly of God church. Two years later, his family moved to Wyoming, MI, which is a suburb of Grand Rapids. After relocating to Wyoming, Vernon's family attended The First Assembly of God Church in that town.

After graduating from Wyoming Park High School in 1990, Vernon went on to Michigan State University, graduating from there in1994 with a degree in Psychology.

Since 1996, Vernon has been making a positive difference in people's lives by working as a Probation Officer for the 61st District Court.

Vernon is married to his dear wife Angie, and together they have 2 daughters, ages 18 and 21. He and his family began to attend Calvary Church in the year 2000.

For "fun," Vernon loves to exercise. In fact, he has successfully run 4 marathons and 20 River Bank Runs! He also enjoys memorizing Scripture, which he finds useful when running. On a part-time basis, Vernon coaches a middle school girls' basketball team. Finally, he also enjoys acting, and has actually been part of two commercials and even had a small speaking role in a movie a few years ago.

In this podcast, Vernon shares about his role as a Probation Officer for the 61st District Court here in Grand Rapids. He talks how he does his best to help those he is working with to make better life choices in the future. We also chatted about the "defund the police" movement that is growing in America. We agree that this trend only tends to increase crime rates because all we humans are born as self-seeking sinners who need the "certainty of punishment" to deter us from crime.

We also discussed the contrast between two newer trends in American culture today: (1) The gender identity movement, which emphasizes how gender is fluid; and (2) The racial issue, which insists that people of different races can never truly be united.

REALITY: God created two genders, male and female that is decided at our birth. Having said that, we do need to love all people, even those who struggle with this reality. And, regarding the race issue, the reality is that we are all members of the human race regardless of the color of our skin. And those who have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord have been lovingly adopted into God's family, which makes us all forever brothers and sisters of each other. Bottom line: truth sets us free, while lies enslave us.

Andrew Brunson and his wife Norine were involved in starting churches, training, giving aid to refugees, and holding a house of prayer in Turkey for 23 years. But that came to an abrupt end in October of 2016 when Andrew was falsely accused of terrorism and arrested. This resulted in him being held without trial for two whole years in various Turkish prisons. However, due to a worldwide prayer movement and significant political pressure from the US government, Andrew was finally sentenced and then dramatically and wonderfully released in October 2018. Andrew and Norine's current ministry, WaveStarters, is focused on the Muslim world, the persecuted church, and in helping to prepare believers everywhere to stand strong for Jesus in difficult times. He and Norine have three children and now live in the Washington, DC area.

In this podcast, Andrew talks about his experience in Turkish prisons for those two long years. He describes how disillusioned he became in prison, not knowing when, if ever, he would get out, and the physical, emotional and spiritual pain he was required to endure. In a real sense, he is still processing his past experiences with the Lord on a regular basis. He believes we need to love God and be faithful even when we can't see God's love and faithfulness. And that requires God's Spirit to empower us as we daily die to self.

I encourage Christ-followers to pray for Andrew and his dear wife Norine. For them to experience God's wonderful healing and comfort as they continue to courageously and faithfully spread the Gospel around our needy world.

Judith E. King was raised in Canada, but is now a Christian therapist in Grand Rapids, MI. Her interests include women's issues, substance abuse, and caring for professionals in ministry. She has traveled extensively in her ministry of teaching, counseling and music, as she applies sound psychological principles, spiritual concepts, and a very biblical worldview. Presently, Judy works in her own private practice called "Sonlife Associates" which was founded by her and her late husband Dr. Stephen King, a medical doctor psychiatrist. She is the author of three books and numerous journal articles about her research and interventions. Judy is the mother of two children and she has seven precious grandkids.

In this podcast, Judy describes God's calling on her life that actually began when she was only four years of age. It grew further as she came to full faith in Jesus when she was eleven years old, at a Billy Graham Crusade in Toronto. Years later, after marriage to her husband Stephen, they together ministered to many people around the world. One of their primary interests was for those in ministry who were in need of spiritual, emotional, and even physical help. Judy describes the phenomenal move of God's Spirit in Western Canada during the season we now call "The Jesus Revolution" in the 1970s. During this time they also witnessed a number of amazing miracles, two of which Judy recounts in this podcast. Finally, Judy shares what she senses American Christians need to be doing in our day for revival to happen again.

Sydney Faber has worked as a pastoral administrator and writer at ResLife Church in Grandville, MI for the past five years. After graduating from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Literature and Writing, she joined the Missions Department at ResLife and enjoys working with over 70 missionaries from around the world. Recently, she has had the honor of witnessing a massive move of God in the brick kilns and slums of Pakistan.

In this podcast, Sydney relates her amazing ministry in Pakistan as she and her team courageously and wholeheartedly followed the leading of the Holy Spirit in that largely Muslim nation. She describes how their team has helped many Pakistanis who have literally been enslaved to now begin to experience real freedom. Freedom from their human captors and, more importantly, also freedom from the burden of their sin as they have embraced Christ. I guarantee you will be blown away as you hear how the power of God has drawn thousands—including a number of former witch doctors—to genuine faith in Jesus!

Jadon Fowler is now a teacher and film director from Grand Rapids Michigan. After spending eight years in Mortgage Finance and Real Estate area, Jadon decided to pursue his life passion of film making. He then started and now owns a film academy for kids called the Children's Theater Company. Jadon previously attended Word of Life Bible Institute where his passion for God was really strengthened. He is also the proud father of two sons.

In this podcast, Jadon tells the story of his life that includes a very dark time about seven years ago when he came very close to ending it all. He overdosed drugs and alcohol that resulted in him being in a coma that appeared to be fatal.

BUT GOD! God answered the fervent prayers of his loved ones and many others and He literally brought Jadon back from what the medical community was sure would be certain death. In fact, after only a few months of therapy, Jadon came back to being virtually normal! He now loves leading, teaching and encouraging many young people in the area of theater and film. For more about his current work, go to https://fusionfilmacademy.org/