The Profile

With 18 Grammy Awards and decades of ministry behind her, CeCe Winans remains a living example of a life surrendered to God through the gifts He gives us.

Winans grew up as one of ten children in Detroit, straight into a household saturated with gospel music. Her parents raised their family in the Pentecostal tradition, and church was the foundation of everything, including the music that would define her life.

Winans first found fame singing alongside her brother BeBe as the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans before launching a solo career that would make her best-selling and one of the most-awarded female gospel artists in history.

Her 1998 album Everlasting Love showcased her talents and songs like Alabaster Box and Goodness of God have become worship staples in churches worldwide.

In the course of her career she has sold 27 million records worldwide, is an inaugural inductee in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville.

The now 61-year-old says she considers her music to be her ministry though she has spoken openly about stepping back from it at points to focus on things such as co-founding a church alongside her husband, Alvin.

Today, CeCe and Alvin co-pastor Nashville Life Church, where their son serves as lead pastor.

In this episode of The Profile she talks to deputy editor of Premier Christianity magazine Emma Fowle about musical life as ministry, her hopes for the next generation and prioritising her marriage over her work.

The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Enjoy thought-provoking Christian content, including the latest news, inspiring interviews, and exclusive commentary on all that God is doing in the world today. Grab the next 3 issues for just £6. Subscribe today at premierchristianity.com/subscribe.

Long-time presenter of The Leadership Show Andy Peck has died aged 64 following a short battle with cancer. Andy spent over three decades encouraging and equipping Christian leaders through presenting Leadership special editions of this podcast, as well as wider broadcasting for Premier Christian Radio and writing for Premier Christianity magazine. In this special episode, we air a previous interview with Andy about his own faith journey, and hear tributes from his colleagues.

Pete Hughes is the founding and senior pastor of King's Cross Church (KXC), an Anglican church he planted in central London in 2010. Back then, the zone 1 destination was a grimy, transitional area on the brink of massive transformation.

The vision behind the plant, in Hughes's own words, was "to recklessly give themselves away to God, each other and the people of King's Cross and beyond." Without a permanent building, KXC began by renting space for Sunday gatherings while meeting midweek in homes and pubs around the area.

But it paid off. Over more than a decade, Hughes grew the church from that small core group into a larger community, with a strong emphasis on worship, prayer and mission in what he has described as one of the most secularised parts of the West.

Now he's got a vision for something else. It's what he calls the 'heavy rain' of revival. A reference to Elijah in 1 Kings 18, and he is looking expectantly for the first signs of spiritual awakening, even when the immediate evidence seems small.

In this episode of The Profile he speaks to Premier Christianity's editor Sam Hailes about the growth of KXC, what it feels like to have the keys to his neighbour's church and his thoughts on Gen Z's search for God.

The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Enjoy thought-provoking Christian content, including the latest news, inspiring interviews, and exclusive commentary on all that God is doing in the world today. Grab the next 3 issues for just £6. Subscribe today at premierchristianity.com/subscribe.

Luke Smith the national leader of the Fusion Movement, a Christian student mission, has spent his life calling students to follow Jesus. His own journey began at university in the 1990s. Since then Luke has walked alongside students through the transformative journey from "nervous fresher to confident graduate" - convinced that the university years are formative for the whole of a person's life.

At the heart of his ministry is a deep conviction: that the local church, not a parachurch movement alone, is best placed to reach students with The Gospel, disciple them well, and send them out as missionaries to their own generation.

Now serving as National Team Leader for England and Wales, Luke leads Fusion Movement's work of equipping local churches to reach students across the country. He's convinced that students carry extraordinary potential for the Kingdom, and believes it's the biggest missionary opportunity that the UK has had since Billy Graham came in the 1950s.

In this episode of The Profile he speaks to Premier Christianity magazine editor Sam Hailes about how 'being an idiot for Jesus' helped him overcome issues with the Church, what drew him to student mission and what comes after surviving cancer.

The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Enjoy thought-provoking Christian content, including the latest news, inspiring interviews, and exclusive commentary on all that God is doing in the world today. Grab the next 3 issues for just £6. Subscribe today at premierchristianity.com/subscribe.

Ashley Banjo, is best known as the dance troupe leader of the hugely successful group Diversity who first captured the nation's hearts on the talent show Britain's Got Talent in 2009. They famously beat off favourite Susan Boyle for the crown and all when he was just 21.

Banjo was raised in Essex, the son of a former heavyweight boxer and a dance teacher and began dancing at age five. It was a passion that was nurtured by his parents.

He was raised with some exposure to Christianity and he has spoken candidly about drifting from it before rediscovering a deep, personal faith during the isolation and uncertainty of the Covid pandemic. That season of reflection led him back to The Church and to a renewed relationship with God, one he has since described as central to how he navigates fame, family, and purpose.

His faith took on public dimension in 2026 when he joined BBC Two's Pilgrimage: The Road to Holy Island, walking alongside people of differing beliefs, including an atheist, a Muslim, and a non-practising Jew, along ancient routes tied to Celtic Christian saints, through Whitby Abbey, Durham Cathedral, and finally Lindisfarne.

In this episode of The Profile he talks to Inspirational Breakfast's Esther Higham about his walk with God and the things he learned on the pilgrimage.

The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Enjoy thought-provoking Christian content, including the latest news, inspiring interviews, and exclusive commentary on all that God is doing in the world today. Grab the next 3 issues for just £6. Subscribe today at premierchristianity.com/subscribe.