Girls Gone Bible | "Reaching Your Breaking Point" (Dec 12, 2025)

Main Theme:

In this powerful and vulnerable episode, Angela (Ang) Halili and Arielle (Ari) Reitsma openly recount a recent event during their LA tour stop, where Angela had to leave the stage due to reaching an emotional and physical breaking point. Together, they navigate the complex realities of serving in ministry, personal limits, mental health, and the necessity for honesty and support—sharing their real struggles to remind listeners they are not alone in weakness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction: Setting the Stage & Honesty in Ministry

• Angela and Ari introduce the show (04:40) and explain that, having toured 41 cities preaching the gospel, they are still very new to ministry and learning as they go.
• The main focus of the episode is to “get really, really vulnerable” and to address what happened at their LA show, particularly for the 1,200+ people in attendance (05:41).
• Angela shares:

  "We've been doing that for a year and a half and this past weekend we had a situation... our biggest night ... and I ended up having to get off stage. And so this is going to be an episode where we just get really, really vulnerable and kind of let you guys in on what happened." (05:41)

2. Angela’s Story: Hitting a Breaking Point

• Angela describes ongoing personal struggles, compounded by the pressures of touring and ministry (09:00).
• She details the night before the LA show, experiencing severe anxiety that went far beyond anything she had felt before:

  "I could tell that I was beginning to have probably like a nervous breakdown. Like I just felt my nervous system shutting down. Like it was different from anxiety." (10:04)

• Despite encouragement from loved ones to "just push through," Angela felt a clear sense from God releasing her from the obligation to perform:

  “I literally feel from the Lord...not only just say that I don't have to do the show, but that I shouldn't… I feel God releasing me from it.” (10:37)

• Against her gut instincts, Angela attempts to go on with the show but knows internally, “if I get on that stage, I'm going to have to walk off.” (12:29)
• Onstage, her body literally shuts down:

  “I couldn't even, like, see the word. Like, I literally couldn't see the Bible. I was reading it and I was so dizzy and so overstimulated...I knew I had to get off stage.” (15:02)

• She addresses the audience from the stage:

  “I love Jesus and I love his words so much… I don’t feel responsible to teach or preach or lead a room of people right now. Like, it's not safe for me. I'm going through a lot in my personal life and I have literally nothing to give.” (16:57)

• Angela publicly apologizes to attendees, expressing deep sorrow and sharing her lessons learned:

  “I just said, like, guys, I'm so sorry...I am so, so sorry.” (17:00)

3. Vulnerability & Breaking the Performance Mentality

• Angela reflects on the implications:

  “There's this, like, performance aspect and this, like, perfectionist, image upholding, like, element where, like, you. If you lead people, like, you're meant to be perfect and strong...I think God's just like breaking that in me completely.” (24:08)

• She talks about embracing human weakness as part of faith:

  “I want to be someone who, like, walks in the power and the authority of Jesus...and I'm just a human who is, like, trying to figure it out and gets it wrong a lot, you know?” (25:24)

4. Arielle’s Perspective: Stepping Up in Crisis

• Ari shares her own emotional experience as Angela’s friend and ministry partner, revealing she was in a state of shock but felt led by God to continue:

  “My nervous system was in a complete state of shock...I looked down and I literally said it was like my Moses moment.” (36:02)

• She describes how God met her in her weakness:

  “The scripture, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ really came to life for me that night because I just...I did the whole show by myself, but I realized that I wasn’t by myself on there because you guys were with me.” (37:56)

• She thanks the audience for their patience and support, acknowledging their shock and her own:

  “For a couple days, I’ve been feeling so many things too. And so I just...thank you. Thank you for understanding and thank you for sticking with me through that whole show and supporting me and being my best friend.” (39:43)

5. Lessons on Limits, Rest, and Real Christianity

• Angela and Ari discuss the importance of knowing personal limits and rejecting the lie of limitlessness:

  “If you have that sort of mentality...you do have a limit. I have a limit. We all have a limit.” (27:46)

• They reflect on the necessity of self-care, especially in ministry without external oversight:

  “We run our ministry. ... We have to decide when we stop or when we pause.” (30:08)

• Both acknowledge the toll of unrelenting schedules:

  “We haven’t taken a break in three years...People typically do seasons for podcasts, not us.” (44:21)

6. Faith Through Mental Health and Suffering

• The hosts urge listeners to seek help, including therapy and medication if needed, and debunk the myth that Christians always ‘have it together’:

  “Just because we have Jesus doesn't mean that we can't have a therapist or be on medication or just feel like we're drowning sometimes.” (26:17)

• Ari reads Isaiah 43:2, offering deep comfort for those in suffering:

  “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you...When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.” (45:53)

• They stress that the journey of sanctification is lifelong and messy:

  “Being a Christian is a mess sometimes and it’s really messy...being messy is normal.” (50:33)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This was truly one of the most humbling moments of my life...a beautiful breaking moment for me where, like, any bit of performance or image, you know, is just cracked open.” — Ang (23:52)
• “Watching you and even things that I've been walking through...has opened my eyes to be like, you know, just because we have Jesus, doesn't mean we have to have it all together.” — Ari (25:58)
• “I am not going to just power through in ministry and be like, suppress and suppress and suppress.” — Ang (30:05)
• “God is with you. Like, even if you're afraid, do it. Even if you have questions, do it. And step by step, he just kept walking with me and helping me.” — Ari (41:02)
• “We are just like you. ... Every single one of us are going through something. And God in all of our situations has the same intention: to make us more like Jesus and to bring us closer into his heart.” — Ang (50:59)
• “If somebody is dealing with mental health, he is with you. He loves you. You are precious to him and he's using everything you're going through right now to build you and to strengthen you.” — Ari (47:34)

Important Timestamps

• 04:40 – Show introduction and theme explained
• 09:00 – Angela shares what led up to the breaking point
• 10:04-12:29 – Experience of anxiety, God’s release, and internal conflict
• 15:02 – Angela forced to leave the stage during LA show
• 16:57-17:00 – Angela’s apology from the stage
• 21:10-24:08 – Breaking of performance and “perfectionist” spirit
• 34:44-41:02 – Ari’s perspective, stepping up solo, and support from audience
• 45:19-46:34 – Scripture reading (Isaiah 43:2) as encouragement
• 50:33 – Final reflections on Christianity as “messy,” shared struggles

Tone & Takeaways

• Angela and Ari are candid, empathetic, and raw, with a tone that is nurturing yet unfiltered and often self-deprecating, always circling back to the faithfulness and tenderness of God.
• The episode powerfully affirms the worth of vulnerability in leadership and faith, the non-negotiable need for boundaries, and the gift of community that supports us through breaking points.
• Listeners are reminded, “you will not drown,” no matter how deep the waters, reinforcing the show’s overarching message: we do not walk through our lowest points alone.

Episode Summary Prepared by: Girls Gone Bible Podcast Summarizer

“May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace. Shalom.” — Ang & Ari (51:20)