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- [00:01]
Jim Kirkland
When Christian and country music artist Ann Wilson was just 15, her brother was killed in a car accident. During his funeral, she felt a calling that changed the course of her life.
- [00:12]
Ann Wilson
I sang Hillsong's beautiful worship song, what a Beautiful Name at the funeral. And that was the moment that I was sitting at the piano on the stage and I heard the Lord say to me, anne, I'm calling you to worship my name. I'm calling you to music.
- [00:28]
Jim Kirkland
Today, Anne is well known as a singer who lives out her faith in Jesus Christ. That living out part includes being a rebel against a culture that's toxic, especially for young people. She's going to tell us all about it on this episode of GPS God People Stories. It's an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I'm Jim Kirkland. Now 24 years old, Ann Wilson has a heart for sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with the people group. Born between 1997 and 2012, otherwise known as Gen Z, Billy Graham recognized the spiritual hunger many young people carry. Even back in the 70s, the vast
- [01:10]
Billy Graham
majority of American young people are alienated, uncommitted and non involved. There's a deep vacuum within the majority of American youth. They're searching for individual identity. They're searching for a challenge and a faith.
- [01:23]
Jim Kirkland
If you're feeling that there's something missing in your life, we can help you find answers. Visit our website FindPeaceWithGod.net that's FindPeaceWithGod.net and the fastest way to get there is always through the link in our show notes.
- [01:42]
Ann Wilson
God People Stories
- [01:47]
Jim Kirkland
Growing up, Ann Wilson never imagined becoming a country music star. Her eyes were fixed on a different kind of star or stars like the ones in outer space. As Ann dreamed of becoming an astronaut.
- [02:03]
Ann Wilson
We were brought up in a home where we were always encouraged to do whatever our dreams were. To go chase our dreams, to work hard, but to always know that we could do whatever we set our minds to. And that was really special for us.
- [02:16]
Jim Kirkland
Growing up, Ann and her brother and sister had all been raised to be entrepreneurial. And as they got older, they each thrived in their own individual way.
- [02:27]
Ann Wilson
My sister started a clothing company when she was 16 years old and that ended up making it on Southern Living magazine and ended up growing into something big. I wanted to be an astronaut and I had plans to work for NASA, hopefully. And then my brother went to eventually go to law school.
- [02:44]
Jim Kirkland
But in 2017, a tragedy struck the Wilsons that would alter Ann's dreams and ultimately her future.
- [02:53]
Ann Wilson
My brother passed away when he was 23. I was 15. He died in a car accident, and our life forever changed when Jacob passed away. It was just so devastating, so heart wrenching.
- [03:06]
Jim Kirkland
As Anne grieved the loss of her brother, she leaned on her relationship with Christ. She had decided to follow Jesus three years earlier.
- [03:15]
Ann Wilson
When he passed, there was something that shifted in me where my perspective changed. And I knew what mattered more than anything was telling people about Jesus and sharing the gospel wherever I went. And that's when music really came into my life.
- [03:29]
Jim Kirkland
And it entered Ann's life not through ambition or an intentional pursuit. It came through worship at the very time and place where her family was grieving most. Jacob's funeral.
- [03:43]
Ann Wilson
I sang Hillsong's beautiful worship song, what a Beautiful Name at the funeral. And that was the moment that I. I was sitting at the piano on the stage, and I heard the Lord say to me, and I'm calling you to worship my name. I'm calling you to music.
- [03:59]
Jim Kirkland
In that moment, Ann surrendered her plan for her life to God.
- [04:04]
Ann Wilson
It was the craziest thing. I heard the voice of God call me into music and started opening doors for me. And he just began to lay out this path of what my life was supposed to look like.
- [04:15]
Jim Kirkland
In the days after her brother's death, God was drawing near to her, just like it is promised in the Bible in Psalm chapter 34, verse 18, where it says, God is close to the brokenhearted.
- [04:28]
Ann Wilson
I didn't know what that meant in scripture until I lived it out. But there was a closeness with Jesus that I had during that time that was so special. And I would just hear his voice and he would speak to me so clearly. So I knew when I was sitting at the piano that day and I heard his voice, I knew that it was something really meaningful and important, and I knew I needed to listen to it. And so I actually left the funeral. As devastating as that day was, I left the funeral with this feeling of hope and this feeling of a future, of, okay, God's going to do something with this. Like, I know that God is in this and he's going to use this.
- [04:57]
Jim Kirkland
But Ann had no idea what a music career would even look like. It took lots of hard work and sacrifice over four years before she had her big break. In the meantime, she struggled and even considered giving up on what God was calling her to.
- [05:14]
Ann Wilson
My last three years of high school, I was being developed as an artist, and so I missed out on a lot of stuff back home. I would take trips to Nashville once a month and ended up Moving out by myself when I was 17 and moving to a whole brand new city, four hours away from my family, had no friends, had no one there. There were a lot of those moments that were just really hard moments of like, God, where are you taking me? Like, what is this? What are we doing? Like, am I wasting my time? You know, where is this going to go?
- [05:42]
Jim Kirkland
God met Ann in her questions. While she often wondered if she was doing the right thing, Ann heard God calling her to trust him and that he would take care of her along the way. God also worked through the people in her life to encourage her to keep going.
- [05:59]
Ann Wilson
My family has been my rock, and they have always guided me along this journey of keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus, going to him for the answers. And then in addition to them, my pastor back home from where I'm from in Lexington, Kentucky, my pastor, Pastor Cameron, and his wife Erica were huge in that season of my life for me, reminding me every day that God was calling me to something bigger and that God was going to use this pain for good.
- [06:24]
Jim Kirkland
So Ann continued to pursue God's call and started writing songs, something she had never, ever done before in her life. Together with a team of other writers, she wrote 150 songs.
- [06:38]
Ann Wilson
I was trying to figure out what kind of artist I wanted to be in the Christian music genre. Like, was I going to do worship music? Was I going to do Christian radio? Like, what direction, sonically, was I going to go in?
- [06:49]
Jim Kirkland
Anne went back through her journals from the season of her brother's passing. For the first time, she noticed something each day. She had written down that she made it through another day with all the credit to Jesus. And she wrote that in a particular fashion.
- [07:07]
Ann Wilson
So I would say, thank you, my Jesus, for another day. Thank you, my Jesus, for pulling me through another day. And I had noticed that I kept writing my. My Jesus. I never referred to him as God or Lord or even just Jesus. It was my Jesus.
- [07:21]
Jim Kirkland
The next time Anne went to a songwriting session, she told her writing friends, including another artist, Matthew west, what she had noticed about her journaling and how she referred to Jesus in her journals. Struck her as maybe a potential song title.
- [07:39]
Ann Wilson
And I explained to them the story, you know, it's my Jesus. And their jaws dropped and they looked at each other and they're like, we literally both had that same title idea today that we were walking in the room with It's My Jesus. So we ended up writing the song and, you know, loved the song, but had no idea that it was gonna do what it did.
- [07:59]
Song Lyrics / Choir
Let me tell you about my Jesus he makes a way where there ain't no way Rises up from an empty grave Ain't no sinner that he can stand.
- [08:16]
Jim Kirkland
My Jesus reached number one on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart and won Pop Contemporary Recorded Song of the year for 2021 at the Dove Awards. It was also the longest running number one hit on the Billboard Christian airplay chart that year. For Ann, though, the song wasn't about its success.
- [08:37]
Ann Wilson
The whole concept of My Jesus was really a moment for me in my own journey to go, hey, look what my Jesus has done in my life. Like, I'm now seeing that he has taken this tragedy and he has turned it into something more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed of. But this is also a song, it's really an invitation, you know, through the song to people to say, hey, let me tell you about my Jesus Let me tell you what he can do for you look what he's done for me he can do the same for you.
- [09:01]
Jim Kirkland
Over the past five years, the two time platinum song has become an anthem of sorts for people who relate to Ann's story of loss and respond to the encouragement to look at what Jesus is doing in their lives. And when it comes to looking at what Jesus has done for her, Ann can clearly see the trajectory of faith from the age of 12, when she first gave her life to Jesus, to her life as an adult.
- [09:26]
Ann Wilson
I think growing up in the church, my whole life, you know, I felt a lot of it was just religion, like go to church because your parents tell you to check it off your list. And, and then when I met Jesus when I was 12 and I had a relationship with him, everything changed for me where I began to see that Jesus wanted a relationship with me. Like it wasn't just this far off God, but he also is personal and he wants a relationship with each and every one of us. And then as I got older and my career started, and as I've grown into the adult that I am now, I've learned a lot about what it means to just stand firm for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- [09:59]
Jim Kirkland
Ann's conviction to stand strong for the gospel of Jesus Christ regardless of the world's opinions, helped inspire what would become the next next major song of her career. Rebel.
- [10:24]
Song Lyrics / Choir
In the name of Jesus Go send my. If whoever want to take Whoever's would I be Cause the one I father was the rebel army.
- [10:36]
Ann Wilson
When you follow Jesus in this world, it makes you rebellious. It makes you the one that stands out. You're the one that Goes against the grain. You're the one that goes against the crowd when you stand up and say no, this is the way I believe. I believe what the Bible says to be true. I believe in Jesus. I believe he is the way, the truth and the life. Everything changes. And I always felt like the more I grew in my faith, the more bold and vocal I was about it, the more the world hated me. But that's exactly what scripture says and that's an encouragement to us. And honestly has fueled me because I've always been like, I like to go against what people tell me to do. I've been that way my whole life. And I love just standing firm in my faith and being bold in that and saying no, I'm going to believe this and I'm going to stand for this and I'm going to speak about it.
- [11:17]
Jim Kirkland
That message of being rebellious is one Ann feels is especially important. As a 24 year old representing Gen
- [11:25]
Ann Wilson
Z. I'm really grateful that God has given me this platform to be able to speak to my generation about that and encouraging them to take a stand for Jesus, to be bold and to be a rebel. In today's world, probably our biggest struggle in our generation is overcoming that to where you're able to say, I'm going to take a stand for Jesus. I'm going to post about this, I'm going to post about my faith or whatever it is and I'm just going to learn to not care what people think and say about me because I'm following Jesus. And you know, I think some people can get frustrated and upset, but ultimately, again, it goes back to if I'm following Jesus and I'm being obedient to him, he's going to bless me for that. And so I've just had to keep my eyes fixed on that. Through all of those obstacles and all those times I've had to just be firm and say no. I know that I'm doing the right thing.
- [12:10]
Jim Kirkland
One of those obstacles has been merging her career as a contemporary Christian artist with her country roots. For Ann, singing at country music festivals and shows is another way to follow God's call and share her faith. Every time Ann plays at a country show, she places her faith in Jesus front and center.
- [12:31]
Ann Wilson
I've been really careful about how do I be completely faithful to my calling and sharing the gospel and also connecting with these people that may not know Jesus or they may not know the language in which we speak in. And God has been so good to give me those moments along the way. But I think the biggest thing is any room I step foot into, my goal is to be the light of Christ and to share the gospel with people.
- [12:53]
Jim Kirkland
Most people at Ann's Christian concerts likely already believe in Jesus Christ. But those who attend her secular shows may never have heard how much Jesus loves them and what he has done for them. Or they may have actually been hurt by the church.
- [13:10]
Ann Wilson
And you get to meet them in the midst of that and go, no, no, no. This is my Jesus. Let me tell you about Him. He loves you. He cares for you. He died for you. He's giving you life. And that has been so beautiful. For me, more than any other show I've gotten to play at a church or a Christian show, getting to go out into the world and be the hands and feet of Jesus, that has been such a gift to my life, and I'm so grateful for all of the opportunities I've had to do that.
- [13:34]
Jim Kirkland
As an artist. Performing on both Christian and secular stages, Ann has learned to let Jesus be her guide on every stage. She often remembers the words of one of her mentors, Christian singer Lauren Daigle.
- [13:48]
Ann Wilson
She said, ann, Jesus is the only one that can tell you which way to go. And he's the only one that's gonna stand, speak to you in the way in which you should go. He will use other people around you to encourage you, to pray for you, to push you in the way you should go. But he is going to be the one to tell you where to go. You got to listen to him. You cannot stop listening to the Holy Spirit and Jesus like to guide you. And that was huge for me because that was that reminder I needed of if I do not listen to Jesus, I'm going to have no idea where to go. My team might suggest something for me to do. My family might have an idea. My label might be pushing me in a direction. But if I don't seek Jesus first, I'm making the wrong decision.
- [14:27]
Jim Kirkland
As Anne has continued to hear Jesus first before anyone else or anything else, she's witnessed more of his kindness and intentionality in her life. She can look back and see moments where God was preparing her for what would come later in her life. Seeds from her childhood, like standing up for Jesus in a middle school classroom, have shaped her into someone who encourages thousands of people.
- [14:51]
Ann Wilson
I've learned that as I've gotten older and as I've matured in my relationship with God, when you follow him and you're living in God's will for your life, it's the most incredible thing for you as well. Like, it's, you're living the best life that you could be living as well. And I think for a while maybe I thought that, like God's plan wasn't as good as my own or if I was obedient to God, I was missing out on something else. But as I've gotten older, I've learned that when you're obedient to God and you are truly living in his will for your life, that is the most beautiful place you could ever be in.
- [15:21]
Jim Kirkland
Ann talks about that kind of obedience to God and how to live out what she calls a rebellious faith in her just released book titled Rebel Following Jesus when the World Walks the Other Way.
- [15:34]
Ann Wilson
As an artist and a songwriter, there's only so much I can say in a song or on a stage every night. So this book gave me the opportunity to be able to really just dive deep into what God has been teaching me and what he taught me during that season of writing the record Rebel and, and then expanding on, you know, stories from scripture and things that he was teaching me in my own life of what it means to follow after Jesus in a world that doesn't and, and to be a rebel for God.
- [15:59]
Jim Kirkland
You can find out more about Anne's book Rebel Following Jesus when the World Walks the Other Way, as well as her upcoming tour dates on her website, annwilsonofficial.com and we'll have a link to that website in our show notes too. As for what she's been up to so far in 2026, Ann share every
- [16:21]
Ann Wilson
year, start of the year, I always pray for a word for the year. And every year God gives me something. And this year I prayed on January 1st, was sitting on my front porch in Franklin, Tennessee, where I live, and I heard the Lord speak so clearly to me. Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that I'm taking care of you. And be still and know that I have a plan for you. And I've been living in that since the start of this year, every single day.
- [16:46]
Jim Kirkland
While living in that promise, Ann still has many unknowns. She confesses she's at a place where for the first time in a long time, she doesn't know what's next for her. And she still encounters loss. On Ann's most recent birthday, February 21st, another tragedy struck. One of her close friends passed away at just 22 years old.
- [17:10]
Ann Wilson
That was like the strangest moment of like, okay, the start of my brand new year of 24, I had a massive loss. And the Lord in his kindness just reminded me of that. Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that I have a plan for you. And be still. Know that I'm taking care of you. And that's really my message for this year. And also just what I'm living by is I don't have to know my tomorrow. I'm not supposed to. I don't have to hold my future. But God is. And all I'm called to do is to trust him in it and to be obedient to him and to let him lead the way. So that's really what I'm saying that to my team too this year I'm like, I'm just letting God lead me and that's the most beautiful place I think that we can be in.
- [18:00]
Song Lyrics / Choir
Only he could do. I'm proof now. We're all only one prayer away from a testimony. There's only one.
- [18:17]
Jim Kirkland
Be still and know that I am God. That's a reassurance offered to us in the Bible. Psalm 46, verse 10. Do you know the peace that only comes from placing your trust in God? If you don't, we are here to help. Visit our website, findpeacewithgod.net when you're there, click on Begin a relationship with Jesus. That's@findpeacewithgod.net and you can always find this link in our show Notes. In one moment, Ann will give a word of encouragement to anyone feeling like God isn't listening to their prayers. You're listening to GPS God People Stories, a podcast production of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
- [19:04]
Billy Graham
The vast majority of American young people are alienated, uncommitted and non involved. Billy Graham There's a deep vacuum within the majority of American youth. They're searching for individual identity. These young people are desperately searching for answers to some of the deepest problems of life. Thousands of these young people are groping in the jungle of uncertainty. At the same time, in the middle of it, there are thousands of these young people are being truly converted to Jesus Christ. They are now turning to the Bible and finding that God predicts the future and that a future will emerge with Jesus Christ on the throne. This message thrills, excites and challenges the youth of our generation. Christians can rejoice that throughout America, God is using his word when proclaimed and witnessed in the power of the Holy Spirit. Whether it is from the lips of a preacher or a young person on a street corner. Shall we pray? Our Father and our God, we thank thee that at this hour, thou art raising up Christians from all over America in every walk of life to witness as to the saving grace and power of Jesus Christ. And we pray that those that are listening to our voice throughout the world will this day come to find the same certainty in Jesus Christ, for we ask it in his name. Amen.
- [20:25]
Jim Kirkland
Have you experienced the saving grace that only can be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ? If not, then please allow us to tell you about my Jesus. Come to our website findpeacewithgod.net it's a place where you can learn what it means to begin a relationship with Jesus or grow deeper in your faith in Him. The website again is findpeacewithgod.net a link there is also in our show notes. Our guest on this episode of GPS is Ann Wilson, who bridges her love for Jesus with both Christian and country music. Before we go, Ann has a word for anyone who feels like God isn't listening to their prayers.
- [21:10]
Ann Wilson
My encouragement would be, he is listening to you. He's always there. Just call on his name and ask him. Lord, speak to me. And for me, it was always in those moments of stillness and quietness that I would hear him more than it was in the midst of the busy or the loud. But it was when I would go to my room, shut my door, or go to my prayer closet and just say, jesus, speak to me. That he would always speak to me and he would always show me like, this is the path that you're supposed to go down. And so my encouragement to people, I feel like in, in the world that we live in today, we're so used to just immediate gratification and getting what we want when we want it. But sometimes God doesn't work that way. And he has his own timeline. And for me, it was about being patient and letting him guide my life and giving me answers along the way. And so that would be my encouragement to people. Just, just call on Jesus name. He's there, he's listening, but he's also going to guide you in the way in which you should go.
- [21:59]
Jim Kirkland
We are grateful for Ann and the fact she joined us on this episode. She is a music artist and a rebel who loves to tell people about my Jesus. And as we think about having what Ann called a rebellious faith and living it out, here is an opportunity to pray boldly for our nation. As the United States of America approaches its 250th birthday this July 4th, Franklin Graham, the Billy Graham Evangelistic association is asking you to pray for our nation. Find each day's prayer and more information@one nationundergod.com that's one nationundergod.com and we'll include a link in our show notes. Thank you for joining us on this episode. If you'd like to hear more from our archives and get new episodes as soon as they are released, subscribe to GPS through your podcast app or on YouTube. In the middle of life GPS is here in the middle of the week every other Wednesday. I'm Jim Kirkland and this is gps God People Stories. It's an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Always good news.
- [23:17]
Song Lyrics / Choir
Tell the world what he's done for me Miracles on miracles that only he could do I'm true Now we're all only one prayer away from a testimony there's only one getting all the glory My whole life is up God Story from blind to sight this is my God story Lost from dancing Now I'll tell you how God stories brought me through from all the new hit the truth God story ain't hard to see the change of me could only be the God story.