First Person with Wayne Shepherd

Adam Waters is a living testimony that God can rescue and redeem a life headed for self-destruction. He tells his story to Wayne Shepherd.  (click for more)              
Website: https://www.gracebiblechurchelmhurst.com
Adam Waters shares a powerful testimony of transformation from atheism, rebellion, drug addiction, broken relationships, and imprisonment to faith in Jesus Christ and pastoral ministry. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, Waters rejected Christianity as a teenager and became deeply involved in drugs and alcohol, eventually serving in the military as a highly trained medical corpsman while secretly struggling with addiction. After reaching a desperate point that led him to consider suicide, he confessed his addiction, was discharged, and eventually returned to Chicago, where his addiction worsened and ultimately resulted in prison. While incarcerated, reading the writings of Martin Luther, Calvin, Augustine, and other theologians opened his eyes to his spiritual brokenness, and he experienced a profound conversion to Christianity. After prison, with the support of his parents, mentors, and his wife Elaine, Waters pursued theological education at Moody, sensed a call to ministry, and eventually became lead pastor of Grace Bible Church in Elmhurst, Illinois. Today, he views his suffering and recovery as preparation to speak truth and hope into the lives of others, emphasizing the power of prayer, God's ability to redeem broken lives, and the truth that even the most unlikely people can be transformed and called to serve Him. 
                                        NEXT WEEK:  Jeremy Farley

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Dannah Gresh, author and founder of the Christian tween ministry True Girl talks with Wayne Shepherd about her passion to help young girls understand and live with “Pure Freedom”.  (click for more…)
Website:  https://dannahgresh.com
Gresh opens up about grieving the recent loss of a beloved horse and the spiritual lessons she found in that pain, then traces her journey from a childhood dream of being a writer through a period of sexual sin in a relationship as a young Christian woman, and how healing from that shame at 26 became the foundation for a ministry helping girls escape their own "pits of shame." She recounts how a divine prompting to pray for Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth (rather than resent her) led to a lasting friendship, co-authoring Lies Young Women Believe, and eventually renaming her ministry (originally Secret Keeper Girl) as True Girl amid #MeToo-era concerns about secrecy. The conversation covers the ministry's growth — reaching 130 countries and hundreds of thousands of listeners — its focus on empowering parents (especially moms) to guide daughters through cultural pressures like early sexualization and gender confusion, and Gresh's core conviction that regular engagement with Scripture is the most powerful antidote to anxiety, depression, and cultural confusion in kids' lives. The interview closes with a mention of her husband's parallel ministry for boys, Born to Be Brave, and a plug for her new book, Lies Girls Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free.
                                            NEXT WEEK:  Adam Waters
Send your support for FIRST PERSON to the Far East Broadcasting Company:
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Far East Broadcasting Company
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Albert Lea, MN 56007

Please mention FIRST PERSON when you give. Thank you!

Wayne Shepherd talks with 93-year-old Rob Elliott, founder of Elliott Construction in the Chicago area about his life’s purpose of representing God in business and supporting missionaries.  (click for more…)    
Website:  https://www.elliotconstruction.com
Rob shares his life story: being born in England to a Canadian father and English mother, growing up in a Christian home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and giving his life to Christ as a boy, though it didn't feel "real" until a devastating 1951 car accident that killed a friend and left him in a coma — an event he credits with truly turning his heart toward God and keeping him out of military service in Korea. He recounts starting his concrete business in the early 1950s after a mentor set him up with clients, building it into one of the largest concrete contractors in the Chicago area (still family-run 70+ years later), and using his business as a platform for quiet, consistent Christian witness — praying before meals with coworkers, sharing his testimony at industry events, and mentoring golfing buddies over the years. He closes by reflecting on his large family (5 children, 34 grandchildren, and dozens of great-grandchildren), his enduring faith rooted in Romans 10:9, and his sense that God still has purpose for his life at 93.
                                            NEXT WEEK:  Dannah Gresh 
Send your support for FIRST PERSON to the Far East Broadcasting Company:
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Albert Lea, MN 56007

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Babbie Mason once wanted to sing for Motown. Now an award-winning singer-songwriter, author, conference speaker, and TV host, she joins Wayne Shepherd in conversation.  (click for more…)  
Website:  https://babbie.com
Babbie Mason recounts growing up in Jackson, Michigan, as the daughter of a pastor, where church was the center of family life and she began playing piano and leading music at her father's church by age nine. As a young adult she was drawn toward Motown-style secular music and sang in bars and clubs, but felt persistent conviction from the Holy Spirit; a pivotal moment came in a college snack bar, where a bowl of cooling soup and a Bible verse about being "lukewarm" led her to fully surrender her life and career to Christ. She went on to record albums with Word Records and Spring Hill Music over a career now spanning 40 years. Mason also shares a memorable story from her book Each One Reach One about spontaneously singing "Amazing Grace" in a Piggly Wiggly grocery store, which led to a chain of encounters where she prayed for strangers' needs — illustrating her larger message that kindness and sensitivity to others can open doors to sharing faith. She closes by discussing mentorship, her Inner Circle worship conferences for songwriters, and her desire to fully use her God-given gifts.
                                                   NEXT WEEK:  Rob Elliot
Send your support for FIRST PERSON to the Far East Broadcasting Company:
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Albert Lea, MN 56007

Please mention FIRST PERSON when you give. Thank you!

Pastor Steve DeWitt, author of Loneliness: Don’t Hate It or Waste It, Redeem It, joins Wayne Shepherd in conversation on this topic.  (click for more…)
Websites:  www.moodypublishers.com/loneliness, www.bethelweb.org 
Steve DeWitt, longtime pastor of Bethel Church in Northwest Indiana, talks about his book Loneliness: Don't Hate It or Waste It, Redeem It. DeWitt shares that he was a well-known "never married" megachurch pastor for over two decades before marrying his wife Jennifer (they connected after she read an article he'd written on loneliness), and he draws on that long stretch of singleness to reflect on loneliness biblically rather than as a book about marriage curing it. He distinguishes aloneness (neutral), loneliness (bad), and solitude (good), and outlines three ways people "waste" their loneliness — isolating themselves, becoming obsessed with unmet expectations, and distracting themselves through things like binge-watching or doomscrolling. He then turns to how to "redeem" loneliness: recognizing it as fundamentally a vertical longing for restored relationship with God (echoing Augustine and Chesterton), and then letting that drive people toward sacrificial, others-focused love modeled on Jesus rather than self-focused pursuit of companionship. The conversation closes with reflections on how social media and constant connectivity paradoxically deepen isolation, and DeWitt encourages listeners to examine their social media habits as part of a healthier response to loneliness.
                                             NEXT WEEK:  Babbie Mason
Send your support for FIRST PERSON to the Far East Broadcasting Company:
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Far East Broadcasting Company
P.O. Box 6020 
Albert Lea, MN 56007

Please mention FIRST PERSON when you give. Thank you!