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What if God sends you across the globe to a people group you don’t know? Connor reflects on the major chapters of his life, from a childhood in the American Midwest, to the discovery of God’s eternal plan while in college in Texas, and now a season of serving Jesus in Germany. The difficulties, trials, and seasons of chasing success have all been part of God’s ordering of his steps, Connor shares, a directing that guides us home to God Himself. As Connor tells his story of God sending him across the globe to serve Him in a place he never dreamed of, these lyrics come to mind in faith again: “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

Every story has twists and turns. Get to know our next cohost, Ty Wilson! Hear why Ty joining the show fits like a hand in a glove, starting with how Ty prayed for Ayo even before they met, and how Pablo and Ty have spent time together side by side on mission in Boston. Ty brings a background in Christian ministry, an educated perspective on mental health, great questions and insights, and a positive energy to the team. You all are in for a treat!

What is it like to quit your job to follow the Lord? Ayo reveals a deeply personal testimony in this episode concerning the decision he made with his wife, Temi, to resign from their jobs and answer God's calling to go to a Bible school. Ayo had always defined himself by a career of prestige, comfort, and ease, and both he and Temi achieved just that with their career trajectories. But over the past four years, their consistent hunger for Christ and His mission has gradually drawn them from their “Gen Z Dream.” Join Ayo and Pablo as they reflect on the past year of launching Words of This Life and pray for Ayo stepping by faith into a new dream, the dream of God’s dwelling place.

How do we "hear" God's call? Born to missionary parents in the Brethren Assemblies, Ken was raised to know the Bible and revere God.  But after a fall away, it took the kindness of God to appear to him as a young adult, call him into a relationship, and set him in a vibrant church life.  To Ken, there’s no greater joy than caring for others, and there’s no greater care than bringing them into the enjoyment of God.

Mercy. If you could look back at your whole life, would you sum it up with this one word? Ray shares about growing up in the turbulent 1960s and his profound conversion experience from a religious Catholic to a born-again follower of Christ. This episode traces turning points with Christ over career, adoption of a child under God’s sovereignty, and serving God full-time in America and Europe. Through it all, it was conversations with God that illuminated each step of Ray’s journey to become a vessel of mercy unto honor for God’s glory.

How can we inherit the privilege of a Godly heritage without paying it forward to the next generation? In this episode, Isaac recounts growing up in an active Christian household in New York City, his wayward years and his eventual definite turn to the Lord.  To Isaac, the greatest privilege is to be able to invite others into his own home now and set the same example for his children as was set for him: a life fully given to the Lord and fully embracing the community he lives in.

What does it look like to build a home that's been open to people for 15 years? In this episode, Emmanuel and Lenore share their journey of marriage, raising five sons, and learning what it means to put Christ and the church first. From a miraculous story that began in the desert, to consecrating their firstborn in the NICU, to the everyday decisions that shape young men today, this conversation is filled with practical wisdom and powerful testimony.

Mark stopped looking for balance a while ago. Life isn't a table with a surface that holds still, he says. It's a rowboat on the ocean, with pressure coming from every side. In this episode, Mark traces a career that moved from electrical engineering to patent law to finance, and how each turn freed up more time to serve. He shares the ABC's an older brother once gave him for being useful to the Lord — availability, burden, and capacity, in that order — and why the first one is the one you have some say over. What he keeps returning to is priority: God, then family, then work. And what happens to the rest of your life once you give yourself to Christ and the church. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Peter was raised Catholic, and wanted nothing to do with the "Jesus movement," until his mother sent him to a youth retreat in the 1970s. In this experience, Peter met the Lord in a way he could only call an "explosion of regeneration." Back at school that Monday, he told his friends that Jesus was as real to him as they were. In this episode, Peter traces the decades that followed: an early call to consecrate, learning what it means to be trained to be useful to the Lord, and selling his business and home to give himself fully to serve the Lord. He recounts moving his young family to Russia in the 1990s to reach seeking people and raise up churches. To Peter, the greatest blessing of his life has been participating in the move of God among the believers throughout revolution and war across the former Soviet Union and Ukraine. Throughout, Peter keeps returning to foundational experiences in our Christian life: coming to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, and calling on the name of the Lord as the shortest prayer. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen now!

Juanito and Daniela have built a life around open doors — theirs and everyone else's. Juanito describes becoming something of a "home invader" as a young man, showing up again and again in the homes of believers across many countries, and discovering that every time he entered into a new home, God was actually invading his own heart. These precious experiences made Juanito hope for a home of his own that could be invaded the same way. He prayed for a wife who loved people more than herself. Daniela knew early that she wanted the same kind of home. She describes how the Lord has filled their hands with people, and she's direct about why that matters: when your hands aren't full, you end up fixated on yourself — your problems, your situation, what you're going through. Those things are there regardless. Life happens. But caring for others turns you outward, and she calls this a salvation. Together Juanito and Daniela consider why marriage might be the hardest human project to work out. The two share about how marriage deepened their knowing of the Lord: for her, human love that opened up a Christ longing for His bride. For him, a pounding heart at the proposal and the realization that God's heart beats that way for us. And they speak about what has carried them — an open home, hands full of people, and companions who held them like pillars. It's a don't-miss conversation! Watch the full episode now.

In this episode, Pablo and Ayo sit down with Ben to trace a thread through his life: the spiritual heritage he received, and the one he's determined to pass on. Ben is honest about leaving the Lord and coming back — and about the deep hope that his own children would be raised in a way that they would be so rooted that they will never need to leave to be brought back. He shares how he was found again: not through a program, but through the parents of the boys he cared for, who saw a lost sheep, took him in, and cared for him so completely he had no way to run. That care, he realizes, was itself part of his heritage. From reading Genesis 22 soon after his son was born and suddenly understanding the Father's heart, to being saved a "second time" at a junior high retreat, to the boldness of telling the enemy that what he remembers God has already forgiven and forgotten — this conversation is genuine and honest, from a man who knows what it is to be brought home and wants to give his children a home they never have to leave.

In this episode, Pablo and Ayo sit down with Demi and Olivia, two recent college graduates, for a conversation that is honest, layered, and full of life. Growing up in high-achieving households, both women navigated the weight of expectations — including what it meant to be a "good Christian" by going through the motions. Demi and Olivia share the gradual, sometimes messy journey of finding God for themselves, separate from their parents, their culture, and meeting others’ expectations. From grief and academic pressure to the power of testimony and the bountiful supply of the Holy Spirit, Demi and Olivia reflect on what it looks like to stop performing faith and start living it. This is a conversation for anyone who has ever inherited a belief and had to make it their own.

n this episode, Pablo and Ayo sit down with Isaac for a conversation that traces his faith from childhood all the way to full-time ministry. Isaac opens up about carrying real responsibility as the older brother during his parents' divorce, and how community and mentorship became a lifeline during some of the hardest years of his adolescence. He shares honestly about what it looks like to stay consistent in the Word, even in seasons of spiritual dryness, and how singing scripture and hymns became a way to keep joy alive in his walk with the Lord. The conversation also moves into Isaac's college years and his journey into full-time ministry, where he reflects on what it really means to care for the whole person, not just their spiritual life. Through it all, Isaac offers a reminder that resonates far beyond his own story: there is a season for everything, and even the quietest seasons with the Lord are not the end of the story.

In this episode, Pablo and Ayo sit down with Carlos and Anne for a conversation that touches on aspects of everyday life — faith, love, marriage, and the work they do every single day.  Anne shares her journey from a non-Christian upbringing to a faith built on more than just knowledge, and Carlos reflects on growing up in a Christian home and what it meant to make that faith truly his own. Together, they open up about the fears that come with commitment, and how trusting God's plan makes all the difference. The conversation doesn't end there. Carlos and Anne challenge the way we think about our careers, our routines, and our ordinary days — pointing back to the truth that our work and living is a service to the Lord. Whether you are in a season of searching and building, or simply trying to be faithful where you are, this episode is a reminder that we each have only one life which will soon be passed, and only what's done for Christ shall last.

Words of This Life is excited to host Graduate Student Therapist Ty Wilson, who brings wisdom that could only come from someone who has truly sat with the weight of his own healing. In this episode, Pablo and Ayo sit down with Ty to unpack the relationship between trauma, emotional health, and faith — and why so many people, especially young men, are struggling in silence. Ty shares his own journey into counseling, how the Lord used a difficult season to redirect his path. From the relationships every young man was made for, to understanding the "why" behind your anger, to keeping the enemy out of your marriage — this conversation is honest, warm, and full of the kind of wisdom that only comes from someone the Lord has led through the valley first.