‘God Never Gives Up’: A Pastor Overcomes Fear

Summary

Episode Overview

Title: ‘God Never Gives Up’: A Pastor Overcomes Fear
Podcast: GPS: God. People. Stories.
Host: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Air Date: September 3, 2025
Guest: Phil Tuttle, President & CEO, Walk through the Bible

This episode centers on the extraordinary journey of Phil Tuttle, who overcame crippling fear and persistent feelings of inadequacy to become a pastor, ministry leader, and passionate Bible teacher. Through candid storytelling, Phil shares how God stretched his faith—moving him from the shadows of self-doubt and personal struggles into spiritual leadership, both in rural churches and on a global scale. The episode addresses themes of fear, spiritual hunger, personal failure, and the transforming power of God’s Word.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Early Faith and Family Challenges

• Upbringing: Phil grew up attending church in Illinois but didn’t initially view faith as important, mimicking his father's disinterest.
• First Encounter with the Gospel:
  • “[I had gone to church for years, but…] we were not hearing the gospel… I knew that I needed to have my sins forgiven.” — Phil Tuttle [02:11]
• Family Hardships:
  • Phil’s parents' troubled marriage profoundly shaped his views on relationships and stability:
    • “Dad would just withdraw... At one point Dad was going to leave Mom and he said, ‘I’ll stay till Philip graduates from college because a boy ought to have his dad.’ But I don’t love you anymore, Phyllis.” — Phil Tuttle [03:21]

2. College Faith Deepening

• Almost Lost Faith: Phil felt like walking away from Christianity due to unanswered questions, but a scholarship offer from his parents took him to Wheaton College.
• Spiritual Pivot at Wheaton:
  • “God ambushed me there and really got a hold of my life. College was where I got serious… It’s supposed to change how we live now.” — Phil Tuttle [04:54]
• First Taste of Ministry with Navigators:
  • Embraced an open environment for questions and honest searching in faith.
    • “Be as open with your questions… but be equally open for his answers, because he will answer you.”— Phil Tuttle [05:27]

3. From Medicine to Ministry (and Overcoming Fear)

• Career Change:
  • Originally a pre-med student, Phil was pulled toward ministry after finding medicine uninspiring compared to Bible study and teaching.
  • “God would never pick somebody like me to be a Bible teacher.” — Phil Tuttle [06:08]
• Crippling Fear of Public Speaking:
  • Describes recording his class speeches rather than speaking live due to anxiety:
    • “I literally… recorded my talk on a cassette recorder and pushed play and gave a speech about how to give a speech without having to give a speech.” — Phil Tuttle [06:39]
• Reluctant Calling: Even after seminary, Phil wanted to avoid the pulpit, aiming for behind-the-scenes ministry roles.

4. The Cisna Park Church Call

• Unexpected Interview:
  • Believed he was doing a mock interview, only to discover it was real and the church needed a pastor.
  • “This is either your doing or God’s doing.” — Phil Tuttle [12:08]
• Age & Inexperience:
  • Elders joked about his youth:
    • “‘How old are you?’ ...’26. I got a tractor older than you.’” — Phil Tuttle [12:08]
  • Honest beginnings:
    • “I'm going to make a lot of mistakes. I've never done this before.” — Phil Tuttle [12:47]
  • Elders’ response:
    • “Well, then we better have a lot of grace.” [12:47]

5. Personal Struggles and Honesty in Ministry

• Infertility Struggles:
  • While the church experienced a baby boom, the Tuttles faced years of infertility. Ellen hosted countless baby showers despite her own pain.
  • Heartbreaking moment:
    • “‘She's not a mommy, remember?’” — recounted by Phil [13:52]
• Breaking Down and Finding Support:
  • Advised wrongly to “be a burden bearer, not a burden sharer”—but realized the need for honesty.
  • Finally shared their struggle publicly; the congregation embraced and prayed for them.
  • “We’ll have to transfuse you with our faith.” — Phil’s church elder [15:14]

6. Answered Prayers and Faith Transformation

• Divine Provision:
  • Help and guidance from a Christian doctor led to the birth of their two children after years of struggle.
• Vulnerability as a Strength:
  • After sharing struggles, their authenticity fostered trust and deeper ministry:
    • “You guys are real. You’ve hurt, and because you’ve trusted us with your struggles, we’ll trust you with ours.” — Phil Tuttle [17:33]

7. Battle with Perfectionism

• Self-Criticism:
  • “My perfectionism… is the thief of joy.”— Phil Tuttle [18:21]
  • Used to throw out sermon tapes he deemed inadequate, which led to a humorous rebuke from a former professor, Bill Lawrence, who played the muddy tape during a sermon:
    • “Did you know your pastor is so hard on himself that if he’s not pleased with his message… he throws it out in the cornfield?” — Bill Lawrence [19:20]
  • Congregation responds with understanding, leading to more support and encouragement.

8. Growth and Global Impact

• Church Flourishing:
  • Church doubled in size (100 to 200), mostly new believers; passionate about missions.
    • “It wasn’t a couple of really loaded people. It was everybody,” — Phil Tuttle [20:51]
• Transition to Walk through the Bible:
  • Phil joined full-time to extend his ministry globally—“It was a no brainer. Even the church was like, we hate to lose you, but this is so right.” [21:19]

9. Global Ministry and Bible Engagement

• Leadership at Walk through the Bible:
  • Over 50 languages, 141 countries, and six and a half million people reached in 2024 [21:51].
  • Focus: Removing fear and confusion from Bible reading and making God’s Word accessible and engaging for all ages.
    • “People are confused. They're afraid of the Bible, especially the Old Testament... and we boil it down…” — Phil Tuttle [22:24]
• Worldwide Spiritual Hunger:
  • Emphasis on post-COVID spiritual searching:
    • “There is a spiritual hunger and a desperation, and the answer… is found in the Word of God.” — Phil Tuttle [23:46]

10. Keys to a Changed Life and Billy Graham’s Wisdom

• Greatest Predictor of Life Change:
  • “The single greatest predictor… is personal time in the word of God. And there’s something... if you hit four times a week or more, there’s this quantum leap in all this research.” — Phil Tuttle [27:39]
• Billy Graham’s Words on Peace:
  • “That inward peace which man so desperately seeks—only the Bible has been able to meet the need and meet it fully. Its message is the message of forgiveness and cleansing from sin through faith in Christ. This is the world’s only hope.” — Billy Graham [25:53]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• About being called despite fear:
  • “God would never pick somebody like me to be a Bible teacher.” — Phil Tuttle [06:08]
• On honesty in struggle:
  • “We’ll have to transfuse you with our faith.” — Elder [15:14]
• On perfectionism and self-doubt:
  • “My perfectionism… is the thief of joy.” — Phil Tuttle [18:21]
• Billy Graham on the hope found in Scripture:
  • “Only the Bible has been able to meet the need and meet it fully. Its message is the message of forgiveness and cleansing from sin through faith in Christ. This is the world’s only hope.” — Billy Graham [25:53]

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Key Timestamps

• [02:11] Phil’s childhood experience in church and his first genuine encounter with the Gospel.
• [03:21] Impact of parents’ troubled marriage.
• [04:54] God “ambushes” Phil at Wheaton College.
• [06:39] Hilarious story of avoiding public speaking in college.
• [12:08] Elders joke about Phil’s age; the church extends grace.
• [13:52-15:14] Infertility struggle; decision to share publicly and elders' uplifting response.
• [18:21-19:20] Perfectionism; tossing out sermon tapes—professor’s playful intervention.
• [20:51] Church’s radical commitment to missions.
• [21:51] Global scale of Walk through the Bible.
• [23:46] Expanding spiritual hunger and the unique purpose of ministry “for now.”
• [25:53] Billy Graham on fundamental human longing and the solution in Christ.
• [27:39] Secret to a transformed life: regular personal Bible study.

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Final Insights

The Heart of Transformation:
Phil Tuttle’s journey testifies that God works powerfully through ordinary people, even those plagued by insecurity and fear. Key to his transformation—and to his ministry—is the power of honest struggle, community support, and persistent, personal engagement with Scripture.

For Listeners:
If you’re wrestling with fear, the feeling of inadequacy, spiritual hunger, or deep personal pain, this episode provides hope through testimony, practical wisdom, and the assurance that “God never gives up.”

Transcript

[Phil Tuttle]

I said, baby, they have a pastor. We're gonna get on a plane, go back to Dallas and find where God wants us to serve. And it's not gonna be here. So relax.

[Jim Kirkland]

When Phil Tuttle went to a practice interview at a rural church, he told his wife he had no intentions of ever becoming their pastor. In fact, he had an abject fear of public speaking and thought he'd never measure up to what a lead pastor should be. But throughout his life, God has grown Phil's faith by pushing him out of his comfort zone. Phil has held onto that faith through discomfort and disappointment, personally, professionally, and with his family. And as he has held on, God has blessed him and kept pushing him from his comfort zone from behind the scenes to the front of the line. Today, Phil is a husband to Ellen, father of two, and the president and CEO of a ministry that's been around for 90 years. Walk through the Bible. You'll hear more of his journey on this episode of GPS God People Stories. It's an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I'm Jim Kirkland. At the heart of Phil's story is a struggle that many people today are familiar with. Perhaps you are. This is what Billy Graham observed.

[Billy Graham]

There are millions of people that are confused, frustrated and perplexed today. They do not know whether they're abound, but wherever it is, they fear to arrive there.

[Jim Kirkland]

You'll hear the answer to this fear and confusion later on in this episode. And you may be struggling with these issues, however, right now, and you feel like you need answers right now. If that's the case, Visit our website, FindPeaceWithGod.net that's FindPeaceWithGod.net the fastest way to get there always is the link in our show Notes gps God, People stories.

Growing up in Illinois, Phil Tuttle had attended church some because his mom did. But church hadn't been important to his father, and Phil adopted the same attitude his father had. But one day at an after school Bible club, Phil was presented the gospel and it changed his life.

[Phil Tuttle]

I had gone to church for years, but in the church we were in at the time, we were not hearing the gospel. We were hearing a lot of social philosophy stuff. And I knew that I needed to have my sins forgiven.

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil would steal his mom's maple cream candies. Maybe not a huge transgression, but still he knew it was the wrong thing to do.

[Phil Tuttle]

You know, I hadn't sold drugs or robbed banks or killed anybody or any of that stuff, but I knew that I was a sinner and no matter how hard I tried to be good, I couldn't be good enough. And through the simple presentation of the Gospel God, that's when I asked Jesus to forgive my sins.

[Jim Kirkland]

The downside of this life change was Phil lacked discipleship. Even though he had moved from death to life that day at the Bible Club by giving his life to Jesus Christ, he didn't know what to do next. He didn't know who to talk to next as a new Christian. Adding to that, around this time, Phil faced some devastating news that completely rocked his world. His parents struggling marriage looked like it was coming to an end.

[Phil Tuttle]

They argued a lot. And even more than arguing, maybe more destructive than that. Dad would just withdraw. And there were sometimes several days in a row when they didn't speak. At one point, dad was going to leave mom and he said, I'll stay till Philip graduates from college because a boy ought to have his dad. But I don't love you anymore, Phyllis.

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil's dad remained true to his word and stayed a part of their family. But his parents relationship didn't improve.

[Phil Tuttle]

And so I grew up with a view of marriage of it's got to be better than this and if I ever do marry, I'm not hanging around if it's kind of fake like this. And somewhere along the way they got connected with this church and the pastor really invested in their lives. God took that one little soft point in my dad's pretty hard heart as a point of entry. And when I went to college, he didn't leave.

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil chose to go to Wheaton College, a Christian school. It wasn't because of that. Maybe it was even in spite of that that he chose Wheaton. Rather, he went because of a financial incentive.

[Phil Tuttle]

I was this close to walking away from the faith because I would ask questions and there were just too many things that I couldn't get answers for. My parents said, if you'll go to Wheaton for one year, we'll pay half your tuition wherever you want to transfer to.

[Jim Kirkland]

So Phil figured, how bad can one year be at this college?

[Phil Tuttle]

And God ambushed me there and really got a hold of my life. College was where I got serious and said, oh, it's not just getting your ticket punched for heaven. It's supposed to change how we live now. I got involved with a group called the Navigators and for the first time felt God speaking to me through his word.

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil had questions tugging at his heart about God and about Jesus. And for the first time in his life, Phil was encouraged to ask them.

[Phil Tuttle]

I Was told, be open with your questions. God can handle them. He's not threatened by them. And we try to create a safe space here. Ask your questions. But, Phil, be as open as you are with your questions. Have integrity. Be equally open for his answers because he will answer you. No school is right for everybody, but it was the perfect soil that I needed to be transplanted in.

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil began teaching a group of freshmen for the Navigators during his sophomore year. If you're not familiar with them, the Navigators are a ministry that helps people grow in their faith in, in Jesus Christ. He enjoyed doing ministry, but he continued to study pre med. His goal was to be a doctor.

[Phil Tuttle]

Somewhere along the way, I, I joke and say organic chemistry was how God called me into ministry. I was actually getting still decent grades, but I just didn't find it motivating compared to this Bible stuff that I was getting involved in. And by nature, I'm actually pretty introverted. And I'm like, God would never pick somebody like me to be a Bible teacher.

[Jim Kirkland]

In fact, Phil was so introverted that he would do just about anything to avoid public speaking, even in speech class.

[Phil Tuttle]

I literally, in speech class, recorded my talk on a cassette recorder and pushed play and gave a speech about how to give a speech without having to give a speech. All the students applauded. They didn't know why I did it. I would have done anything rather than stand up in front of that class. And the teacher actually gave me an A minus. And now I'm feeling good. So I'm like, what's the deal with the minus? And she goes, your eye contact and your gestures were totally lacking. And I'm like, okay, I'll take the A minus.

[Jim Kirkland]

In the months afterward, Phil's fear of public speaking continued into his junior year. He waffled back and forth between changing his major from pre med and to ministry. Then, along the way, he met his future wife, Ellen.

[Phil Tuttle]

I met this gorgeous girl from Charlotte, brown hair, hazel eyes, like you had me from y' all kind of thing. And she actually came to know Christ at a Billy Graham crusade in Madison Square Gardens in New York, visiting her grandparents, and had written away for the follow up materials, read Billy's biography, found out he went to Wheaton College and told her parents at age 12, I'm going to Wheaton College someday.

[Jim Kirkland]

That someday had led her to meet Phil.

[Phil Tuttle]

On our first date, I said, ellen, what do you. What do you think you'll be when you grow up? She said, I've always known I'd marry somebody in some Kind of Bible teaching ministry. And I'm like, whoa.

[Jim Kirkland]

That sealed the deal for Phil. He took Ellen's answer as a confirmation from God and switched his major from. From pre med to Christian education and Bible. He crammed in as many Bible classes as possible over the next two years to finish his schooling at Wheaton. Phil and Ellen got married around Christmas time, 1980. He started taking classes at Dallas Theological Seminary. But there was one hump Phil couldn't seem to get over in becoming a Bible teacher. As he pursued a master of theology degree in Christian education, he still struggled with a fear of. Of public speaking. In fact, he put off the idea of preaching until after his graduation.

[Phil Tuttle]

I didn't want to be a lead pastor coming out of seminary. I was only 26. I thought, you know, let me go be an associate someplace, then I won't have to preach.

[Jim Kirkland]

That was all well and good for Phil until his resume caught the attention of a small church in Cisna Park, Illinois, near where he grew up.

[Phil Tuttle]

They had a search committee, and they said it was really weird. We had 90 resumes or something. They said something about the way yours was worded. It kept floating up toward the top. And then we go, the kid's 26. They had a rule in their church. You couldn't teach Sunday school, adult Sunday school till you were at least 30.

[Jim Kirkland]

Clearly, Phil thought that meant he wasn't the right man for this church. He didn't want to be the lead pastor anyways. He wanted to stay behind the scenes and in his comfort zone, which meant far away from the spotlight of public speaking. But as Phil was helping a friend move up to pastor a church in Iowa, he got a call from that church in Sistina Park.

[Phil Tuttle]

I said, I'm coming up if you want to talk. And they go, we already found our new pastor. He hasn't moved here yet, but we know he's the guy. He said a tentative yes, and then the guy on the phone goes, would you like to do a practice interview?

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil was in. He and Ellen got in the car and drove to Cisna Park.

[Phil Tuttle]

The road turns to, you know, single lane and then gravel. And Ellen's got the giggles because she's listening on the radio. They're talking about the price of soybeans and pork bellies are selling for this much. And she just goes, phil, I can't do this.

[Jim Kirkland]

After growing up in the big city of Charlotte, Ellen wasn't sure she could handle a central Illinois town whose focus was agriculture and farming.

[Phil Tuttle]

I said, baby, they have a pastor. We're going to get on a plane, go back to Dallas and find where God wants us to serve. And it's not going to be here, so relax.

[Jim Kirkland]

But remember, the church didn't actually have a pastor.

[Phil Tuttle]

We go to this house and there's the members of the search committee there. This is four different couples. And we walk in and we sit down and they go, okay, well, should probably let you know that pastor who's been a traveling evangelist, he does want to get off the road, but his heart's evangelism, not pastoring. And so he turned us down. And so Phil on this interview is live. This is for real.

[Jim Kirkland]

Ellen gave Phil a look across the room. She wanted him to know in no uncertain terms that this was not what they had agreed to.

[Phil Tuttle]

All I can tell you is by the end of that three hours, we were like, if the rest of the church is like these eight people, this could work. And they flew us up there again about a month later. Please never do this to a candidating pastor. There's no motels around there. It's a town of 850, no stoplights, 24 miles from the nearest McDonald's. Right? And so there's no motel. Certainly they put us in a different. Went home every night for nine nights. It was rough, but at the end of that time, they said, we think you're the right person. You're the right couple.

[Jim Kirkland]

But first, the church had to officially vote in the Tuttles. It was time to count the ballots.

[Phil Tuttle]

And I'm back with the elders. And one of the elders named Junior goes, how old are you? And I said, 26. And he goes, 26. I got a tractor older than you. And I said, I mean, you had my resume. And. And somebody goes, what are we going to do about the 30 years old to teach Sunday school rule? And I go, yeah, that could be a problem. And then I said, look, I said, I'm not looking to be a lead pastor or even a solo pastor. I said, this is either your doing or God's doing.

[Jim Kirkland]

The elders remained stuck on him, being just 26 years old, but nevertheless, he was their guy. He became their new pastor.

[Phil Tuttle]

I said, here's the deal. I said, I'm going to make a lot of mistakes. I've never done this before. And then they go, well, then we better have a lot of grace.

[Jim Kirkland]

Over the next several years of ministry at the church, Phil would have to remind them of that very conversation.

[Phil Tuttle]

I would remind them that I was fulfilling my campaign promises and that they needed to do the same. It Was not always easy years. There were a lot of family rivalries in the church and we went through a two year drought. The whole economy was based on agriculture there. There were problems sometimes with key people in the church. I mean, you, you, you name it.

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil and Ellen also began to face personal struggles while pastoring.

[Phil Tuttle]

When we moved there, we were in our first five years of infertility and the church was in a baby boom. This was not your sleepy little rural church with old people.

[Jim Kirkland]

There were 12 babies born in the congregation during the first few years. The Tuttles were at the church. And the church had a tradition that the pastor's wife hosted all the baby showers.

[Phil Tuttle]

And month after month of disappointment became year after year of frustration and no babies. And I mean, one year at Mother's Day, they passed out carnations to all the moms. And a little boy gave my wife one. She went, oh, thank you. And his older sister snatched it out of her hand and yells at her brother goes, she's not a mommy, remember?

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil and Ellen had to celebrate the gifts God was giving other people even when their own tanks felt totally empty. They didn't understand why God wasn't giving them a baby too. But Phil had decided to not talk publicly about their infertility struggle.

[Phil Tuttle]

Somebody told me a pastor should be a burden bearer, not a burden sharer. That's stupid. But I cross stitched it and hung it on the wall of my brain. So I need to be strong, especially if I'm only like 28 years old. People in the church, they would say dumb things, not knowing. Somebody said, drink out of that water fountain over there. Last three pastors drank there and what do they have, Mildred? Like eight kids between them and, you know, not meaning anything.

[Jim Kirkland]

One week, Phil preached on Hannah, a woman in the Bible's book of 1st Samuel who struggled with infertility. Ellen told him that it was time for them to bring other people into their struggle. They needed people's prayers.

[Phil Tuttle]

I just lost it in the middle of the sermon and told them exactly what was going on. And they came around us and we had an elder meeting that week. And they said, why don't you pray that God will give you a child? I go, honestly, I can't pray about that anymore. That's not a good career move if you're a pastor to say you can't pray about something. And they didn't even flinch. One of the elders goes, then we'll have to transfuse you with our faith.

[Jim Kirkland]

The elders came around Phil and prayed, but it Would be a while before they got any answers.

[Phil Tuttle]

A new believer in our church was a nurse practitioner who became pregnant, not married, and knocked on the door of our house about 11:30 one night and poured this whole thing out and goes, I've just destroyed my professional credibility as a nurse and my Christian witness. We prayed with her. I ended up eventually doing her marriage with this guy that they shared a child together. And that night she goes, I know this is highly inappropriate, but she says, I heard about your struggle, your sermon on Hannah. I was there. Here's a pamphlet from a doctor, and I've never met this doctor. I know he's got a waiting list. He's over in Indianapolis.

[Jim Kirkland]

On the pamphlet, the doctor stated he was a Christ follower and he hoped that people wouldn't be offended if he asked to pray with him. He believed that he treated patients, but God did the healing. Due to a cancellation, Ellen was able to get an appointment with this Christian doctor. It took three surgeries over three years, battling endometriosis. But eventually, their daughter Emily, was born in January of 1988. And after another surgery, their son Philip entered the World in 1991.

[Phil Tuttle]

It was the most transforming thing for my faith, but all of a sudden, my counseling load about tripled because we had never meant to project that. We had life all figured out, but we kind of were.

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil remembers the most difficult question he and Ellen were asked in their church interview process. It was, what's the hardest trial that you've been through in your marriage?

[Phil Tuttle]

And we kind of looked at each other like we're newlyweds. Oh, we lived far away from home, from both sets of parents. Poor us. Boohoo. And now all of a sudden, people said, you guys are real. You've hurt, and because you've trusted us with your struggles, we'll trust you with ours. And that was a noticeable change in our whole ministry. So, man, it wasn't about what we did in other people's lives near as much as it was what God did in our lives during those years.

[Jim Kirkland]

Phil is quick to share that God worked in his own heart through other struggles besides infertility and fear of speaking as a perfectionist. He was extremely hard on himself and his sermons. He felt isolated in his struggles.

[Phil Tuttle]

I hit bottom in that church. Every Sunday, Ellen and I sit down at dinner, and I just take apart my sermon, my perfectionism. It really is the thief of joy.

[Jim Kirkland]

Whenever Phil thought he preached poorly, he would take the cassette tape recording of his sermon before it could be duplicated or distributed to him. His Sermons just didn't feel good enough. So he'd personally remove any record of them.

[Phil Tuttle]

And I'd walk out the back door of the church and I'd throw it as far as I could. Half the time it was soybeans. The next year would be corn. And one of my professors from seminary, Bill Lawrence, we had him come up as a guest speaker and unbeknownst to me, Ellen told him I was doing that. And he goes, alan, that's really messed up.

[Jim Kirkland]

The first night in the pulpit of Phil's church, Bill pulled out a box of cornflakes. He told the congregation that he and his wife were having breakfast last week. And he reached inside the cornflake box to pull out a prize.

[Phil Tuttle]

He goes, I pulled out this cassette tape. And he had mud all over this white cassette tape. And he goes, I looked, it's a message of one of my former students. And I how'd that get in my cornflakes? He goes, now that I've been here, I've heard, I know how it happened. Now, did you know your pastor is so hard on himself that if he's not pleased with his message, he assumes you're sure not pleased with it, neither is God. And he throws it out in the cornfield. And he goes, that miraculously ended up in our cornflakes box. So I could come here and tell you, you gotta love on your pastor because he needs it.

[Jim Kirkland]

The congregation was shocked to hear that Phil felt that way about his messages. Phil thought he had failed so much, he should return to his pre med studies. In fact, he was thinking maybe it wasn't too late to go back because clearly he didn't know a thing about ministry. Despite what Phil thought about his teaching, God was still at work in him and blessed the church.

[Phil Tuttle]

The church grew and really grew from about 100 to 200. That won't get you on the COVID of Christianity Today, but that was almost all new believers. It was beautiful what God did. And that church loved missions. And I caught the bug for having an impact globally from our first church.

[Jim Kirkland]

The church gave $100,000 to missions during Phil's final year with the church. Keep in mind, there was less than 200 members in that church.

[Phil Tuttle]

And it wasn't a couple of really loaded people. It was everybody. Our missions conference had better attendance than Christmas or Easter. And I got my passion for the whole world from our first church.

[Jim Kirkland]

During this time, Phil had already been teaching live events for a ministry called Walk through the Bible. He'd been doing it for four years. He joined the organization full time in 1992 with the mission to take the Gospel around the world.

[Phil Tuttle]

It was a no brainer. Even the church was like, we hate to lose you, but this is so right.

[Jim Kirkland]

Over the past three decades at Walk through the Bible, Phil has taken on numerous roles including Dean of Faculty, Senior VP for International Ministries and Global Teaching Pastor. Teaching the Old and New Testament in churches and even in a few prisons. Today he serves as President and CEO of Walk through the Bible which aims to ignite a passion for God's Word in people's lives through events, resources and pastoral trainings.

[Phil Tuttle]

A big part of my job is creating new materials each year that then are given to our 10 regional leaders around the world. And then in about three months they have those in 25 or 30 languages and then train hundreds, sometimes thousands of pastors to teach them in their local context.

[Jim Kirkland]

Walk through the Bible has hosted thousands of events taught in over 50 languages in 141 countries. They were able to teach God's word to six and a half million people in 2024 alone.

[Phil Tuttle]

You can have 11 Bibles on your shelf in your house in Atlanta or Charlotte or Dallas, but never open them. We can count on our pastors to feed us when we ought to be more self feeding. And that's part of the unique calling of Walk through the Bible is because people are confused. They're afraid of the Bible, especially the Old Testament. So and so begat, hard name, beget, what's his face. Begat. I'm not even going to try that one. And you know, I mean all this history and all these kings and we boil it down, we've got three hour seminars on the Old Testament and the New Testament and we take those into all different kinds of churches, Christian schools. We got to teach a million and a half kids in the last year, more than half of whom the teaching occurred in public schools around the world. It's amazing.

[Jim Kirkland]

Whether through pastoring a church in a small town or sharing the love of Christ around the world, God has continually used Phil and encouraged him to walk through his fears, deep dislikes and disappointments, even his desire for comfort, all in order to do great things. Now he's leading an organization who's trying to lead people who are spiritually hungry. He's done that full fold since COVID 19.

[Phil Tuttle]

Tell you what, people started asking questions that they haven't asked in my lifetime. So I tell people all the time, walk through the Bible. As great as it was 50 years ago, 30 years ago, I think both of Our organizations were birthed for now, because there is a spiritual hunger and a desperation, and the answer of it is not found in politics or entertainment or sports or even just regular education. It's found in the Word of God. And he's called us to get people into the Word and the Word into people. So let's go do it.

[Jim Kirkland]

That brings up a good point. Are you spiritually hungry? If you sense that you're being called somewhere you don't want to go? If you've had to rally around people when your own cup is empty, or if you've come from disadvantaged circumstances that have instilled fear in you, we can help. Visit our website findpeacewithgod.net when you're there, click on Begin a Relationship with Jesus. That'[e-mail] you can also find the link to that website in our show Notes Remember in our story how Phil's dad was not a Christ follower while he was growing up? Well, his father eventually came to faith in Christ during Phil's college years. He even became a church elder. And he stayed married to Phil's mom, caring for her through poor health until her death. Phil witnessed God change his father from the inside out. That's the power of God and His Word. It's a pretty significant change in lifestyle. In just a minute, Phil will share what biblical studies point out as the single greatest predictor of a truly changed life. Stick around. You'll want to hear it. You're listening to God People Stories, a podcast production of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

[Billy Graham]

There are millions of people that are confused, frustrated and perplexed today. Billy Graham they do not know whether they're abound, but wherever it is, they fear to arrive there that inward peace which man so desperately seeks. Only the Bible has been able to meet the need and meet it fully. Its message is the message of forgiveness and cleansing from sin through faith in Christ. This is the world's only hope. It is peace of soul you are seeking. Is it confident living you yearn for? Is it integration of personality you crave? Is it release from dread and fear that you wish? Is it relief from a troubled conscience you long for? Then turn to the Bible. Find there from its inspired pages the living Christ who once at Calvary took the sins of men upon himself. He will pardon all your sins. He will restore your wasted life. He will give you the confident spirit you need. He will exchange your tears for smiles and your groanings for shouts of joy. This is the Savior of men and the hope of an otherwise hopeless world. You will find it all there in God's great book, the Bible.

[Jim Kirkland]

Do you relate to any of those circumstances? Lack of confidence, fear and dread, or a troubled conscience? Just as Billy Graham said, the answers are found in the Bible. And we can help you get started. Visit our [e-mail] when you're there, click the link that says begin a relationship with Jesus. That'[e-mail] Our guest on this episode of GPS is Phil Tuttle. As a lifelong pastor, he's seen how impactful reading and studying the Bible is. But if you want to get the most out of spending time in God's word, there's a secret Phil wants to share with us.

[Phil Tuttle]

It's been lots of research by Barna. The Southern Baptist did this. Willow Creek did this. The single greatest predictor of a truly changed life, a marriage that stands the test of time, good relationships with kids. The number one predictor of success and growth in those areas is not just church attendance. It's not even engagement. It's personal time in the word of God. And there's something, I don't know why this is, but there's something about if you hit four times a week or more, there's like this quantum leap in all this research. And so that's our calling, is to take away people's fear and confusion, give them access to the book, give them a path of what's the next step you can take. We want to through hike with people through their whole lives, through the whole story of scripture. And I think that's probably why I love Walk through the Bible so much.

[Jim Kirkland]

Our thanks goes to Phil Tuttle for joining us on this episode. Phil is today the president and CEO of Walk through the Bible. He's been married to Ellen now for 44 years and the proud father of two adult children. He's an average man that God used to do extraordinary things for the gospel. If you'd like to hear more encouraging stories of faith like Phil's, then subscribe to gps. That way you will not miss a single episode. They arrive to you every two weeks on Wednesdays. I'm Jim Kirkland and this is GPS God People Stories. It's an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Always good news.