The Way UK

Join Zoe and Zach for an incredibly powerful and deeply moving conversation with Ben as he shares his radical journey from growing up in a Christian family, experiencing seven years of severe bullying at boarding school, crying out to God in desperation at age 17, and discovering what it truly means to be known, loved, and called by name through the transformative power of Jesus and the faithfulness of the church. This episode unpacks what it looks like to move from isolation and worthlessness to identity and friendship, from distant religion to intimate relationship with God, and from searching for acceptance in all the wrong places to finding your worth secured in Christ.

Ben opens up about being bullied physically and emotionally from age 10, being called nicknames like "worthless" instead of his own name, and feeling completely alone and isolated at boarding school with zero friends and zero social confidence. Discover the moment he lay in his dorm room and prayed his first real prayer asking God where He was, how his mum felt led by the Holy Spirit to take him to a Christian festival called Focus, and how that week radically transformed his life as he encountered the real living God in Jesus. Learn how God didn't just save him but restored his personality, healed what the enemy had stolen, and redeemed the very lies he had believed by calling him by name and showing him he was full of worth, full of sonship, and deeply loved.

00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup
01:31 Growing Up Christian and Boarding School Struggles
06:10 The Nickname 'Worthless' and Searching for Identity
06:44 The Prayer in the Dorm Room: Where Are You God?
09:02 Focus Festival: A 180-Degree Turnaround
12:05 God Restores What Was Stolen
18:54 Gap Year in South Africa: Learning to Walk With God
21:56 University: Discovering Church and Community
25:10 Calling: An Invitation Not a Pressure
35:28 Friendship With God: Walking With the Holy Spirit
38:21 Healing Story: Ben's Back and Leg Miracle
43:12 The Tumor That Disappeared: A Modern-Day Miracle

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Want to know more? Find a church that has things happening for young people. Visit https://achurchnearyou.com/youth/ [In partnership with CofE Digital Projects]

Join Zach, Izzy, and Zoe as they dive deep into the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16, exploring what it truly means to steward what God has given you, why faith produces a heart posture of love towards others, and how the upside-down kingdom of God challenges everything we think we know about wealth, poverty, and eternity. This episode unpacks Jesus' powerful story about a rich man clothed in purple and fine linen who feasted lavishly every day, and Lazarus, a poor beggar covered in sores who lay at his gate longing for crumbs. Discover what happens when they both die, and their positions are completely reversed, why the rich man still refuses to repent even in torment, and what it reveals about the danger of serving money instead of God.

The episode also unpacks the shocking ending where the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his five brothers, and Abraham's response that if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead. Discover how this connects to the resurrection of Lazarus in John 11, how the Pharisees responded to that miracle by plotting to kill Jesus, and why Jesus Himself rising from the dead is the ultimate fulfilment of this prophetic statement. Learn why waiting for miraculous signs before putting your faith in God may be missing the point, how the Word of God is sufficient to lead us to repentance, and why the upside-down kingdom of God flips everything we think we know about status, honour, and what truly matters in eternity.

00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup
01:24 Context: Parables on Stewardship in Luke 15 and 16
03:47 Reading the Parable: The Rich Man and Lazarus
06:44 Purple and Fine Linen: The Rich Man's Lifestyle
09:02 Lazarus: Named and Covered in Sores
11:22 Why Is Lazarus Named? God Is My Help
13:08 The Dogs That Licked His Wounds: Provision or Mockery?
18:01 The Rich Man and Lazarus Both Die: Positions Reversed
20:44 Abraham's Side: The Place of Honor
22:21 The Rich Man Recognizes Lazarus by Name
26:32 Abraham's Reply: You Received Your Good Things
29:53 The Great Chasm: No One Can Cross Over
34:38 Send Lazarus to My Five Brothers: Too Late for Good Works
37:38 They Have Moses and the Prophets: The Word of God Is Enough
40:08 Even If Someone Rises from the Dead: Jesus and Lazarus of Bethany
42:46 Takeaway 1: Stewardship Reveals Your Heart Posture
45:12 Takeaway 2: The Upside Down Kingdom of God
48:30 Takeaway 3: The Importance of the Word of God
50:45 Closing Thoughts and Next Week's Parable

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Want to know more? Find a church that has things happening for young people. Visit https://achurchnearyou.com/youth/ [In partnership with CofE Digital Projects]

Join Zach and Michelle for an incredibly powerful and deeply moving conversation with Tebo Mpanza as he shares his radical journey from growing up in South Africa surrounded by cultural Christianity, navigating identity and faith as a teenager in England, and discovering what it truly means to keep a soft heart in a world that rewards hardness, ambition, and self-protection. This episode unpacks what it looks like to move from performance-driven ministry to restorative leadership, from proving yourself to protecting your heart, and from striving for success to trusting God's definition of what winning actually means.

Tebo opens up about his grandmother's genuine faith that shaped his trajectory, his years in church leadership and pastoral ministry, the burnout and depletion that came from running hard in his twenties, and the healing he experienced when someone finally told him he didn't have to prove himself. Discover what it means to guard your heart above all else, why keeping a soft heart is costly but essential, and how the Lord gives us a tender, responsive heart rather than a stony, stubborn one. This is a story about choosing love daily, recognising where ambition becomes an idol, and learning that your legacy and family may depend on your ability to remain soft.

BURNED OUT IN MINISTRY? LISTEN TO THIS.

00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup
01:24 Meet Tebo: Name, Heritage, and South African Roots
03:47 Growing Up with Cultural Christianity in South Africa
06:44 Moving to England at 15: Identity, Boarding School, and Distance from God
09:02 The Turning Point at 18: "I Cannot Live Like This Anymore"
11:22 Choosing Life: Deuteronomy 30 and a Fresh Start
13:08 University, Ministry, and Meeting His Wife
18:01 Leading a Church Location in Birmingham: Marriage, Ministry, and COVID
20:44 Burnout and the Cost of Performance-Driven Ministry
22:21 Restoration at Hillsong: "You Don't Have to Prove Yourself"
26:32 Moving to London and Starting a Creative Agency
29:53 Guarding Your Heart: Proverbs 4:23 and the Idol of Humility
34:38 The Cost of Carrying Anger, Ambition, and Comparison
37:38 Exodus 90: Confronting Comfort and Choosing the Hard Thing
40:08 A New Heart: Ezekiel 36:26 and God's Transformation
42:46 Why Keeping a Soft Heart Matters for Your Family and Legacy
45:12 Is Being Soft Dangerous? Winning, Losing, and Relationships
48:30 The Difference Between Being Soft and Having a Soft Heart
50:45 Closing Thoughts: You Never Arrive, You're Always Learning

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thewayuk/

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Want to know more? Find a church that has things happening for young people. Visit https://achurchnearyou.com/youth/ [In partnership with CofE Digital Projects]

Join Izzy, Michelle, and Zach as they unpack the Parable of the Persistent Widow in Luke 18, exploring what it truly means to pray without giving up, why God is nothing like the unjust judge, and how persistence in prayer transforms us rather than persuading a reluctant God. This episode kicks off week two of the parables series, diving into Jesus' powerful story about a widow who relentlessly pursues justice from a judge who neither fears God nor cares about people, and what it reveals about God's heart for us when we cry out to Him.

Discover why Jesus tells us the explicit purpose of this parable before He even begins the story, what it means to always pray and not give up when prayer feels like hard work, and why spiritual disciplines like prayer are more like going to the gym than we realise. The conversation tackles the reality of unanswered prayers, the tension between God's power and our experience of waiting, and why delays in answered prayer are often about changing us rather than convincing God. Learn what it means to fall back on love when prayers feel dry, how to reflect on God's faithfulness in the small things, and why no one is disqualified from coming to God in prayer no matter how much hurt, rejection, or distance they've experienced.

00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup
00:54 Reading Luke 18: The Parable of the Persistent Widow
02:02 Jesus Knows We Struggle with Prayer
08:02 The Unjust Judge: Understanding God's Opposite
11:22 God is Not Reluctant: He Wants to Answer Prayer
12:54 What to Do When God Seems Silent
13:31 Prayer is Like Going to the Gym
15:05 Prayer Changes Us, Not God
20:35 Falling Back on Love: Why We Keep Praying
21:58 The Story of the Shoes: God Cares About Small Things
26:32 The Widow: No One is Disqualified from Prayer
31:16 When the Son of Man Comes: Faith and Persistence
33:54 Closing Thoughts and Next Week's Parable

STRUGGLING WITH PRAYER? YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS

THE POWER OF PERSISTENT PRAYER | LUKE 18

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Want to know more? Find a church that has things happening for young people. Visit https://achurchnearyou.com/youth/ [In partnership with CofE Digital Projects]

Join Zoe and Michelle for an incredibly powerful and deeply moving conversation with Martha Stringer as she shares her radical journey from striving to be the best Christian, burning out in ministry, suffering with chronic pain and learning what it truly means to rest in God's love rather than perform for it. This episode unpacks what it looks like to move from competitive faith to surrendered trust, from ministry burnout to sustainable discipleship, and from believing God's love is something you earn to discovering it's something you receive.

Martha opens up about her journey with chronic illness, from a mysterious tropical illness that left her sick every day for seven years to severe asthma, debilitating knee pain, and life-threatening allergies. This podcast is for anyone who has struggled with striving in their faith, experienced burnout in ministry, wrestled with unanswered prayers for healing, or simply wants to understand what it means to trust God's love regardless of circumstance.

00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup
01:24 Growing Up Christian: A Family Shaped by Faith and Struggle
02:20 The Prodigal Son Moment: Encountering God as Father
04:00 All In: Missionary Life and the Competitive Christian
05:17 The Danger of Christian Competition and Performance
06:44 Complete Burnout: When Your Body Says No
09:02 Redefining Success: The Hem of Jesus' Garment
11:07 Going Slow in Ministry: A Youth Worker's Awakening
13:08 Success in Discipleship, Not Numbers
18:01 Remaining Mouldable: The Clay in God's Hands
20:44 Seven Years of Illness: When Healing Becomes an Idol
22:21 Laying Down the Idol: Even If You Don't Heal Me
23:46 The Year of Trust: Learning God's Love Beyond Healing
25:40 Healed in a Hospital Gown: God's Unexpected Timing
26:49 God's Love Isn't Conditional on Healing
29:53 The Bonkers Year: Asthma Healed After 25 Years
34:38 The Smoothie Incident: Accidentally Healed from Strawberry Allergy
37:38 Chronic Knee Pain Gone: The Weight Lifted
40:08 Blown Away by God's Goodness
42:46 Encouragement for Those Waiting: God Sees Your Pain
43:54 Closing Prayer and Final Thoughts

HEALED FROM ASTHMA, ALLERGIES & CHRONIC PAIN | MARTHA STRINGER

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thewayuk/

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Want to know more? Find a church that has things happening for young people. Visit https://achurchnearyou.com/youth/ [In partnership with CofE Digital Projects]